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Appraisal of a "collection"

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Brian5582

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My grandfather is getting on in life and has 10-12 guns that he isn't interested in nor am I. He is in a position where he needs the money more than the guns and as much as I would like to take them all I can't afford to buy the rest of them after picking out the few that mean the most to me so I am trying to put together a list of what stuff is worth so he doesn't get screwed by one of his "drinking/ card buddies". I know it's not a million dollar collection and there isn't really anything rare. Mostly typical hunting rifles and such always well used but never abused and always care for properly but show handling marks. I have a list of the guns with serial numbers and a few pics. I am not sure where to go from there. I can make guesses by Googling and such but that is something that could take some time. Anyone know of someone that could give a look at them or something for a small fee or something. Just looking for some advice on where to go from here. He also has a WW1 helmet, and Civil War? sword and bayonet. Unfortunately someone (presumably my great grandfather) messed with the sword by scraping some paint off the scabbard or by painting then trying to scrape it off. I don't know how they came. The blade looks good, it looks to have been used but the grip wrapping is dried out.

Thanks for any advice from me and my Army veteran grandfather.
 
One thing you can do that will not cost you anything is post the pictures on here.Most of the guys could give you an idea on how much you can sell them for,and you know you will get some offers from here.
 
Consignment at a LGS may make the most sense. Or call around to some of the local FFLs - someone may buy some or all of them in bulk for inventory. Might not make as much that way but he'd get the money now and not coming in dribs and drabs as things eventually sell on consignment (?).

Good luck. Please thank your grandfather for his service. They truly were the Greatest Generation.
 
go to gunbroker.com and see what they have sold for not necessarily what people are asking for them.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far, I don't think I will have a problem getting rid of them. He knows a lot of people that are interested I just need to get some numbers to start with. I would rather not consign them as he truly needs every cent he can get. I don't think that it will be a problem anyway I am just looking for somewhere to start so he doesn't get screwed and end up selling for a 30 rack of Bud Light and $100 or something like that. I have explained to him that his "buddies" aren't necessarily looking to help him that they are trying to help themselves. Unfortunately the "plan" went to hell when my grandmother got sick and passed before him leaving him pretty well screwed with a lot of debt. Trying to help him clean out his house so he can sell it. At least he owns that and it will be what he needs for the rest of his life but for now things are tight. I will try to get some pics up though they will be cell phone pics. I am sure I could eventually get a pretty good idea what they are worth just between my life, work, wife, son, house, cleaning out his house (where they were for almost 60 years) and now he is also living in a inlaw apartment at our house I have my plate full so spending an hour plus trying to look up each gun isn't something I have time for right now.
 
Definitely go to gunbroker, armslist, and other auction sites and see what similar guns have sold for. People can ask anything. what they actually sell for is a better gauge of their values.
 
If you're trying to get the most $, go on Gunbroker (as noted above) and see what similar items SOLD for.

A LGS will give you ~50% of the real value, as they have to make a profit.

A LGS will hit you for a percentage of the sale, as they have to make a profit.

Take some good, clear pix, and get the info (maker, model, chambering, any obvious issues) and post them in the classifieds.

As for spending up an hour, looking up each gun, that hour may make a biggish difference.

Your problem is that you want to max out the $, but do it quick.
 
Let's see em'.

Why not let the people here on NES give you a hand. I'm sure there're people you trust on this board and even people you don't know will give you an honest opinion. I would much rather trust the opinions of 50,000 people than a couple of LGS.
 
radioman said:
Let's see em'.

Why not let the people here on NES give you a hand. I'm sure there're people you trust on this board and even people you don't know will give you an honest opinion. I would much rather trust the opinions of 50,000 people than a couple of LGS.
Click to expand...

+1 show those babies
 
We had a similar situation with some guns that my father-in-law owned. He needed the cash as soon as possible so we had to liquidate under less than optimal circumstances. We posted the firearms on Gunbroker with a reasonable opening bid price (which we determined by looking up prices from the Blue Book as well as sales on Gunbroker), and any guns that did not sell within 30 days we sold to the LGS at 50% of Blue Book value. The LGS was nice enough to do all the transfers of the guns we sold at no charge so there was a little give and take. It worked out okay, my father in law got about 75% of what he could have gotten had he not been pressed for cash. Good luck, and please thank your father for his service to our country.
 
Thanks guys I will try to find time to post some pics. I have looked around on some different auction sites and stuff but most of the stuff is older so trying to find recent auctions is tough also some stuff a year or two of manufactur either direction can make big difference so it's just a lot of time that I don't have right now. Unfortunately he is starting to loose his memory and such and has no computer experience so is little help.

He does have a "preban" Glock 17 so that should be worth a couple grand in MA right??? Lol yes I am joking
 
If you want to borrow my 'book of gun values' from 2015 it can give you a baseline for most of his collection. It's kinda like a Kelley Blue Book, but for guns. Some stuff is underpriced in the book, by if you end up going the Gunbroker route, it'll give you a price point to set your reserve and let the market decide from there.

i think I speak for a lot of us here and when I say that we love guns! you'll get the most accurate estimates by posting pictures here...and probably some offers too.

Just don't drag this out like that donkey last year that kept the C&R community at each other's throats for weeks when he just ended up taking everything to a LGS that charged more than they were worth. We're here to help...help us help you :D

now sell us some guns!

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and I'm in Worcester on the millbury line during the day at work, so if you wanna borrow the book let me know and I'll bring it in with me.
 
Dakar652 said:
If you want to borrow my 'book of gun values' from 2015 it can give you a baseline for most of his collection. It's kinda like a Kelley Blue Book, but for guns. Some stuff is underpriced in the book, by if you end up going the Gunbroker route, it'll give you a price point to set your reserve and let the market decide from there.

i think I speak for a lot of us here and when I say that we love guns! you'll get the most accurate estimates by posting pictures here...and probably some offers too.

Just don't drag this out like that donkey last year that kept the C&R community at each other's throats for weeks when he just ended up taking everything to a LGS that charged more than they were worth. We're here to help...help us help you :D

now sell us some guns!

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and I'm in Worcester on the millbury line during the day at work, so if you wanna borrow the book let me know and I'll bring it in with me.
Click to expand...

I was going to make the same offer. I'm just over the RI border so if one of these works let us know.

If you are willing to ship and all that you could list them on some other message boards depending on what they are. I think most common hunting rifles don't fetch too much these days.
 
I have a subscription to "Blue Book of Gun Values". It gives reasonable current and historic data on gun values with data points typically for 60,70,80,90,95,98,100% condition. When combined with gunbroker sold value you can pretty well bracket the value of any gun you have.

POST PICTURES
 
This is why gun owners without an heir for the weaponry should have a succession plan. Non-shooting family members will be ill equipped to know how to effectively liquidate a collection.

I have told the attorney who is drafting my will to include "All guns to my friends in such allocation as determined by the executor of my estate". If the intent is to give them away, it is best to bequest them rather than have the executor give them away as bequest is not subject to the 4/year limit without an FFL, and persons in other states can take possession without involving an FFL. My wife has a list of who gets what.
 
I will post pics when I get to a computer. I will try to do it tonight but I am pretty slow when it comes to computers so it's going to take me a bit of time to get it all typed up and pictures uploaded. I am taking a couple handguns one was my fathers, one is a WW2 bring back and his favorite hunting rifle. Everything else is being sold. There is no one else in the family that is interested, mostly because there aren't many of us left. Most of what is there is long guns I think there are 2 handguns to sell and I was trying to get him to hang onto a mint blued mod 19.
 

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