User Panel
Have a friend I work with that went through a similar situation when his grandfather passed. None of the family liked firearms and his grandfather knew he had a liking for firearms so left majority of the collection to him and the other grandkids got 1 each. My friend left them some of the shotguns because he knew they would probably get sold or may get minimal usage from his cousins.
His grandfather left him easily $30K-40K in nice firearms on the low to average end. A solid $10-15K of that was in nice Browning and Beretta OU shotguns. He sold a small lot of it to a military collector for about $10K that was worth about $16-18K after he had it for about 2 years. His problem was finding someone that wanted old demilled military display pieces. He had some great stuff that would look cool to sit in your living for sure. No way my wife would let me have a 1919 or mortar sitting around for display though. |
|
Quoted:
No way my wife would let me have a 1919 or mortar sitting around for display though. View Quote |
|
I never feel bad when I get a good deal. I'm not responsible for other people's laziness. Anything you want to know is literally a few clicks away these days. There's just no excuse for being uneducated.
|
|
Decide what you would be willing to pay for the lot of what’s left. Inform her of the time and effort it takes to sell those items, could be months. Then I say I guess it’s worth x, I would give you x for it and you could be done with it.
|
|
Educating an uniformed seller is not the responsibility of the buyer.
Capitalism is a bitch. |
|
|
I have done this more than a few times, widows with husbands guns.
What I do, is explain the options(and legalities) on selling to person, dealer, consignment or taking to auction. Auction brings the best return(they take 30%) and they all go away at once. I also ask if there are any family members that would like any...as that is where they should often go. and these folks often turn up out of the blue. So I value/appraise (often days of research) all the guns, giving a range(realistic) of price they should get. I then offer to buy what I would like for the low end auction price(minus auction fee(30%) and then less 25%(for my work/time) So basically I would pay 50% of what they would sell for at auction for the guns I would like. I will then make arrangements with the local auction and take the guns to them. I do not go to the auctions. I also don't want much anymore in the way of guns, so out of 30 guns, I may just want a couple. We can't do private transfers(without FFL) anymore in WA, so there is no point in buying all the guns and then trying to re-sell them(I am not a dealer and this would be dealing guns without a license) In every case, the widows have got within 5% of the price I expected them to get at auction. One check is written to the widow. Last one the widow got a check for $18,000 and I got a few guns I wanted, everyone was happy. Being in Real Estate and once owning a gun store, I get a few of these calls a year. I also get calls that some widow just wants a gun out of the house and wants nothing for it, depending of what it is, I still offer someone or offer to help with something they may need. It's amazing the stuff wifes have no idea their husband had. I have asked to go into crawl spaces(and attics)because I have found clues that there are more guns someplace. Pulled 15 long guns out of the last crawlspace. The hardest one the husband had dementia, but when we talked guns he was all there. He could remember were most the guns came from and then remembered stories. I have lived in the same town all my life, I have no desire to screw anyone....karma is a bitch. |
|
Quoted:
I've started to do this with my ammo and mag stash, still need to do the guns. That way she will have some idea what the stuff is worth as of X date. Its better than some guy offering her 10cents on the dollar and her taking it out of ignorance. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
I keep an inventory with approximate values to help my wife avoid getting fucked over in case I kick the bucket unexpectedly. She also knows she could take it all down to our LGS where I've been a lifetime customer and went to elementary school with the current owners and get probably 60% value for everything in a single shot, if that makes the most sense for her. My wife was a young widow. (Motorcycle accident) She puts importance on shit like this. |
|
Quoted:
I really do not understand guys that leave their spouse in the dark about all this stuff. If I didn't trust my husband with the combination to our safe, as well as what was in it, I wouldn't have married him. We both are pretty knowledgeable about our valuables. I wouldn't have it any other way. YMMV View Quote |
|
|
|
If she took that stuff to a dealer she would get about 30% of FMV. Not cost, FMV. Give her that and you are good morally.
There is a price for a quick and convenient sale. Selling a bunch if stuff piece by piece for maximum gain is a pain in the ass and in reality a job for many. If she just wants to dump the stuff she shouldn't expect to get 100% of FMV. Or even 60% really. |
|
Why are people so butthurt over getting dead peoples guns at ridiculously low prices.
If both people involved in a transaction are happy then who fucking cares. Most of these widows dont really care and want them all gone. Low ball the shit out of them and dont look back. |
|
Quoted:
It isn't that I keep my wife in the dark. She just doesn't care enough to keep up with what comes and goes. She doesn't even know what "her" guns are worth. She just wants to shoot them occasionally and for me to make sure they work right. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
I really do not understand guys that leave their spouse in the dark about all this stuff. If I didn't trust my husband with the combination to our safe, as well as what was in it, I wouldn't have married him. We both are pretty knowledgeable about our valuables. I wouldn't have it any other way. YMMV |
|
Quoted:
Do you feel bad when you pick up a like new gen2 glock 17 with 17x17 loaded with federal 124 gr round mags for 350$ And then eyeball the safe seeing 3000 rounds of 5.56 federal loaded into usgi 30 rd mags and say I'll buy all of them for 5$ a mag. I mean I can get into the tins of 7.62x39 sitting there, but at what point does your conscience start to eat at you? I guess it's only a question I can answer. God help my wife when I pas away and she opens the safes. View Quote Buying it for $150 would be taking advantage of her. |
|
Quoted:
That brick and mortar store is long closed so something didn't work with that business model. I no longer have any loyalty to brick and mortar stores, 20 plus years of supposedly patriotic Americans treating me like shit I'm over that, I order online now. I see the value in a local finger fuck palace but not on my dime anymore. I have no problem with a business needing to turn a profit but when they say rape twice I'm out of there. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Any business that deals in used items is not going to pay top dollar for it when buying it for resale. The goal of a FFL, Pawn Shop, etc is to get it for as little as possible and get as large of a profit as one can. Low balling as many here claim is normal. For example, if someone walked in with a Glock 17, I ain't offering more than $200-$250. Why? Wholesale Blue Label price is $340. I need to make a profit. The pistol is used, so I have to price it competitively to sell fast when I have new merchandise right next to it and I have to make a profit. I sure ain't going to spend wholesale on a used gun and have it compete price wise and take of shelf space with new Glocks. It would languish there. That is a nice story about your friend. Real nice. But it sure doesn't work in business. I see the value in a local finger fuck palace but not on my dime anymore. I have no problem with a business needing to turn a profit but when they say rape twice I'm out of there. Out of curiosity, what do you consider "raping" a person on the deal? As a general rule, you cannot expect an offer much above 50% of market value on an item you selling to a reseller. You CANNOT judge offers from resellers the same way that you do from end-users. And like @Miami_JBT said, in guns/ military stuff it is worse. A reenactor can believe that his 1943 can of C-Ration peaches are "ultra-rare" and super valuable, but I promise you that the world is not going to beat a path to your door to get them. That Chinese 7.62x39 that you are being offered may have value, but it competes with the "Give me a case of the cheapest shit you have!" clientele that actually comes in on a daily basis. Even a war-time Luger (which is one of my grail guns) will sit under glass at the local gun store for years with that $5,000 price tag on it while Rugers and HKs sell. The owner has to make that extra step to get it to a collector's market to capitalize on it. And if you are expecting a reseller to pay you even close to what YOU can sell it for, then you don't give a shit about him. You need to be selling your own stuff. |
|
The other day I was walking to a bar for dinner, because my car wouldn’t start. It was snowing pretty hard, and there was a lot accumulated on the road. I walked by a car with a couple trying to get it out of the snow. He didn’t know how to deactivate the traction control, so I showed them how and helped push the car out. In return, they offered to drive me the rest of the way to the bar.
Be a blessing to others. You might just find that others will bless you too. |
|
Some of you guys saying “they can just do their research on the internet and figure it out” are being intentionally obtuse.
You know damn well that the value of a gun can vary by thousands or tens of thousands and turn on one little proofmark. A regular old Walter PP v. a pre-war in fantastic shape with a waffenamt stamp. Big difference. If they don’t know to look for that mark, they’re sacrificing a big chunk of cash. The people caught in these situations generally aren’t gun people. They’re not familiar with the models, the nomenclature, the history, etc. If some stuff in that safe is really collectible, do you really expect them to become an expert on this stuff virtually overnight when it takes some of us a decade to being to even understand a single line of pistols or rifles, which are really desirable and rare, etc.? The only “education” a novice can really get on this stuff is to either find an appraiser on the internet and schedule an appointment (that’s assuming one of you guys doesn’t show up and “appraise” it at 40 cents on the dollar) or to join a forum like this, take good pictures of everything, create a thread, and hope that some good people take the time to figure out what she has, value the guns for her and tell her what she can reasonably get. That stuff isn’t easy for non-firearms people, in many cases. My moral compass/conscience wouldn’t allow me to buy low from an uneducated buyer in that sort of situation. Some guy walks in off the street and says he bought an HK93 in the 80s for $650 and is looking for $1000, I’ll buy without a second thought. But if it’s a widow, or children owho lost their parent(s), I’m educating them up front. They will know what each gun is worth, why each gun is worth that, what a reasonable selling price is for a quick sale, for a 2-3 week sale, and a top-dollar sale. After all that, then I’d make an offer for what it’s worth to me, even if it’s lower. In that situation, I want both parties on the same page. It just seems like the right thing to do. |
|
Is she driving a Mercedes and decked out in jewelry?
Or is she homesteader type? |
|
Quoted: I didn't include this in the OP, but the lady has been widowed for 5 years now, she's been trying to get me to buy these guns for a year and a half. So it's not like I'm being a vulture and taking advantage of someone still in the grieving stages. I did expect GD to hammer me on integrity, hell I asked for it. But I am definitely not going to rip her off. I did ask last time if she had gone to the local gun shops and asked them if they wanted to purchase some of the items. One said no thanks, the second one she feels like he'd give her pennies on the dollar. I agreed, he is kinda slimy. I appreciate all the advise in this thread. I'm going to go back over and do a detailed inventory, take it home and do some homework, then present her the findings, and give her my offer of take it all right now. When I do that, my offer will include the time I spent and expect to spend selling the items. As one poster mentioned above, my time is worth money, and I am also taking a gamble on whether or not I can sell the items. A lot of the collection is something I'm not interested in personally (AK's). I wouldn't mind having all the ammo, so I will try and purchase the whole lot, safe included. Someone mentioned that pics are needed. This lady does really cool garden art (I have purchased a few) in hanging baskets. She makes little gnome houses in hanging gardens. They are really cool, and I appreciate her craftsmanship and detail. She builds these little hanging gardens from scratch, and it takes her a good six months to construct it. Growing the lichens and moss on the roof takes the longest. I think she undersells her talent at building these. She tried to sell me one for $125. I refused and gave her $200. My wife loves it. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/444143/IMG_1614_JPG-847371.jpg https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/444143/IMG_1610_JPG-847370.jpg View Quote |
|
Or, you know, you could tell her what it's worth and offer a fair, low "bulk" price to get it off her hands right now all at once. Then she's informed and you're not a terrible person.
|
|
Quoted: So this was a troll thread after all....got it. View Quote Some questioned my integrity, it's expected in these types of situations, especially on the internet. I'm not a pussy and can take some criticism. I'm going to help the lady out with my offer for her collection. The unknown for me is if I get paid by doing the research for her, because if she doesn't accept my offer, the 4 or 5 hours of my time researching her guns will be unpaid time I could of been doing something else. My offer for her collection has my compensation built in. |
|
Quoted:
If the purchaser knows the true value he or she should then inform her so she can make a proper decision. Is there any such thing as moral obligations anymore? Under the same banner is getting screwed if you buy something over the internet. I guess that in that case it just sucks to be the purchaser and your money is gone. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Perhaps she does know what they are worth and just wants them gone. |
|
Quoted:
So you're telling me if you go into a pawn shop and they have a brand new in the box, never fired S&W Registered Magnum priced at $300 you're going to inform the salesperson or business owner that it is actually worth serval thousands of dollars or are you going to buy it? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Perhaps she does know what they are worth and just wants them gone. |
|
Quoted:
There's a difference between a grieving widow and a retail establishment. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Perhaps she does know what they are worth and just wants them gone. If you want to be charitable. Be charitable. But business is business. |
|
I just went through and updated my inventory as well as "exit pricing"
|
|
Quoted:
I keep an inventory with approximate values to help my wife avoid getting fucked over in case I kick the bucket unexpectedly. View Quote |
|
Quoted: @HeckThomas Out of curiosity, what do you consider "raping" a person on the deal? As a general rule, you cannot expect an offer much above 50% of market value on an item you selling to a reseller. You CANNOT judge offers from resellers the same way that you do from end-users. And like @Miami_JBT said, in guns/ military stuff it is worse. A reenactor can believe that his 1943 can of C-Ration peaches are "ultra-rare" and super valuable, but I promise you that the world is not going to beat a path to your door to get them. That Chinese 7.62x39 that you are being offered may have value, but it competes with the "Give me a case of the cheapest shit you have!" clientele that actually comes in on a daily basis. Even a war-time Luger (which is one of my grail guns) will sit under glass at the local gun store for years with that $5,000 price tag on it while Rugers and HKs sell. The owner has to make that extra step to get it to a collector's market to capitalize on it. And if you are expecting a reseller to pay you even close to what YOU can sell it for, then you don't give a shit about him. You need to be selling your own stuff. View Quote |
|
Quoted:
So this was a troll thread after all....got it. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: I didn't include this in the OP, but the lady has been widowed for 5 years now, she's been trying to get me to buy these guns for a year and a half. So it's not like I'm being a vulture and taking advantage of someone still in the grieving stages. I did expect GD to hammer me on integrity, hell I asked for it. But I am definitely not going to rip her off. I did ask last time if she had gone to the local gun shops and asked them if they wanted to purchase some of the items. One said no thanks, the second one she feels like he'd give her pennies on the dollar. I agreed, he is kinda slimy. I appreciate all the advise in this thread. I'm going to go back over and do a detailed inventory, take it home and do some homework, then present her the findings, and give her my offer of take it all right now. When I do that, my offer will include the time I spent and expect to spend selling the items. As one poster mentioned above, my time is worth money, and I am also taking a gamble on whether or not I can sell the items. A lot of the collection is something I'm not interested in personally (AK's). I wouldn't mind having all the ammo, so I will try and purchase the whole lot, safe included. Someone mentioned that pics are needed. This lady does really cool garden art (I have purchased a few) in hanging baskets. She makes little gnome houses in hanging gardens. They are really cool, and I appreciate her craftsmanship and detail. She builds these little hanging gardens from scratch, and it takes her a good six months to construct it. Growing the lichens and moss on the roof takes the longest. I think she undersells her talent at building these. She tried to sell me one for $125. I refused and gave her $200. My wife loves it. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/444143/IMG_1614_JPG-847371.jpg https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/444143/IMG_1610_JPG-847370.jpg Dont be an ass. |
|
|
Quoted:
If it was me who was dead, i'd rather my shit go to someone who appreciates it View Quote Someone who cares about their family will have educated them about what their stuff is worth. I can't even wrap my head around having 10, 20, 50 grand with of anything and not having your wife know what it is or what it's worth. |
|
I bought a Ruger 10/22 Target with Volquarzten barrel, laminated stock, Norinco SKS, Kimber M96 Mauser in 6.5 Swede, 2 ammo cans of Lake City 30-06, reloading bench, a couple thousand primers, dies, scales, RCBS press and more for $1000. I just couldn't take the 03a3 for so cheap and I was out of money. The 03a3 was half under a bed with dust bunnies in the muzzle. She said she didn't think it was worth much. I just couldn't do that to her. She had several revolve and pistols out, one a model 629 6" barrel with scope, a couple 1911, Colt Woodsman and some I don't remember. I just didn't have anymore money. I told her she needed to have the guns appraised. She was trying to sell them for what her husband paid for them but couldn't find all the receipts so she was guessing.
|
|
Quoted:
A person walks in with a 1st gen Colt SAA army and the dealer offers them $200, A person walks in with a Benelli shotgun and they offer $150 I've witnessed it - those are rapey offers don't you think? These are items that they can sell quickly and won't collect dust. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: @HeckThomas Out of curiosity, what do you consider "raping" a person on the deal? As a general rule, you cannot expect an offer much above 50% of market value on an item you selling to a reseller. You CANNOT judge offers from resellers the same way that you do from end-users. And like @Miami_JBT said, in guns/ military stuff it is worse. A reenactor can believe that his 1943 can of C-Ration peaches are "ultra-rare" and super valuable, but I promise you that the world is not going to beat a path to your door to get them. That Chinese 7.62x39 that you are being offered may have value, but it competes with the "Give me a case of the cheapest shit you have!" clientele that actually comes in on a daily basis. Even a war-time Luger (which is one of my grail guns) will sit under glass at the local gun store for years with that $5,000 price tag on it while Rugers and HKs sell. The owner has to make that extra step to get it to a collector's market to capitalize on it. And if you are expecting a reseller to pay you even close to what YOU can sell it for, then you don't give a shit about him. You need to be selling your own stuff. In the category and prices that you used as examples... yeah, those are rapey offers. Basically 10 cents on the dollar-- which are pawn shop offers. However, even in the examples that you gave, I'd not consider 50 to 60 cents on the dollar out of reason. ETA: As I said in my first post on this thread, if I am reselling it, my honor does demand that they know that I am giving them a percentage price of what I am going to sell it for, and therefore if they wanted to go through the time, expense, and effort to do so, they could get a higher price. |
|
|
|
Quoted:
A person walks in with a 1st gen Colt SAA army and the dealer offers them $200, A person walks in with a Benelli shotgun and they offer $150 I've witnessed it - those are rapey offers don't you think? These are items that they can sell quickly and won't collect dust. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: @HeckThomas Out of curiosity, what do you consider "raping" a person on the deal? As a general rule, you cannot expect an offer much above 50% of market value on an item you selling to a reseller. You CANNOT judge offers from resellers the same way that you do from end-users. And like @Miami_JBT said, in guns/ military stuff it is worse. A reenactor can believe that his 1943 can of C-Ration peaches are "ultra-rare" and super valuable, but I promise you that the world is not going to beat a path to your door to get them. That Chinese 7.62x39 that you are being offered may have value, but it competes with the "Give me a case of the cheapest shit you have!" clientele that actually comes in on a daily basis. Even a war-time Luger (which is one of my grail guns) will sit under glass at the local gun store for years with that $5,000 price tag on it while Rugers and HKs sell. The owner has to make that extra step to get it to a collector's market to capitalize on it. And if you are expecting a reseller to pay you even close to what YOU can sell it for, then you don't give a shit about him. You need to be selling your own stuff. |
|
Quoted:
One collects sales tax and the other doesn't. If you want to be charitable. Be charitable. But business is business. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Perhaps she does know what they are worth and just wants them gone. If you want to be charitable. Be charitable. But business is business. |
|
Quoted:
I never feel bad when I get a good deal. I'm not responsible for other people's laziness. Anything you want to know is literally a few clicks away these days. There's just no excuse for being uneducated. View Quote FFS dude...hope you stub your toe. |
|
|
Quoted:
Excellent point. Sure hope OP and others of his ilk ponder it. View Quote She wants $350 for it, because sentimental. She told a cool story about how her husband bought it for her, they went to the range, and she pointed it at him, then learned range discipline. I'm going to offer her $50 bucks for it, because that's being really nice. I'll never sell it, nobody want's a .380, much less a Jimenez. I expect GD to question my ethics, but I'm coming at this for what the pieces are worth, |
|
Quoted:
A person walks in with a 1st gen Colt SAA army and the dealer offers them $200, A person walks in with a Benelli shotgun and they offer $150 I've witnessed it - those are rapey offers don't you think? These are items that they can sell quickly and won't collect dust. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted: @HeckThomas Out of curiosity, what do you consider "raping" a person on the deal? As a general rule, you cannot expect an offer much above 50% of market value on an item you selling to a reseller. You CANNOT judge offers from resellers the same way that you do from end-users. And like @Miami_JBT said, in guns/ military stuff it is worse. A reenactor can believe that his 1943 can of C-Ration peaches are "ultra-rare" and super valuable, but I promise you that the world is not going to beat a path to your door to get them. That Chinese 7.62x39 that you are being offered may have value, but it competes with the "Give me a case of the cheapest shit you have!" clientele that actually comes in on a daily basis. Even a war-time Luger (which is one of my grail guns) will sit under glass at the local gun store for years with that $5,000 price tag on it while Rugers and HKs sell. The owner has to make that extra step to get it to a collector's market to capitalize on it. And if you are expecting a reseller to pay you even close to what YOU can sell it for, then you don't give a shit about him. You need to be selling your own stuff. |
|
Quoted:
How much do you charge people to jump start their cars? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Perhaps she does know what they are worth and just wants them gone. If you want to be charitable. Be charitable. But business is business. I keep jumper cables and a jumper pack in my POV and help the elderly, feeble, etc... In my agency car we're not allowed to jump cars due to fear of litigation if the jump fucks up their car. |
|
Quoted:
Two choices, doing what’s right, or doing what’s easy. View Quote I could do that and she can compensate me however she chooses. |
|
I helped sell a dying gentlemans gun collection. Got him 30k CASH. He still complained and his wife was angry. They thought they had a 100k collection. Trying to help people out sometimes just doesn't work!
|
|
If this was a 30 something WHITE male, selling for stupid prices all y'all would be laughing at him and asking for his address.
Since this is an old lady, people are white knighting. A fool and HER money are soon parted. No fucks given. |
|
|
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.