How to plan a controlled sell off?

[StuBach]

In my neck of the woods there are gun dealers that only travel the shows and buy firearms from those of us no longer able to use for whatever reason and because they are using as an excuse to do something in retirement they will generally offer decent prices.

I had a buddy who did this for years, actually how we met, till he passed a few years back and he would always offered fair prices to widows cause he was in it to support his addiction not to make a ton. Not saying he didn’t turn a profit but he wasn’t growing rich on the deal either once you factored his costs of travel and what not.

If you have someone in your life who can assist, maybe send them to local gun show and scope out the booths. Look for the retired looking gentleman (or gentlewoman) with the classic firearms on the table and little to no “plastic plastic guns” and see if they’ll work with you.

Still do your research on a couple of key firearms on the collection and have him come out and see what he offers. If he offers a reasonable price (you determine what the convenience discount is worth) than you can do business with them.

Also agree on partnering with a friend if possible to help in case of unforeseen circumstances. I have a couple of friends who have agreed to assist my wife with breaking down and safely storing my collection for my heirs for when they come of age (oldest is 3 currently).

[dverna]

When I downsized, it was much easier to list my weapons on Gunbroker. I was very pleased with my results but I did not have a huge number of guns...maybe 15 or so. I plan on selling more and will use them again. I used the Blue Book of Gun Values and sold listing data to determine my price.

I had a lot of commercial cast bullets I also sold (10-15k) and used a forum specific to the type of competition they were used for. You can try listing bullets here as well but I was not as successful...YMMV.

This would be a good site for selling casing equipment...obviously. Look at getting about 2/3 of new price.

Stuff like Dillon progressives will net about 3/4 or more of new price.

What you paid is of no consequence. Value is determined by the market.

Sorry to hear about your situation but you are doing the right thing. Many people do not. One other suggestion. One of my friends asked me to help his wife sell his stuff if he passes. I agreed and it is in his will. If there is someone you trust, that will protect your family.

[flagman1776]

Thankyou for the tips and information. I don't have family near me. I have a couple of older friends. I managed to get the wife into the first safe so she can retrieve items. I have records of makes/models but few pictures.
Ordinary or recent guns can just be consigned locally valued based of the purchase price. Guns which have appreciated since purchase (late 1970s-80s) will need valuing.
The only gun that's a true collectible is a military marked S&W M56. I'm active on Smith-Wesson forum who advised me to get that gun authenticated before listing it.

[Kraschenbirn]

I'm watching this thread pretty close as I recently turned 75 and, in the past few months, with a couple safes full of guns that except for wipe-downs haven't seen the light of days in years, I've begun to think along the same lines. What I've found so far is that there's only one of the 'brick & mortar' FFLs in this area that I'd even consider dealing with...and he works only on consignment rather than buying guns outright. The issue, here in Illinois has been made worse by recent legislation requiring (very expensive!!) state licensing of FFLs...less than half of the FFLs active in 2019 had applied for state licenses when the law went into effect.

I've bought and sold through Gunbroker a few times without any real problems but by the time you figure in shipping and FFL fees at both ends of the transaction it's not as inexpensive (or profitable) as it might appear at first glance. Also, in my case, a sell-off of all my 'excess'....guns I no longer shoot or feel a need for...I could run afoul of the ATFE for selling that many pieces in a relatively short time without an FFL.

On the other hand, I'm not that far from a fairly large auction house that holds quarterly consignment sales of guns and related equipment...usually 800-1000 guns on the block...which (literally!) draw buyers from all across the U.S. (I once watched two dealers from southern California spend over $200K, in less than 20 minutes, cherry-picking a consigned collection of high-end European doubles.) The guys there know their business and, usually, manage to pull close to top dollar...and, handle all the paperwork. Will probably go that route when I decide that it's really time.

Bill

[MT Gianni]

A trusted friend SHOULD do so for free. Just my opinion.

Yes but you are talking 3 consecutive 14+ hour days. I would offer my child or brother something.

[Shawlerbrook]

I will be selling off some handguns I have bought and never used. Some are very collectible and I plan on going with a semi- local auction house that specializes in guns and militaria. The buyer pays the premium and they publicize it statewide and online.

[30calflash]

Lot of good info posted here.

GB listings with bids can give you a fair idea on actual worth, at that time and moment. It's national so a lot of regions are involved.

Locally you can go consignment at your LGS, rates vary but if you tell them I want to sell x number and we'll start with 3 or 5, maybe they would do a better deal for you. FWIW locals are getting 15 -20% on consignments.

If the consignment % is as such you can discount them that much for private sales. Again, certain things seem to get more$ in certain areas. And less in certain areas also.

The larger auctions are good as there is a large buying block involved. Some will catalog items w pics which make a difference. IIRC they work on 20% or thereabouts for fees.

Posting items here good, no fees and you have a fair number of folks on the WTS section every time I check in.

[JRD]

Flagman,
I feel for you and have some recent experience. In one case, I helped an older friend from my gun club inventory his collection and estimate values. He needed to liquidate in preparation for moving into assisted living due to his health. My estimate for his collection of 130+ guns was within a couple thousand dollars of what a dealer came in an appraised it for. He chose to consign all his guns with the dealer because he was pressed for time.

In the second case, one of my dad's close friends passed suddenly leaving his wife with a house full of guns and everything related. His widow didn't want strangers coming to her house so asked my dad and I to handle everything for her. It's been a significant undertaking but we are getting it done and making sure she's treated fairly. In appraising all the guns I've learned a lot of lessons. There are some general truths about used guns and then there are market trends where certain guns may be hot and others have cooled off.

Part of the problem is finding out what guns actually SELL for versus asking prices. Also bear in mind that everyone wants a deal so pricing guns to sell is the way to move them. Also online auction prices are essentially full retail value- what someone who really wants one is willing to pay. From an online auction, you need to subtract out the auction fees and work in administering the auctions from your profit. Maximizing online auction bids also takes knowledge of how to effectively write descriptions and good pictures, and having ample positive feedback as a seller gives bidders confidence.

Some general lessons: Guns still new in box or barely used are what sell for the most money. Well used guns, dirty guns, and customized guns will always sell for less than an unused gun.

I also learned that preparing guns for sale is time consuming. Cleaning dirty guns to make them presentable, checking that safeties work properly, that a gun doesn't have an unsafe trigger job etc. takes time. Also fielding questions from potential buyers, taking pictures, writing detailed descriptions and advertising guns for sale is work. It gave me a new found respect for gun dealers and made me realize why many have a reputation for trying to buy low. Helping a friend is one thing, but I wouldn't want to do it for a living.

It will probably be more satisfying to you if you know to whom your favorite guns are going and that they will be appreciated. If you have trusted friends, maybe start selling things off a couple at a time to people you know. If you have the time this could be an option and you'd get some social interaction from it that you may enjoy.

Flagman, I'm in your state so if you want to talk via PM I may be able to give you additional advice. It's the smallest state so there's a chance we have some common acquaintances. Good luck.

Jason

[Geezer in NH]

In New England you have Amoskeag Auctions and JC Devine. I would call and talk with both.

You need help to the gunroom selling online yourself won't be good.

[Baja_Traveler]

That's how I ended up with my Colt 44 special peacemaker - gentleman couldn't shoot or get around well anymore, so his wife drove him to our monthly matches and laid everything out on a table and they sat and enjoyed the company. He had everything sold in a matter of months to people he knew would appreciate what he had, and offer a fair price...

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

From everything the OP stated, my advice is to start researching local auction houses.
Let them do all the work, because selling guns is a lot more work than buying them.

[David2011]

Something to think about IMO is setting minimum bids. On Fleabay I’ve seen items get no bidding if the minimum bid is close to the item’s value. I bought a Dillon 650 and accessories for the minimum bid about 15 years ago. The minimum was right at fair market value so it got no attention. I waited until the last day and was the only bidder. OTOH, items with low starting bids seem to go for higher prices as bidding fever sets in.

[JimB..]

Sorry that you have to go through this. I’ve bought a couple estates to help widows out, and it was sometimes interesting, but if I tried to make a business from it I know that I’d starve.

I wonder if you couldn’t hire someone to help inventory things. Maybe the 18yo son or daughter of a friend from church could bring things from the gun room to you, you document the info, tie an inventory tag to the item, take a handful of pictures, and then on to the next item. It’ll cost maybe a few hundred dollars, and maybe a few weekends, but then you’ll have a good list.

Could spread it out more, pull 5 items on Monday, maybe your wife can get them out for you. Investigate values for each on Monday, draft ads and take pics on Tuesday, all posted for sale (here, gunbroker, whatever you think) by Wednesday. Just get it down to whatever you can manage, even if you pull one item at a time.

Do spend some time figuring out how to track each sale from posting the ad to collection of the money and delivery. You’ll have buyers that don’t pay and buyers that short pay and all sorts of little things that will cause you to need to untangle the transaction, so get and stay organized.

[flagman1776]

I haven't been impressed with New England based auctions.
I'm not an experienced auction seller but a nationally known high reputation FFL dealer who frequently sells on GB tells that seller reputation counts. I only know him through the S-W forum. So as an unknown seller, I'd likely encounter cautious buyers, probably not get top bids. I could consign with this dealer (would require shipping to him) or a less well known but local dealer who sells on GB regularly and has good feedback as far as I can see. In either case, the FFL will get their commission.

[MrWolf]

From your sign in date you may not need 30 relevant posts but can't remember what the old rules were. You might do well with auctioning off some here if you can get them to an FFL for those that require it or be able to send directly to the buyer's FFL. There are probably a lot of us who would be interested in buying from a member vs online auction sites. Been burned in the past but have always had luck here. Good luck. If I can help with research and such give a holler.

[flagman1776]

I thought I'd been able to sell in the past but frankly, I've been off the grid for a long while. I thought of myself as a shooter, not a collector but in the end it turned into a collection. In any event, I'm not going to sell the until I can get a better handle on values. Not knowing values resulted in some deals that weren't fair to me. I'm determined to not go there again. I appreciate the offers to help with research.

[Winger Ed.]

I've had good luck selling a few through the local gun store.
Ours charged a 20% commission, but even with that, I got more than I could have sold them for myself.
And there was no muss or fuss about shipping, people coming over, etc.

The dealer will usually know or find out what they're really worth,
and has some incentive to sell them for as much as possible.

[GONRA]

Last year (2019) GONRA (PA resident) used Morphy's to auction off 5 DD's.
Idea was - if I kicked off did NOT want Mrs. GONRA "holding the bag" and having to deal with the (messy) Tender Mercies of the BATF dealing with DD's.....

NOW trying to set it all up to deal with remainder of My Junque Pyle (after Family Cherry Picks and Grandsons get the Class 3 stuff) after "its all ova".
(GONRA sez - ITS HOT DOWN HERE!)

[ol skool]

I'm with the Gunbroker crowd. Let your FFL know you'll be dribbling them out one at a time so he's ready. Maybe she (mine's a lady) can help you with packaging or direct you to someone that can box up the guns for shipping. Follow the advice for checking completed listings and price your opening bid accordingly. Do your own background research and sales. You have time right?

If your at all interested in western folks bidding on your firearms then pay attention to the closing times and time zones. Ending times on weekends in the afternoon or evening seem to hit the 15 minute more rule often, the Tuesday morning 5:00am (west coast) hardly ever do IME. I picked up some deals at 5:00am on Tuesday I never would get on Saturday at 5:00pm Pacific time. Just sayin'.

[lightman]

I'm with the Gunbroker crowd. Let your FFL know you'll be dribbling them out one at a time so he's ready. Maybe she (mine's a lady) can help you with packaging or direct you to someone that can box up the guns for shipping. Follow the advice for checking completed listings and price your opening bid accordingly. Do your own background research and sales. You have time right?

If your at all interested in western folks bidding on your firearms then pay attention to the closing times and time zones. Ending times on weekends in the afternoon or evening seem to hit the 15 minute more rule often, the Tuesday morning 5:00am (west coast) hardly ever do IME. I picked up some deals at 5:00am on Tuesday I never would get on Saturday at 5:00pm Pacific time. Just sayin'.

Thats good advice about the closing times and something that I would not have thought about! Auctions involve using a strategy and it helps to have this kind of advice.

I just sold my match rifle and a shooting buddy with a FFL handled the listing, shipping and paper work for me for a very reasonable fee.