doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Why Not My Francotte?

I'm in need of a reality check.
I found a beautiful little Francotte 20E 20 gauge at my local gun club. It was misidentified as a KnockAbout. The price was a fraction of it's worth so I bought it with the thought of a quick flip.
http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=304207#Post304207
98% blue, 97% wood, 75-80% case colors, perhaps an overall conservative 95% gun. Blue book says $7,000 at 95%.
I thought it'd be a slam dunk at $5,000 and after a couple weeks and lots of views I'm down to a $4,000 asking price.

While I'm enjoying shooting this little jewel it was never my intention to keep it.
Is it just poor timing with the X-Mas season and all or is my head up my backside thinking I stumbled on a desireable double that would be an easy flip?

I don't know much about Francottes. But my experience is that January is the worst time to sell anything, especially anything high-end or unusual (most doubles qualify for the average hunter/shooter).

Many people are cash poor right after Christmas, and staring at credit card/oil company debt that they can't quite believe. The bird season is about over and the clay games are slow because of the weather in many places. And the economy continues to have more questions than answers for many people.

I don't know what other members think of the "Blue Book," but in my own experience, since the publication of the first one, it is a VERY unreliable guide to selling price. I use it mainly as a reality check for gun condition: the pix in the front are a fairly recent, useful feature. The rest, not so much.

Good luck; I hope you find the right guy and make all the above into HOOEY.

Used boxlocks sell for 7 large in your neighborhood? Today? I mean, really? I see asking prices like that here and there, especially on model 21s, but, they are always still there next month.

Welcome to Belgium. I mean that in a good way, because it looks like a nice gun. If the economy was better, say, vintage 2004, you might see that. But, I think those days are well behind us. There was a time when that Baker Paragon 12 gauge that is listed would have been snapped up at $2500.

But I doubt its going anywhere, either.

Good luck.

Best,
Ted

Short barrels, not enough choke, relatively high price, obvious flip, soft market, bad time of year.

Everybody I know (except me)is spending their gun money on black tactical guns right now. I'm surprised at the people who had no interest in a tactical rifle three months ago who want one now. There is only so much "gun money" to go around at a given time.

Should have bought 4k in 223 and Pmags,you would have tripled your money !

Francottes are nice guns but not a lot of buyers in that market,I had a nice 30E years ago I bought at Julia's for what I thought was short money.Took a long time to find someone to buy it,didn't mind as I like the gun but they are not fast movers,add that to "only so much gun money"

Maybe you should have just told your buddy what you thought it "Might" be worth & let him sell it. Maybe You shouldn't have tried to turn a quick profit at his expense as you weren't interested in keeping it.

Maybe you should get off your high horse and read my original post!
Maybe you should be a little less sanctimonious and dispense with the ethics lessons.
Maybe you could tell me where I mentioned buying this gun from my "buddy".
Maybe you'd see things more clearly if you'd pull your head out of your backside.

Repacement nailed it.

Part of the problem is the year this gun was manufactured, IMHO. Francotte had some big issues in the late 50s and early 60s.

If this was a pre-war (WW II) gun, it would have probably met, or exceeded, your 'flipping' expectations....though I'd also agree w/ Replacement that 28" barrels would have made it even more 'desirable', generally speaking.