I know, my timing is terrible on this. However, through no fault of my own, I have inherited a gun collection. I don't want it and I have no use for it. They are mostly rifles but there may be a shotgun or two. Some are antiques and some are not. Some are valuable and some are not. I know the first step is to make an inventory as to what I have. Beyond that I have no idea what to do. I have no idea how to go about selling them without getting ripped off. Any ideas?
I'd find a reputable gun dealer and have them appraise the collection. I had a small collection of guns come down to me this year. I didn't need them so I sold them. I used several people's appraisials and averaged them to come up with what I thought was a fair retail price, then sold most of them for about 30% under appraisial. A couple of the roughest ones I put in an auction and they brought much more than they were worth.
The most expiditious thing to do would be to contact a reputable, licensed gun dealer to buy the entire collection. You won't get as much as you would if you sold each piece seperately-the dealer needs to make a profit. Selling them one at a time will involve setting prices, advertising them & dealing with a number of different people. A little more money, a lot more hassle.
OK. This is probably the dumbest question ever. How do I find a reputable gun dealer? Yellow pages? Firing range? What?
Some dealers will sell for you. They will set a price they expect to get an there cut is about what they get on new guns. Or just put them on gunbrokers, a auction site. Just dont ship to the buyer, ship to a dealer around the buyer. Buyers job to find the dealer an send you there info.
Start with a search of gun values. This will give you a list of collection buyers and also appraisers, I think, if I remember right there is also a gun Blue Book.
There are auction sites for firearms, You could start by checking out the going prices for the guns you have. Some of these sites list federal firearms dealers by area, Do you know anyone who shoots on a regular basis,? Maybe they could give you a referral. I had a FFL and my husband still does. As you know there are good and bad in any . Get more than one opinion. PM me with your location and maybe I can help you find someone. Make a list with make, model and serial no's,The serial number can help determine the age of the gun, especially on the collectors guns. Good luck and don't jump at the first offer just because you want to get rid of them.
Would you mine posting some pictures of them. I would like to look at them and maybe some people on here already have a price range.
You can contact your local police department and tell them of your situation. However, the first thing they will do is check the serial numbers and make sure the weapon are not listed as stolen. Many pawnshop owners are licensed to deal in firearms. You can google firearm laws for your state and see what are your legal options. NRA can give you some information but they are not too popular right now.
