Depreciation

guido

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As we all know, when you drive a brand new car off the lot it immediately depreciates.
Is it the same for rifles? As soon as they are shot, is there a significant depreciation? If so, how much, percentage wise.
 
No fixed answer. EE asking prices are not always reasonable, they are often best retail you can get for a used gun. A $420 Ruger American might get back $350 used, while a $100 Rem might only get you $700. Most gun shop allow 70 5 of what they can get, so 70% of retail is a good start. Has to be on a gun to gun basis. JMHO & YMMV.
 
No fixed answer. EE asking prices are not always reasonable, they are often best retail you can get for a used gun. A $420 Ruger American might get back $350 used, while a $100 Rem might only get you $700. Most gun shop allow 70 5 of what they can get, so 70% of retail is a good start. Has to be on a gun to gun basis. JMHO & YMMV.

And this is why I asked, because it seems a lot of sellers believe this.
 
I bought a Marlin 1895CB a few years back as a part of a test to see if I could sneak the rifle into the house under my then-girlfriend's nose. I succeeded and married her shortly thereafter.

I sold it this year for $1100. Still have the wife.

YMMV
 
Generally the firearms decrease in value when you buy it. If you maintain it it holds its value to some percentage point below a new one. This may mean it is worth more than you paid after some time.
If the model is discontinued it's value may rocket very quickly like the colt revolvers.
However if there are several millions of the firearms available and supply exceeded demand the value may just hold steady like Savage 99's or Winchester 94's.
It may be said that C68 did much for increasing the value of some guns like the Lee Enfield as many were turned in and cut up due to naive and uneducated individuals.
 
Not like a car at all from what I have seen
Depends on model , number produced etc etc etc
I have guns here that were originally bought for 99 bucks ( 28ga model 12 ) that now are appraised for 5000 plus as a example
 
I bought a Rem. 870 Wingmaster for $99.99 from Sears, 40 years ago.
It's still in good condition, and I wouldn't let it go for 3 times what I paid for it.
A Win. 94 was going for the same price, and I usually see post '64's going for 400 bucks or higher.
No depreciation there.
And then there's my 30 buck Lee Enfield I bought back in the early seventies...
 
EE makes no sense especially for what some people want for rifles that are still available at any gun shop...i see 'unfired' guns i want on EE but for the same price as i could pay over the counter...that's not going to happen...don't trust what they say...and i haven't been able to handle the rifle...however, discontinued production is another matter all together...

emptor cavete

...but don't forget, Annie Oakley's 16 ga. went last year for $293,000...and i'm sure that it still is some gun! ;)
 
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appreciation with age only makes sense, but there is a difference between 30 years and 30 days.............
 
Supply and demand always rules...

There have been instances where a particular gun has been highly anticipated, but is generally not available... some have taken advantage of that anticipation and bought the first available inventory and sold at a profit... this is often seen when there is a new cartridge offering...

If the item is collectible, there may be a few out there who value the item above the generally accepted market value.

For the most part... run of the mill firearms depreciate by 10-15% above applicable taxes (25ish%).
 
Yup some things on the EE make you wonder. Like grizzly shotguns only 500 rounds down range added a shell holder and a custom tremclad paint job askin 50$ more then i paid plus shipping LOL.

But somehow they sell
 
Agreed, my inquiry was meant for guns up to 20 years old. Should have mentioned that.

again it all depends on production rate of the model and what it was/what it is, some will drop off the map and others will suffer quality control issues, or off shore out sourcing.

Some chamberings get dropped over time which can sometimes lead to a increase in value and or a decrease depending on ammo availability, such as 30 Remington and 303 savage.

Add to all of this supply and demand and what may hold true for one rifle may be the complete opposite of the next, so with such a broad question there is no definitive answer, hence the blue book of values, of which not everything is listed but it will shed some light on most things, and as the older weirder stuff that no knows anything about comes to the surface, those that know everything about them are buried below the surface............
 
Someone earlier brought up the rem 700 platform.... if you were a fan as much as I am you would see the value of an older rem700... If I had the opportunity to buy a pre marlin rem 700 in vg plus for the price of a new one slightly used you would jump on it (if you were me).....

Certain firearms are more valuable based on legend and reliability vs newer versions... that is just the way it is...

That being said I struggle when I see an axxis at cost mi us shipping or an xl7 that is at cost plus shipping.... at the end of the day know what you are buying and pay accordingly.... if there wasnt a sucker born every minute these listings wouldnt exist...
 
As we all know, when you drive a brand new car off the lot it immediately depreciates.
Is it the same for rifles? As soon as they are shot, is there a significant depreciation? If so, how much, percentage wise.

I lost lots of money selling new rifles I didn't like, but I never lost any money selling a quality used rifle I bought at a fair price.
 
hard to find, or popular guns go up, especially when they are out of stock! m305s were selling for lots more than they are not too long ago beacuse of rumors and speculation
 
a real good example is the rugger 44s autos thy have gone up by huge amounts in the last 20 years .were model 12s have not but rather have come way down in the last 20 years .now a model 12 in 28 g or 1873 win thy will always hold high values .I wish I would have kept the model 21s I bought and sold over the years .same as granpas old Harley wish I had her know Dutch
 
Buy when the canadian dollar is strong. Many European guns have gone up quite a lot in the last 18 months with the dollar weakening. I tried to pick up a Sako Finnlight and they are now $200-250 higher.

Another tip - try to strike a deal at the end of the season espeically for outgoing models. I have a couple of guns in the safe that I get on discount and know I could sell them for more now than I paid after tax. The only downside you might not be able to pick and choose your caliber.
 
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