Posted: 1/31/2007 6:35:51 AM EDT
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Co-workers father-in-law died. He has a basement full of guns and the co-worker asked me to help put a preliminary value on them. He was a WWII Marine so you have an idea of some of what he had. I've not seen them yet but was given a list. He had a bunch of modern guns which I have a good idea on. The older guns I need help. I have a general knowledge of most of them but I don't collect them. Any collector websites would be appreciated. He has a Luger, a P38, a couple springfield rifles, a Garand, MI Carbine, some old 1911 45s, a couple High Standard 22 automatics, a bunch of Mausers. BTW, they want to auction the whole group off so don't even ask me if they want to sell them. I am just trying to help them out since they trust me. |
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Go to www.gunbroker.com and www.gunsamerica.com and type in gun you want to know the value of in the search box. You can look over what they are going for and determine a value. I have a friend that may be interested in buying the whole lot. He's a gun dealer and would resell them. IM me if you want his contact info. |
A couple of years ago I helped a friend & co-worker ina similar situation. She was the executrix of her uncle's estate, he had an interesting gun collection, and nobody in the family was "into" guns or really knew what to do with them. It wasn't a big priority because, as nice as his small collection was, its value paled in comparison to other collections he had -- coins, pocket-watches, etc., each of which she sold through professional dealers in the respective areas. There were only a couple of dozen firearms (compared to hundreds of watches, many thousands of coins, etc.) so they felt it wasn't worth the cost to put them through a professional auction house or anything. I took all of the firearms, assessed their values, and sold them for the family. They not only let me have first choice of them after family members, they also compensated me for the time and effort (more generously than I asked or expected, in fact). I even sold a few of the items here in EE, and posted pics of all of them IIRC. A long story (sorry), but I recount it only to suggest that you might offer to do the same sort of thing for them if (1) they don't have a "gun guy" in the family and (2) you are interested in doing so (it can be a fair amount of work). |
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I've already checked some of the online auctions. I just wanted some of the collector information so I know what the guns might be worth. Obviously there is a lot of variation based on rarity, maker, model, condition etc. In regards to helping them sell the guns. I have offered to help them sell the guns with no other condition other than to let me have the first crack at some of them for a fair market price. I know they are looking in the blue book for value. I think they are also looking for a second unbiased (as in, not a gun dealer) opinion. |
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The problem with the bluebook is that it doesn't take regional variation into account, it can't price unusual guns that were not cataloged, and it's plain wrong in some instances - too high or too low. In the end, all that doesn't matter if they intend to sell at auction, because the buyers at that auction on that day will set the value. If they want to set reserve prices, they may end up with a bunch of firearms to take home, and they still have to pay the auctioneer. Hold the auction on a weekend to get the best prices, or at a well known auction house, such as Lolli Brothers, for a sale in mid week; more people at the acution almost always means better sale prices. |