Do you have a strategy when you trade guns or normally take what the gun store offers?
7 Likes
Search. We’ve discussed this many times already.
5 Likes
I almost never trade in guns because they will offer a small fraction of the actual worth. And it’s actually fair. They have to make a profit to pay for their facilities, employees etc and there is NO telling how long your trade-in firearm will just sit on their shelf.
If I want to cash out a firearm it’s usually to pay for upgrades to my collection. I sell mostly through Gunbroker and locally through Armslist. It has worked well for me for years.
4 Likes
The closest I’ve come to trading a gun was a Beretta 84FS for a Sig Sauer P938 I still carry to this day. I technically didn’t trade because I did a private sale of the Beretta and used the money to buy the Sig. I sold the Beretta because 380 was way out of style at the time. I wish I had not sold it, as it would cost me twice what I sold it for to replace it now.
I once considered trading an FNP 40 because 40 S&W was falling out of favor. A gun store offered me $100. I kept it and I’m glad I did. I don’t carry it any more, but it has been my bedside protection for many years.
What I’m saying is to think carefully about why you are selling. Unless you are making a great profit on it, then you might wish you had kept it, or repurposed it later.
3 Likes
I will only sell to individuals.
I got a brand-new Springfield 1911 Garrison that way. A guy was trying to get money to be able to afford tires for his car. He had never put a round through it and had already upgraded the grip panels. The store was only going to give him $300 for a gun that they would sell for $800. I paid $500 for it. It was worth it. I could have gotten it for $400 with no problem, but sometimes God puts it in your heart to be a little nicer. I saw him about 2 hours later. Turns out it was exactly what he needed to get the tires. We both were happy with the results.
I have multiple items that, if somebody really needs one, I will sell at a reasonable price. If I know you well, it’s a handshake and a thank you. If I don’t know you, then simply show me your carry permit so that I know you are not prohibited.
4 Likes
A gun store offering only 30% of the value of a gun and then selling it for 90% is not a fair deal. They only make about 10% on new guns. Now if they were selling the used gun for only 20% over what they paid, then it would be fair.
The gun club that I’m a member of will list a price on a used firearm that, if I buy it, I’ll usually talk them down about 25% and I know that they are still making a profit from it. There is no need to rip off somebody trying to sell a gun.
2 Likes
Hi Edward, It’s easy for us to think in terms of a business cheating us but I can tell you that I’ve often considered opening a gun store myself and have been involved in the operation of several of them owned by good friends and they are not trying to cheat anyone. It’s a TOUGH business where there is zero room for error. I get to see the actual numbers on both profit and loses and no one is becoming Elon Musk selling guns…
First, taking in used guns CAN be profitable BUT is a VERY tricky proposition since no one wants to pay 90% of the price of a new one for a used one when they buy used. Regardless of what you see as used gun priced on the tag at savvy buyers know that there is room to negotiate and will act accordingly. It is actually a rarity to get anyone to just pay the asking price for a used gun. Most commonly you’re lucky if you get 60-75% what you are asking for the gun. I don’t think I’ve ever paid more that 50-60% of the asking price when buying used and I buy used guns almost exclusively.
Second, you never know how long a trade-in gun will sit on a shelf. A vast majority of folks do not trust used guns because they think they are buying someone else’s problem and they are not educated enough to be able to make a fair mechanical assessment of the gun they are looking at. So a used gun can sell the same afternoon it’s taken in, or it can sit on a shelf for years until you reduce the price to basically just give it away because you already lost your shirt on it.
In the meant time, the gun store has to pay for real estate, utilities, insurances, credit card fees, marketing and advertising, employee salaries and commissions and benefits, and all sorts of business costs that the customer never gets to see or appreciate. ANY gun taking up real estate on a shelf is eating into ALL profits of the store every minute it sits there because it’s an investment (since you paid for it in advance) that has ZERO return on it until it sells. The gun store owner would actually be better off putting his money into a Investment Fund and getting 5-10% on the $300 they gave you for that trade-in than put it into a gun that might sit there for a looooooong time costing them retail space.
And last, most folks have NO real idea what a gun is worth in the retail market. They only see what they paid for it new and then feel like they can go into a gun store and get most of that money back as a trade-in. Try that when you buy a new car and see where that gets you if you want to trade it in. Or go to BestBuy and buy a 85" flat screen and then try to see it yourself on Facebook Marketplace for 90% of what you paid even if it’s still new in the box. Pretty much anything you buy new loses about 30% of its retail value as soon as you walk out the door so that’s what it’s worth used in RETAIL so what you’ll get for it as a trade-in has to be much lower because again, retailer has a lot of costs to cover to give you the convenience of being able to buy and sell under his roof and license!
Some others think they own some rare antique family heirloom because Uncle Joe told them it was a valuable firearm or they did a quick search only on Gunbroker and saw pricing on something that is similar to what they own. That’s not how it works, there are a lot of nuances. especially in collectibles and even a slight change can affect the price, sometimes in the thousands of dollars. And the markets are all different, some guns that bring big money in the Northeast USA are total duds in the Southwest. Your local dealer knows his own market very well and has a pretty good idea of what sells locally, but even that is not fool proof.
And YES, there is next to nothing profit on new guns. that’s why every guns store is full of extraneous stuff like ammo, shirts, holsters, cleaning kits etc. Basically like a gas station, I make almost no money on the gas on the pump until you walk into the store for beef jerky and a Gatorade.
So folks should cut some slack to their local gun stores. They are just guys trying to survive just like the rest of us.
3 Likes
10%, maybe. Making the profits they’re making now on used goods is criminal. I’m much more concerned about my retirement than their boats and $100k pickup trucks.
It’s a free market and your personal priorities and check book balance is the only thing that matters. No one is making you buy anything and they won’t miss your business.
Many others are happy to establish great relationships and work with their local gun stores to make them a successful small business and my personal collection shows it work well.
And if my gun store owner is driving 100k truck and owns a boat that makes me happy and assures me that is is indeed a good and knowledgeable business man. God bless America 
1 Like
Ever notice how everyone who owns a boat is a conservative… and you see the biggest United States flags flying from boats. I guess it’s because you have to work to have one!
3 Likes
Ha!!! I just sold MY boat a few years back because I was moving from the Ocean to the SW, and yes, there are no communists in a Marina 
The day I start looking poorly at those who have worked hard to be successful, I’ll turn in my USA passport and move to China.
2 Likes
BTW that is one thing that has not been mentioned. If you are a firearms enthusiast (gun nut) it REALLY pays to develop a great relationship with a gun store owner (or a few) that you get along with. He’ll treat you like a regular customer a few times in the beginning, but then friendship starts kicking in when he sees you are a regular.
I have gotten many guns at half or less than what the sticker price was because of my gun store owner buddies. Some I have been there when they take them in trade and my buddy will just turn to me when the seller leaves and ask me if I want it and charge me what he just gave the previous owner for the gun. It’s worth it to them to not carry these things in inventory and a quick disposal is cash in their hands ALWAYS wins.
I’ve also done straight trades giving them something they wanted/needed and walking out with something I wanted with no money exchanged. I’ve even gotten plenty of guns as gifts from my gun store owner friends. Some of them for just being there in my spare time and volunteering helping behind the counter when they were busy showing guns and such. No skin off my back and it helps them keep good customer service and reputation.
My buddy hangs in a great gun store in CO where he is one of the regulars and I’ve become a “family” member by association. Whenever something comes through the door that the manager knows I’ll want he calls my buddy who calls me and I always get a deal I can’t refuse and do the whole thing over the phone because we are friends and I trust them. I have invested an easy 5 figures into this gun store alone in the past 4-5 years and gotten some absolutely phenomenal deals in the process.
So do yourself a favor and go visit your local gun store at the times when they are not busy and get to know the folks there, bring a box of donuts and shoot the â– â– â– â– with them, they get bored too and appreciate good company.
The net of it is that when a stranger walks in through the door, they get customer treatment by the book on a business deal. When a friend needs something they get the family plan.
2 Likes
Good pointers above.
I once had a negative experience after purchasing a used rifle from a firearm shop/FFL dealer. It was having problems, ended up selling it back to the store. Since then, unless I am able to thoroughly test fire it before buying, I’m wary and only stick to purchasing brand new. I just cannot trust the quality of used, unless I truly vetted it.
Selling, ain’t got any particular strategy, I found stores pay about the same. Although I never tried it - I thought someone posted that Cabelas/BassPro at one time used to buy used, and paid a little more, maybe call to ask, IDK.
1 Like