Prices on used guns are insanely high.

[Sixgun_Symphony]

I attended a gunshow and seen used T/C Hawken percussion rifles marked $600, Invest Arms percussion half stock rifle marked $500.

28" barrel, 1/48 twist rifling. . . these are $200 guns really.

 

[mooman76]

Not any more.

 

[deerstalkert]

3 winters ago i needed something to do beside shoving wood in the stove, so i started buying tc parts on fleebay. i could assemble a complete gun from parts for around 200.00 .
today they are asking that for just a lock. stocks are selling for more then i sold a complete rifle . it was fun while it lasted.
beat carrying fire wood.

 

[Sidney Smith]

Gun shows and auctions are the worst places to buy guns, unless its a rare piece and you have the disposable cash on hand. Most of the vendors at shows are out to get as much as they can for a gun and usually don't budge on their prices some of them are down right rude about it too, especially if you call them on something and they realize you are right.

I had a guy just recently do this to me. It was an unmentionable rifle that I pointed out to this man had a nonmatching serial number on the bolt of this particular wwii rifle. I made him an offer that I knew to be reasonable as I know the value of these guns in varying conditions. He right away balked and looked at me like I had two heads. No problem. I put the gun down, walked away with my money still in my pocket. Point being, gun shows are the worst places to buy guns.

 

[Bluegrass]

Sidney hit the nail on the head. Unless you’re looking for something rare and you’re knowledgeable enough to avoid getting scammed, gun shows are a ripoff. The only fair deals are to be found are online or private party sales through forums, arms list, gun broker etc. And don’t even get me started on surplus unmentionables.

 

[Pete G]

As the mint keeps printing more money, the dollar buys less and less.

 

[Phil Coffins]

The price is only high if you pay it. Most times the buyer of over priced items are the people that’s just gathering more to say they have them.

 

[deermanok]

Seems like anything Thompson Center is commanding big money.

 

[Whitworth]

I live in the past too price wise. As to gun shows bargains, I have gotten some great stuff. You just have to know more than the seller when you spot something good Get there early before someone grabs it or late the last day when the seller doesn't want to go home with it... again. I've seen guns with more miles on them from being hauled back and forth to shows than a lot of cars. Lots of good stuff gets swapped between dealers after setup and before the doors even open. It's the Good Old Boy system where most dealers know each other, guys bought from my table and I from theirs. When you spot something you sold for sale on their table for twice your price or they see something they sold you for 1/2 your asking price somebody missed something

 

[Old Hawkeye]

I've been to two gun shows, one in April & one last weekend. First shows I have been to since the pandemic & I was vaccinated. There were some great buys at both & some outrageously priced stuff, like ammo. Most of the guns were priced higher than I would like to pay, but after all, the asking price is a starting point & most dealers will consider reasonable offers. My buddy walked out of the April show with a new in the box, never been fired or even had the barrel put in the stock TC Seneca 45 cal with all factory papers & even the receipt with the 1970's price of $135 + sales tax. He paid $350 for it. The show last weekend had a TC Hawken 50 cal that was super clean with cleaning kit & flask new in an unopened box & 100 round balls & caps for the asking price of $350. Oh, and he even threw in a rifle case. Deals are still out there & it's not the gloom & doom some perceive. Just my two cents!

 

[mushka]

When one shops at gun shows, shop wisely, not emotionally. Any where else for that matter too.

 

[dave951]

There are some deals out there. In my opinion, the "shortage" stems from production issues in Italy. Most places that carry muzzleloaders and repops are out of stock so potential buyers n are looking at the used market hence driving up used prices.

 

[Jakeytoo]

There is a gun for sale in the classifieds right now ( won’t mention which one ), I owned one of those in the early eighties and trashed it. If I had known it would command such a price today, I would have hung on to it.

At the time I paid very little for it new. Couldn’t sell it, couldn’t even give it away.

 

[springfield art]

Sidney hit the nail on the head. Unless you’re looking for something rare and you’re knowledgeable enough to avoid getting scammed, gun shows are a ripoff. The only fair deals are to be found are online or private party sales through forums, arms list, gun broker etc. And don’t even get me started on surplus unmentionables.

Yep. I've been going to shows since 1967; could buy a nice Civil War saber for $35. or surplus 9mm's cash and carry $20. So I know kind of all about them!

 

[springfield art]

I've been to two gun shows, one in April & one last weekend. First shows I have been to since the pandemic & I was vaccinated. There were some great buys at both & some outrageously priced stuff, like ammo. Most of the guns were priced higher than I would like to pay, but after all, the asking price is a starting point & most dealers will consider reasonable offers. My buddy walked out of the April show with a new in the box, never been fired or even had the barrel put in the stock TC Seneca 45 cal with all factory papers & even the receipt with the 1970's price of $135 + sales tax. He paid $350 for it. The show last weekend had a TC Hawken 50 cal that was super clean with cleaning kit & flask new in an unopened box & 100 round balls & caps for the asking price of $350. Oh, and he even threw in a rifle case. Deals are still out there & it's not the gloom & doom some perceive. Just my two cents!

Will be interesting to see once things open up what people offer after having a couple years to think about things! Now they're trying to re-scare us into closing up again due to this LA virus variant.

 

[Sidney Smith]

There are some deals out there. In my opinion, the "shortage" stems from production issues in Italy. Most places that carry muzzleloaders and repops are out of stock so potential buyers n are looking at the used market hence driving up used prices.

Probably a good time to consider building your own gun versus looking for a used one.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

It's not a true comparison of prices when you use 1960, 1970, or even 1980 prices as a base. You have to factor in inflation. The example I gave of the Seneca bought in April for $350 is actually much lower in price than it's 1970's cost of $135, which with the inflation factor is well over $500 today. In 1967 a well paying job was $6000/year & Pick-up trucks were about $2000. Most of the guns we play with don't even keep up with inflation, so hanging on to them to "cash in" in the future is fantasy.

 

[Boatncamp]

The last gun I bought at a gun show was a Hoppe's single shot, looks unfired and was at a very reasonable price. It was the only black powder gun on the seller's table so I expect that it was something that he did not want. The gov't has sent money to everyone over the past year so people frequently have extra money to pay top prices vs people being short on cash and needing to sell, even below market, just to raise money. Also, people that previously were not interested in owning any gun are now looking and buying which drives the prices up. It is a seller's market, not a buyer's market at this time. Will it change?

Woody

 

[Loyalist Dave]

So with all the COVID problems the gun shows are also hurting for sellers. The folks that you find in them are often "one timers". They drop the coin for the table, and come in but don't make any profit, so they don't come back.

They don't make any profit because in a lot of places they have jacked the prices because they themselves bought the items at a jacked price. Now while there are folks out there that would like to own what the seller has to offer, the seller hasn't figured out the "covid panic" is subsiding and Sleepy Joe isn't scaring that many people [yet], and folks are now going to bide their time for the prices to come back down or do without.

Then online or at a show you can always find the fellow who simply doesn't understand the "market". Had a guy one time selling a Pedersoli SLP Bess, with a really nice piece of wood on it. BUT..., there were no sling swivels installed AND the yahoo had run the stock all the way out to the muzzle. He wanted the same as a full priced factory finished Bess, and got irate when I pointed out it needed sling swivels and the stocker had neglected to leave room for the bayonet.

It's not just COVID though:

So about 3 years ago there was the guy with the Pedersoli Bess, who bought it back in 1976, and it had hung on his wall for 40+ years, and he wanted the full current factory Bess price. It was a Friday evening when I offered him about 2.5X cash of what he had paid for it and he had the original box (he hadn't spotted the price was still marked on the box). He reacted as though I had told him his daughter was ugly AND I wanted one of his kidneys. I went all three days to the show, and on Saturday morning offered him 10% less than I'd offered on Friday night, and then on Sunday morning I told him it'd be another 10% off if he waited to sell me the Bess when the show closed. He was last seen sullenly walking his stuff to his car. He was one of those folks who convince themselves that what they have is really worth a whole lot before they do any market checking. I knew he wouldn't take my offer on Saturday or Sunday because he was "sure" he was right about what it should cost..., but it was fun poking the bear.

LD

 

[Malamute]

It seems as though the market has plateaued out, many of the higher priced items seem to be sitting now on GB. If you sort them by price, low to high you can see where things are stalling out on bids.

My renewed interest in muzzle loaders unfortunately came while prices have been somewhat crazy, but the past couple months or so it seems to be subsiding.

I was rather disappointed to see that many of the older entry level basic flint pistols and kits were bringing what seemed like serious money. Im hoping this trends back downward soon.