Do most firearms keep value ?

[zymguy]

I'm of the opinion that most guns will at least keep up with inflation, if your willing to take a couple months to sell it.

would you agree? Any examples that dont?

I'm guesing if you bought an AR platform at the worst time your not back to that value, a rem 700 you probably would be. Any confirm or disprove that ?

Happy fathers day to you dads
Ben

[williamwaco]

I agree but you must take the time to find an interested buyer.

[NoAngel]

Around here, they ALWAYS hold their value if you are looking to buy.
They NEVER hold their value if you are looking to sell.

It's main reason I hate going to gunshows. Anything there can be bought online and shipped to a dealer cheaper than trying to buy from John Doe. Armslist is no different.
My advice to anyone buying guns as an investment....never buy any for an investment that you do not really like.

[Artful]

If you don't panic buy then yes you can always get your money back on a regular firearm.
Custom firearms are a different matter.

[30calflash]

It seems that some prices on certain models peak, others continue to climb, like Winchester and Colt. I was chasing High Standard 22 target pistols years back and they appear to go for less now than in the past.

A company re issuing a model may drop the value on former models. Also when some seller like the CMP gets a load of stuff and idt goes to market the older once low quantity models become readily available and not so rare. Remington 541 target rifle for one.

[pietro]

.

There's a few things to keep in mind:

1) "Condition" (as compared to new) rules - a firearm that has lost it's original condition will always sell for less than one that hasn't.

2) Basic/utility firearms, after considering "condition", will usually never bring as much appreciation in value as higher grade firearms.

3) A particular brand's reputation, nation-wide, can positively or negatively effect it's price on the re-sale market.

4) The wider the viewing audience that sees whatever's for sale, the better the chance for a greater return - IOW, funshow trade-ins & local sales will usually give the gun owner the lowest return for their dollar. (Why online guns-only auction website bring the best return on your dollar)

5) A seller has only one chance to make a first impression (so many sellers are too lazy to detail/clean whatever they're trying to sell, that it's laughable)


.

[smokeywolf]

IMHO, investing in firearms has similarities to investing in the stock market. Unless your knowledge is broad and current, don't invest in cheap guns or "penny stocks". Put your money into firearms with proven collector value or in the case of the stock market, "blue chip stocks".

[Shiloh]

If you bought a firearm at a fair price and kept it in good condition, you will get a fair return. Those who bought AR's at inflated prices after the massacres, won't fair very well at all. There are base model finished rifles available for less than $550.
Better rifles with better components, more money.

Shiloh

[RogerDat]

I would say all spot on.
Buy for pleasure or utility but don't expect a Ford Escort to hold value the way a similar aged Lincoln will.

If it was rode hard and put up wet and shows it that reduces value.

Market for highly customized items or specialty items is smaller, so prices will tend lower. Yours won't sell for full price as long as others are willing to take a loss. Also a lot of the custom market wants it to be custom "their way" not yours.

Utility and known quality are going to hold value with proper care. Like a Ford F-150 pickup, used in good condition it prices against what a new truck of similar capability costs. They depreciate but have a floor. A Mossberg 500 12 gauge used is worth less than new, but if you hold it long enough new price rises $100 and that pulls your used price up too.

For crying out loud pay attention to that bit about cleaning and detailing! I once had a muzzle loader in my hands it was one of those utility Thompson hunters, price was good, body fair, looked down the barrel and it was fuzzy with fine rust. Seller said it was all surface rust and would clean up easy, I said no thanks! I figure if it would clean up easy and look good the seller would have done it.

[zymguy]

Ive never bought a gun with the intent of selling it, but if lifes priorites were diffrent a few yrs down the road I like to think i could sell off a few without fiscal loss, adjusted for inflation, as far as my economics could tell.

[GhostHawk]

You can track this to a certain extent. For example, price of a decent Mosin Nagant 3 + years ago was around 150-155. I think if you looked now that number would be closer to 300 or more.

K31's have seemed to have a significant price rise in the same period as people discovered just how good those rifles are and how few really are available.

Myself I have been buying mostly H&R single shot Handi rifles and shotguns. Shotguns were not hard to find in the local pawn shops for 100$. Paid 70$ for a totally sweet like new 20 ga.

Rifles that 2 years ago sold for 210-230$ as a complete stock rifle are now selling at 500$ for a barrel. But they don't make them anymore.

Like any investment, you have to do the due diligence, the homework in advance.
Then decide on a case by case basis if it is truly worth it.

On the flip side, a Win 94 built in 1944 in .30-30 is in theory worth in the condition it is in between 1200 and 1400$.

But take it into a gun store and you are not going to get offered more than 1/4 of that.
Just is not going to happen.

To get that out of it you have to find the customer who is looking for that exact thing who has the money and who is willing to pay it. That often takes time, perhaps a year or 2.

[RogerDat]

Well around 20 years ago I bought an Enfield, think I paid around $85 and it has gone up since then, on the other hand I bought an SKS during the Clinton administration and I doubt it has doubled in price but those are as common as cockroaches, the Ruger Mini-14 has gone up a fair amount since those early models.

[dragon813gt]

To many variables. Once production for a model ceases it's value is likely to go up. But this can take a long time. What's likely to happen is more consolidation in the industry. So you will have the Marlin situation all over. Pre Remington made Marlins became more valuable because of the acquisition. Military surplus firearms usually go up in value when the supply runs out. But no one may want them when the ammo runs out as well.

They are always as good as cash in hand. It's just a matter of how much cash is going to be handed to you. A direct sale to a dealer is like trading in a car. You'll get more money through a private sale.

[Jack Stanley]

I would say you are correct . Provided you are will to wait to find that right buyer . Watch just about any gun show and the guys that bring the same gun for years trying to get the premium markup .

The flip side is at the same show you see a guy with a rifle priced twenty percent below everything else and buyers are suspicious or want to beat them down another thirty percent .

For me I've learned to buy them and enjoy them because the "investing" part has never worked out that well .

Jack

[rintinglen]

Only GOOD guns keep their value. There are literally thousands of "commemorative" guns out there that aren't worth what they cost when new. Condition, age rarity and name recognition will add to the price, but a Remington model 30 in 30-06 purchased new in 1938 will not be worth what it cost, once allowing for inflation. The same money spent on a Winchester Model 53 would pay a decent return. A colt SAA bought at the same time would be worth many times what you paid for it.

[Sur-shot]

If you want to buy and sell or buy and collect, you need to know about buying and selling first. You only make money when you buy, never when you sell. Then you need to know what you are buying, if you do not know about something, walk away. When you buy anything, only buy the very best you can find, unless you are just buying a shooter. Then, you must know your market. Do not buy a rife in shotgun territory and expect that rifle to sell like hot cakes.
Ed

[salpal48]

I also never Purchased a Gun with the Intent Of selling. and It Depends On what it Is.. If you go by the Books . They always Go up 20% but since there selling Books . No one would Buy them If they did Not. But in the real world., There only worth what someone Will pay you and the condition. New shooters Only want Black rifles. anything with wood is NG. I have No Black Guns. Antiques have a Flux market. There was a Time Certain Antiques Got Big Money nows It's a Buyer market. with the Money situation. Investing will be a Looser soon

[HATCH]

It all depends on what you purchase and the condition you kept the firearm in.

I bought a pile of N frame smith and Wesson revolvers over the years.
They have gone way up in price

[salpal48]

Going Up in Price and Finding a receptive Buyer Have no relationship to each other

[John Boy]

All pre 1900 firearms has appreciated nicely in value. So have the Uberti and Pedersoli rifles