Quote:
Originally Posted by twice barrel:
What if you acquire a gun, add improvements like aftermarket sights, have the action cleaned up, have the trigger improved all by a reputable gunsmith and essentially double your cost in the gun. These improvements are real but not necessarily visible nor appreciated by a potential buyer.
Should the seller just give these enhancements away?
I don't think so,
TB
Nobody is saying anything of the sort from what I've read above.
The market bears what it will. If an owner invests in their gun by making alterations/modifications/enhancements that no one else desires or values, then they will likely see no return on their "investment".
If the cost of the "enhancements" is not recoverable in the current market you are also free to refrain from trying to sell it.
Exactly. Works the same way with cars. If you take a car that has a private party value of $5,000 (say, a 6 or 7 year old Ford Focus) and spend $3,000 on a paint job, does this mean you can suddenly turn around and sell it for $8,000?
Heck, most improvements to a home in good condition don't usually result in a 100+% return on investment.
A friend of mine has a 30 foot, 1980 (IIRC) Carver Cabin Cruiser. Twin 350s, bought it used in 2004 or so for $15k in good condition. Well, by 2006 he discovered what B-O-A-T stood for: Bust Out Another Thousand
, and the boat went up for sale. Not for the market value at the time (2006), mind you (about $13k, 2k less than he paid for it), but for about $19k. Why? The wife "reasoned" that since they had to dump $4k in repairs into it the boat, that it was now worth the original purchase price (15k) plus the repairs (4k). If it really worked this way, boats would usually make fantastic investments, with huge rates of return
. Needless to say, the boat still hasn't sold - it is just eating more in taxes and insurance, as well as storage fees in drydock.
Yup, that's clearly a big part of it (see boat example above). The computer example was a good one too. I see so many 5 year old computers in the local paper for $150 freakin' dollars
- a brand new one can be found for $100 more!!!
Anyone asking more for a used firearm than what this market will actually bear is in for a very long wait and the market will eventually educate them in that regard.
I hope you are right in regards to used, pre-lock, pre-MIM S&W revolver prices. For those that are into these guns, they are very aware of the rapid price escallation of pre-MIM, pre-lock S&W wheel guns in the last 2 years. But within just the last 2 months, I have seen an alarming increase in the
asking price for these guns, often exceeding the price of NIB examples. Plain jane 4" S&W Model 10s for $500 or more (saw a 4" 10-7 in 80% condition for $599 recently), 2.5" Model 19s and 66s for $650 and up, and 3" Model 13s for $550 or more.
One of the more interesting ones I've observed are used Taurus Model 66 revolvers with asking prices as high as S&W Model 66s; I guess people figure that since they look alike, they are worth the same. I've seen more than one used Taurus 66 with an asking price of around $500 - which is often FAR higher then the price of a new one. :banghead:
Whether any of these guns are selling for these prices, I'm not certain. I've seen lots more auctions on Gunbroker ending with no bids lately for guns priced sky high, so it appears the market isn't supporting these prices.
