So you want to sell a gun on the forum

[Ole Cowboy]

OK, allow me to help you sell it. I am looking for several guns to buy and have YET to ever buy one off this or any other forum;

1) Take the as sold description of your gun and Google (is your friend) by adding 'for sale': BoatPaddle Mdl 69, 300 Win Mag Stainless Steel 'for sale'. This will bring up hundreds if not thousands of them for sale. Take a look and remember "NIB" means new in box, YOURS IS USED!!!! If the NIB price is $1000 and yours has a set of MagPull Grips its NOT worth $2000. Also suggest you CHECK with the mfg of the weapon...I just got a $75 rebate from the mfg on a gun I bought yesterday. I just contacted someone on a forum on a gun I wanted...no sale: He wanted MSRP telling me it was as good as new (yea, but it ain't new). When I told him street price was about $200 less NIB and $300 less for used, he never missed a beat and but mine has MagPull grips...(yea and they are $39 bucks)...no sale

NOTE: The FIRST thing I do, is read the description and go a Google to get an idea what they are selling/asking for the gun.

2) Round count: So I drive over to meet and look at near new with only 20 rds down the pipe: GOOD GRIEF MAN, you posted 20 rds, not 20,000! Well I bought it from a guy hangin around in front of a SAXET gun show and he said it was like new and I ONLY put 20 rds thru it! YEA, I have seen more rifling in a 12 ga shotgun and what in the world has it been cleaned with, a coarse steel wire brush on the end of a Black & Decker using a Hersey bar for lube...no sale

3) IF you have modded the weapon in any way state such and exactly what was done to it. I bought a AR from a guy who said he replaced the flash hider and that was all. I took it home but I could not get the barrel clean, seemed like something was in it and they gun was "unfired". The gunsmith called me and said the barrel had been cut down and the flash hider had been installed and it looked like a homemade job as they had not removed the cut metal like they should have. Had I fired it, good chance the end of the barrel would have blown up...the gun by all appearances was brand new, not a scratch on it, I think he home brewed the flash hider, saw what he had done and decided to dump it. I looked at it and saw the 'fuzz' in the barrel, he had never fired it and it just sat around, needed cleaning. I contacted him with a memo from the gunsmith and he said he was sorry, I could have my money back or he would pay to have it rebarreled. I did and he paid for the new barrel and installed.

NOTE: I can look at your gun and get a good idea of the rd count. (FYI: In the old days changing mileage counts on a speedo was easy and you could make a 100,000 mile car a 10,000 mile car very easy. So what do the pros look at? The BRAKE pedal for wear...word to the wise, its NOT just inside the barrel that wears from high rd counts...)

Take Away: Price your gun competitively and YOUR add ons rarely make it worth more $, in fact they often take away from the price and please be as honest as you can on condition and rd count, like new does not have rust, fine walnut stock...also used as a boat paddle will be evident when someone comes to look at it. BE 100% honest in all your dealings!

 

[mitchntx]

LOL ... let us know how goes the fight, Mr. Quixote.

 

[Ole Cowboy]

LOL ... let us know how goes the fight, Mr. Quixote.

Concur and that is why its called: "Rants and Raves", its going no where and a waste of my time writing it...but who knows, maybe some NEWBIE may read and heed...

 

[Moonpie]

I hear ya OC.

Some folks have a vivid imagination as to what they think their firearms are worth.
I just love the stories like "Yep, this here Model 94 RemChesterLin in .turdy-turdy(made in 1965 mind you) was used by my Grannpa to kilt them Apaches at Anzio! The 1/4" of rust gives it "character"! Its worth at LEAST $1700 dollars!
Or the guys who have a $80 Mosin-Nagant rifle with a GENUINE 1918 DRAGOON barrel band made by Stalin's own Mother! It's worth $900 now.
Nope. Sorry. It's still an $80 piece of crap commie weapon.
Or the guy who has a beat to shit Colt pistol with a cracked slide. It's worth $3000! Why is it worth $3000? Because.....because....yuck fou its a COLT!
HAHAHAHA

 

[mitchntx]

but who knows, maybe some NEWBIE may read and heed...

And that's the Quixote part ... to dream the impossible dream ...

My favorite these days are folks (and gun shops) who jumped on the AR panic band-wagon and think I should refund their purchase price.

 

[Glockster69]

If you're not a part of the problem, you're part of the solution.

 

[Leper]

I have never sold a gun for less than I paid for it. Yes it costs more than a new one. If you want a new one, go buy it. Was my nodded ar worth $3000? It sure was, that is what the guy gave me for it. Doesn't matter that I built it for $700 and put 5k rounds through it.

For sale items are worth what someone is willing to pay for them. Not a penny more. I sold pangs for $35 and people were happy to get such a deal.

I would never buy a rifle that I didn't look down the barrel first. Just saying.

 

[breakingcontact]

Ole Cowboy must have not looked at the Facebook gun trader pages or he may not have lived to write this rant.

 

[Saltyag2010]

I don't know how many rounds are through any guns I own anymore. I shoot too damn much. The hammers wear down and AR push pins get smoother and easier to push out as time goes on. Honestly I think guns shoot best after around 1000rds. Slides and triggers break in and get smoother as they get used.
Good luck buying.

 

[Charlie]

If a seller is just honest and open about what he/she has, they can put any price they want on it (not that they will get it).

 

[Ole Cowboy]

I have never sold a gun for less than I paid for it. Yes it costs more than a new one. If you want a new one, go buy it. Was my nodded ar worth $3000? It sure was, that is what the guy gave me for it. Doesn't matter that I built it for $700 and put 5k rounds through it.

For sale items are worth what someone is willing to pay for them. Not a penny more. I sold pangs for $35 and people were happy to get such a deal.

I would never buy a rifle that I didn't look down the barrel first. Just saying.

"There's a sucker born every minute" sometimes known as the greater fool theory,

I know just a little about selling and I did not get to where I am at in life by depending upon suckers and fools to support my company then or now. I once got a call from an IRATE customer who said he was ripped off by my IT company. I went out to see him, one CEO to another. I listened then asked him how much was the total bill, (I knew but wanted him to say it), I think wrote him a check for that amount + $50. He said well your labor rates are high. I said yes and we stand behind our work 100% and they are advertised up front and your company signed the work order, if you are unhappy we will fix it to your satisfaction or pay to have done at another company, so I am giving you a full refund, I want you to be a happy customer...later he sent me a note of apology and did not cash the check.

Yes as I wrote I looked down the barrel and believed him on 'it just needs cleaning'...

I was 49% owner in a gun store for several years, NEVER had a client ever come back and ask for a refund or say it had been ripped off in any way. The gun business like any business has straight up honest dealers and folks that would sell you a gun that would blow up in your face and brag about it. No matter where you go there are scammers and those will tell you anything to make a sale, one can chose to be honest and forthright or chose 'buyer beware' as your outlook...just sayin

 

[Ole Cowboy]

If a seller is just honest and open about what he/she has, they can put any price they want on it (not that they will get it).

Its NOT the price you pay, its the price you pay for what you BELIEVE you bought. Paying for lies and dishonesty is all too often part of the price and in most cases the purchaser has little or no comeback. We have all been ripped off, just goes with life...

 

[AustinN4]

I would not have started a thread for this, but while we are at it.........................

How about sellers also being considerate and properly mark their threads SOLD after the sale is closed? And that means using the thread tools to mark it SOLD in the title. It does not mean simply marking it SOLD in the final post. Most do it correctly, some don't. You know which you are.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

I have never sold a gun for less than I paid for it. Yes it costs more than a new one. If you want a new one, go buy it. Was my nodded ar worth $3000? It sure was, that is what the guy gave me for it. Doesn't matter that I built it for $700 and put 5k rounds through it.

For sale items are worth what someone is willing to pay for them. Not a penny more. I sold pangs for $35 and people were happy to get such a deal.

I would never buy a rifle that I didn't look down the barrel first. Just saying.

Wut?

 

[Charlie]

Aside from marking it closed, the thread originator has the ability to close it also (I think).

 

[Charlie]

Aside from marking it closed, the thread originator has the ability to close it also (I think).

Well, as I look back on some threads I can't find anything that says the originator can close it. Oh well.

 

[TreyG-20]

Wut?

Either Pmags or Poontang. Either way it's pricy.

 

[TreyG-20]

Aside from marking it closed, the thread originator has the ability to close it also (I think).

Well, as I look back on some threads I can't find anything that says the originator can close it. Oh well.

You can close your own threads. I do on everything I have sold here.

 

[Charlie]

There ya' go! Thanks Trey!

 

[AustinN4]

You can close your own threads. I do on everything I have sold here.

TreyG is correct, you can do both. Look thru some of the old listing and you will see some that are both marked sold and are also locked, both done by the OP.

See Thread Rules: http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/guns-sale/52519-mark-your-thread-sold-wtt-wtb-wts.html