Responses to "What's it Worth

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gerard488

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GunNutz
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I am a gun owner who is very interested in milsurps and military history so I spend a fair bit of time reading those forums. I read a lot of "what's it worth" posts and I also read the posts that show how some people here feel when someone asks what something is worth. It seems like more of the older generation get offended when someone asks the value of an item.
If I have something that I would like to sell, I have a few choices.
I can log in to gunutz and ask the knowledgeable people here what is the value in order to get a good idea of price but that seems to offend people.
I can over price something but that seems to offend people and I may even get laughed at.
I can under price it but that may offend people because the first person that sees it grabs it and the real collector doesn't get a chance to buy it.
I can just skip the ridicule, list it on ebay and let the bidding determine the value. That would offend some people here who don't shop on ebay and wouldn't get a chance to buy. It might also offend others because ebay is "anti gun"

I am probably gonna get flamed for this but here is what I see:
There are people with more knowledge of military weaponry on those sites than anywhere else in the world but there are also a lot of the younger generation who are not yet into the milsurp stuff and don't know the value of this stuff. Sadly, the two don't always seem to get along. There are people who sell milsurp stuff and need to find values but they are not always welcome. There are older members who don,t like the questions and younger members who don't like the answers.
I kinda think that in order to sell you have to know a price and in order to buy, you have to know a value. Also, in order to keep this site to really keep going we need the younger generation. As for values and selling, if nobody sold then where would the collections come from?
I read that some members quit posting or visiting this site because of the younger people and the questions they ask or the comments they make. I am 55 so I guess that I am sorta in between the two and for what it`s worth, I try to see both sides.
I remember a few Canadian Legion clubs that seemed to be operated, frequented and controlled by older vets who didn't want any kind of change in any way and didn't really want to welcome the younger generation or anyone who was not a vet.
As the older members passed away and there were less people at the bar, some of the buildings closed up and were sold or torn down
Sad but I guess that's the way it is.
 
I didn't really notice age being a factor in the responses. What I would commonly see is some members accusing The OP of circumventing EE and trying to sell outside of it.
 
There's a huge difference between asking questions because you want to learn and the constant "what's this worth?" threads.

Learning about history is what this forum was and is about. I guess to those of us who are serious about keeping the history of these things alive we want new comers to learn why that gun is special and who may of carried it.

I'm Here %100 to learn and help others, not to help guys make quick cash.

I'm not old at 33 but that's how I feel. I learnt most of what I know from old timers who nolonger post here. Without their insight I feel like this forum is a shell of its former self.

It's too bad really..
 
Tinman204 said:
There's a huge difference between asking questions because you want to learn and the constant "what's this worth?" threads.

Learning about history is what this forum was and is about. I guess to those of us who are serious about keeping the history of these things alive we want new comers to learn why that gun is special and who may of carried it.

I'm Here %100 to learn and help others, not to help guys make quick cash.

I'm not old at 33 but that's how I feel. I learnt most of what I know from old timers who nolonger post here. Without their insight I feel like this forum is a shell of its former self.

It's too bad really..
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying totally, It's not about helping someone make quick cash.
That being said however, where could a person go to find values? Maybe there is a site for that, I don't know.
Also, why is there an EE? If it helps someone find an item to buy then it also helps someone make a buck by selling.
Maybe there is a better way but again, I don`t know.
 
Back in the day we didn't have the internet to ask people about what a firearm was worth. We had to do our own due diligence.

Personally I don't mind helping out a newbie but some newbies refuse to do any work on their own to learn why an item should be priced or the limits of the price. I often see the same person querying value of items. This is OK to a point but after a while it can become tedious.

Some people are just plain critical and crotchety. IMHO when a newbie puts out a viable query there shouldn't be a problem helping them out or at least pointing them in the right direction to find our what they need. We all had to learn one way or the other. Taking the information to the grave is foolish.

One thing I have found is that some people use the what's it worth query to show off a recent acquisition. It is often just that and of course wanting to know if they got that fleeting but so important "DEAL"

How else does a newbie find out where to start?? No need to put the person down and maybe put them off learning or collecting. Mind you some of them are just people that recently inherited a firearm and think they have a gold mine and are just looking to dump it at maximum dollar value.
 
gerard488 said:
I understand what you are saying totally, It's not about helping someone make quick cash.
That being said however, where could a person go to find values? Maybe there is a site for that, I don't know.
Also, why is there an EE? If it helps someone find an item to buy then it also helps someone make a buck by selling.
Maybe there is a better way but again, I don`t know.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm Oldschool. I learned values the way most if not all the old timers did.

I go to all the gun shows and see for myself. Yeah it takes time but knowledge earned by first hand experience trumps being book smart to me.

I've also made lots of friends in this hobby by going to shows so it's extra worth it to me.



It's funny though I don't do values on here so it really doesn't bother me cause I just scroll past.

Bur if someone wants to know about what they bought I'll always go out of my way to help.

If they are local I'll even offer to help in person.
 
Always keen to help out with information on values, rifle markings etc.

However it does bug me when someone puts up a post about a recent acquisition (picked this up last week at the gun show etc.) and then ask 'What's it worth'....Well, its worth what you paid for it...Plain and simple.

If someone posted a thread with "I'm really keen to get an Enfield No4 and I've seen one I'm interested in what can you tell me about value / markings etc"?...I'd be straight in to help...

Some people certainly look at milsurps to make a few quick bucks. I know guys personally who do it..No interest in the history, manufacture, design and in the hands it could have served.

For some of us guys, this hobby is much more than just value, price, worth, cost, investment....its history, sacrifice, freedom etc. etc. What value / price to you put on that...?
 
Answer - something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I've both underpaid and overpaid for a gun that I wanted at the time. I've also taken a hit on guns that I put a lot of aftermarket goodies and time into that the buyer got to his advantage.

We all remember the times you couldn't give away a Milsurp. Now they command top dollar. Likewise "antique" revolvers. I've watched the value of my Tranter .450 Army climb to a ridiculous price. There may come a time I decide to put it on the block to acquire something else, and so it goes .....
 
What ever happened to, if you don't like it don't click on it. I have a few firearms I am curious what they are worth, don't care what local yokels think they might be worth but would like to know what people who see these items a lot are seeing them go for. If that offends someone, good, go to some other site.
 
Maybe there's a need for a separate valuation/appraisal forum. The market always sets the price so it is useful to look for comparables on the EE to see a benchmark for what is selling and for how much. There are some pretty shrewd salesmen on the EE who seem to be able to move things pretty successfully. OTOH, there are some who have obviously missed the correct price/valuation point and have stuff languishing there unsold for a long time with the hope that a special buyer will eventually come along.

Some very nice pieces will sometimes go unsold because of lack of interest or unwillingness to pony up the money to pay the actual value. As a group we are pretty notorious cheap-a$$es.

Sometimes I chime in with opinions on value, sometimes not. Those who toss up a generic description of what they have with no photos or detailed descriptions are just wasting their time. Inevitably they will be asked to provide more information, especially photos and details on important things like bore condition and markings. Scarcity/desirability,condition and originality tend to set the value with MILSURPs, so its good to provide as much info as possible. Speculative info about authenticity, origin, actual combat use ,etc. tends to be counter-productive. For example, a 1942 made Garand with all original parts has a certain value, but so does the same rifle with parts replaced or overhauled in service. Adding speculative info about remnants of Japanese scalp still stuck in the buttplate or pitting being caused by immersion in salt water off Omaha Beach adds some drama, but isn't helpful. This "damage" may well have been due to squads of trainees lugging the piece through the Virginia swamps on training exercises.

As Bearhunter points out, a lot of us managed to amass some pretty nice collections in those dark, pre-internet days.
 
I hate trying to answer a "what's it worth" thread (if I can offer an opinion on a particular item).

The seller either 1) has some kind of attachment to the item and has an inflated "value" in their mind because of it or 2) they are trying to recover all of their costs on a used item and likewise has an inflated value in mind 3) they have something that might be "old" so figure that, that also inflates the value.

It rarely takes more than a few keyclicks on google to find almost identical items that have "actually sold" (as compared to asking prices). If for example, a rifle is "relatively new", it's not all that difficult to find out the wholesale price on a new one, and they "should" set their price somewhat below that - the fact that someone paid shipping, taxes, or "too much" in the first place doesn't add to the "actual value" of the rifle.

And then there is sometimes "regional values".

But mostly, I don't like to give a value opinion because one or more get offended - because if my opinion is "correct" then their "stuff" is worth nowhere what they think it is, or what they paid for it and they either argue the point or get down to personal attacks to defend their "belief" (and usually with no fact or data to back it up).
 
Ever know anyone with a beat up Winchester '94 that didn't think it was worth a fortune? It might have no finish left, cracks in the stock and a small gnat might have difficulty flying through the bore, but the owner thinks it's the Holy Grail of Winchesters 'cause great grand dad owned it.
 
Personally I don't have a problem with a "what's it worth" post. Even if the poster is just trying to get a value so they can sell a gun. Checking out selling prices on the internet is a slippery slope for us Canadians as most of the selling prices are in the U.S. which can have no correlation to the Canadian market. Some firearms rather common here are somewhat rare in other places and vice versa. If someone doesn't like the post best thing to do is not click on it. Some died in the wool collectors of milsurps hardly EVER sell any of their guns unless they are upgrading to a better condition example of the same model. Others like me are cash poor most of the time and have to sell a gun in order to buy one that the simply have to have, sometimes to their everlasting regret. Values overall are pretty subjective. Some guys are really into Soviet arms like the Mosin Nagant and certain variations are starting to command high prices amongst collectors. I have no interest or knowledge of such rifles so my "estimate" is going to be lower but a guy trying to fill a hole in his collection may value a certain model much higher. Takes all kinds but it is unfortunate that some of the really knowledgeable collectors are now silent on here.
 
with regard to buy and selling milsurp rifles and people asking what its worth,its all a part of milsurp collecting.People buy and sell milsurps for various reasons ,they may have two of the same ,something else may have come along that they like more and need to raise funds to purchase etc.With regards to what is it worth postings well i guess they are part of the buying and selling (collecting)game.I think in most cases though if your selling something and want to know what its wort then all you need do is a quick google search or look at similar rifles in similar condition that are for sale in the EE and base your price acordingally.
 
Often some folks don't know what they bought, but it was inexpensive at th'time. Buy, and come n' ask. That makes sense, and I so hope some folks find they got treasure for thrift shop price.

Most seem just to be hype generators before something is listed (at $300 bucks more), or full of folks who throw a number out that they won't back up... If I had a say; responding to "what's it worth threads" with a number should commit provider to a purchase of said item... that'd certainly help to keep it real too.

If you ask too much an item in the EE, it'll be there for ages, and it doesn't matter who's "offended". You can drop prices anytime, but you can't jack 'em up until too late.
 
Sometimes a person wishes to tap into the collective knowledge on the web. Can be a really fast way of finding things out.
Sometimes he is too lazy to do his own research.
Sometimes he is using such a thread to bring attention to something he is going to peddle, or is peddling, in the EE.
 
If it's a genuine question then go ahead and ask. Lately a lot of the "what's it worth" questions have been from people who are trying to sell and looking for free advertising.
 
I will do a quick cgn search when I plan to buy an item to see if question was already raised. I have no sentimental or historical attachment to firearms but I do like them. So with that said I tend to try my best to pay market value (or a bit lesd) for something as it will probably be sold again. In my location gun show research is available with a min 3.5 hour drive. Usually if I buy something locally and want to quick sell depending on my experience with the item there is a member or two I will PM for their thoughts. Two way street I do the same for them.
 
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