doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Is the gun market dead?

The market for the older SxS shotguns we like is indeed "SLOW." I concur with other posters that seling prices today need to be 30% lower than in 2008 in order to sell a SxS quickly.

Beside the recession, the other factors causing lower prices, are the numerous new semi-auto's and O/U's that appeal to the youner shooters (below age 50). They have choke tubes, recoil reducers, 3" or 3.5" chambers, etc.

Another way to look at it, is that our SxS's have been a source of enjoyment. There is no unwritten law that we are always entitled to sell them for more than our original purchasing price. If we owned, and shot it, for ten years, and then sell it for $200 less than our purchase price, that equates to a $20 annual rental fee. Seems fair to me....

JERRY

Eightbore, that gunshop is Johnsons Guns and Ace Hardware located about half a mile south of the Westmoreland County Fairgrounds near Greensburg, PA. As I said, not much on shotguns but he had nice selection of old Savage 99s, older Marlins which is what I was looking for on that day. When I was 13 I bought a Marlin 336 A with money earned picking spuds manually in Idaho. Traded it off (mistake) in my 20s and have been looking for its replacement for several years. Johnson had a selection of them. Might have been a couple LC Smiths there. Hope you all buy out his inventory so he gets something new to show me next year. Nice folks.

I'm with Dr. Bob on this. In the Lefever world the market is definitely off in the low grades and mid-grades. The E grade, often thought of as the first of the collectible grades, is definitely not moving at the prices of a couple of years ago, or not moving at all. A bunch of them (both Lefevers and Nichols & Lefevers) are sitting on the market, some at high and very outdated prices. Smaller gauges (16 and 20) seem to be moving well in grades above DS. The higher grades are rare in all gauges and competition has produced some high prices even in this down market. D grades are also very rare and I think a decent D grade 12 gauge or smaller gauge will spark a lot of interest even in the doldroms of 2011.

I have to agree with Dr Bob and Richard. The same is true of the Belgian guns. A Christophe recently sold for less than it would have commanded 3 years ago. It needed some work, but nothing major.

A number of Francotte's have shown up at reduced prices, including a few 20ga guns.

As Murphy stated, there are a lot of bargains out there if you have the cash.

Pete

Any way to get in the Will ?

"Honey, you are much older than me and probably will pass on before me" said the good looking younger wife.

"That's true" said the older husband.

"You won't mind me remarrying, would you."

"No, honey, I want you to be happy." said the husband

"You wouldn't mind the new husband living in this house, would you?"

"Of course not" he said.

"Driving your Ferrari?"

"No dear" he mumbled, but he was starting to get a little irritated, so he sarcastically blurted out:

"I suppose he'll want to shoot my Purdeys"

"No dear, he's left handed."

Jerry,

Were you in PA? My email hasn't seen anything from you.

One additional measure of the state of the Gun Market:

I purposely put 28 different Shotguns and Rifles on a "Watch List" at GunBroker.com about two weeks ago.
The list was a mix of newer and older items. Single shot and Bolt action rifles. Double barrel, pump and automatic shotguns.
As of today, all the auctions have ended and NOT A ONE OF THEM HAD EVEN A SINGLE BID!
Tells you a lot about wether or not it is a buyer's or seller's market.

Guys,I have been in the gun market for over 20 years.And have seen a lot change over that time.I have learned that you can sell anything,and i do mean anything at the right price.You make your profit when you but it,not when you sell it.You got to buy it right.And if it seats to long dont be afraid to take a loss on it.Put your money into something else that will make you money.take it as a lesson(you paid to much)

OWD, you are on the "list". You may not buy a lot of guns, but at least you know one when you see one and you share that information.