Gun buying gone bust?

[Russ5924]

Went gun shopping today went to three guns stores and three pawn shops that sell guns. In five of them I was the only person in there. In one other gun store there was a guy filling out the paper work to buy a gun. In one pawn shop his prices were higher than what you can buy new for. He wanted $629 for a Beretta 92 that was about 80%, found them in a gun store for $599 new:eek::)

[Glocksterr]

i dont think its gone bust. maybe cooled a bit.

the ammo is more of a concern, who wants to buy a gun when you cant get ammo.

hes the thing. you see all the new buyers that are pushing the pile so to speak. well they found they needs LOTS of ammo for their new gun, but they are also finding out you need more than one gun.


:D

[Crosshair]

The ammo buying I think is reaching a peak. I have stopped by several stores in my travels that are not able to sell inventory at prices that 3 months ago were resulting in empty shelves.

People are still going to want to buy, but they are no longer willing to pay the higher shortage induced prices.

[obxned]

Gun sales in our area are still running wild. We do have better supplies of some firearms, but the popular models of pistols and rifles are still very, very scarce. ARs, AKs, and pistols for concealed carry go out as soon as they come in. Even guns like the Ruger Mk III .22 pistols and the 10/22 rifles are usually gone nearly instantly.

Ammo is the biggest problem. I currently have 1 box of .380 in stock. At the price I had to pay, I would have expected the supplier would want to sell me a whole trailer-full, but I was 'allowed' only one box. 9mm, 40S&W, and 45ACP are in very short supply, and .223, .308, and 7.62x39 go in a heartbeat. We go days without any in stock before more arrives.

We are now seeing what may be the start of a feeding frenzy on the magazines which could be subject to a ban.

[Kyo]

pawn shops here are crazy high in prices as well. used glocks for 600 bucks? 1911 taurus for 600 bucks? eh. just stupid prices for used guns

[Funeralfog]

i think people are getting fed up. there was a very little amount of people at the gun show on Friday, who the F wants to pay 60 dollars for .45 colt? morons, that's who

[Gbro]

I bought the last box of .380 (Magtech 95gr $15.00 (50ct))and the last 100 pack of LR primers at the local gun shop. They had a 2 pack of primers limit. stated he didn't want someone to buy him out and then scalp them on the internet.
I am on a list for primers when some come available.

[Kreyzhorse]

From what I've seen, the gun and ammo run is still going strong here in Kentucky.

[Dood_22]

Check out Gunbroker. Prices on AR lowers and LPKs are back down to pre-hysteria levels.

[Drachenstein]

Hey Kreyzhorse, go to knob creek, they have everything except .380. In our area Walmarts they have got .45, .32 and 9mm but have a three box limit. Don't know about the rest as I didn't ask. They also took the hand gun ammo out from behind the glass and put it under the counter:confused: don't know why. Right now we also don't seem to have a shortage of standard LR hunting calibers. I'm wondering if I should get my hunting ammo now before he opening weekend rush, I like to use .308 corelokts and there's still plenty on the shelf.

[SamStafford]

Where I am, prices on guns and ammo are still too much. Also, ammo is still hard to get. There is mostly just 12 ga and 20 ga ammo here with the high price. I hope it gets better. :confused:

[carguychris]

Pawn shop overpricing is often discussed on this forum and elsewhere.

First, the people staffing the shop may not know much about gun values.

Second, many pawn shop customers don't know any better, may not shop anywhere else, and/or may be basing their purchasing decisions on bad secondhand advice or what's trendy. As the saying from high school economics goes, goods are priced as the market will bear; if I ran a pawn shop and I could get 40% over market value for a beater handgun, you bet I'd continue to charge 40% over market value. :)

Third, keep in mind that the markup at a pawn shop is a lot higher than at a gun store. The list price is often 2x what they paid, sometimes 4x-5x. Make a cash offer before jumping to conclusions. I've had pawn shops give me $100+ discounts with a little haggling. Other tricks: if they reject your offer, come back in a couple of weeks and ask again; come back at the end of the month when many shops will be trying to push goods out the door to make their ledger look better; add other goods to the purchase and make an offer for the lot.

[RockyTop]

Make a cash offer before jumping to conclusions. I've had pawn shops give me $100+ discounts with a little haggling. Other tricks: if they reject your offer, come back in a couple of weeks and ask again; come back at the end of the month when many shops will be trying to push goods out the door to make their ledger look better; add other goods to the purchase and make an offer for the lot.

I'll have to try this if I run across something I really like at the local shop here. I've just been turned off by them from just browsing recently. I kind of don't even want to deal with them when they have the exact same box of ammo for $41.95 that Walmart carries for $19.95. Or, when you see used Mossberg's and Maverick's $20-$40 more than Walmart has it for new.

[Chuckusaret]

In my area the local gun shops priced themselves out of the gun sales business. I buy all my guns from on line or from local private citizens. There is not a used Glock on the market that can demand $600.

[Alamocdc]

I've actually seen AR's on both new and used racks for over a week lately, so the frenzy for those seems to be ebbing. However, used (and some new) handguns are still selling like hot cakes. In my favorite haunt the once full display case of used handguns only has had four or five in it for the last month.

And my, "Oh, I'll sleep on it" attitude cost me a W. German Sig P225 marked at $375. I shoulda just bought it... don't need it, just want one. :(

[a7mmnut]

"We can't order anything" is the typical answer in almost every shop here. Oh yeah? I know literally hundreds of gun nuts all over two or three states. They all hear the same things the rest of us do--and NONE of them are buying a thing right now, either! Somebody is telling a lie, or the wave would have been over before now. The same people that ARE NOT trying to be opportunist pigs will be selling the cheapest guns at the gun show this weekend--and plenty of them. I don't listen to any of that BS anymore. I'm buying ammo if I need it, and I know who to go to. It's the same with handguns and semi rifles--racks full of them. The only place I see a waiting line for any period of time now is at the Sheriff's Dept. on CCH permit application days--but that's a really good thing. See you at the show.


-7-

[raftman]

A lot of people who will sell guns will count on potential customers not knowing what a gun is worth. The typical prices and market values aren't as well known to most people. I went to a gun show recently, and one seller was offering up a P3AT for $460, even though I know they can be had for under $300, and in fact, 3 other sellers at the show were in fact offering them for less. Another guy was selling a Mosin Nagant 91/30 (not sniper) for $250, and they can be had for $80. It's kind of stupid at a gun show, because it's really very easy to compare prices, if you don't like a price, just walk 3 tables over, and see what a different seller is asking; but I can imagine outside of gun show settings, many people aren't willing to drive around all over town all day, or outside of their town, just trying to find the best deal and so some poor sap will pay far above market value.

[Wildalaska]

Product availability is still not up to pre Obama levels. I can't sell what I cant get.

WildtheracksaregettingbareAlaska ™

[Rich Miranda]

I have noticed increased availability and slightly lower prices on the items I monitor (Ruger SAs and revolvers).

We're not out of the woods yet, but maybe, just maybe, the river has crested.

[carguychris]

I think it will take a while for all the ammo and handloading supplies to come back, particularly SD ammo and small pistol primers. The supply chain has been emptied. :( I have seen signs of hope, though, such as a Wally World with a fairly healthy supply of .22LR. (PM me if you want to know where it is.) ;)

OTOH I think we're probably past the peak of the handgun buying frenzy. I've written this for several months, but IMHO in a few months we're going to see some pretty nice sales on popular semi-autos. Reasons:

1) Some shops undoubtedly took out loans to stock up on guns like the frenzy will continue unabated. IMHO the market is becoming saturated, so many of those guns will still be sitting in the display case when the loans come due.

2) A couple of gun merchants have told me stories about placing orders for 30 guns in order to get 5. The big brown truck will inevitably bring a box containing the other 25 to some of these shops. :eek:

[Wildalaska]

A couple of gun merchants have told me stories about placing orders for 30 guns in order to get 5. The big brown truck will inevitably bring a box containing the other 25 to some of these shops.

yeah well when Colt drops off 100 6920s and 6940s at our place, guess you guys will be happy;)

WildthemorethecheaperAlaska TM

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Around here all of the gun prices seem to be headed back towards normal; but ammo still hasn't caught up. Part of me thinks that many of the new shooters are target shooters/plinkers and are consuming a lot more ammo than the hunting crowd. I think we are seeing an overall increase in annual ammo consumption and not just a temporary spike (though that is part of it).

[Creature]

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/4369591/2/istockphoto_4369591-flabby-yellow-balloon.jpg

...every balloon goes flat eventually.

[Half-Breed69]

Pawn shop prices here in SW Ga. are sky high. I check around every couple of weeks the prices around here are 10-20% higher than most new weapons cost. Maybe not all but better than 75% of those I looked at were, example I looked at a used plain jane Ruger 10/22 the tag read $299.00 firm, even a savage model 64 which as I understand is not one of the best or most liked 22's that sell new for just over $100.00 were at $175-$185.00 I' also looked a SS-GP100 w-4" barrel used for $670. Absolutley insane.:confused:

[spodwo]

I believe it is going bust - one of my local firearm stores [very huge] sells mostly used items [they buy military surplus from Spain, brazil, usa, etc] Amazing stuff in that store. A lot of collectibale items aslo.

I have noted that they are getting in AR15s now and they have all the bells and whistles on them. I have also noted a large a fair number of motorcycles for sale sitting in front yards....

People need money to eat and you can't eat an AR15 or a Harley...

[Bartholomew Roberts]

As I mentioned in another thread, I just went to the Fort Worth Gun Show after reading this thread - evil black rifles of every kind and color available - ARs, AKs, FALs, H&K, FN, Bullpups, etc.

In addition to many of the ARs being marked down $100 or so, there were also several people walking around trying to sell almost new ARs. Prices were still high though (cheapest AR I saw was someone wanting $899 for a well-used Olympic "GI" carbine).

Suprisingly enough, there was also a good selection of ammo but prices were not just high; but ridiculous.