Need advice on selling an AR

Davy Crockett

Davy Crockett

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I hope it's ok to post this in this forum but I had an AR on the EE for sale that I got almost no interest in.

I suspect that being a pieced together rifle it is not worth the sum of it parts, no matter the parts quality. I've never had trouble selling something on the EE before but maybe the market is softer than I thought or I'm just out to lunch.

If any of you AR guru's who've done a bunch of business on the EE want to give me an idea of what I should be asking or if I should part it out instead, PM me and I can give some details. I appreciate any help.
 
Davy Crockett said:
I hope it's ok to post this in this forum but I had an AR on the EE for sale that I got almost no interest in.

I suspect that being a pieced together rifle it is not worth the sum of it parts, no matter the parts quality. I've never had trouble selling something on the EE before but maybe the market is softer than I thought or I'm just out to lunch.

If any of you AR guru's who've done a bunch of business on the EE want to give me an idea of what I should be asking or if I should part it out instead, PM me and I can give some details. I appreciate any help.
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Please provide a link to the EE ad.
I have searched using your user name going back 12 months and nada, zip, zilch.
If you posted on the wrong forum or if you don't bump your post every week then you may as well not have posted.
 
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Davy Crockett said:
I hope it's ok to post this in this forum but I had an AR on the EE for sale that I got almost no interest in.

I suspect that being a pieced together rifle it is not worth the sum of it parts, no matter the parts quality. I've never had trouble selling something on the EE before but maybe the market is softer than I thought or I'm just out to lunch.

If any of you AR guru's who've done a bunch of business on the EE want to give me an idea of what I should be asking or if I should part it out instead, PM me and I can give some details. I appreciate any help.
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It is always the price. AR used to be more expensive now the new ones are cheaper. I bought a new armalite from irunguns for 920 delivered. Used guns are even cheaper. I think I saw an ad for 499 which would probably work out to 650. If you are selling then you are in competition with all the available alternatives now.
 
Sorry guys. I took the ad down because I wasn't sure which way to go with parting out vs dropping the price and I didn't want it to look like I was starting this thread just to drum up attention to my ad.


If anyone wants I can shoot them a pic and parts list and I'd like to hear their $0.02.
 
Advice number 1: Post your USED rifle and parts for sale at a minimum 20% below BRAND NEW prices.
Advice number 2: see advice number 1
 
ARs are trickier to sell, because you're looking for a buyer who wanted the exact same build you did.

Example: my dream gun in a 14.5 with X Y & Z parts, and you've got a 10.5 with X Y & Z already.

I might be interested in the rifle, but your 10.5 is worth less to me because deep down I wanted a 14.5

Now apply that hit and miss of desirability to all the parts and all the buyers.

You might have more luck parting out some of the more specialized components, or parting the entire rifle.
 
I think TV summed it up prety good, selling an AR build is hard...
I went trought it recently and if it wasn't from someone locally finally purchasing it I was going to part it out as it seemed the only way to not loose everything invested.
 
The current market is flooded with AR's right now. Be prepared to lose money if you want to sell one. PM me the details if you want. I've got a pretty good grasp on the market.
 
The only way to sell a franken AR these days without losing a bunch of money is to part it out. My last build cost me just over $1000 and since you can buy a new rifle cheaper than that I know that unless someone wants exactly what I put together I'll never get out what I have in.
Your time invested in the build is worth nothing and you have to count on selling your parts below retail or they would never sell.
Would you buy something used for the same price you can buy one new?
As has been stated, the market is flooded with new AR's of all brands, configurations and there is something for every budget, the franken-gun is not worth much these days, part it out.
 
cr5 said:
The only way to sell a franken AR these days without losing a bunch of money is to part it out. My last build cost me just over $1000 and since you can buy a new rifle cheaper than that I know that unless someone wants exactly what I put together I'll never get out what I have in.
Your time invested in the build is worth nothing and you have to count on selling your parts below retail or they would never sell.
Would you buy something used for the same price you can buy one new?
As has been stated, the market is flooded with new AR's of all brands, configurations and there is something for every budget, the franken-gun is not worth much these days, part it out.
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Franken-gun???!!!! You haven't seen my piece of art. If I had feelings they'd be hurt.

Seriously though, I think the price I was asking was fair, it's a high end rifle with top quality components and my price was a significant drop over cost. I think it is just a niche build that needs a buyer who wants the same configuration and I'm not prepared to wait or take a big enough hit to convince someone who isn't 100% sold on what I have.

I've decided to strip it down, reuse what I can in my new build and sell off the rest.
 
a dd is 1500 bucks new from wolverine, yet i see norinco ars on the ee for that price because it has a new trigger, some plastic magpul stock and fancy dandy compensator. who cares!
 
IMHO it is exactly like a used car... or home even. The buyers don't wan't to reimburse you for the 5k in suspension and exhaust and engine mods ( ..... or your 50k marble bathroom in a house scenario :) They just focus on how they can buy the BRAND NEW factory one on the cheap, or pic up a Norc for a third of the cost altogether.

It is hard to find a rifle you are stoked about as the guy who built it was. Taste is subjective.

FYI I am in the same boat :) I have a brand new $1200 AR that I could sell for maybe 8-900 bucks. Hang on in case they move it to unrestricted ... lol

good luck
 
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