How Do You Determine Something is Properly Priced in the BST?

Whether buying or selling, all that really matters is how much it's worth to you.

When buying, decide how much it's worth to you, then look for that. If you're lucky, maybe less.
Selling, price high and come down if you've got time, or price low and move it fast, but always an amount that means more to you than keeping it.

Sold auctions are a ceiling in price for me.
 
GoWolfpack said:
Whether buying or selling, all that really matters is how much it's worth to you.

When buying, decide how much it's worth to you, then look for that. If you're lucky, maybe less.
Selling, price high and come down if you've got time, or price low and move it fast, but always an amount that means more to you than keeping it.

Sold auctions are a ceiling in price for me.
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Bingo.

I've seen a lot of really nice 1911's... but paying a fat 4 figures for one ain't worth it to me. The design has been around for over a century and there are untold amounts of them out there. Unless it's historically tied to something or somehow customized in a way that makes it honestly worth that, what really makes a 1911 worth that amount?

But the fact is that "The Market", which is composed of more than just me, says they are with that much means they ARE.

Just not to me.

I will, however, pay four figures for other guns because I DO happen to agree on their relative values.

I paid about $1,200 for a Colt SAA, because it was a dream gun since childhood. I'll be paying over 3 grand for a Wildey soon, for much the same reason.

Yet there are others who would think I'm out to lunch on those.

Market is what it is because people make it that way. And market value changes based on many factors.
 
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When I list something for sale I mean to sell it. A listing that runs multiple months indicates that I have the price too high or have it listed with the wrong audience.

Seems like some guys don’t really want to sell at all. And most set up their ads as a negotiating start point. I want $500 for this beat up rifle so I’m going to list it for $1200 and see where it ends up.

Those guys are the ones that fill up the first two pages of “new posts” every morning. They get ignored after a while.

CHRIS
 
Lafayette Gregory said:
It does not matter if we like it or not- Gunbrokers sets the market price for guns in the sold category. Take out the odd ball high sale and the pos low sale of any item and you will have market price. You may disagree with me but no matter how wrong you are - dat be de facts man! there are also fees and shipping to be considered. List an item here without shipping and fees for a FTF transaction- dat be a bargain. Try to get shipping and fees in a ftf and someone might as well shop Gunbrokers.
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This. Be it gunbroker or kygunco. And it goes both ways
good luck getting me to drive a couple hours round trip ($20 gas and time I value at $50-200 depending on the day) when I can just order it brand new and pick up at my local FFL for less than what you're asking.
If I'm selling you a gun, I've already factored things into my asking price. I may crank it up by a couple bucks just so we have room to "haggle", but the odds are I've already looked at prices at vendors, auction sites, and historical sales figures, so you'll have a hard time giving me a reason why I should take less.
If we haggle, it's going to be on what would be shipping and ffl fees... that's about it. I already lose too much money on this hobby, no reason to give money away.
But no, i'm not gonna "i know what i got". I know what I'd get at a pawn shop or gun shop for it. and I know what you'd pay for it used there. Somewhere in between is pretty darn fair.
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
Bingo.

I've seen a lot of really nice 1911's... but paying a fat 4 figures for one ain't worth it to me. The design has been around due over a century and there are untold miking of them out there. Unless it's historically tied to something or somehow customized in a way that makes it honestly worth that, what really makes a 1911 worth that amount?

But the fact is that "The Market", which is composed of more than just me, says they are with that much means they ARE.

Just not to me.

I will, however, pay four figures for other guns because I DO happen to agree on their relative values.

I paid about $1,200 for a Colt SAA, because it was a dream gun since childhood. I'll be paying over 3 grand for a Wildey soon, fur much the same reason.

Yet there are others who would think I'm out to lunch on those.

Market is what it is because people make it that way. And market value changes based on many factors.
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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
 
CHRIS_WNC said:
When I list something for sale I mean to sell it. A listing that runs multiple months indicates that I have the price too high or have it listed with the wrong audience.

Seems like some guys don’t really want to sell at all. And most set up their ads as a negotiating start point. I want $500 for this beat up rifle so I’m going to list it for $1200 and see where it ends up.

Those guys are the ones that fill up the first two pages of “new posts” every morning. They get ignored after a while.

CHRIS
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100% I try to be fair and at the same time I don't want to give something away.
 
What I've done, is found the cheapest price for the item I can find online with a bit of effort, and set my asking price at 75% of that. If it's BNIB, maybe 80% if it's something I expect people will actually want. Wait a week, drop it by 5% if it didn't sell, rinse and repeat. Once it gets to 50% I start figuring I should probably just start keeping the thing and make it work for me after all. That's seemed to work okay for me for the most part. I'm not in the business of reselling stuff to make money, just to clear space and funds for stuff I want more.
 
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JimB said:
The reasonable price is generally the asking price less about 3% for each laughing emoji.
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I’ve always assumed:
🤣 = priced too high
👍🏼 = priced fairly
😍 = priced low/great deal
 
wvsig said:
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
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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.
 
wvsig said:
100% I try to be fair and at the same time I don't want to give something away.
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This is good. "Fair" is when the seller and the buyer are happy with the price.

It doesn't matter what other people think. It doesn't matter if the seller got a wagon load more than he spent on it originally. It doesn't matter if the buyer "over paid" or "got a killer deal".

What matters is that both people are content with the terms of the sale between them.

Nickle-diming is what produces dissatisfaction.

For example:

There will eventually come a point in my life where I'll have to consider what to do with all my guns. Likely, they'll be divvied up among my children. At that point, it may not be about "money"...it may be more about "adopting them out" to a new family which will appreciate the importance, legacy, and care behind firearms in general. I'll be far more happy to know, for example, that my coveted Colt SAA went to some other young lad who likewise had a dream of owning one owing to childhood memories of Westerns and whatnot. For someone like that, he would get a great deal because he could buy it for a song...and I'd get an awesome deal in return because for a token exchange in cash, I'd get to see his eyes light up and know that colt would survive for many decades more.

(OK, all you vultures can quit circling now. I'm nowhere near that point in my life!)
 
Supply and demand sometimes. Or any item that is sold out everywhere even if it was cheap can go for more.

I run a gun store and most used prices are above what I can buy them new for sometimes. But then again we were selling items over MSRP due to demand during COVID.

I always over list my items to give room for haggling. I even tell people that. But sometimes I get " that's to much" then make an offer that's how this whole thing works.

I have also seen people over price items so they can keep them. A wife or someone what's something gone but doesn't know much about firearms. "Look honey it's posted, I just can't find a buyer" in hopes they can keep it

I even had people do that on consignment hoping no one buys it.

But in the end no one is forcing anyone to buy anything.
 
Hellquest said:
I run a gun store and most used prices are above what I can buy them new for sometimes. But then again we were selling items over MSRP due to demand during COVID.
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Yes, and if people have been around long enough, they'll recognize this isn't new. I remember shopping around in the late 80s, early 90s, and seeing used firearms selling for maybe $10 lower than the same model new. Nothing special about them as a used firearm, either.

I decided then that if I was going to buy a used firearm, it ought to be something no longer in production.

Firearms hold their value very well. Heck, I bought my Colt 1991A1 in 1991 for $450, brand new. I've seen used ones go for $1,500 these days.
 
wvsig said:
We clearly since none of my stuff is selling I don't know what I am doing. LOL 🤣 :D👍
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Start knocking %5 off every 2 days until it sells.

Please give me a heads up if you try this.
 
Hellquest said:
I have also seen people over price items so they can keep them. A wife or someone what's something gone but doesn't know much about firearms. "Look honey it's posted, I just can't find a buyer" in hopes they can keep it
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Sometimes I wonder if they old farts with a table full of O/U shotguns at the gun show are really just spending the weekend hanging out with their friends and don't have much interest in actually selling anything. Something like the old men parking their show cars outside Hardee's on a saturday.
 
wvsig said:
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
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If I want something, one of the first things I try to find out is how much they normally sell for. That way I can decide if I even want to look.
Depends on availability too. Something like SAAs are very common at gun shows, whereas something like the 8 shot S&W with no lock is exceptionally uncommon. If you find something uncommon, even at a higher than "fair" price, you could just pay the price because who knows when you'll see another one.
 
GoWolfpack said:
Sometimes I wonder if they old farts with a table full of O/U shotguns at the gun show are really just spending the weekend hanging out with their friends and don't have much interest in actually selling anything. Something like the old men parking their show cars outside Hardee's on a saturday.
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I have talked to a many of them. And yes it's a mini vacation from the wife with the hopes of maybe making a few dollars. Or catching a deal on something walking by.
 
With what this world has turned into prices everywhere are literally ridiculous. If someone would have told me 10 years ago that I would pay $1,000 for a Smith & Wesson 22 I would tell him they're crazy as hell .The gun didn't cost $250 brand new but yet I just paid $1,000 for one and $850 for another one. Who would have thought that 22's would be costing more than Magnum revolvers and I'm speaking about Smith & Wesson not off wall cheap junk. I guess it all depends on what the buyer is willing to pay for what he wants. I looked for these two for some time and they popped up within two weeks of each other. Did I overpay ? Possibly, but I don't care because it's what I wanted and I was willing to pay for.
 
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GoWolfpack said:
Sometimes I wonder if they old farts with a table full of O/U shotguns at the gun show are really just spending the weekend hanging out with their friends and don't have much interest in actually selling anything. Something like the old men parking their show cars outside Hardee's on a saturday.
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I'm not even that old, and I sometimes go to shows just to see if anybody I know is there...
 
GeorgeBush said:
One often overlooked problem is trying to sell something nobody wants.
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hey now. my lgs knows that if there is something ridiculous that nobody wants, there's a good chance i'll probably buy it if they give me a good discount.
i recently bought a bushy carbon15 that has been "upgraded" with airsoft parts. But I only paid like $400 for it out the door.
That beretta px4 .40 that was a marketing failure? yep, bought one of those. They keep trying to push the compact .40 on me too, but they haven't lowered the price enough yet.
 
I've always found most for sale ads fall into 1 of 3 categories.

1. Those that want to sell- looking to try something new, tired of the model etc

2. Those that need to sell- cash poor, wife busting their chops etc

3. Those that have to sell- bills due such as medical, mortgage, or lost job.

Imo guns are usually priced accordingly. I guess you can add a 4th category of not really wanting to sell, but if you'll pay stupid money, I'll let it go.
 
What about the poor guys that list items for $20 or so for whatever odd things they may have, such as 9 rounds of this, 3 rounds of this, maybe throw in a cheap holster, etc. The first thing that comes to mind is how bad of a financial dilemma are these poor souls in? Should we all chip in a couple of bucks or maybe see if we can get them a meal or something? If I have things that are really not worth a lot and I no longer need them the first thing I do is ask my friends whether any of them want or needs it. Usually somebody will take it. If not I would post it in the Free stuff section. I would never try to sell it to a fellow member for 5 or 10 bucks. Charity starts at home, and this is a home (nut house?) for many of us.
 
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