Assisting widow with collection sale

[Awf Hand]

I have a question that I was hoping I wouldn't have to be the one to ask.

A good friend and shooting buddy has "left the range".

He left behind a collection of firearms that are undoubtedly worth 10's of thousands of dollars.  There are some opportunistic types out there that will want to offer his widow some money for a few, or maybe many of these so that they can resell them at a profit.  My friend's widow deserves that profit.  He said that he'd like it if they could go to collectors like himself. 

Is there a way for his widow to sell these directly and get best value for each of the guns, or will she have to go through a local dealer?

[DalesCarpentry]

You could list them here in the classified add section of this site. You can take some pictures and sell them for her. That way she gets all the profit. Dale

[jh45gun]

Buy a blue book and price from there. A dealer will get a good cut so no money savings there. If she was my friend I would help her price them. Be fair on the prices so they sell but do not give them away either. If the book says for instance 100 bucks sell it for 90 and say it was priced 10% under book price that way they should sell and do not bargain guns will sell with out haggling if they are nice guns and desirable.

[ncsurveyor]

Buy a blue book and price from there. A dealer will get a good cut so no money savings there. If she was my friend I would help her price them. Be fair on the prices so they sell but do not give them away either. If the book says for instance 100 bucks sell it for 90 and say it was priced 10% under book price that way they should sell and do not bargain guns will sell with out haggling if they are nice guns and desirable.

I agree.

Blue book them, set a minimum & and either auction or sell individually would be the best way to ensure she gets the most out of the collection.

[woodchukhntr]

If you can appraise them, do so.  If not, pay a dealer to do it, giving market value and wholesale value.  This will give you an idea of the actual value.  Then offer them in the GBO classifieds at a price between the 2.  The dealer should be able to tell you what the "gems" are and they might be auctioned off.  Perhaps they could be sold privately or put on consignment at the dealer's shop, or taken to a gun show (check laws and the gun show's policy).

My friend's father "left the range" a while and I was asked to appraise a considerable collection for the family.  The shooting son and I bought a current blue book, and we appraised each gun at market value.  He distributed the collection evenly,  but only the pistol permit holders received the pistols, and everybody got rifles and shotguns.  Well, the pain-in-the-*** brother in-law takes his share down to the local gun shop and comes back screaming that Dan is a thief since the dealer offered him less that the market value that we had put on the guns.

Another local dealer had a friend pass away and, after an appropriate period, visited the widow and offered to appraise the deceased's collection at no charge.  The widow told him that she had always hated the guns and after her husband's death, she and a friend went out in a boat and threw the guns into a lake!  She turned white when the dealer informed her that, the guns that he knew about, not the whole collection, were probably worth at least $40,000.00!

[jh45gun]

Lets face it most dealers are in it for a buck and they will charge for appraisals and they get a good percentage for consignments. To get the most I would not go this route. I also would sell them locally less hassle as selling online you still would have to ship through a dealer unless it was a muzzle loader and again that dealer is going to take a cut. The blue book has pictures to show how to grade and explains it well that would be the book to get. Blue Book of Gun Values . By S. P. Fjestad. IF you can not find one locally for sale you could try the library too though every gun owner should have a copy of this book even a older one the pictures in it on how to grade a gun is great information. Here is a Toll free number where you can order a copy direct from them. 1- 800-877-4867.  8:30 to 5:00 Mon through Fri.

Alf Hand you should have no problems grading and priceing her guns for her using this book as Gun Dealers use it themselves for reference in trading guns I see my local gunshop use it all the time. So why bother with them when you can do the same thing.  The pictures in the book telling you how to grade will help a lot.

Thinking about the library route they may or may not have a new one on hand and that is what I would use the newest issue out.

[gypsyman]

Awf Hand, not sure where you live, but if your close to a big city, check out the local gun show. Sometimes you'll see where gun values will vary some, depending on location. Tell her not to be too eager to sell to any of the dealers there, as they will low ball any price, so they can make a bunch more. But she/you might be able to see what some of the local price's might be. gypsyman

[alsaqr]

The best way to handle it is for the collector to dispose if his collection before "leaving the range."  This year i sold off 26 antique Winchester rifles, most of them in  very good to excellent condition.   Could not get a good appraisal on them by any of the folks who salivated over them.  Got the book and appraised them myself.  Most of my guns went to one well heeled collector who did not quibble over my asking price.   There is no need to worry about my wife getting ripped off when i "leave the range."   

[Awf Hand]

The best way to handle it is for the collector to dispose if his collection before "leaving the range."  This year i sold off 26 antique Winchester rifles, most of them in  very good to excellent condition.   Could not get a good appraisal on them by any of the folks who salivated over them.  Got the book and appraised them myself.  Most of my guns went to one well heeled collector who did not quibble over my asking price.   There is no need to worry about my wife getting ripped off when i "leave the range."   

Which would be wonderful if you could get a note stating "you're going to die on the 13th of November, so get your affairs in order..."   
-He wasn't an old guy.

Has anyone here worked with the national auction houses?  The more I go over his collection in my mind, the more I realize that rare sniper variants he collected could be worth a lot, the civil war stuff even more, and the quantity...oof.  There may be over 100k worth of stuff here.

[rockbilly]

Yes, no one knows when they will be called to meet their maker, so selling off before you die is not an option for me.  I have instructed my wife to obtain a good appraisal, and turn the guns over to a good auctioneer who will auction the guns and follow an established reserve.  I have identified certain guns that I want to be passed on to my son and grandsons so there will be no argument there.  My son is well educated, and knowledgeable of firearms and their value, he will look out for his Mother and assist in selling/auctioning those that are left.