Smith 147A

[rlelvis]

I have a Smith 147A, exl 98%, that I am interested in parting with.  I know the value of the gun but wonder where I might find a good market for it.  I have listed it on the S&W forum and GB once but did not get much interest.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

Bob

[Graybeard]

If you've listed it twice in the places mentioned with no interest perhaps you do not know the REAL WORLD VALUE as well as you think you do. Me I have no clue what a S&W 147A even is and haven't enough interest to look it up. Perhaps that too is part of the reason you can't move it. Maybe it's such an odd ball there is just no interest.

Like all things it is worth what an informed buyer is willing to pay an informed seller for it. If you list an item in places you'd normally expect an interest in that item to lay and you get no takers it really does mean you are asking more than the market will bear. I see that in ads on the Classifieds here all the time. Sellers seem to have a very high opinion of their items not shared by potential buyers.

I can think of one rifle that is listed on the GBO classifieds right now that in my opinion is marked several hundred dollars above any realistic value it has. He's actually wanting far more for it used than it lists for new in box. Sorry but there just aren't many such fools around to pay such these days.

But a more direct answer to your question is find a popular auction site and list it there. For some strange reason folks get all wrapped up in the heat of an auction and pay way too much for items all the time. That's why flea bay is such a popular place to sell stuff fools are all the time running the price up way over real world value just to WIN the auction. You might find you can take advantage of that same thing with your S&W.

BTW What the heck is a S&W 147A anyway?

[Keith L]

According to the web it is a Model 59 auto with a steel frame.  Supposedly Smith only made 112 of them, and they are collectable.  There is one now on sale I found for $1,500.  That may be part of the problem.  It needs to go to a collector, not a shooter.  At $1,500 it would be about $1,250 more that I would be willing to pay for it.  I never liked the 59 much anyway.  But to someone who needs one to fill out a collection it may be a bargain.         

[Graybeard]

Iffen that's what it is I sure see the problem alright. The 59 was not particularly well liked by anyone. It is one of the few guns from those days I owned but never shot. I knew shortly after bringing it home I didn't care for it and traded it unfired for something else long since forgotten.

Yup only a dedicated S&W collector would have a reason to want one. Now where ya go about finding such I dunno. I still say put it on an auction site the bigger the better.

[rlelvis]

Greybeard

Yes I fully agree with your analogy of the free market and that the buyer is in the drivers seat.   I should have been more specific in my question and with more detail. 

Basically I do need to find an outlet to reach collectors for a sale anywhere close to book value on this one, even then I may find limited interest and so limited $$$. 

Keith L

You are correct on the info. They were limited in production and are not highly sought after as shooters, only to collectors. I also own a 59 and having handles both there are differences resulting in a the feel of a different gun, in my opinion.

Thanks for the input, looks like it will go back on GB and maybe S&W forum.   I don't want to give it away but there is a spot in my safe for a Ruger No 1 that is calling my name...

Bob

[Keith L]

If the $1,500 price I saw is accurate, you can get a NICE #1 for that.  Good luck to you.

[Graybeard]

Auction Arms and Gun Broker would be places I'd think of trying to sell it. You are of course welcome to try here and ya never know it might sell. We do have some S&W collectors here but mostly their revolvers I think. You would think that the S&W Forum would have the most serious collectors there but you just never know where you might find a person with an interest in such. I never even heard of it until this post but then I've never much cared for S&W's semiauto centerfires only their rimfire semi and their revolvers.

If fleabay hadn't dumped firearms sales that would definitely have been the place to move it.

You might contact Roy Jinks and see if he has any suggestions about where to find a buyer for it. He might know someone whom he could put you in touch with who'd want such a piece.