Prices seem to have gone up.
I am still in the mind set of sporters being $100 and decent complete rifles $200-300. I am a bit behind the times (yeah, ya rekon?)
I remind myself of my parents and grand parents complaining about the price of a loaf of bread or a jug of milk. Can't buy penny candies anymore! Yaddy yadda!
There is a new generation of collectors and a keen interest in WWI and WWII history.
Supply and demand equation. Less supply + more demand + higher prices.
Wish I still had my No.4 Mk.II that I bought at Le Baron's Sporting goods for $88 complete, all numbers matched including the bayo. I sold it for $325 a couple years ago and thought that I was ripping off the buyer, so I included a box of 48 rounds and a sling. Now I couldn't afford one even if I wanted!
I collect Lee Metfords amongst others and am so happy that I now have most of the representative examples. I simply could not afford to get into it now. I could pay the same amount of money today for a decent No.4 that I was paying for an original and complete long Lee only a few years ago.
I watch with interest to see where these milsurp prices will go and if the bubble bursts. I doubt it.
Collecting old WWI and WWII rifles USED to be a cheap and cheerful hobby. Now when I buy one, I dare not touch it until I have done hours of research to see if I have a 'rare' variant. Kinda spoils it for me.
Ok, I'm done with my old timer sniveling.
For ballpark prices, I watch Gunbroker and do a search on completed auctions. Mostly USA sales, I know. But it is a guide.