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Old June 6, 2009, 08:33 PM   #1
5whiskey
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What the heck is up with SKS prices?

They've more than doubled in a couple of years... or they have on GB at least. Some of these clowns are selling sks's for 350!!!

What gives man... I could understand MAYBE paying 200, or 220. That's top end. After all, it IS an SKS. Good rifles but their greatest value was always their price IMO.
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Old June 6, 2009, 08:37 PM   #2
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Agreed. It's crazy.
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Old June 6, 2009, 08:39 PM   #3
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The low priced ones lately were the Yugo SKS. It was supply and demand- Yugoslavia had been selling them off in large bunches, essentially flooding the market.

Those surplus Yugos have now largely dried up. There are no more huge supplies of them. Thus, prices have risen.

Yes, they are SKSes, but $350 for one in excellent condition still isn't a bad deal considering you're getting a quite competent semiauto rifle. Much, naturally, depends on condition, but if you want cheap milsurps you need to jump on them when they're plentiful. Years ago German Mauser 98k rifles were available for dirt cheap at the hardware store. Now they're running in excess of $300. Prices in milsurps are almost entirely based on supply. One day you might well see Mosins going for $250.
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Old June 6, 2009, 08:39 PM   #4
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bought a good condition yugo for 500. i had traded something for something that was worth alot and well lets just say i over payed.....
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Old June 6, 2009, 08:44 PM   #5
kozak6
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Quote:
One day you might well see Mosins going for $250.
The Finnish M39 Mosins in good shape go for well over that. They were well under $100 a few years back.

If you watch the prices of milsurps over a period of several years, you'll see things flood the market, and then dry up. It's just a matter of time. That funky Swiss straight pull rifle is another fantastic example.

I wish I had gotten one of those Bulgarian Makarovs while they were cheap.
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Old June 6, 2009, 08:55 PM   #6
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If you look at the SKS in terms of competing with the AK, it's not as high of quality as an AK (and I'm making generalizations based on "common" knowledge). Therefore the price has to be lower. Let's say the SKS is desireable to the consumer because it offers 80% of the performance/reliability at only 60% of the cost.

As the prices of AK's have gone up, it only makes sense that the price of SKSs would go... that's how an efficient market works.

Or think about it this way...
"How much can I sell my used car for?" To make a good guess, you have know the cost of the same car new and what competitive models are selling for. Naturally you have to sell lower than the new version, and if the other models are being really competitive, you may have to go even a little lower still. A price change with one items almost always affects other items.
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Old June 6, 2009, 09:03 PM   #7
srt 10 jimbo
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Paid 400 for my Norinco today, talked the guy down from 500. It's never been fired before and I wanted one and most of the ones I saw were going about 500
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Old June 7, 2009, 03:56 AM   #8
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As the post-election panic cools off, there might be price decreases for lots of unused ARs, 'AK's and maybe the SKS, because many people bought them for no reason other than "Well, I got it 'cause of Obama...". There were many such quotes from gun stores last winter in the media.
Some scalpers who still have them are going to be on the losing end.

And sadly, there are still huge numbers of jobs at risk, not just at GM or the vast numbers of businesses connected with it etc.
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Old June 7, 2009, 06:38 AM   #9
srt 10 jimbo
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I think the never ending supply of them is about up and just like the Mosins the prices are increasing.
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Old June 7, 2009, 06:59 AM   #10
Rembrandt
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Originally Posted by 5whiskey
What the heck is up with SKS prices?
...They've more than doubled in a couple of years...Good rifles but their greatest value was always their price IMO.
Couldn't expect them to stay at $125 forever....or low ammo prices, or low fuel prices, or....
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Old June 7, 2009, 08:09 AM   #11
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Couldn't expect them to stay at $125 forever....or low ammo prices, or low fuel prices, or....
Prices on them are scary today. I bought my '54 Tula for something like $89.

Great gun that I don't shoot much any more, but if those prices keep rising, I might have to consider selling it one day.
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