I get this mentality but lets say you have always wanted a Colt SSA and one pops up. Do you just buy it at what it is listed at because it is local and you can grab it or do you research current prices a bit before you wade into the pool. In the end it really doesn't matter I am just curious as to other peoples processes. Helps me sell things faster. LOL
That's a good question.
In my case, since this was something that I had wanted since childhood, once it looked like other factors in my family life started settling down to where I could look forward to getting one I started doing my research. GunBroker, various forums, google searches, gun and pawn shops, etc. From there I figured out what the market range was for a SAA and that set my budget range.
Then I started saving towards that goal.
By the time I got to where I could shell out that amount of money, the market had changed again, AR-15 prices had soared, there had been a run on ammo, etc. All of which acted to drive prices of guns up in general. So getting that SAA for what I had originally budgeted for got a wee bit harder. But I "stuck to my guns", kept my eyes open, and found one actually pretty close to what I budgeted for (slightly over).
I mentioned the Wildey earlier. I've wanted one since they first came out, but the price when I was a young man was not happening. I'm older now, they've gone up a lot more in price, but now I'm in a better position to be able to shell out the bucks it takes to get one. And in between, I had to weather out the years they were no longer in production, hoping that their website was true to the promise they would return. Well, they've since returned and I'm budgeting for a factory new one now.
Guns I'm interested in I've likely done some amount of research on and have a "fair" idea on what would be a reasonable price for me. I'm not an impulse buyer on firearms.
They key is to understand your own interests in firearms and figure out what's in your own bucket list. Then research it to see what the market says. This way you have an idea in your mind what the cost of your interests is. If you happen across something, whether it's a friend, relative, or whatever, who's wanting to sell something, you'll already know about what market value is, what you're willing to shell out, and whether or not it's a good deal for you.
If you put something up I'm interested in, it wouldn't take my much time at all to do a quick search and see if my understanding of the market value is actually in line with the current market value.