It may be time to thin the collection

AlexanderA said:

I went through a cycle of downsizing my gun collection once, and later regretted it. Having learned that lesson, I'm not selling anything. My heirs can deal with it after I'm gone.

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I thought about this long and hard. I even ask my boys if they wanted any of the ones that I sold. None of the ones that I sold meant anything to me and some of them were never even fired by me. I was really at the point that I needed the space in the safe!

After this panic recedes I will buy one or two that I will use more than the ones that I sold. I even have my eye on a couple as I type.

lightman said:

I thought about this long and hard. I even ask my boys if they wanted any of the ones that I sold. None of the ones that I sold meant anything to me and some of them were never even fired by me. I was really at the point that I needed the space in the safe!

After this panic recedes I will buy one or two that I will use more than the ones that I sold. I even have my eye on a couple as I type.

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Did you have room for another safe?

dh1633pm said:

Price gouging is part of capitalism. Those who do, while it seems unfair, do what is needed to bring product to market. It also encourages others to join the market. As others join the market with product the price is unsustainable at the gouging level and prices return to normal. Those who feel the price is too high should not buy. No buyers also means that prices some down. As for me, I am not going to sell what I have. If I have family that needs something, I am going to assist them as needed.

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"Profit-Taking" is a legitimate aspect of the capitalist system, but "Price Gouging" is little better than robbery and criminality.

Hartkopf said:

Did you have room for another safe?

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No, not really.

Another thought..............
Some posts above mention purchase difficulties in the future. Honestly, how many of us here really NEED to ever buy another gun?

jonnyc said:

Another thought..............
Some posts above mention purchase difficulties in the future. Honestly, how many of us here really NEED to ever buy another gun?

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Personally, I'm better at rationalizing my need for more firearms than my SO is for more shoes. And she's pretty dang good.

There's rules in my house.

One of them is "We don't sell guns."

Instead, to help the (good) folks in my community I figure to loan out small amounts of ammo with the intent that I get it back when this blows over.

There's a strong chance I'll get it back and the panicky people can sleep a little better at night.

Now, so far I've only loaned out a belt of 25 rounds of buckshot but I expect that number to grow here pretty soon.

We’re only at the leading edge of “cash flow” conditions which soon might drive a few people “over the edge of sanity”.

Hang onto at least some guns which could become scapegoats for politicians (as their typical response) in the future.

The state level can be more insidious than the federal level.
One or two states have already Stopped background checks.

Haven’t read thru the post so apologies if doubling. Assuming the OP is correct at some point in the future a lot of these 1st time one gun people are going to put them back in the used gun stream. A good thing that.

jonnyc said:

"Profit-Taking" is a legitimate aspect of the capitalist system, but "Price Gouging" is little better than robbery and criminality.

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Didn't say it was fair or right. Its all part of capitalism. It primes the system for more of what is being gouged.

Is it a collection or merely an accumulation...

RavenTai said:

So there is a panic buy on guns, no surprise, gun stores are selling out and unable to restock as distributors are sold out also.
What is surprising is who the buyers are. It's not us, most of us were well stocked long ago. Its first time gun buyers, people who may have been gun control advocates a month ago, or at least neutral on the matter. And every day they find less and less to buy. And no ammo to go with it.

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Yes, I have sold most of the guns moved in the last three days to first time gun buyers.
Here's the potentially cool thing. Many of them were left leaning who just are scared and getting that first gun. To a person they are amazed at how much one has to go through to get a gun. They all thought it was so simple. Easy as buying a dozen eggs.
Ummmmmm nope.

"I gotta wait 5 days?"
"No, 5 business days. That works out, with no holidays mucking up the works, usually a week from tomorrow."
"What do you mean my background check isn't back yet?"
"They're swamped up at FDLE and it's taking as much as 6 hours or more."

Gee, it's not as easy as the media makes it out to be

We in Michigan go into lock down tonight, so for the next three weeks people are not supposed to go out unless necessary for meds or food or service-work. Gun stores and other stores will be close starting tomorrow morning for at least three weeks.

I have a pistol at the local store and the owner said all he can do is hang on to it for me. Oh well. I think I have one or two others here to tide me over.

I really had to balance the sell/not sell question. Only ended up selling 2; a Glock 43 that both my daughter and I were done with and moved on from, and a big Zastava M77 in 7.62x51 that I already replaced with a handier G3. Thought about a few others, but I don't want to go below platoon supply levels.
We'll see what the future holds. The C&R license might be the next "encumbrance" to go.

Not planning on selling anything, but if I were, I'd charge as much as the market would bear.

I've loaned and given away guns and ammo in the past and would do so again in certain circumstances.

But if I were selling on the open market to someone who just realized that: "the world is a dangerous place and I want a gun!" They're gonna pay full market price. If that means $1,500 for a beat up Olympic Arms AR, so be it.

I'm certainly not forcing anyone to buy anything.

If you do decide to be a nice guy and sell a gun for less than it's currently worth, don't get mad when the buyer turns around and sells it for a profit.

That's how a market economy works.

I have a lot of guns. Way more than I need. Many on this forum have more than I do, though. I don't plan to sell any. I usually suffer from regret and lose $. I don't need those aggravations now.

I have two Taurus rimfire revolvers I wanted to consign to pay for the acquisition of a Dan Wesson rimfire revolver. The Taurus are a 94 .22 LR and a 941 .22 Mag. Both are in great shape, but with my S&W models 17 and 48 duplicating them they’re not needed anymore. Plus, I saw a DW .22 I like and that gun I don’t have.

I didn’t get into the local gun store in time, as I planned this before the stupidity hit. The lines the past week were hours long just to get into the local stores... and now they’re all ordered closed for the next two weeks at least. Once they’re back open I’ll be there early to put these up... as I’ll have another credit card bill soon to pay.

Stay safe.

I have been getting rid of most of my guns, but have stopped. It is not that I am worried about not having enough guns for the apocalypse, but rather that the guns I have been selling are of no interest to people worried about the apocalypse. The market for things like pre-war fighting revolvers has completely dissapeared, and I have no reason to sell my guns for pennies on the dollar.

I have been rearranging the safe, will wait until current weirdness is over to continue. All money is spent on guns and glass.

I don't really have any interest in buying or selling at the moment. Pretty much happy with what I have and I just indulged in a .45 barrel for my Hawken and had a roached 54 barrel for my New Englander reamed out to .58 cal (both smokepoles), and I am dying to shoot them.

The one thing I am starting to toy with the idea of selling is my Nagant revolver. I bought the thing for like $160 because I am a student of history and I appreciate its place in the second world war. I also thought the mechanics of the thing were neat. OTOH, I rarely shoot it or carry it and it mostly sits in the safe. Meanwhile the prices on these things seem to just continue spiralling upward. Not sure who is buying, but at some point I may be tempted to offer the revolver and all the assorted goodies (ammo, original holster, dies, brass, etc.) up to someone who might do more with it that I do. Then again, it really is a neat piece of history, so maybe the prices haven't climbed enough for me to really want to part with it.

.38 Special said:

...The market for things like pre-war fighting revolvers has completely dissapeared...

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The sad thing is, a properly set up and well maintained old S&W or Colt would probably serve many of the current panic buyers better than more modern handguns.

Swampman said:

The sad thing is, a properly set up and well maintained old S&W or Colt would probably serve many of the current panic buyers better than more modern handguns.

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Well, I am the sort of person who believes that to be true, but collectors have driven the prices for such things to ridiculous levels. A Model of 1926 in .44 Special is a rare and special revolver. That it doesn't technically do anything that a $200 Charter Bulldog can't was more easily overlooked back in those marvelous days when we still had disposable income. And toilet paper.

Sold the Sig P229 to a gal that did not have her own. She didn't like the hubby's G19 nor her son's CZ 75. She held the Sig and said I LIKE!!! Hubby handed over the $ and we headed to do the transfer. She would have cleared yesterday but due to many ranges being closed I don't think she got to shoot it. I didn't like having to sell it but I know it will make her happy and that felt like a nice consolation to the sale.

guyfromohio said:

I have no interest in meeting new friends right now.

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This right here. These off-record, face to face sales are getting dangerous. We've had two people murdered in parking lots this year while in the process of buying/selling a gun. In one case, the bad guys posted a bogus gun sale ad online. Met the victim in a parking lot, killed him and took the cash he was going to buy the gun with. In another, it was the opposite. Met the victim to buy a gun, killed him, took the gun. I only shop at reputable, retail, brick and mortar, FFLs now.