One of the reasons I refuse to consider buying LH firearms.
What is the deal with the used gun market?
- Thread starter birdybird
- Start date
Take your time and peruse the EE, local gun stores and ads on CGN. Once you decide what you are looking for, watch the ads and wait for the right price and condition. Sometimes it helps to ask around at work (depends on where you work).
A few years ago, a guy at work was looking for a .22 for his young lad. I gave him the Cooey single-shot I got as a kid- no charge. Win-win!
A few years ago, a guy at work was looking for a .22 for his young lad. I gave him the Cooey single-shot I got as a kid- no charge. Win-win!
Pro Tip:
Create WTB threads, detail exactly what it is you want, and what your budget is, and how quickly you are prepared to move on a deal if someone presents you with one that fits your criteria.
You would be surprised how often this works, and often times, how quickly too.
Do that in addition to keeping an eye on the various sources of classifieds, and you can bet you will get what you are after at a good price. It has worked and continues to work for me quite well.
A few other tricks I have I keep close to my chest lol
Create WTB threads, detail exactly what it is you want, and what your budget is, and how quickly you are prepared to move on a deal if someone presents you with one that fits your criteria.
You would be surprised how often this works, and often times, how quickly too.
Do that in addition to keeping an eye on the various sources of classifieds, and you can bet you will get what you are after at a good price. It has worked and continues to work for me quite well.
A few other tricks I have I keep close to my chest lol
Marlin Guide guns in 45-70 use to sell the same day they were posted, I just "gave" one away at $1200, I see crazy $1700 and up for these now, but listing's are weeks or months old.
Asking prices are nuts, I understand free market, but whose crazy enough to spend that much,
$1500 is a weeks gross wages for some people.
Let's not even talk about descriptions, a few safes kisses, LOL fukk off , just say its dented , cute words don't make the damage less.
Has been hunted , so what, range use only, just means hundreds of rounds more than a hunting gun.
Asking prices are nuts, I understand free market, but whose crazy enough to spend that much,
$1500 is a weeks gross wages for some people.
Let's not even talk about descriptions, a few safes kisses, LOL fukk off , just say its dented , cute words don't make the damage less.
Has been hunted , so what, range use only, just means hundreds of rounds more than a hunting gun.
Good to hear, I wish I had more to give.
I have given away guns , accessories, gear.
It helps people out and at the end of the day, end of your life, that $35 scope rail, gun case, rings, knife, pants or jacket is really not going to matter.
I'd love to see a FREE sub forum within the EE.....BUT
There is always a "but" and as simple and wholesome as that sounds you'd always get scumbag koksukkers abusing it by reselling the items after recieving them.
Never confuse the "asking price" with the ultimate "selling price" ; they are rarely the same and always be prepared to walk away if you can't make a reasonable deal. You can always come back. There almost always is another of what you "must have" out there.
I feel your pain.
About 5 years ago i bought a brand new henry classic lever action 22 at epps. I remember i paid $350, and i remember that clearly because i had a more experienced buddy with me who said "whoah, that's a lot of money for a 22" .
Now my oldest son is getting old enough, i thought about getting one for him.
Epp's price? Depends on the model, but between $600-900!
So then i start looking used. I checked GP, for example, and there was one for $450, but it's already sold, the rest are within $50 of epp's prices.
As a woodworker, i'm used to "buy used" being good advice that you can give someone who wants to get into woodworking but can't afford the price of new tools. In woodworking, the used machine market has significantly lower prices than new. One of my table saws, for example, is a classic model General 350 - a cast iron made in canada standard for decades. When it last sold new, the new price was several thousand. I bought mine used for $500. As a rule of thumb, the price of a used woodworking machine is around half of the new price.
That rule of thumb definitely doesn't seem to apply in the used gun market. My experience so far is that the used gun market isn't where you go to find *price* that you can't find on the new market, but rather the used market is where you go to find *availability* that you can't find on the new market.
About 5 years ago i bought a brand new henry classic lever action 22 at epps. I remember i paid $350, and i remember that clearly because i had a more experienced buddy with me who said "whoah, that's a lot of money for a 22" .
Now my oldest son is getting old enough, i thought about getting one for him.
Epp's price? Depends on the model, but between $600-900!
So then i start looking used. I checked GP, for example, and there was one for $450, but it's already sold, the rest are within $50 of epp's prices.
As a woodworker, i'm used to "buy used" being good advice that you can give someone who wants to get into woodworking but can't afford the price of new tools. In woodworking, the used machine market has significantly lower prices than new. One of my table saws, for example, is a classic model General 350 - a cast iron made in canada standard for decades. When it last sold new, the new price was several thousand. I bought mine used for $500. As a rule of thumb, the price of a used woodworking machine is around half of the new price.
That rule of thumb definitely doesn't seem to apply in the used gun market. My experience so far is that the used gun market isn't where you go to find *price* that you can't find on the new market, but rather the used market is where you go to find *availability* that you can't find on the new market.
Painkillers
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Excellent advice.
It's contingent on the buyer to research what particular used guns should be worth...then make reasonable offers regardless of the asking price. If the seller is motivated, and has feet firmly planted on reality, a deal will be found. If not, he can keep it. There will be another one out there, somewhere.
Painkillers
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
...and, ignore.
There are indeed deals to be had on the EE. Four of my favorite guns came off the EE and all were exceptional deals. There are some sellers who have a sense of value that differs from mine. Patience is the key. What you want will eventually show up. The other thing necessary to your continued sanity is the willingness to walk away from something you want.
That's very vicious
All the good deals get snatched up almost immediately (so you don't see them), while the ads for delusionally high-priced items will remain unsold. If you want something in particular, you have to check the EE dilligently and be quick with an "I'll take it!"
I've sold some very fair-priced firearms and accessories and sometimes I'll have 3-4 offers coming in within minutes of eachother and my ad will be taken down, sometimes within half an hour.
I noticed this as well. Cabela's in Regina has 3 pages of paper FULL of used guns and they still want enough for most of them. Which is sad cause i've actually found some really good deals on used in there in the past. The best one I found was a year ago on a Tikka T3 stainless hunter 300 wsm with a stainless Leupold VX1 for $749. And it seems ever since then, they've upped their prices on the used. They only want $100-$150 +tax less then new price and for that they can keep them. They don't budge on the price either, I tried lol
We're going to see a huge market correction here soon with cost of living going up, but its going to hit HARD in 2026 when everyone who bought a 550K house before inflation really took off (2020-2021) at 1-2% interest and their mortgages come due at 3-5% interest and they need every penny they can get or they lose their house.
One problem with sales on CGN - EE is we see the asking price but never the actual selling price so are in the dark that way. However, by following the gun auction sites you can see what they went for at each auction and add on the fees and taxes for a much better idea of at least someone's idea of "Fair market Value". That's my M O.
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Harder than it sounds... you need a minimum of 10 positive feedback reviews. I list all my items here and gun post and they move much quicker on gun post.
