Milsurp price insanity

pcvando said:
- Covid, many people want cool toys to make them happy.

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I work in banking, we are seeing a recent trend called Revenge Spend.
All of the people that got locked up (and didn't take a pay cut) are spending loads of cash on luxury items.
They are buying higher end everything and not blinking at the price.

No idea how long its going to last? We don't have predictive models for this.
 
I started my firearms obsession with the milsurp rifles and they are still my favorite guns but with how the prices have skyrocketed in the last few years I haven’t bought any more of them it’s just not worth the dollars they are commanding
 
Jmcc said:
I work in banking, we are seeing a recent trend called Revenge Spend.
All of the people that got locked up (and didn't take a pay cut) are spending loads of cash on luxury items.
They are buying higher end everything and not blinking at the price.

No idea how long its going to last? We don't have predictive models for this.
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I don't know about revenge but this working from home means an extra $500/month not spent on truck gas!

Then there is the 1% I get on my savings which doesn't even keep up with the standard annual COLA let alone any serious pending inflation.

Best to invest in some hard assets - although I think ammo is the best!
 
As a younger collector (25), I think part of it is that a lot of new entrants just aren’t aware of what things went for so when there are a few examples that go at a given rate it sets the perceived market value. For example, I’ve only seen 3 or 4 Berthiers for sale so I bought one with a sanded down stock for 850 which might seem insane to those who have been collecting for a while, but it took me 2 years to find one at all when I had funds so it seemed reasonable to me. If I hadn’t have gone back and read some of the ‘what is it worth’ forums from a few years ago I might have been happy with what I paid!

I see the same thing with some of my friends who are just interested now, who think ANY full stocked enfield is worth about a thousand dollars, whereas to me they’re half that as that was what I found mine for.

Always a mix of reasons why, but I think a lot of it is new entrants to the market. Even things like the recent collection of World War 1 video games I believe had an effect on market value as much as I hate to say it. People like to buy things they’re somewhat familiar with and that exposed a lot of new potential gun owners to firearms they weren’t otherwise familiar with.

In university I also noticed a huge interest in firearms from foreign students in guns. So in the way Long branch Lees are part of Canadian heritage and so go for a premium, guns which are relevant or known in other nations are seeing a bit of a boost as well. For instance, some classmates from China found out I had a Johnson rifle, which is apparently well known there from a popular TV show and so they wanted to pay a fair sum for it, well above what I paid for it.

Add those factors to values that never seem to be going down and you get a situation a bit like the housing market. If people want something, even if it seems a bit high based on going rates it will always just sell for more in the future. May or may not be true, but how many of you who have been doing this for a few decades would have expected to see 2000+ be the going rate for a garand, or 400 dollars be considered a deal on a good sks?
 
I'm so glad I only had a passing interest in surplus rifles and had a few MN rifles at one time.

As a child I was fascinated by the "Army guns" I saw in the Sears and Eaton's cataogues for $12.95 and later as a teenager I remember a couple of Winnipeg and Toronto surplus stores mass-mailed catalogues to rural Canada. I thought the rifles were cool. Enfields, Mausers, Carcanos, etc. all in the $30.00 to $60.00 range. I passed on a $99.99 Lee Enfield sniper rifle with scope and crate in 1972 because I was saving money from my first job to go travelling abroad. Besides, I had a rifle for hunting, a crudely sporterized Ross M-10 303.



Glad I got my 1911 Swede Model 96 for $49.99 when I did in the 1970s though. I'm keeping that one and otherwise, the the game is all yours.
 
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I've only had my pal for about 3 years. But the entire reason I don't own a milsurp rifle is the outrageous prices on guns that are in decent shape. Every time I want one the prices are just far too high, and I think to myself I can get a new gun with a warranty and modern machining
 
Ribstaylor said:
I've only had my pal for about 3 years. But the entire reason I don't own a milsurp rifle is the outrageous prices on guns that are in decent shape. Every time I want one the prices are just far too high, and I think to myself I can get a new gun with a warranty and modern machining
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it takes a few years but once you have all the guns you need, you get to start to buying the guns you want
 
Ribstaylor said:
I've only had my pal for about 3 years. But the entire reason I don't own a milsurp rifle is the outrageous prices on guns that are in decent shape. Every time I want one the prices are just far too high, and I think to myself
I can get a new gun with a warranty and modern machining
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I wish more people would think that way...
 
I love my milsurps, but it's such a gambling game for the next purchase. Everytime I hum and haw over a rifle and say bah I'll get it later, I live to regret it. Since I'm not a rich man I have to plan out the purchases somewhat, so it's a gamble what gun do I buy next, which one is going to skyrocket in price next. I gambled on waiting for some and sucks for me.
 
I watched the Switzer/icollector auction for Dec 10 and 11. I thought the prices for most things went as I expected they would, not too high. Many prices (to me) seemed lower than recent gunnutz and other commercial sellers.
People still pay a lot for mystery caliber rolling blocks of dubious quality, when they are likely in worse condition than described. It is the condition /description/photo quality to frightens me about online auctions.

Some milsurps were priced reasonably, a 1903 Springfield, some Breda Garands and various Enfields.
I wish I had the cash to buy the 1863 Sharps in 50/70, or the Tower Carbine .58. But do you trust the condition...
 
There are always a few good buys at these auctions but for models that are currently popular- look out! I noticed a Mauser 71/84 going for $690 (all in) and several pretty good looking 3-band Sniders didn't see much bidding. I also noticed 2 of those 91/30's with attached folding bayonets going for about what Tradex sold them for a couple of years ago.

milsurpo
 
Wait until you see what guns the Liberal's allow us to keep.
Then you will see price movement
Because there isn't much non restricted Surplus left that is improbable
 
Jon. said:
I love my milsurps, but it's such a gambling game for the next purchase. Everytime I hum and haw over a rifle and say bah I'll get it later, I live to regret it. Since I'm not a rich man I have to plan out the purchases somewhat, so it's a gamble what gun do I buy next, which one is going to skyrocket in price next. I gambled on waiting for some and sucks for me.
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this has been my case for the last 10 years on m1 garands
 
tinviper said:
this has been my case for the last 10 years on m1 garands
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I bought a james river one 9 or 10 years ago and felt semi embarrassed for paying 1800 for it. And last one I bought was a gorgeous red banded m1917 for 1600 after auction fees. I want a mas36 but they've priced themselves out of my wheelhouse. Maybe we're all just nuts.
 
I started buying surplus rifles over 50 years ago. Bought lots and sold few, so needless to say I have ended up with more than a few. I won't express any opinion about whether that was a smart move or not, as it will bring on the "well, I'm glad I..." and blah blah blah. It is interesting to read the different views on things, and most are reasonable.

A poster above said that these rifles aren't being made anymore, so there's that.
 
Many can still be purchased at very reasonable prices. If posted here they would be gone within 5 minutes, so most of the folks will never see them being offered. However there are other venues for purchasing the firearms as well. Big auctions are available to all collectors including the foreign ones, so it would not be reasonable to expect decent prices being realized there. Multiple buyers and only limited number of the items will drive up the price often beyond any reasonable level. It takes far more effort, luck and knowledge to snap these firearms at good price than anything else on the market.
 
Speckfire said:
I do not think the prices are insane..They do not make any more.
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Actually, to the contrary, some of them ARE being made nowadays. However, the prices of the newly produced milsurp reflect the real cost of their production at present times. The prices of some original milsurp are still LOWER!

Examples:

-MOSIN–NAGANT MODEL M38, NEW MANUFACTURE 2021 YEARS $1,099.00
h ttps://westrifle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=23&products_id=2392

-New production-bolt action rifle SAR K98k Sportmatch in caliber 8x33, similar to Mauser K98k € 2,980.00 h ttp://www.sar-shop.de/epages/61028398.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=%2FShops%2F61028398%2FProducts%2F98.637

-HMG® Sturmgewehr STG-N $1,799.99 h ttps://www.hmgunworks.com/product/hmg-sturmgewehr-stg-n/
 
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