SKS market collapse is it true?

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erkner

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SKS market collapse is it true?

I talked with 3 different dealers and all of them told me that despite limited availability of SKS rifles from distributors and ever increasing prices. SKS rifles simply stopped selling even if they are sub $200. Guys do you think that our market is oversaturated with SKSs?
 
Lever arms still has nice ones for that price. If you get them on a good day which is a lottery them may allow you some selection
 
At the last gun show I attended they were not selling at all most guys had them for $220 taxes in. The only prophet of doom and glum on this matter is West rifle but his prophecies of SKSs despairing from the market do not come true for the past 4 years
 
I don't see any type of firearm flying off the shelf these days, particularly semi-auto rifles, as there is a lot of conjecture what "sunny ways" looks like on the firearms file. SKS's are still probably selling as well as any commercial gun, none of which are truly fast movers in Canada.
 
I attend/help out a small gun dealer friend at a lot of gun shows in AB. He tells me decent SKS rifles are much harder to get now and cost more than the current market will bear in many locales. Most people have the rifle so sales are much slower than they were even a year ago, plus less people have disposable income in AB what with the ndp, oil job losses, and the fort mac fires drying up $$$. Just my observation and opinion.
 
A dealer couldn't pay me to take one.

After owning and shooting a bunch of them, seeing what their advantages and disadvantages are, I have zero interest in the platform.
 
SKS's will always have their lovers and haters.

The past 8 years or so, with the panic buying south of the border, these guns got a lot of Youtube and internet love, and I suspect that a lot of buyers were expecting them to be something more than they are, and that would have caused a lot of disappointment.

The market is probably a little saturated right now adter nearly adexade of booming sales. No surprise there. The same thing happened to Enfields and Garands, back in the day, and look at those guns (and their values) now.

At $200-$250, you're still getting a lot of rifle for the money. Sooner or later, the well will run dry. The ones in circulation will shrink as they get used and abused, just like with Enfields and Garands.

In the meantime, expect them to go in and out of fashion.
 
I love SKS, but when I buy my next one....it has to be really special: non-refurbed, unissued, great looking and in a year that I don't already have.
This means that I won't be buying what is on offer in stores right now.:(
 
There will always be a market for a Russian 1949 , 53/54 izzys, unrefurb unfired examples and lately Chinese and Yugo.
The B grade run of the mill Russian refurbs and the poorer refurbs of late may be slower selling yes. Also like Claven and Infidel29 stated , I think with the economy how it is being a little slow , that reflects in slower sales in the fun/toys market like guns etc.
 
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I'm not entirely surprised to hear that the market for these carbines may be stagnating. Besides the obvious macroeconomic factors, it seems that the average price of SKSs is ticking up while the average quality seems to be ticking downwards.

Moreover, if 150,000 SKSs really have been imported into Canada to date, how many more do people need? Even fans of the rifle have to reach a satiation point where another one is unnecessary. And the number of new firearms owners in the country on an annual basis aren't going to eat up the surplus of rifles in retailer's inventories and what you can buy privately.
 
As far as having 2 or multiples , they are addictive , I'll show you what I have collected/amassed over the years in pics here below (16 total, the bulk of which I collected/bought very recently) , and I just LIKE them not LOVE them lol. I respect them for what they are which is a cheaper , durable , reliable firearm. Shoots cheap ammo and is easy to strip and clean as well as repair if necessary with cheapish parts and a straightforward design. They aren't making anymore of them and even if they did start producing them in the modern day they would easily be double the price or more to manufacture the same quality of rifle. Bottom line they are fun and reliable , never gonna win any superb accuracy awards but they do alright all things considered.

View attachment 59265View attachment 59266

And yes I have a locking mechanism/lock on the sks crate for locked safe and legal storage.
 
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GunsNotPuns said:
I'm not entirely surprised to hear that the market for these carbines may be stagnating. Besides the obvious macroeconomic factors, it seems that the average price of SKSs is ticking up while the average quality seems to be ticking downwards.

Moreover, if 150,000 SKSs really have been imported into Canada to date, how many more do people need? Even fans of the rifle have to reach a satiation point where another one is unnecessary. And the number of new firearms owners in the country on an annual basis aren't going to eat up the surplus of rifles in retailer's inventories and what you can buy privately.
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A bit of everyone's statement is true, saturated Market, price of SKS higher, PRICE of AMMO has gone up substantially ,in the last year and some retailers saying it will soon go up again! As I said in other posts, a store close to me put theirs on for $150. Shooter grade but nice SKS, it still took 6 weeks to rid themselves of the final few, that to me says saturation when you don't have people running in to grab these up at that price! I think the rising price of surplus is a big nail in the SKS coffin, it doesn't have to get too close to other popular calibers before people jump. SKS are fun but you can get more accuracy from other platforms so some folks will just stop shooting/ plinking x39 for something else!
As was said, there will always be a market for the collectable SKS but I think they are pricing themselves out of the market.
 
The 3 SKS's I bought in the last year were all kind of beat up on the outside with OK bores. Good shooters for 200 yards and in but they sure aren't beauty queens. I sold one, gave one to a friend and kept the ugliest of the bunch. Which now is affectionately referred to as Bush Pig. At 200$ a piece they weren't a bad buy. I'm willing to pay more for the next one I buy if it's in really good shape. :yingyang:
 
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