Sorry for a rambling post to follow.
I was doing an inventory of my handguns a couple of weeks ago, and like a lot of you, I tend to buy, but not sell much. I realized when I actually thought about it that I have a lot more than I need or (gasp) really want.
When I first got into collecting, I wasn't really collecting, I was acquiring. I would buy things because I thought they were a good deal, and sort of interesting. But, as time went by, I started getting more specialized into 1903 Colts and S&W revolvers from the teens and twenties.
It turns out that I have probably 30 items I would be willing to get rid of.
So, to my question. How would the best way to sell these be?
The majority of what I would be selling are decent to nice, but all over the place category-wise.
Some have little collector value - a couple of Baikal Makarovs, Ruger single-six, H&R and NEF .22s, a CZ-50 and CZ-70
Then I have duplicates of some things that DO have some collector value - a first year FN 1910, a couple of FN 1922 WWII bringbacks, an original Remington model 51, a Femaru model 37, etc.
Finally I have some S&W revolvers that are later than what I decided to collect - very nice model 10-5, 10-6, 10 no-dash, maybe a pre-model 14 and model 15-3.
I guess I see there as being a number of options:
Consign to an auction house (probably 20% commission)
Consign to a local gun shop (10% commission)
Try to sell them thru forums
Armslist them
Rent a table at a gunshow?
Of course the easiest would be to take them to a local gunshop - I wouldn't have to ship them anywhere. I could do it all at once. It is sort of daunting to think of trying to sell approx. 30 items one by one. But what kind of leeway do you give the gunshop? I don't want them to sell a S&W worth $300+ for $250.
I like the concept of having a table at a gunshow and selling them all in a day, but I have NO idea how to do that. Can I even GET a table, or all they all booked up for months or years in advance?
My FFL said they would cut me a "package deal" if I decided to ship to an auction house (approx. $200 fees) + shipping.
Anyway, has anyone had this situation before and have any suggestions?
Thanks all
I was doing an inventory of my handguns a couple of weeks ago, and like a lot of you, I tend to buy, but not sell much. I realized when I actually thought about it that I have a lot more than I need or (gasp) really want.
When I first got into collecting, I wasn't really collecting, I was acquiring. I would buy things because I thought they were a good deal, and sort of interesting. But, as time went by, I started getting more specialized into 1903 Colts and S&W revolvers from the teens and twenties.
It turns out that I have probably 30 items I would be willing to get rid of.
So, to my question. How would the best way to sell these be?
The majority of what I would be selling are decent to nice, but all over the place category-wise.
Some have little collector value - a couple of Baikal Makarovs, Ruger single-six, H&R and NEF .22s, a CZ-50 and CZ-70
Then I have duplicates of some things that DO have some collector value - a first year FN 1910, a couple of FN 1922 WWII bringbacks, an original Remington model 51, a Femaru model 37, etc.
Finally I have some S&W revolvers that are later than what I decided to collect - very nice model 10-5, 10-6, 10 no-dash, maybe a pre-model 14 and model 15-3.
I guess I see there as being a number of options:
Consign to an auction house (probably 20% commission)
Consign to a local gun shop (10% commission)
Try to sell them thru forums
Armslist them
Rent a table at a gunshow?
Of course the easiest would be to take them to a local gunshop - I wouldn't have to ship them anywhere. I could do it all at once. It is sort of daunting to think of trying to sell approx. 30 items one by one. But what kind of leeway do you give the gunshop? I don't want them to sell a S&W worth $300+ for $250.
I like the concept of having a table at a gunshow and selling them all in a day, but I have NO idea how to do that. Can I even GET a table, or all they all booked up for months or years in advance?
My FFL said they would cut me a "package deal" if I decided to ship to an auction house (approx. $200 fees) + shipping.
Anyway, has anyone had this situation before and have any suggestions?
Thanks all