Again, as I suggested earlier, it depends on finding the right market.
Yes, the market for "classic" guns is shrinking, but not as much as many here believe. There's still a major market for top-grade classics--which does NOT mean the basic pre-'64 Model 70 .30-06, or a basic Model 12 shotgun or Model 94. That's obviously because the guys who believe XYZ factory gun, made back when they were young, was absolutely the best in the world, are dying off.
But there is still a market for top-grade side-by-side shotguns, and GOOD custom rifles--whether older walnut-stocked models or today's top synthetic-stocked accuracy models.
But most Campfire members buy rifles and shotguns that don't cost much more than $500--or scopes, for that matter. That's because the average Campfire member is looking for a bargain--and in his 60's.
"Asking" prices on other Internet sites are just that, asking rather than selling. Dunno why some get upset at that--it's one of the basic principles of capitalism. But when I want to sell something, the asking price is pretty reasonable--because I actually WANT to sell it.
Gunbroker--and similar sites--remind me of the older guys (some even older than me) at local gun shows, who keep bringing the same pre-'64 Winchesters (or other "classic" guns) with the same price-tags they've had on 'em for years. They don't really want to sell them. Instead they want to show 'em off, and bullshit with the other old farts.
Exactamundo. I was at a gunsmiths shop yesterday, who was exactly as you describe. He had a ton of old cool guns, but the best ones he would say, "that one is expensive, or its going to cost a lot for you to walk out with that one". He had some pristine pre 64 stocks, but they were hiding behing some shotguns on a shelf. I ended up buying a new looking featherweight stock with montecarlo cheek piece and aluminum butt plate, but it was not chesp. It will, however, fit right on my 30-06 featherweight i just bought for $450.....
