LGS consignment percentage?

[silicosys4]

What are your LGS charging?
One shop in town charges 17% on in shop sales, 20% online sales

The other charges 25% and doesn't do online sales. I used to sell through this shop when they were 15% but at 15% the guns just sat for months so 25% is just ridiculous imo.

Lgs next town over sells at 15% in shop sales only but is new so I'll wait and see if their consignment guns move.

 

[doubleh]

10%.

 

[Ryanxia]

I think 10%-15% in my area. There's always that shop that charges an arm and a leg though.

 

[Riomouse911]

I wish it depended on the effort they think they will have to put into it. An easy seller from the case should have a lower commission fee than one that requires lots of GB or Armslist work as it sits collecting dust for months on end.

But, folks can’t foresee the future. I guess they charge a blanket fee for an amount that the local market would bear. (They gotta cover expenses and eat, too.) If they’re gouging consignment sellers I doubt they’ll get much consignment business once word gets out.

Stay safe.

 

[Switup]

The LGS I frequent is 15%. IMO easy-peasy. Bring it in, discuss target price, get a receipt, forget about it till they call ya to come get yer money. Never had a bad experience.

 

[.308 Norma]

It was 10% the last time I sold a gun through consignment at a LGS, but that was a while (maybe 15 years?) ago.

 

[.455_Hunter]

20% at my highly reputable LGS, but they do effective GB listings and have good floor traffic, so most items move quickly. No complaints.

 

[silicosys4]

I wish it depended on the effort they think they will have to put into it. An easy seller from the case should have a lower commission fee than one that requires lots of GB or Armslist work as it sits collecting dust for months on end.

But, folks can’t foresee the future. I guess they charge a blanket fee for an amount that the local market would bear. (They gotta cover expenses and eat, too.) If they’re gouging consignment sellers I doubt they’ll get much consignment business once word gets out.

Stay safe.

Yea that's kind of my thoughts too. I have a handgun that is highly collectible and very sought after, worth mid 4 figures. Box and all takes up 1/3 of a square foot.
I thought it was a reasonable proposition to ask a shop to drop their consignment fee down to 10% for a gun that will bring so much in fees for the amount of space it takes up, and is a museum quality collectible that will drive traffic.
Nope, the guy wanted 25%. I won't be consigning any more guns with him.

The other shop refused to consign the gun for any more money than he thought it was worth and he thought a completely original 98% finish unissued Remington Rand 1911 in box was worth "no more than $2000."

 

[Rule3]

Gads 10%? I need to find another LGS, but heck there aren't any!! Consignment guns will sit around forever!

I need to find one that does online sales or auctions. There is not a lot of foot traffic here!

 

[jmr40]

I took several guns to one of the local stores about a year ago and let them put them on GB. They charged me 10% of whatever it sold for. They did all the work, posted it on GB, boxed up the gun and shipped. Of course the buyer paid for the shipping. They got a LOT more than I could have gotten locally and it was well worth 10% for them to do all the work.

 

[bannockburn]

Been to one where it's 10% in-store, 15% online.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I would consider 10% a great bargain.

I am glad to pay my guy 20%.

 

[rperyam]

Ours gives you a choice. 20% for them and they give you a check for the 80% when it sells or you get 100% of the sell price as in-store credit. I’ve sold a few guns with them and have always taken the in-store credit. You can use it for anything in the store, guns, ammo, classes, etc. If you pay the fee (Vets pay $19.99 a month) for unlimited use of the indoor range, everything except guns is 10% off the listed price. I go there and shoot while waiting to pickup grandkids after school or practice.

 

[Ks5shooter]

20% .....$50 minimum and they list on Gunbroker as well as in store.

 

[JDeere]

The LGS I frequent is 15%. IMO easy-peasy. Bring it in, discuss target price, get a receipt, forget about it till they call ya to come get yer money. Never had a bad experience.

This why I like mine and I have sold everyone I have taken in there within a few days. Some I got more money for than I originally thought because he knows what they will sell for. Sometimes I leave the money on my account and if I get something new I pay no tax because tax was already paid on that money. The whole process is so much easier than messing with people online just to make an extra few bucks...

 

[Old Dog]

20% around here, it seems. Although I've asked only two shops. It seemed like the prices on consignment guns at one shop were notably higher than their regular used gun prices, but during the pandemic buying frenzy, they were selling..

A few years back I was telling one of the guys in my LGS that they were never going to sell a pistol (a SIG, pretty scarred up, but otherwise in decent condition) at the ridiculous asking price; he agreed, said it'd been taking up space too on the counter, asked me what I'd offer, made a call to see if the owner would let it go at that price, lo and behold, must've needed the money, because I got for a lot less than the original tag.

Don't know if it could still work like that, as the used guns I've been seeing (including a lot of single action revolvers) in the shops seem to be getting sold pretty quickly, for whatever that means.

I'd advertise the pistol on a regional gun forum (up here we have two, one mainly for the state, another with membership all over the PNW) to see if you could attract a serious collector or 1911 aficionado and be willing to drive up to 45 minutes/hour away if my asking price was met (but have the buyer pay the transfer fee). It may be more convenient, but I personally can't see paying someone else $200, $400 or more to sell off one of my firearms. More'n just a few extra bucks to me.

 

[silicosys4]

20% around here, it seems. Although I've asked only two shops. It seemed like the prices on consignment guns at one shop were notably higher than their regular used gun prices, but during the pandemic buying frenzy, they were selling..

A few years back I was telling one of the guys in my LGS that they were never going to sell a pistol (a SIG, pretty scarred up, but otherwise in decent condition) at the ridiculous asking price; he agreed, said it'd been taking up space too on the counter, asked me what I'd offer, made a call to see if the owner would let it go at that price, lo and behold, must've needed the money, because I got for a lot less than the original tag.

Don't know if it could still work like that, as the used guns I've been seeing (including a lot of single action revolvers) in the shops seem to be getting sold pretty quickly, for whatever that means.

I'd advertise the pistol on a regional gun forum (up here we have two, one mainly for the state, another with membership all over the PNW) to see if you could attract a serious collector or 1911 aficionado and be willing to drive up to 45 minutes/hour away if my asking price was met (but have the buyer pay the transfer fee). It may be more convenient, but I personally can't see paying someone else $200, $400 or more to sell off one of my firearms. More'n just a few extra bucks to me.

The more I think about it, the more doubts I have about consigning high condition, high end guns.

If a sale person puts an idiot scratch on a mint Cabot or Ed brown on consignment and the gun loses value as it can no longer be sold as mint, who pays for the lost value?
If a fire hits the building, would insurance cover a consignment gun hassle free at full value?
If the gun is stolen, same question.

When it comes to bargaining over consignment guns, in my experience some consignors will bargain for reasonable offers, some will not. In my experience as both the buyer and the consignor, if a consignor will drop the price, usually it won't be by much. I haven't had a consignor drop the price by more than 15% or so.

As a seller I won't drop my price a single penny. If I'm paying a fee to a shop to sell my gun, it's their job to make a sale happen.
And as a buyer I've had shops reduce their fee to make a sale happen if the owner was like me and didn't budge.

 

[Navy87Guy]

My small, local guy charges a flat $50 under $1,000 and $100 over. The "big" store (largest in the state) charges 18.5% - but they get a ton more foot traffic. Neither one advertises online.

 

[JDeere]

The more I think about it, the more doubts I have about consigning high condition, high end guns.

Pretty simple really. If you don't trust your lgs then don't do it because you wont be satisfied. I trust mine with anything I take in and I have had him sell some high end firearms. We agree on a price and I let them know if I am firm or not. If someone makes an offer they call me and I say yea or nay. I have never had to take one back. ymmv