Pietta revolver parts on ebay

[user 33697]

I had not gotten on ebay for several months and out of curiosity I always search for mussleloading stuff in general. When I searched using the word 'Pietta', I was shocked to see several hundred parts for 1851 and 1860 revolvers that are new production. What was unusual were brass and steel 1851 and 1860 frames being sold (called a 'cylinder mount' in the description) dated 2021 or 2022 production. In fact, every part that makes up a Pietta 1851 or 1860 can be bought on ebay. Apparently, a couple guys that are located in Pennsylvania and Utah are purchasing new Pietta revolvers and parting them out and charging exorbitant prices for parts. Out of curiosity, I totaled up all the parts that would make up a Pietta 1860 from several of the ebay listings and it came to around $712.00. Yikes! Taylor's & Company currently lists the same revolver in stock for $384.04. Checking a few individual parts, some can be as 35% higher than what Taylor's & Company or EMF Company would sell as a replacement part. Unless you are really, really in need of a specific Pietta revolver part you can't find elsewhere, ebay will have the part but you'll pay dearly for it.

 

[necchi]

Apparently, a couple guys that are located in Pennsylvania and Utah are purchasing new Pietta revolvers and parting them out and charging exorbitant prices for parts.

I don't know where they from,,
but folks are doing that right here on our forum's classifieds, buying the gun from a forum member and then parting it out weeks even-day's later,, right here friend.
It's not about ebay,, it's about being an informed, or uhm, smart, consumer,,

 

[Robert an saa fan]

Yesterday a seller listed a worn and rusted Ruger Old Army blued cylinder with an opening bid of $1033. Did see one sell for $635 recently which was the highest ever seen. Yikes !

 

[Hawk54]

I had not gotten on ebay for several months and out of curiosity I always search for mussleloading stuff in general. When I searched using the word 'Pietta', I was shocked to see several hundred parts for 1851 and 1860 revolvers that are new production. What was unusual were brass and steel 1851 and 1860 frames being sold (called a 'cylinder mount' in the description) dated 2021 or 2022 production. In fact, every part that makes up a Pietta 1851 or 1860 can be bought on ebay. Apparently, a couple guys that are located in Pennsylvania and Utah are purchasing new Pietta revolvers and parting them out and charging exorbitant prices for parts. Out of curiosity, I totaled up all the parts that would make up a Pietta 1860 from several of the ebay listings and it came to around $712.00. Yikes! Taylor's & Company currently lists the same revolver in stock for $384.04. Checking a few individual parts, some can be as 35% higher than what Taylor's & Company or EMF Company would sell as a replacement part. Unless you are really, really in need of a specific Pietta revolver part you can't find elsewhere, ebay will have the part but you'll pay dearly for it.

That has been happening on Ebay for quite some time. Same thing is going on on Gunbroker. Company named gunbusters and some others are parting out firearms. Dozens of black powder rifles and pistols parted out on there each day. Crazy prices! I would be curious to know the number of complete weapons that have now been parted out. I know we could never even guess but the number of complete weapons that have been disassembled and sold as parts by now must be huge.

 

[user 33697]

That has been happening on Ebay for quite some time. Same thing is going on on Gunbroker. Company named gunbusters and some others are parting out firearms. Dozens of black powder rifles and pistols parted out on there each day. Crazy prices! I would be curious to know the number of complete weapons that have now been parted out. I know we could never even guess but the number of complete weapons that have been disassembled and sold as parts by now must be huge.

I also am curious as to how many completed revolvers have been assembled by buying all the parts online. Might be the result of getting around some states that have restricted BP firearm purchases, foreign customers where any firearm is outlawed or because of the shortages of BP firearms during the 2020 and 2021 pandemic. What is amazing to me is how the 1851 and 1860 Pietta serialized frames are able to be sold on ebay. Maybe because ebay follows state and federal BATFE firearm laws that say any BP replica firearm is exempt from licensing. Go figure.

 

[44Bro]

The Gunbusters guns, are court ordered destructions, which is why the frames are cut. The ebay ones in PA are one outfit under several accounts, and yeah they're taking advantage of the ignorant.

 

[Hawk54]

I also am curious as to how many completed revolvers have been assembled by buying all the parts online. Might be the result of getting around some states that have restricted BP firearm purchases, foreign customers where any firearm is outlawed or because of the shortages of BP firearms during the 2020 and 2021 pandemic. What is amazing to me is how the 1851 and 1860 Pietta serialized frames are able to be sold on ebay. Maybe because ebay follows state and federal BATFE firearm laws that say any BP replica firearm is exempt from licensing. Go figure.

My guess would be a large percentage of the parts are going to fix broken or worn out parts. Some to complete firearms with missing parts or parts that are really rusty. See a lot of neglected weapons that the exterior or bore have become badly corroded. A lot of people don't have the skills, tools, or knowledge to rebuild or refinish weapons that are degraded like that. And then there are the people who just don't want to deal with it and just replace the part or parts.

 

[AZbpBurner]

Overpricing goods by ignorant sellers for ignorant buyers is prevalent in many collector disciplines. I collect vintage Gillette razors , which were made by the hubndreds of thousands in the 1920s & 30's. I buy the worn & dirty ones cheap and refurb/replate to their former glory - they're worth more in pristine condition but only a few bucks with neglect & "patina". It's fun to see a $9 razor on sale for $60. Sellers assume that since it's old, it's valuable. They get indignant when offered true value of a fraction of asking price. After all: "It's old".
My Dad collected clocks and many sellers were indignant that their low-end clocks were near worthless. He always said that just because it's old doesn't make it valuable - just old junk.

 

[Whitworth]

Applies to all arms. Most guns are worth more parted out than whole. Bolts, magazines and magazine tubes are always good sellers due to being lost over time after being removed for safety purposes. Stocks and sights sell well too.

 

[user 51067]

Yesterday a seller listed a worn and rusted Ruger Old Army blued cylinder with an opening bid of $1033. Did see one sell for $635 recently which was the highest ever seen. Yikes !

I was slightly involved in the bidding on the cylinder that sold for $635 but stopped when reason returned to my brain (although in the pictures it looked nearly unused). The $1033 version is a rusty and rotted "boat anchor" with mis-matched nipples and certain to have a myriad of other issues. I AM guilty of buying parts and reassembling them into working firearms, but the "price point" of the used parts has clearly gotten out of hand.

 

[rdungan1918]

Same thing applies to old cars. I once saw a TV show where an old car worth a couple thousand was stripped for parts that were worth three to four times more than whole car.

 

[manbat]

Those all sound like smart sellers taking full advance of a time when buyers will pay just about any price for firearms and related components. Happens on this forum too where sellers list ridiculous prices and people pay. The question is whether folks paying a 35% premium for a part they need are the only suckers in the market today. I think not. A 35% part cost increase doesn't even approach the increase we are all paying for caps, powder, shipping, etc.

The only difference here is that some smart eBay sellers are getting the money instead of the manufacturers and dealers we all buy from, and Pietta hasn't yet figured out that they can increase their profit by not assembling some guns and selling them as marked-up parts.

 

[Bad Karma]

Overpricing goods by ignorant sellers for ignorant buyers is prevalent in many collector disciplines. I collect vintage Gillette razors , which were made by the hubndreds of thousands in the 1920s & 30's. I buy the worn & dirty ones cheap and refurb/replate to their former glory - they're worth more in pristine condition but only a few bucks with neglect & "patina". It's fun to see a $9 razor on sale for $60. Sellers assume that since it's old, it's valuable. They get indignant when offered true value of a fraction of asking price. After all: "It's old".
My Dad collected clocks and many sellers were indignant that their low-end clocks were near worthless. He always said that just because it's old doesn't make it valuable - just old junk.

Dunno if the sellers are necessarily ignorant...

”The only one interested in what your grandma had was your grandpa.”

 

[Hawk54]

Those all sound like smart sellers taking full advance of a time when buyers will pay just about any price for firearms and related components. Happens on this forum too where sellers list ridiculous prices and people pay. The question is whether folks paying a 35% premium for a part they need are the only suckers in the market today. I think not. A 35% part cost increase doesn't even approach the increase we are all paying for caps, powder, shipping, etc.

The only difference here is that some smart eBay sellers are getting the money instead of the manufacturers and dealers we all buy from, and Pietta hasn't yet figured out that they can increase their profit by not assembling some guns and selling them as marked-up parts.

I agree. If they ask a high price and someone pays it that is between them and nothing wrong with it. There is obviously a significant market for used parts which we see in many areas driven by worker, production, supply, and shipping problems. It just amazes me what some people will pay for an item.

 

[GreenMtnHunter]

Days of old...I believe I paid less than $250 for NIB Piettas; I bought extra cylinders back then because I was also using them and some Hawkens for a colleague’s annual history class-"field trip”. 20+ years ago, I bought my daughter’s first ML, NIB, online auction, for about 75% of what it was in local stores - gun was fine; the box was destroyed in a hurricane/tide surge. She still hunts with it every year, but I have never again seen deals like that...

 

[jefair1]

Cabelas used to have parts packets for Pietta 1851,60 Colts and 1858 Rem. Had the small springs and a couple screws.

 

[Bad Karma]

Not long after the coronavirus landed here I noticed the uptick in gun, powder, and cap sales. About that time I also saw an increase in tc and other bp listings on eBay, Gunbroker, and elsewhere. Seems like that was the beginning of the strip and sell movement for eBay sellers and it peaked about a year ago. Crazy prices that, combined would have meant a whole, good condition Renegade was worth twice as much in pieces as it would fetch on an auction site. Some sanity seems to have returned, the most egregious of the strippers seem to be sitting on their inventory much longer and thank God for that.

 

[Stantheman86]

Is the demand for parts for reproduction blackpowder revolvers really that high? That buying complete Pietta revolvers and parting them out is lucrative?

 

[hawkeye2]

I don't know what the demand is but go to VTI or Taylor's and add up the price of all the parts to assemble a Pietta Navy (for example) and compare the total for what you can buy a gun for. If I were to part out a new gun I would honestly call the parts used mint as they had been removed from an unfired gun (some would call them new) and as such would probably list them at 75% of new to start the auction. A few years back when Cabella's was still selling online and had sales and often offered free shipping I bought 2 revolvers to use the parts for less than what I would have paid for the things I wanted and I still have parts left over.

 

[Stantheman86]

Any person from a State like NJ with half a brain , who wants an "off the radar" percussion revolver will just take a day trip to a PA gun show and buy one

I don't know what the legalities are but if someone is willing to assemble one from overpriced "parts" they're playing in the same Gray area anyway

I just have a hard time grasping the idea of hordes of people shooting Piettas enough to need spare parts . I have 2 pairs of Pietta brassers that I have run probably 500 rounds each through, which actually took a lot of time and dedicated effort and I'm no where near needing any parts for guns that were supposed to be "worn out " by now