About selling a gun collection

Busmann · March 14, 2013, 10:20 AM

Hello all,

I'm new, just registered member here from Finland Europe.

I have decided to put my fathers gun collection up for sale, mainly targeting this sale to US. This is due to bad situation in gun law in countries across the whole European Union. Like in Great Britain where my father used to buy often, it is today legal to own only deactivated handguns.
In my country, it is practically impossible to have new gun license for anything else than probably shotguns or rifles for hunting.

I would appreciate if somebody could advice any good places, in Internet or maybe somewhere else, where to list my firearms.
I would not mind of any direct interest neither.

I have quite few Smith and Wesson commemorative models, including Elmer Keith 29-3 .44 magnum with low serial# and factory ivory grips.
Plus some other S&W revolvers and pistols and a Webley revolver collection of about 30 pieces.

Regards,

./Busmann
Helsinki Finland

southjk · March 14, 2013, 11:35 AM

You could have good luck selling them on the auction site gunbroker.com. You could also try listing there here on the classified section.

Sounds like you have a great collection, sorry you have to sell them.

jag2 · March 14, 2013, 12:08 PM

From things I've read in the past, its not that easy to import guns into the US if that is your goal. It can be done but not all FFLs will be familiar with the process and may not want to do it. That would be the problem using Gunbroker, each gun would have to be brought in individually. That could be a problem for the buyer trying to find an FFL to handle it. I think my first choice would be to find an auction house that will import the entire lot and sell them for you. If you want to go the Gunbroker route I would go to their list of FFLs and make contact with them to try and establish a network across the US that agree to help out. May take a while to figure out the best way to do it but the US is probably your best market.

Doyle · March 14, 2013, 01:23 PM

What Jag2 said is true, but probably not stated forcefully enough. Import laws for guns are a royal pain in the ass. Nobody is going to want to go through the pain for an individual gun unless it is a pretty high-dollar item. If you really do have a large collection and you want to sell it in the US, you'll be better off trying to sell the entire collection to a dealer who specializes in importation.

BigJimP · March 14, 2013, 01:27 PM

Once you physically get them into the US...it'll probably be pretty easy to get them sold thru a local dealer on consignment, or maybe thru an online like gunbroker....

.....but you're going to need to get them in the US first.

Noone, in my view, is going to pay extra for the international shipping, customs fees, etc....vs another model 29-3 that is readily available in the US already.

bedbugbilly · March 15, 2013, 12:32 PM

I dosposed a good portion of my collection over the past several years - it was time for me to "downsize". I decided to do it on Gun Broker. I made contact with a gun shop that I knew was very reputable and consigned them to the gun shop to liquidate. They took a lot of the "pain" out of it as they were responsible for the sale and shipping as well as any required paperwork. In my case, they charged a 20% commission to cover their costs which I felt was reasonable. The guns sold for what they were worth on the day of the sale - as in any auction. I was happy with the results.

Of course, I'm in the US but it took all the work out of it for me as well as the worry in regards to any required paperwork.

Bob Wright · March 15, 2013, 02:14 PM

Ummmm, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe you are "importing" a firearm that was made in the United States.

Bob Wright

Winchester_73 · March 15, 2013, 02:30 PM

Busmann

Hi, I would like to buy your whole collection. Do you accept pay pal?

thank you for your business

March 14, 2013, 10:20 AM	#1
Busmann Junior Member Join Date: March 13, 2013 Posts: 2	About selling a gun collection Hello all, I'm new, just registered member here from Finland Europe. I have decided to put my fathers gun collection up for sale, mainly targeting this sale to US. This is due to bad situation in gun law in countries across the whole European Union. Like in Great Britain where my father used to buy often, it is today legal to own only deactivated handguns. In my country, it is practically impossible to have new gun license for anything else than probably shotguns or rifles for hunting. I would appreciate if somebody could advice any good places, in Internet or maybe somewhere else, where to list my firearms. I would not mind of any direct interest neither. I have quite few Smith and Wesson commemorative models, including Elmer Keith 29-3 .44 magnum with low serial# and factory ivory grips. Plus some other S&W revolvers and pistols and a Webley revolver collection of about 30 pieces. Regards, ./Busmann Helsinki Finland

March 15, 2013, 12:32 PM	#6
bedbugbilly Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2009 Posts: 3,290	I dosposed a good portion of my collection over the past several years - it was time for me to "downsize". I decided to do it on Gun Broker. I made contact with a gun shop that I knew was very reputable and consigned them to the gun shop to liquidate. They took a lot of the "pain" out of it as they were responsible for the sale and shipping as well as any required paperwork. In my case, they charged a 20% commission to cover their costs which I felt was reasonable. The guns sold for what they were worth on the day of the sale - as in any auction. I was happy with the results. Of course, I'm in the US but it took all the work out of it for me as well as the worry in regards to any required paperwork. __________________ If a pair of '51 Navies were good enough for Billy Hickok, then a single Navy on my right hip is good enough for me . . . besides . . . I'm probably only half as good as he was anyways. Hiram's Rangers Badge #63

March 14, 2013, 11:35 AM	#2
southjk Senior Member Join Date: December 5, 2012 Location: Memphis Posts: 468	You could have good luck selling them on the auction site gunbroker.com. You could also try listing there here on the classified section. Sounds like you have a great collection, sorry you have to sell them.

March 14, 2013, 12:08 PM	#3
jag2 Senior Member Join Date: June 30, 2009 Location: dallas Posts: 779	From things I've read in the past, its not that easy to import guns into the US if that is your goal. It can be done but not all FFLs will be familiar with the process and may not want to do it. That would be the problem using Gunbroker, each gun would have to be brought in individually. That could be a problem for the buyer trying to find an FFL to handle it. I think my first choice would be to find an auction house that will import the entire lot and sell them for you. If you want to go the Gunbroker route I would go to their list of FFLs and make contact with them to try and establish a network across the US that agree to help out. May take a while to figure out the best way to do it but the US is probably your best market.

March 14, 2013, 01:23 PM	#4
Doyle Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2007 Location: Rainbow City, Alabama Posts: 7,167	What Jag2 said is true, but probably not stated forcefully enough. Import laws for guns are a royal pain in the ass. Nobody is going to want to go through the pain for an individual gun unless it is a pretty high-dollar item. If you really do have a large collection and you want to sell it in the US, you'll be better off trying to sell the entire collection to a dealer who specializes in importation.

March 14, 2013, 01:27 PM	#5
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	Once you physically get them into the US...it'll probably be pretty easy to get them sold thru a local dealer on consignment, or maybe thru an online like gunbroker.... .....but you're going to need to get them in the US first. Noone, in my view, is going to pay extra for the international shipping, customs fees, etc....vs another model 29-3 that is readily available in the US already.

March 15, 2013, 02:14 PM	#7
Bob Wright Senior Member Join Date: July 10, 2012 Location: Memphis, Tennessee Posts: 3,005	Ummmm, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe you are "importing" a firearm that was made in the United States. Bob Wright

March 15, 2013, 02:30 PM	#8
Winchester_73 Senior Member Join Date: December 21, 2008 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 2,863	Busmann Hi, I would like to buy your whole collection. Do you accept pay pal? thank you for your business