Where to advertise/sell shotguns?

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Mtl_Biker

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I'm an airgun shooter and have no experience with shotguns or "real" rifles. A lady friend's father passed away a couple of years ago and she just now got around to trying to figure out what to do with his shotguns and rifles. She thinks some of them (from what her father had said over the years) were quite special and valuable. Since I have a PAL and she doesn't, she's asked me to help her dispose of them.

Where is a good place to find out more about the value of these guns and advertise them for sale?

Among the guns are a Winchester Model 94 30-30 "Golden Spike Commerative", a Double-Barrel "Belgium" marked on stock with lots of engraved trim, a double-barrel Hopkins & Allen, a single barrel J. Stevens Arms, a Browning Lightning over/under made in Belgium with 28" barrel, manufactured in 1965, a Cooey Model 84 20 ga full choke single barrel and some kind of possibly automatic rifle with no name other than "Automatic".

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

(I'm in Montreal, if that is important.)
 
Mtl_Biker said:
I'm an airgun shooter and have no experience with shotguns or "real" rifles. A lady friend's father passed away a couple of years ago and she just now got around to trying to figure out what to do with his shotguns and rifles. She thinks some of them (from what her father had said over the years) were quite special and valuable. Since I have a PAL and she doesn't, she's asked me to help her dispose of them.

Where is a good place to find out more about the value of these guns and advertise them for sale?

Among the guns are a Winchester Model 94 30-30 "Golden Spike Commerative", a Double-Barrel "Belgium" marked on stock with lots of engraved trim, a double-barrel Hopkins & Allen, a single barrel J. Stevens Arms, a Browning Lightning over/under made in Belgium with 28" barrel, manufactured in 1965, a Cooey Model 84 20 ga full choke single barrel and some kind of possibly automatic rifle with no name other than "Automatic".

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

(I'm in Montreal, if that is important.)
Click to expand...

Realistically, the Winchester will (inexplicably) fetch a good price, as will the Superposed Browning. The others are what are affectionately known as "rats and mice".

Post pics of any dents and dings on the EE. You could post here to get help with pricing and then post in the EE, but sometimes that can backfire.
 
I can't help with the value of the items but, selling them depends on how much effort you want to put in.

Selling them here or on other sites such as Gun Post means taking pictures, placing adds, dealing with dozens of tire kickers and picture hunters, endless streams of emails from "interested" buyers, more pictures, packaging, shipping and insurance. BUT,... you get nation wide exposure.

Selling on consignment is much easier but, as was said, the dealer will take 20% and your customer base is limited to the people that actually walk into that shop.

Renting a table at a gun show also limits your customer base and everybody is looking for a "deal". Be prepared to bring them back home with you if they don't sell.

The EASIEST way to get rid of them is to call somebody like Switzer's Auction house. You get International exposure. They will pick them up and take care of EVERYTHING and send you a cheque when the auction closes. Yes... they will take a commission but, the prices the guns will sell for on these sites are unbelievable. Sometimes more than retail. You can also sell the ammo, reloading supplies (powders, primers, brass etc.) accessories (scopes, bi-pods magazines etc.) and any other "sporting" related items she may have kicking around (fishing gear, hunting stuff, books, magazines. militaria etc.)
 
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Send them to auction and be done of it. Even with paying commission you might end up with more than if you tried selling privately. Plus have none of the hassle of dealing with buyer's who don't want to pay anything privately yet pay ridiculous prices at auction.
 
gunsaholic said:
Send them to auction and be done of it. Even with paying commission you might end up with more than if you tried selling privately. Plus have none of the hassle of dealing with buyer's who don't want to pay anything privately yet pay ridiculous prices at auction.
Click to expand...

This^^^
Plus, it puts you at arm's length so you can just have the checque sent to the family without getting tied up in it all. Try Switzer's in L'Amable, ON. Definitely worth the commission as they deal with the firearms centre, the advertising, the photos, the billing, and the shipping.
 
"I'm an airgun shooter and have no experience with shotguns or "real" rifles."

As Joe Amorosi, gunsaholic and Londonshooter said

Since you are not familiar with guns, as already said above, best send them to an auction house.
https://www.switzersauction.com

As already said, if you advertise them yourself you will waste a lot of time.
I have sold a few things on ####### to nice guys.
But the time wasters outnumber the good guys about 2:1
 
Only two guns of value win 94 700-1200 depending on condition
Browning depending on condition 900-1400$
The rest are 100-300$ guns
If there is a store in your local take them there
Pay the 20-25% fee and go pic up the cheque it’s a no brainer
Auction house will charge 25-% or more and it’s a crap shoot
 
Joe Amorosi said:
I can't help with the value of the items but, selling them depends on how much effort you want to put in.

Selling them here or on other sites such as Gun Post means taking pictures, placing adds, dealing with dozens of tire kickers and picture hunters, endless streams of emails from "interested" buyers, more pictures, packaging, shipping and insurance. BUT,... you get nation wide exposure.

Selling on consignment is much easier but, as was said, the dealer will take 20% and your customer base is limited to the people that actually walk into that shop.

Renting a table at a gun show also limits your customer base and everybody is looking for a "deal". Be prepared to bring them back home with you if they don't sell.

The EASIEST way to get rid of them is to call somebody like Switzer's Auction house. You get International exposure. They will pick them up and take care of EVERYTHING and send you a cheque when the auction closes. Yes... they will take a commission but, the prices the guns will sell for on these sites are unbelievable. Sometimes more than retail. You can also sell the ammo, reloading supplies (powders, primers, brass etc.) accessories (scopes, bi-pods magazines etc.) and any other "sporting" related items she may have kicking around (fishing gear, hunting stuff, books, magazines. militaria etc.)
Click to expand...

Depending who you consign with, the potential customer base can be huge, stores like Prophet River have a huge online following, and potential customers all across Canada.
 
Last time I was considering consigning with Switzer's I checked and it was a lot more than15%. That is just the buyer's premium. Below you can see a few cut and pastes from their frequently asked question that give the rates. I couldn't believe they were that high at the time so I called and was told they were right. The seller's commission for guns is 25%. Add to that the 15% buyer's commission. On top of that they add GST and provincial taxes that wouldn't be there in a private sale. 12% for my province. So if you consigned a sporting gun that the high bidder was willing to pay $112 with taxes, you'd pay the $25% consigner's fee, the buyer would pay the $15% buyer's fee, the government would get the $12% taxes, and you'd get a check for around $60. If shipped to the buyer add $5 to the shipping costs. If you want them to pick the guns up and transport them to the auction you pay for that as well. If you want to use an auction house you might want to shop around. Kidd's also has national exposure through the Icollector website and doesn't have a seller's consignment percentage, just the 15% buyers premium.
I don't think you need to buy the team membership on this site unless you want the extra pictures and shorter refresh time period that gives you. If I was you I'd take some good pictures and post them in the appropriate forum on this site and ask for estimates of value. Post them for sale in the exchange with a firm no trade price. Be prepared to take more pictures. Don't be offended if someone tries a low ball offer, just tell them no offers or trades, but if it doesn't sell in a week I'll be bringing it to the top at a lower price. Bring it to top and if you had a lot of interest bring it down around 10%, little or no interest 20 or 25%. You'll find it's value.

https://www.switzersauction.com/frequently-asked-questions

We do purchase entire collections, but typically take items for auction on consignment and charge a commission based on the selling price, this rate can vary depending on the value of your consignment, it starts at 25% for firearms. Rates for consignments of ammunition / accessories / militaria only, start at 30%. While we do not accept absolute reserves we do respect value. Once consigned items can not be withdrawn. Our advertising program and level of participation brings you fair market value. We are licensed firearms dealers and take care of all paperwork associated with restricted and prohibited transfers. We are located in Ontario and have employee’s located in Calgary and Edmonton Alberta. Consignments can be dropped off at the auction hall, shipped to us via courier or Canada Post, or arrangements made for packaging and pickup at your location (fees for this service can be determined once location, value and volume are known). Please note that A.T.T.’s are now required to deliver your firearms to the Post Office, Courier Depot or bring firearms to us in person, call 1-800-731-4000 and ask to be connected to your provincial C.F.O. to get an A.T.T. Payments cheques are mailed the week following the sale. References are available upon request.

Consignors are not authorized to bid on their own items or have someone bid on their behalf. We reserve the right to withdraw any items or bids made by the offending consignor.


+ WHAT IS THE BUYER'S PREMIUM?
A buyer's premium is a percentage added to your winning bid. It's how auction houses pay the bills. At Switzer's Auction the buyer's premium is 15%.
 
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