People have lost their minds!! Or have they?

[Targa]

In my desperate attempt to find a Bisley .454 I have been surfing the internet a bit. I have been looking at GunsAmerica and Armslist and noticed sellers with this caption..."Like new in box", now mind you that the firearms these people are trying to sell "Like new in box" are anywhere between $25 and up to $100 more than the same firearm that is actually new in box.
Now of course this isn't new but I can't help but to wonder how they are able to continue and do it. Are there enough buyers out there, I won't say stupid but uneducated/to lazy to do a little research and shop around a bit?
Anyway, not really important, just makes me wonder.

[Model12Win]

"To" lazy and uneducated?

[g.willikers]

Not much different than seeing prices at gun shows that exceed gun store prices for the same things.
There's something about auctions and shows that excites folks' impulse buying.
And the sellers know this.

"To" is just internet speak for "Too."
It seems that the internet, good grammar and proper spelling are not mutually compatible.
Guess we'll just have to get over it.
Like the old days when phonetic spelling was acceptable.
My old high school English teacher must be rolling in her grave.
Poor ole' girl.

[kilimanjaro]

Then there's 'Unfired by me', 'Mint condition, with trivial wear', and such stuff.

[Targa]

Got me, how about too. Now that we got that out of the way, why do you think people would pay such premiums when it isn't necessary.

[g.willikers]

Yeah, just pretend we're dealing with a foreign language.

[Targa]

Yeh G. Willikers, thats about all I can come up with as well. A bit of impulse buying.

[BobCat45]

A friend who is into cars as much as guns recently told me he sees used cars (recent models, not ancient) priced above new car prices on the dealer lots.

One explanation I can imagine is that if folks feel like they can't afford a "new" one, and assume a "used" one must be priced lower, they don't comparison shop.

Another is that the gun shops may be sold out of new ones. Regardless of MSRP, if something is unavailable new then used ones may command a premium.

These are crazy times and I'm grateful not to be in the market looking to buy guns right now. And whenever I get to wishing I'd had the foresight to buy guns to sell during the next pinch, I think about ATF and being "in the business" and needing an FFL and then relax about my lack of foresight.

[g.willikers]

Then there's the apples and oranges thing.
There's so many varieties of new guns from the same manufacturer and within the same model, it's hard to keep it all straight.
So, it's easy for a new gun buyer to over pay for an overpriced basic version.
And it's easy to misjudge what seems to be an overpriced one loaded with all the bells and whistles.

[highpower3006]

I especially like the adds where the pictures are out of focus and the seller is touting how great the condition is by saying "pictures tell it all".

[buck460XVR]

Many times folks are not in a hurry to sell something. Or they are not willing to part with something unless they make a good profit on it. Thus, price it high and hope some fool comes along and wants it bad enough. Some folks price things high giving themselves some "wiggle room" for those folks that feel the need to haggle over price. Even if they still pay over the market value, they feel they got a deal cause the seller knocked $20 off the asking price.

[Targa]

Good responses, they all make sense. In the end, to each his own I reckon, I have always been so tight when it came to shopping around that I often drive friends and family nuts. It is a bit tough for me to wrap my brain around impulse buying, at least for higher dollar items.

[Deaf Smith]

Targa,

Keep in mind the thing P.T. Barnum said about what was born every minute.

Deaf

[HistoryJunky]

I always price a private sale 50 dollars more than I expect. I haven't had a single transaction where the buyer didn't try to talk me down that much or more.

And that is at a fair asking price. I don't mind cutting a small break in price, but I don't want to be ripped off either.

[JohnKSa]

...now mind you that the firearms these people are trying to sell "Like new in box" are anywhere between $25 and up to $100 more than the same firearm that is actually new in box.

Probably one or more of the following things going on there.

1. Some buyers will pay more for a private transfer that doesn't involve paperwork. Some sellers know that.

2. Some sellers think it makes sense for them to recover all the money they spent on the gun. I bought one lightly used gun from an individual and he tried to charge me the entire purchase price of the gun including the sales tax he had paid. I laughed at him and he came down a little.

3. Not all sellers got a good deal on their original purchase. I've got friends who pay full retail for their guns even though I've told them that if they'll call me first I can point them in the direction of a good deal. Someone who pays $750 at High-Priced SportsRUs for a new Glock probably thinks it makes sense to try to sell it 50 rounds later for $675. The guy who bought his last new Glock from an online dealer for $500 plus shipping and transfer will look at that price and think the seller is crazy.

4. Some sellers figure that they'll list the gun high at first and see if it sells. Why not? If it doesn't, they can always come down $50 and try again.

5. Some people are just nuts.

The important thing to remember is that a person's selling price does not diminish you as a person, nor is it any kind of an insult to you personally. The fact that someone wants more for a used gun than your favorite gun seller prices it new doesn't mean that the person thinks you are an idiot nor does it place any sort of obligation on you to inform them that their price is too high.

[laytonj1]

In my desperate attempt to find a Bisley .454 I have been surfing the internet a bit.

There's your answer right there. Folks can't find them locally and are willing to pay more to get one.

I bought a Ruger Alaskan in 454 a few years back when they were hard to find and everybody wanted one. Got it at a gun show for $600, brought it home took pictures and listed it on Gunbroker for $800 and sold it within an hour.

Jim

[walnut1704]

Yes, they have.

During the big ammo/reloading panic I had a guy "Buy it Now" my carbide RCBS 9mm dies on eBay for $130 + shipping...while at the same time MidwayUSA had in stock Redding Pro Series dies for $150. Which is what I bought when I sold the RCBS dies.

Schmuck.

[44 AMP]

Another is that the gun shops may be sold out of new ones. Regardless of MSRP, if something is unavailable new then used ones may command a premium.

In the mid 1970s, S&W .44Mag revolvers were selling used for $400+ One friend of mine paid $450 for a 6" nickel one.

MSRP at the time was $283.50

And, you could get one for that, from the factory, through any dealer. Average estimated wait time was TWO YEARS.
Thank you, Dirty Harry!
(much of the time the used .44Mags came with a box of ammo, with 44 live rounds left in it.)

It's a free market,

If you think the price is too high, don't buy. It's really that simple.

[Pond, James Pond]

I will back what JohnKSa stated as the likely reasons but in doing so I will completely reverse the order.

These days #5 seems to usually be the most plausible reason for a given action, by some margin

[Metalboy]

Hmmm let me see how useless money is. Say # 5......

So money can buy...........

1,---a bed, but not sleep.

2,---food, but no appetite.

3,---house, but not a home.

4,---medicine, but not health.

5,---acquaintance, but not friends.

[JimmyR]

Originally Posted by HistoryJunky

I always price a private sale 50 dollars more than I expect. I haven't had a single transaction where the buyer didn't try to talk me down that much or more.

And that is at a fair asking price. I don't mind cutting a small break in price, but I don't want to be ripped off either.

I do the same thing, and have had the same results. I have even listed items as "firm" and still get folks sending offers.

In the words of Rick Harrison from Pawn Stars "People can ask any price they want. That doesn't mean they'll get it."

[Bob Wright]

One of the advantages of GunBroker, in my case at least, is that I find a gun not found locally. For instance I've paid a fair price for Colt New Frontiers on GunBroker when none were available here in my city.

Sort of the old story:

"You're askin' $400 for that? Why, my gun shop sells them for $300!?

"Why not buy it from him, then?"

"Well, he was out of those."

"Well, when I'm out of those, my price is $300, too."

Bob Wright

[Metalboy]

Nobody but absolutely nobody lost their minds around here for sure.
We are all different. We are soooooooooo different, that not even the identical twins are exactly the same.
Every trade was just right. Some for the seller, and again some for the buyer.

[wizrd]

Like the man said above -- 'It's a free market' - and a lot of deals are made because - 'two fools met' -- one was a fool for asking the price -- and one for paying it. I remeber an auction I was at, several years back - a man bid $250 and was the successful bidder to buy TWO Remington 517's. -- at $ 250 apiece. They were SELLING LOCALLY NEW, at gunstores for $ 112.00 at the time.

[JDBerg]

Like everything else, something is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. I see a lot of people on Internet firearms sites, who are either trying to get back what they paid for a firearm, or turn a big profit, regardless of whether it is new or used. You still have to figure in shipping costs and FFL transfer fees for anything you buy online. And you stand the best chance of getting the best price when you have a local buyer who is buying the firearm for his own use.