Selling Guns and Accessories

[EPF]

Whats the place these days to sell off both firearms and associated items?

I have a bunch of guns and gear that I’ve been “meaning to get around to selling” since I can’t remember when The lockdown has given us all time to dig through the things we meant to do years ago I suppose.

The vast majority of these items are from the ghost of “good idea” projects past. I can barely remember my logic but it must have seemed like a good idea at the time.

I’ve hardly sold anything outside of a few pistols in several years so I have no idea what the current best place is. I can always put the guns on consignment here locally but ,in this area at least, they don’t even buy you dinner before they abuse you. Even then that doesn’t really help with things like magazines. For example I have a BOX of new mags and drums for a saiga 12 project that was screwed up by the gunsmith 10 years ago and I can’t even remember the final outcome 😊. But I still have dozens of mags for a gun I don’t own.

A few of the more desirable guns I could post here to give forum members a first refusal but what about the others? What about mags, ammo, optics? Does gunbroker make sense for individual sales? Could I sell the saiga mags there? I’m not trying to make a profit. This is a hobby so I got my money’s worth out of the toys. I just want to recoup a bit from the stuff and get my wife to stop giving me that look when I buy new things without moving the other items.

Please educate me.

[LittleLebowski]

I'd try here and your state level gun forum.

[EPF]

I'd try here and your state level gun forum.

I will definitely post some of the good stuff here. Is there a Virginia level forum?

[MEH]

I will definitely post some of the good stuff here. Is there a Virginia level forum?

www.vaguntrader.com

[Darth_Uno]

I've never had a problem selling guns on Armslist. You just have to wade through the lowballers. I've also only sold "normal" guns (Glocks, etc) at fair prices. I'm not sure how quickly or easily a higher-end weapon or "customized" AR would sell if it wasn't priced for a fire sale, unless it was built exactly how someone wanted.

Some accessories (the ones they allow) I've sold on ebay. Mostly I've gotten about what I hoped for. Sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more. Cheaper stuff, like say a Magpul grip, isn't worth it. That just goes in the parts drawer. But it is easy - let people bid, print a shipping label, then stick it in your mailbox. Done.

PF is choice #1 because it's the most drama-free way to go, but not a huge audience either.

[ASH556]

As much as I hate to say it the ARFCOM EE probably gets the most traffic on the web for gun-related sales.

[okie john]

It depends on what you're selling and how fast you want to sell it. To navigate that, take some time to research prices on gunbroker.com, gunsamerica.com, gunsinternational.com, m4carbine.net, and a couple of specialty forums like the S&W board.

The market for high-end blue/walnut custom hunting rifles has been soft for quite a couple of years and is getting softer. Marquee names like Al Biesen, Jerry Fisher, etc., are losing value slower than minor names and unknowns.

The market for modern bolt-action hunting rifles like the Tikka T3 is solid but is facing pressure as shooters evaluate new entrants like the Mauser 18.

The market for black rifles, riot guns, and self-defense handguns is not as crazy as it was during the Obama years but is still robust. It will likely tank when panic buyers become panic sellers when tax returns are due in 3-4 months.

Almost every time I see things sell for significantly to ridiculously more than market value, it's on Gunbroker.com.

The same things tend to sell for market value or a bit more on gunsamerica.com and gunsinternational.com.

Almost every time I see those things sell for somewhat to significantly less than market value, it's here or on one of the specialty forums like the S&W forum.

Anything subject to panic buying I'd put on gunbroker.com. Saiga mags and parts probably fall into that category.


Okie John

[RJ]

Did a search to find this thread to ask some questions.

I've never sold a gun other than trading it in at the local gun shop. Now, I like the local gun shop, but I always feel like I leave some money on the table. These days, with the market going nuts, I am interested in options. I have looked into services like GunBroker but am not comfortable dealing with all the red tape of an auction, so I may end up listing my item for sale here on p-f. I think the price I end up with selling it for may be between the trade in, and the GB price.

But my problem is I don't have a frame of reference or context for the process of selling a gun online in a forum. I can probably identify the type of person I'd trust to accept a gun sale, and I hope my reputation is solid enough to be trusted as a seller. So assume that the money exchange is handled fairly and promptly.

I have a local FFL which can handle the paperwork and shipment. They charge $20, plus the cost of the shipment. Is that up to me? I've seen options including UPS and Fedex next day. Is there a benefit to using one or the other? I assume prices are fixed by Fedex, so I would know in advance.

I see some gun sales here say "price is shipped to your FFL". This may be a dumb question but that means I take care of the FFL outbound at my end, and shipment, and the buyer picks up the firearm after they pay their FFL their FFL fee?

If there's anything else about selling a gun I am missing, please fill me in.

TIA

[JodyH]

I sold a bunch on Gun Broker, once I perfected my ad copy on a few cheaper guns I was able to move the more expensive guns for a premium.
Just a few minor hiccups with a buyer or two but nothing major.

[jh9]

I sold a bunch on Gun Broker, once I perfected my ad copy on a few cheaper guns I was able to move the more expensive guns for a premium.
Just a few minor hiccups with a buyer or two but nothing major.

Yeah, the gunbroker account on its own is worth getting so you can search completed auctions and find out what the real market price is, here and now today.