Help with rifle worth?

[4719dave]

400. on the cheap for both ..... its nice to see someone that care ...

[buckwheatpaul]

Go to GUN BROKER .... see what they are going for.... remember the on that site guns ofter go for 10% retail....then let your heart be you guide.....

[eljefe]

I would not feel at all bad paying what you did. It is hard to give a value on rifles that you (we) haven't seen. Some of the prices I have seen thrown out on this thread are a bit high. I am a gun dealer, and I have sold numerous bolt action remingtons, as well as other guns.
Blue Book says they are worth more, but not much. You also have to take into account that gun values are normally quoted as retail.
That means higher. If this woman had sentimental attachment, she would not have sold them in the first place. If she set the price, and you paid it, you did not cheat her.

[Heavy lead]

If it were me I'd give her 750 for the lot and sleep.soundly

[fouronesix]

750 sounds about right for both and would be fair price.
The 700 ADL is a most basic shooter with not much collector value. The 721, in good or better condition, is both a shooter and is currently on the cusp as becoming a collector, so it's value is higher and rising.

[fatelk]

I bought a nice old 721 '06 for under $200 a couple years ago. I had to replace the seriously damaged stock, and it didn't have a scope, and I think it was still a bargain.

I have seen used Rem 700s around here after hunting season, in the $300 range. Maybe prices have gone up a lot in the last couple years though. I'm behind the times if any and all of them are worth $400 minimum, but that's entirely possible. The last 700 ADL I bought was $299 on sale brand new at Bi-Mart, but dang, I guess that was nearly a decade ago.

What I've done a couple times in the past when buying something from a friend who sets the price too low, is split the difference. That way they get more than they were expecting and it's still worth it to me. I once made the mistake of telling a friend I couldn't buy the S&W 29 Mountain Gun he wanted to sell me, because it was worth more than I could afford. I found out a couple days later that he sold it to a shop for half of what it was worth. I could have paid more than that and still got a bargain!

One acquaintance brought me a couple old rusty rifles left over from settling an estate. Nobody in the family wanted them, and the gun shops he took them to offered him $50 for the pair, so he offered them to me for $50. I was glad to get them and offered him more. Nope, he was glad to pass them on to me instead of a gun shop. An early Rem model 12A, and a WWII Mosin Nagant - a bit of stock repair, then steel wool and WD40 on the rust, and they are both perfectly good rifles.

How did she come up with the asking price of $200? Possibly that's what she was offered at a gun shop? Personally if it were me, and it isn't some little old widow that lives on a fixed income, I wouldn't feel any ethical need to make it right and go back to pay full retail price when she didn't ask it and doesn't expect it.

Going back, explaining to her that they are worth more than you paid, and offering to split the difference and give her a little more would probably make her day, and still be a great deal for you.

[Love Life]

I would not feel at all bad paying what you did. It is hard to give a value on rifles that you (we) haven't seen. Some of the prices I have seen thrown out on this thread are a bit high. I am a gun dealer, and I have sold numerous bolt action remingtons, as well as other guns.
Blue Book says they are worth more, but not much. You also have to take into account that gun values are normally quoted as retail.
That means higher. If this woman had sentimental attachment, she would not have sold them in the first place. If she set the price, and you paid it, you did not cheat her.

Are you the gun dealer who offers 30% of what a firearm is worth, and week later you have it on your shop wall for 10% less than full retail? I find the value you put on a firearm as not applicable to this thread.

The real value on a Remington 700 of ay flavor is at a minimum $300. That is a bare minimum. The market, and sold records from numerous sites, supports this.

[Adam10mm]

As an FFL, I would retail those as used guns .243 Win for $375 and the 30-06 with scope for $425.

You got them for $200 each, I say clear your conscience with cash or make up the difference in favors to the family. Or a combo. My opinion is you got $800 worth of guns.

[eljefe]

Way to assume, Love Life. You know what they say about ASSUME, right?

My point was that no one here, other than the original poster has seen these rifles.
If you feel so strongly, why don't you offer to have him ship them to you for your
estimated value, sight unseen.

This place is getting more highroad like every day...

[Starvnhuntr]

I personally would have paid the agreed price. walked away with a smile and a hand shake and went home and asked my wife which of our sons to give each of the rifles. christmas shopping done.

[fatelk]

This thread is interesting, dealing with issues like ethics, money, and value. I know my following rambling comments about ethics and such will be thread drift to some degree, but it seems like the thread has pretty much run it's course:

First, I do admire the OP's desire to do the right thing, and am impressed that there are so many others here that seem to feel the same way.

The OP said that he felt sentimental about the rifles having belonged to the seller's grandfather, and therefore felt he should have paid a more fair price. The knowledgeable replies have given a pretty good estimate of a fair "full retail value". I guess since that's what he asked for, what he should do from there is up to him.

That said, there is a lot of information not here:

Is the grandfather alive, with the granddaughter giving him the money? Or is she just a "leftist urban princess" dumping some of grandpa's old junk she inherited, so she can spend the money on another pair of shoes?

Does the OP have the means to pay full retail value, and would he have bought them for full retail otherwise, say from a shop?

Does the OP have a solid ethical reason to go back and shell out full retail? Or perhaps just emotional memories of his own grandfather making him feel an irrational need to give more money to a spoiled princess? (Not necessarily directed at the OP, and no offense intended)

I guess one just has to let their own ethics be their guide. I don't really see a big ethical problem, myself, with paying the asking price and going your way. My own personal ethics dictate that I would let them know that that's a low price and they are worth more, but I can't afford to pay a lot more. Typically people will smile and say thank you, and sell anyhow. Splitting the difference or even giving them a couple extra 20s is going the extra mile most of the time, and in my experience is always greatly appreciated.

I bought a nice Uberti .45 Colt revolver a couple years ago, for $175 from a dealer at a gun show. I thought the price seemed really low, so I asked him if the tag was correct on that one, seemed low. I wanted to let him know if it was a mistake - I have no intention of ripping someone off even if it's their mistake. He glanced at it, grumbled something like "of course it's right" in a way that said "don't question my prices". I said "OK I'll take it". Halfway through the paperwork he realized it was a mistake and should have been more, but stuck to his price anyhow and completed the sale.

On the other hand I used to watch a former employer pay rip-off prices to people after he beat them down on price. He laughed all the way to the bank, but I sure did not admire his business ethics. To each their own I guess. We all have to make our own decisions.

[opos]

If you go to Gunbroker be sure to look at the "completed" items and not the "for sale " items...Often the "completed items" are a good indicator of not only the price but actually how much demand there is because "completed" does not meant sold..just that the run for the ad is over...folks can ask anything they want but the selling prices are what matters. I'd think give her some extra money and forget trying to find something special...if you gave my wife some venison she'd hand you your hat..she is a no kill person...we have different hobbies and I don't bring game home.

[TXGunNut]

The value of an item is determined when a buyer and seller agree on a price. Seller or seller's relative may have wanted OP to have the guns and set a token price. A dealer may indeed have offered those amounts and it may have been a lowball, maybe not. Guess we'll never know. Someday the OP may get a chance to do the seller a favor and I suspect he'll do it gladly.