Hello I have just over 100 collectable firearms that include winchesters, colts, brownings, and I am looking for options to sell these guns, does anyone have any suggestions that would bring fair value for my items? thanks in advance for any help you may have Gene

Welcome to the forum.

There are many ways to sell guns. To get the most one could shop each item through the internet or to dealers. They can be consigned with dealers. Or some broker/dealer might take the whole bunch right now.

Give us an example of one of the guns. Where are you?

one example is a 2.5" colt python blued perfect condition but no box. wood grips Michigan

Good detailed pixs go a long ways in marketing goods.

If you use a dealer/broker you will pay a fee of about 20%.

You could also sell them yourself and offer the 20% savings to the direct buyer.

I would start by group listing them by make; such as all the Winchesters, Model Number, Cartridge etc.

Get a real good knoweldge of the value of each one; then figure out what you would take for each lot.

I would not let someone cherry pick the lot unless they offered a really sweet price.

It all depends upon how much work you can put into the selling effort. This is an interesting topic to me as well. While I have to run right now stay with us here and I am sure the board will come up with some good ideas for you.




http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=147142502

Thats the first 2.5" Python I found on Gunbroker and the $ is 1399. One of my dealers gets 18% for consigment.

Where are you located? If you know a fair dealer they could help you out a lot. With my dealings The most I would charge would be 10%. Might be less depending on how it was handled.

My view -- your interests are always handled best by you. Do your homework (researching prices of the SAME guns in similar condition on gunbroker.com and auctionarms.com . . . using prices from completed listings that actually sold, not unsold items with sky-high asking prices and no bids). Then offer them for sale here and other places at your asking price. Handguns need to be shipped through an FFL to the buyer's FFL, but you can ship long arms directly to the FFL of the buyer.

Good luck.

Get a gun values book and spend some time on GB. I'd sell them myself unless they were very high dollar pieces. You can also sell here. Lots of folks here know their gun values and your guns will sell if the price is fair. Ken

Hey Guys, I know Gene he is good to go. I suggested he may be able to sell some or all of his guns to the guys on the forum. He has some real nice stuff. Thanks Del

Is this from an estate? From your question I am guessing that you were not the one who originally purchased these?

If you want a good price for each of them it will take a while to research and sell them but you'd make top dollar. www.gunbroker.com is a good place to get nationwide exposure but it takes some effort to list each item, track the winning bidder and then ship the firearms out. There are different rules for shipping long guns versue handguns. The rules are not complicated but you don't want to run afoul of the law.

I would strongly recommend NOT taking them all at once in to anyplace - gun store, dealers, Cabela's or anything like that - and asking what they'd give for the whole lot.

If you did not have the time to research each one you could take them to someone who could appraise them but I'd be very wary if that same person also made an offer on the whole lot. There are a lot of honest people in the gun business but there are more than a few unscrupulous ones as well, particularly if these are "collectible" firearms. A potential value of $100,000 or more can alter some otherwise honest people's perspectives.

Good advice.

Here is an example of a ridiculous listing that won't sell. This dufus has had these Winchesters in 444 Marlin listed for several years. Apparently, he is holding out for The Lone Idiot buyer. I get an occasional good laugh when I see them. His price just might be right in a 100 years.

Winchester 94AE in 444 Marlin - Auction Arms

The info you've been offered on this site is good. I've bought and sold a few over the years and the advice here rings true. Do the research and ask questions. Sell them yourself on here and/or GunBroker.com. A dealer I know well wanted to ding me 30% on consignment sales. Also, the advice about not offering them as a lot is sound. It will minimize the value of each individual piece. It will take some work but I expect you will be satisfied with the result.

I think you just found yourself a new part time job. I don't know for sure but I THINK I recall reading that you can sell up to 20 per year as private sale. After that you should get an FFL. That was years ago though and the rules may have changed.

Eh? No... there's nothing having to do with selling a gun collection and needing an FFL.

as long as you are not buying and selling for profit no FFL is needed no matter how many guns you have.

PM me a list and I'll help you out.

I would absolutely recommend that you sell them yourself. Turning them over to any dealer just lines his pockets with your money, and you come out of it with little if anything.
I'd go on GunsAmerica.com, and GunBroker.com and value each item yourself. Check all available listings for an identical item for arriving at an equitable asking price.
Then sell them here on 24 Hour Campfire. You will be WAY ahead doing it that way.

Edit to add: When my Step Dad died, my Mother got a dealer in the local area to give her an estimate of the value of each of his guns. That estimate was exactly 40% of the going price of each gun, at that time. So, if she turned the guns over to him, he would have gotten 60% of the money, and she would have gotten 40%. There's something very wrong with that picture.

I just sold my first gun on GunBroker last week and I followed much of the advise given previouly. I researched actual prices paid for my gun by looking through completed auctions and most of the rest is painless
Matt

Hello Gene,

My advice is to check the listings on GunBroker - not the current items for sale, but check the auctions that have completed in the last 90 days. This will give you a good idea what things are selling for, rather than the ridiculous prices that some are asking. The Blue Book is probably not an accurate guide this late in the year. The real prices of guns are best determined by completed sales.

I agree with the others that suggest that you sell them yourself. One caveat I would make is to get to know a local FFL, maybe a gunsmith, who can handle the shipping for you at a nominal cost. When guns are shipped FFL to FFL, they can be shipped USPS Priority, which saves money and makes your guns that much more attractive. A reasonable price for shipping is anywhere between $20 and $35.

If you don't already have one, pick up a digital camera. From what I've seen, the best way to take photos is outside on a partly cloudy day. Nice photos will help sell your guns. You can upload the photos to a site like Photobucket and post the links in forums.

One last bit of advice is to sell the guns on forums like this one. You can quickly get a solid reputation as a good seller and you won't lack for sales. There are other sites as well - please feel free to e-mail me and I'll help you as much as I can.

Of course the really nice part about selling the firearms yourself is that you'll have the opportunity to make some new friends. I've been very fortunate in this regard.

Best wishes in this endeavor,


David Martin
[email protected]

Same holds true for when a gun is shipped from a private citizen to an FFL.

I think "time" would be the determining factory.If you have time for it,sell them yourself.If not and it's a large number,(pieces or dollars),sell it to a honest dealer and put the money where ever it needs to go. Let them have the worry on the risk:legal buyers,bad checks,etc...That's how they stay in business.
Not everyone wants stangers coming to their castle or the world knowing they have guns in the house....

Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe USPS priority can only be used FFL to FFL. A private citizen may ship a firearm to a FFL only via second day air, provided a copy of the person's driver's license is included.

I sold a gun earlier this year that I shipped USPS. I shipped to an FFL and brought a copy of the FFL license with me to the post office. Alot cheaper then UPS.

That would be the exact way NOT to sell them if you want any money........

Where in Michigan?

Handguns cannot be shipped by a private individual to anyone via USPS. An FFL dealer "or his agent" can ship handguns via USPS.

Long arms can legally be shipped from a non-licensed individual to an FFL via USPS. USPS is my preferred carrier in fact.

Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe USPS priority can only be used FFL to FFL. A private citizen may ship a firearm to a FFL only via second day air, provided a copy of the person's driver's license is included.[/quote]

This is incorrect. Ship it well packed, follow the instructions on GunBroker.com and you will be fine. You can ship long guns USPS Priority, legally,to an FFL holder. Just don't try to ship ammunition or handguns via US Postal Service.

there's nothing wrong with a dealer making profit. they have to eat to.

that being said, sell them individually here on the 'fire. price them 10% below the cheapest one you can find that has SOLD on gunbroker and buy a bunch of packing tape!

I would sell the guns through dealers. My primary reasons are that I don't want strangers knowing that I have guns available or them even coming to my house or knowing me. Another reason is the liability of it. With a dealer they have resposibility if the buyer does something wrong with a firearm. The dealer here also checks with the state with a live instant check.

This is worth far far more to me than 18%. Besides the dealers that I know will ask and get more than what I might. I have another rifle for sale with my local dealer now. Its a SS M70 Classic in 7mm WSM in good shape with the factory stock. We are asking $545 and that was his suggestion on the price. His commission will be %18 or about $100. So what! I dropped $73 on dinner last night and another $45 on gas. I looked at a Parker for $795.

Its only money and no worries.

With respect to sending all guns through the USPS, not all are alike. Even though they have the same "rule book", many postmasters make up their own. My 3 closest post offices will NOT allow any long guns, not to even mention handguns sent through their offices by a private citizen.
So you may get that figured out first as you do your research. So UPS gets my business and the bankrupt Post Office goes deeper in the hole.

Understandable concern. So don't sell them locally. Use GB and this site. You are not unduly exposed selling through either site, don't lose a large percentage to a dealer for handling the consignments, etc. Just don't try to sell them all in one week. List only as many as you can reasonably handle in any given period.

I had a problem with my local postmistress refusing to accept a long gun for shipping, so I wrote the USPS Inspector General. I received a reply which stated that you may ship long guns via the USPS, and in certain instances, individuals may also ship handguns. The Domestic Mail Manual, which you can view on line, is their rule book.

If anyone would like a copy of the letter, send me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll forward it to you as an Adobe file.

Guys, Shipping the guns is not a problem. Gene is considering sell his collection and was thinking of auction to sell them and I suggested that he may want to look at posting them here. He has some real nice stuff that is very collectible. Thanks Del

PM me first!

Thanks for all the help Del and all the others on here what a great site! Gene

It doesn't supprise me at all to see Del's name mentioned here. He's at least 120% good guy! Please post a list.

Best advice yet!

PM sent.

If you are going to sell and ship these yourself, be prepared with enough quality boxes and shipping materials to do it in a
well protected manner.
Also be prepared to send them out timely, as you know how each
buyer is awaiting his purchase.
This is a lot of work, working with FFL and such.

Someone mentioned its like a second job. Or sell some in groups
and do some again later.

Unless your area is really hard hit with the economic downturn, I would contact local auctioneers with a good reputation that promote well, to get the best deal on their commission rates.

Here in central Ks, I am always amazed at prices realized on guns sold at auctions. They always bring much more than book in my area.

When the time comes, any guns I have not promised to family will definitely go with a local auction with no reservations.