I have a question for the community that I would appreciate some insight into.
At a recent gun show, a vendor was selling a stock SVT 40 for $600. I was really surprised at the price - I appreciate they are not as common as a few years ago, but they are still available from Lever Arms for $375 and can be bought from private sellers for less. Whatever, it's his gun, he can ask whatever he wants for it right? What threw me for a loop was the sales pitch I overheard. To give you some context - The gun was a standard refurb '41 Izzy, nothing special (scope rails, no notch), but on top of the rifle he added an aftermarket reproduction scope for $350 and a non matching bayonet for $250 to bring the total price up to $1,200. I overheard a lot of people commenting about the price - you can imagine what they were saying...
Toward the end of the day, I walked past the booth and the vendor was in the process of making a sales pitch to a young couple who appeared to be very interested. I stopped and listened long enough to overhear the vendor say they 'were holding the rarest of the rare, from the rarest maker, a genuine SVT sniper and matching original bayonet". He slid the scope off and on to show them, and jammed it on the gun with the palm of his hand explaining that it was a little tight to get on. I did not hear him say anything to them at that time about it requiring a notch to hold the scope in place. He did keep repeating that this was a rare gun, the one that everyone wants. I shook my head and kept walking..To re-iterate, it was a plain-jane '41 Izzy refurb with a repro scope and mount with a non-matching aftermarket bayo.
To be crystal clear, I don't know the vendor, I've never done business with him, I have no beef with him and to be honest he could pass me on the street today and I wouldn't recognize him. But from what I heard, I felt the people were inexperienced and getting fleeced. I do not claim to be an SVT 40 expert, but I own 5 and I've done my homework. The gun was not what it was being described as. I have no idea if they bought it or if anyone else did for that matter. However, if it was me and it was my first milsurp purchase, if I put out that kind of money only to find out later I'd been taken for a ride, I would probably never buy another milsurp again and think twice before buying anything at a show.
Here's my question - When you hear a dealer trying to make a sale at a show and you know the potential buyer is getting led down the primrose path, do you intervene or walk away? I can see it from both sides of the coin - If I was a dealer and some 'know it all' jumped in and and broke up the sale, you bet I'd be mad. But on the other hand, I've been in situations where in a more experienced collector's timely guidance would have been a big help and prevented me from wasting money.
What's the right thing to do?
Thanks in advance,
Brookwood
At a recent gun show, a vendor was selling a stock SVT 40 for $600. I was really surprised at the price - I appreciate they are not as common as a few years ago, but they are still available from Lever Arms for $375 and can be bought from private sellers for less. Whatever, it's his gun, he can ask whatever he wants for it right? What threw me for a loop was the sales pitch I overheard. To give you some context - The gun was a standard refurb '41 Izzy, nothing special (scope rails, no notch), but on top of the rifle he added an aftermarket reproduction scope for $350 and a non matching bayonet for $250 to bring the total price up to $1,200. I overheard a lot of people commenting about the price - you can imagine what they were saying...
Toward the end of the day, I walked past the booth and the vendor was in the process of making a sales pitch to a young couple who appeared to be very interested. I stopped and listened long enough to overhear the vendor say they 'were holding the rarest of the rare, from the rarest maker, a genuine SVT sniper and matching original bayonet". He slid the scope off and on to show them, and jammed it on the gun with the palm of his hand explaining that it was a little tight to get on. I did not hear him say anything to them at that time about it requiring a notch to hold the scope in place. He did keep repeating that this was a rare gun, the one that everyone wants. I shook my head and kept walking..To re-iterate, it was a plain-jane '41 Izzy refurb with a repro scope and mount with a non-matching aftermarket bayo.
To be crystal clear, I don't know the vendor, I've never done business with him, I have no beef with him and to be honest he could pass me on the street today and I wouldn't recognize him. But from what I heard, I felt the people were inexperienced and getting fleeced. I do not claim to be an SVT 40 expert, but I own 5 and I've done my homework. The gun was not what it was being described as. I have no idea if they bought it or if anyone else did for that matter. However, if it was me and it was my first milsurp purchase, if I put out that kind of money only to find out later I'd been taken for a ride, I would probably never buy another milsurp again and think twice before buying anything at a show.
Here's my question - When you hear a dealer trying to make a sale at a show and you know the potential buyer is getting led down the primrose path, do you intervene or walk away? I can see it from both sides of the coin - If I was a dealer and some 'know it all' jumped in and and broke up the sale, you bet I'd be mad. But on the other hand, I've been in situations where in a more experienced collector's timely guidance would have been a big help and prevented me from wasting money.
What's the right thing to do?
Thanks in advance,
Brookwood
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