Have you ever traded in a pistol?

[Luckyducker]

    Today I went to the annual gunshow that my range club hosts and took along my           S&W 4506-1 45ACP just in case I found a Ruger SRH in 480Ruger.  I didn't find a 480 but found a couple in 44Mag and one 45Colt, anyway I talked to the dealer that had the two 44's about ordering a 480 and also asked about trading in the Smith.  He was only wanting to give me $300 for it and that is less than 2/3 of what I paid for it a couple years ago.  I have only put less than 200 rounds through this gun and those without a single hiccup.  The only reason I would be willing to trade it is I just don't shoot autos very well.  I don't know how much my pistol is worth on the open market, and I realize the guy has to make money on the deal  but I think he will mark it up a lot higher than a decent profit.  When he told me he'd give me $300 I just said "no you won't" and walked off.  I may have the cash in a couple months to buy the SRH without trading a gun in so I'm not desparate to trade.  I can keep the auto and practise with it and who knows maybe I will get where I can hit a bull in the ass with it eventually.  Is this normal practice for a used trade on a pistol?  I have traded several rifles in and have taken a knock on them but I always thought the deal was somewhat fair but this deal just didn't soak with me.  I would appreciate your thoughts.  Thanks for letting me rant a little.

[Tom W.]

I traded a S&W 22A for a Ruger 22/45 at a gun show once. I took a slight hit, but wanted to get rid of that pistol. I also traded a Weatherby Mk V lightweight synthetic with scope and sling for a Ruger #1, Cost me $50 more dollars, but I'm happy....

[Mikey]

Yeah!  I made the mistake twice.  Once I traded one High Power for another and thought I had been skinned a bit but the pistol I traded for was what I was looking for.  What I learned from that experience is that if you are going to trade a piece with custom parts and extra mags and all that, make sure you pull those parts and return it to stock or put the stock parts back in so you can use them again.  That was a learning experience. 

Another time I purchased a P-08 Luger from a drunk behind a table at a show.  The gun didn't work properly until I fixed it and then it broke by itself and went to selective fire, which was not fun.  6 months later I brought the gun back and fortunately he was still too far gone to remember and he thought he was getting a good trade..................

I will make purchases at gun shows but no longer trade at them.  If I have something I want to trade and see an item at at show that I want, I will put a deposit on the item at the show and barter a trade back at the shop (when the gun show overhead and prices are down.........).  Mikey.

[williamlayton]

I generally concur with Mikey, but from a different angle.
I have several weapons that I have purchased over the years and don't shoot them that often or they are so specific in use that they seldom get used.
I like the weapons. I would loose money if I traded them---I also have done that, then wished I had not--and I would be without them.
I just bite the bullet and count them as gain and not lose, as I still have them.
This would not pertain to a gun that I found lacking in performance or function, however.
I have golf clubs that I have had for years---I just keep them because i can't get for them what I think they are worth too me. As a matter of fact I have, just recently, gone back to an older set that I own and am having fun using them again. But that is golf and not on this subject matter.
Blessings

[rockbilly]

I have spent time on both sides of the table at gun shows, I have also spent time in the car business.  One thing that I found in both places is that the person wishing to trade most often values their property much higher than it's actual worth.  Yesterday while visiting with a friend at a gun show I witnessed a young man come in with a Sako, 22-250 bolt with a Nikon 3x9 scope.  He asked my friend if he were interested in buying the gun, my friend took a look,  then handed it to me since I favor Sakos.  I immediately graded the gun at about 85%, the stock had numerous scratches and dings, there was some bluing wear on the floor plate and trigger guard as well as some slight rust on the end of the barrel.  My friend asked him what he was asking for the gun, the guy popped off, "I know it is worth at least $1200."  I assessed the gun value to be in the neighborhood of 5-6 hundred at most, and that was being liberal.  My friend didn't even make an offer after hearing the response from the guy.  Several hours later I saw him leave the show carrying the gun.

I seen the same thing happen in the car business numerous times.  I remember a guy telling me how good his trade in was trying to jack up the appraisal I had given (offered) on trade, I finally told him, the car you are trying to trade is better than the one you are attempting to buy, since it is so good, why don't you just keep it?  We didn't trade.

The first thing one needs to do if they are anticipating trading, it to examine the gun and do an accurate assessment of the condition and grade it accordingly, then go to a reference (Blue Book of Gun Values) and find an approximate value of the gun.  Keep in mind, just because you paid 5 hundred for the gun two years ago does not necessarily give it a value near that today, it could be worth more, but most often it will be valued at 75 percent or less of the actual purchase value not including the tax/transfer fees.  

[blhof]

Most dealers, even part time gun show dealers know the retail and wholesale prices of most guns like pawn shops and they will never pay more than the min. wholesale value.  I've usually had good luck in pawn shops, by looking up the wholesale price and bargaining from there and setting a max pay price for myself before any haggling and most important; unless you have to have the gun reguardless of cost, be ready to walk away when your preset limit is reached.

[Glanceblamm]

Agreed with blhof on the Retail/Wholesale. Seems like most of the firearms (specially rifles) are priced with a trade in mind and you are going to pay a retail difference while the dealer payed wholesale for both pieces.
Seems like that if you are trading, you get skinned a little. But if you are buying without a trade, you can be skinned a lot...if you let them.

[EdK]

First off the trade in value is relative to what the item is worth - not what someone originally paid for it. Sometimes people just pay too much in the first place.

Secondly the amount a dealer is willing to pay is highly variable. A shop I deal with will pay 70% cash or offer 80% in trade on your item. This figure is relative to what they will retail your item for. I have seen my traded items for sale and the sale price is in fact what they said it would be. I think this is quite fair. On the other hand there is a shop just a few miles down the road (much closer) that I will not deal with: I've seen them offer as little as about 1/3 fair value 

[huntswithdogs]

I've found that the best thing to do is sell your firearm outright to an individual. Same goes with selling a car/truck versus trade value.

Another thing to remember is what my Daddy use to say. "Ain't nothing worth anymore than Somebody's willing to pay for it".


HWD

[Bigbuck]

I've traded some guns to both private individuals and to dealers (only two to dealers).  It's much like trading in your car...you'll always get more on the open / private market than you will from the dealer. 

My advise is to sell it outright to someone (gunshows are good...ads in the paper are better....your buddies in the gun club are the best)

Also...the Blue Book of Gun Values is a pretty decent place to start for gun values.....searches on sites like Gunbroker, Auctionarms or Gunsamerica will also give you an idea as to what people are willing to pay.

[BIG Dog454]

A dealer will buy a gun, maybe a Ruger BH, from a distributor for $350, then has to pay delivery charge, shop overhead and he is up to $400.  He then wants to make a profit $25, and state tax $25 now your up to $450 this is what you paid for the gun.  The blue book on an excellent condition used gun is $325 you want to sell it to a dealer who can sell it for $325, but he wants to make a profit of $25 so he will offer you $300 for a gun that you paid $450 for.  Do the math!  Would you invest your money with the chance that you may have the gun for a year or so and not be able to make a profit.  As a dealer I would only pay 75% of blue book, and that would be for something that I would feel that I could sell at a profit.

[drdougrx]

Yeah...the one that I wish I had back was a SW m60 NY Stakeout model designed by Detective Jim Cerillo and sold through Jon Jovino.  It had a 3" heavy barrel with a 357 length ejector rod, a bobbed hammer, smooth wide trigger, houge rubber grips and a non-reflective finish.  It was really cool.  Don't know why I traded  it.

[jhm]

There are fewer and fewer gun dealers anymore!!  You see the Customer base expect the Gun shop Owner to cut the price, pay the sales tax, throw in a box of ammo, and a holster or rifle case would also be nice to complete the deal, but then they will walk into Wal-marts/ Gander Mtn./ Sportsman W/H / or any of the other Big named sporting goods stores and pay exactly what they are asking + tx. and walk out to the parking lot.  Then get on the internet and complain that their are not enough gunshops in their area.   JIM

[jw83]

I've had good luck selling online as I hardly every buy anything at gun shows anymore. Just seems like I can get a better deal online without having to actually go anywhere.