LIST ADDED - Need advice on selling a large lot of guns

[Brians356]

Is there a Cabellas store near you? They'll give you (as I recall) 2/3 of the agreed Blue Book value on items they can resell from their gun room. Honestly that's a win/win considering what your time is worth, and that you'll have to box and ship what you sell online. I'm sure some here will scoff at the notion, but then that's some folks' hobby.
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[big5ifty]

The first thing I would do is put aside the best rifles for myself.

Then go to a reputable gun auction house, and get expected sale price for each.

Pay the expected price to the family for the guns you put aside, and take the rest to the auction house.

When there are many guns to sell, having random people over, managing who wants what, how much they will pay and when, is too much trouble .

 

[WyleWD]

As a former Gun Dealer ( over 20 Years ) Myself,..
I cleaned out my safe of, Rifles and Pistols that, I wasn't using anymore ( close to, a Dozen ) and, the 15% that I paid to, get TOP Dollar for them was, well worth it to,.. ME !
Selling guns to Private parties "can be",.. a SERIOUS, Time consuming,.. PITA !!!
Plus, the Liability "Issues",.. IF gets into, the "wrong" Hands,.. ahh,.. NO,.. thanks !
Personally, I'd find, an Honest Gun Dealer that's doing, a reasonable amount of,.."Traffic" ( one of, the better known, larger Shops ) and Pay him, a Fair percentage.

+1^^^^ Been through the estate and sell off for friends a couple times. Won't do that again. Find an honest dealer or dealers and let them handle it. JME. WD

 

[STS]

And if they can’t find it?

The ATF will have a copy of the tax stamp. As undesirable as it would be, the ATF may have to get involved. The owner is still alive and has a right to do whatever he wishes with the suppressor. If he is so far along with his mental decline that he can't remember what happened to the stamp, then someone will likely have to call ATF (possibly an attorney) and get a copy of the stamp. If the stamp is in a trust, then the owner can add a trustee that will be legally eligible to transport the devise to the class 3 dealer for further paperwork. So much of this is pure speculation by all of us since none of us know what the gentleman mental status is. If he is still somewhat functional, then it may be a simple case of going to wherever he keeps important papers and retrieving the stamp in 5 minutes. If he is severely debilitated, then it may be the best financial move to relinquish control of the suppressor to ATF for destruction. Depending on the mental abilities of the owner this may not be any problem at all and won't cost him a dime to get rid of the devise. Or it could be a major PITA that costs more that the suppressor is worth to sell it. These issues are why there is a very limited market for used suppressors.

 

[moondog]

I went through a similar situation with my Dads gun collection a couple years ago.
A lot of guns, nothing real collectible except a nice High Power I kept. I gave some of the 22s to some youth clubs.
While I could have gotten a few more $ selling the rest privately, it was very time consuming. Shipping pistols is a whole nother pita. I opted to bring them to a reputable gun store. In my case, Mile High.
I know the folks there and I feel they treated me very fair. They gave me 3 options. 1) cash, 2) consignment, 3) store credit. All of which had different values. I ended up doing store credit which worked well for me. Just a thought to consider. The suppressor thing is another bag of worms I personally need to research.

 

[JSH]

As several others have advised a reputable gun shop that will do an honest listing of the bunch. Notice I did not say pawn shop, there is a large difference.
A good shop will know what most are worth, some times more some times less than the seller thinks.
You think 15-20% is a lot for selling, shipping and paper work, do a couple and think about it. Remember a consignment, the more it sells for the more both make.

 

[centershot]

I have not done auctions with them, but have done a purchase through their store. They will buy on consignment.

Montrose auctions

1702 Second Street

Montrose, GA 31065

P: 478.376.4559 | F: 877.373.0634
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[Rem06]

So here’s the scoop. My cousin’s father-in-law, who was a big gun collector, has developed dementia. Since I am the only other gun nut in the family, they asked me to do what can to sell the guns (28 so far, maybe more as they go through stuff)

So I am looking for an avenue to best sell these.
Obviously there’s the sales forums here on this site, and there’s gunbroker, but what are some of the other options? I don’t plan on giving these away, so I’m not taking them all to a dealer or a pawn shop, but I also don’t want to sit on them forever either.

Now here’s some additional detail, several of the guns are AR type pistols with braces. I haven’t been following any of the recent ATF developments on this because it never has been an issue for me, I’ve never cared about guns like that. But do I just remove the braces and sell them as pistols? What about something that has supressor? Am I even allowed to sell that?

I’ve done a quick glance at the guns, but will soon go over them much more thoroughly to gauge what each is worth and what is a fair price for the family.

Just looking for some advice on what you might do if you were in this situation.

Thanks

i did the same thing a few years ago with 75 of them. Hold onto the few you may want for your commission and take the rest to A LGS who will advertise on GB, take pics, ship and do paperwork.
Well worth the 20-25% ish they charge.
do them is small waves as every one has to be on the LGS books that day.
in Pa since father in law is still alive they can be considered gifted and no inheritance tax. another plus.

the store will have every sale documented and believe me , family will ask! yes, ATF got involved and did i say i will never do that again!

if you dont get a few for comission, let someone else do it!!!

 

[butchlambert]

So here’s the scoop. My cousin’s father-in-law, who was a big gun collector, has developed dementia. Since I am the only other gun nut in the family, they asked me to do what can to sell the guns (28 so far, maybe more as they go through stuff)

So I am looking for an avenue to best sell these.
Obviously there’s the sales forums here on this site, and there’s gunbroker, but what are some of the other options? I don’t plan on giving these away, so I’m not taking them all to a dealer or a pawn shop, but I also don’t want to sit on them forever either.

Now here’s some additional detail, several of the guns are AR type pistols with braces. I haven’t been following any of the recent ATF developments on this because it never has been an issue for me, I’ve never cared about guns like that. But do I just remove the braces and sell them as pistols? What about something that has supressor? Am I even allowed to sell that?

I’ve done a quick glance at the guns, but will soon go over them much more thoroughly to gauge what each is worth and what is a fair price for the family.

Just looking for some advice on what you might do if you were in this situation.

Thanks

Since you are close I would suggest you bring some of them to the Shilen Swap Meet in Ennis, Tx on March 25. No charge for you to set up and sell them.

 

[ngoforth]

I went through selling a family members firearms a couple years ago. At first I was trying to sell them on my own and the amount of time and hassle dealing with people was not worth it. I ended up talking to a local dealer and we came to an understanding on consigning a good portion of the collection. I was only bringing him a couple at a time so it was easier for me to keep track of them , but also gave him a list incase would have someone come in looking for something I may have had. I also took a couple to a very well known auction house on the advice of a couple dealers and was a bit disappointed with what they sold the guns for at auction. I would have rather taken a bit more time or kept them than auction them off. The reloading tools and dies along with other accessories I sold on here over time and was very pleased with the results. Good luck.

 

[JSH]

Just spoke to a buddy setting up a large collection for auction and online sale. He said short of a FTF sale, he will have close to 4 hours time per gun start to finish, that is putting them on the books, listing, boxing and shipping and answering questions, along with dealing with tire kickers. He said he breaks about even wage wise, keeps guys in shop busy.
He said this may be the last online work he does, just not worth the hassle.

 

[NateHaler]

OP, we're waiting for the inventory.

 

[ShtrRdy]

I helped sell the firearms for a close friends widow last year. I was able to sell all of them through our gun club newsletter. It took a few months of placing an ad and then discounting toward the end.

 

[nakneker]

The suppressor is the biggest pain in your endeavor, I don’t know enough to offer any advise on that.

Gunbroker has been a route I take when I don’t know where to price a firearm. It really doesn’t take that long to list an item or maybe I’m not covering my bases but I’ve never had a bad experience other than a couple non paying buyers. I usually list items with no reserve or a low reserve and most of the time items sell for as much as I thought they would or slightly more, now and again they sell for less. Remember pictures sell, lots of pictures, honest descriptions of the firearms, I would also check to make they function before listing them. If there is rust, freckling, handling marks, bluing wear I’d mention it in your ad, id try and be as upfront as possible. Makes for happy buyers and less headaches. I’d also exclude any states you don’t feel like dealing with, shipping to Alaska and Hawaii is double, you want to think all that out.

A gun show table would be my next route if that’s an option. If they are priced fairly they will move, might take a couple trips but you’ll sell them. That’s also a fun route if you like to trade, barter and meet new people.

 

[riverside jeep]

My buddy's dad had quite a collection, the kids sold a lot of them word of mouth to friends in the hunting / shooting community and what was left ( still a lot) they rented a table at the gun show and sold most of the rest. Again it's the fine line of getting maximum value vs how darn long do you want to wait.

 

[Brians356]

I helped sell the firearms for a close friends widow last year. I was able to sell all of them through our gun club newsletter. It took a few months of placing an ad and then discounting toward the end.

Time consumed is the elephant in the room. Time spent inventorying, advertising, managing piecemeal sales, negotiating prices. Consignment sales take time to bear fruit and can be open-ended. By selling outright to a reputable dealer for a fair wholesale price, there's a quick end, and cash in hand. A local auction house is also a good option and may yield higher net prices.
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[hogpatrol]

Another vote here for consignment with a reputable gun shop with a LOT of traffic and that advertises on gunbroker. Have done a few and had a friend recently do one. Cheapest LGS was 15% and well worth it. Just take it to the gun shop and wait for the check, pain free transactions. For me, the worst part of selling are tire kickers and the time it takes.

 

[Kittitas George]

Guns International may be a site that would be of help. I have bought guns, scopes and binoculars off this site and everything went well, I had to get rid of a few guns for a relative, I know what you are going through. Good luck.

 

[TAJ45]

lnventory list please.

 

[K22]

I only tell what I've done. My goal is to make it as safe and easy as possible of my only child who is now a grown adult with a husband, two children and a professional career. They are not anti-firearms or anti- hunting, but they do not wish to take possession of them since they neither shoot nor hunt.

Since I'm in the "winter" of my life, I have lined up two trusted FFL gun dealers I've dealt with for over 30 years. I have an approximate value of the items. They both have agreed to take the entire estate of shooting related gear. The "turd in the punch bowl" may be that I outlive them. In any event, my daughter has been educated on the process - to seek out a professional FFL dealer to dispose of the entire estate.

It may not be the most profitable but with the way gun laws may be changing in the future, I believe disposing of a regulated commodity is best handle by a professional in the business in order to avoid legal problems.

Also, it may be the safest, do you really want to advertise you have a bunch of guns for sale? Who knows who is going to show up at your door and their intentions. Not a good idea in my area of the country for sure.