One issue is the nature of what you're trying to sell. The current market for higher end collectibles of any kind is soft right now. I hear complaints from guys who own high quality side by side shotguns, including the higher grades of the classic American guns (L.C. Smith, Parker, Fox, LeFever, Winchester 21) and British and European guns. Older Browning Superposeds too. The very highest grades have an extremely limited supply and there's still a market for them, but ask somebody who bought a Holland and Holland or a Purdey ten years ago how much it has gone up. Not nearly as much as it had in the preceding decade, if at all. Same thing with classic handguns - truly rare and high condition collectibles still sell, everything else lingers.
Right now, at least based on my discussions with lots of local gun dealers, the market seems to be doing well in only a limited number of areas: AR15 clones, high capacity polymer frame handguns and ultra long range rifles. Otherwise stuff comes in and sits on the shelf for a long, long time.
If you are a buyer, have an interest in collecting such things, and have the cash, it really is a great time to buy and hold or use. Just don't expect to be able to retire on the profits when the time comes to sell.
