Will the used gun market garden up again?

[Iamero]

Just curious what you guys thought about the status of the gun market right now; especially pertaining to the Hide. It blows my mind that every day I am seeing $2,000+ builds selling for $1100-1400.

Fortunately some builds I bought used and cheap so I hope I can get my money out when I’m ready to sell, but you are guaranteed to lose money on a new build right now (and I have a few I had built ground up).

For example, I see a handful of Win70s for sale (myself included) and they range from $1,100 to $1,800 to $2,300 with the only difference being on just a few parts and the smith who built it. In some cases I’ve been tempted to buy the cheapest one just to level off the market a bit and bring the average sell price back up.

So what do you think? Time of year? Republican candidacy? Oversaturated market?

I know in 2020 the elections will tighten up the semi auto/hi cap/ammo market, but what about long range?

I’m bored and up for discussing what you all think.

 

[TimeWillTell]

I think you will likely always lose a me money on a custom regardless. If a person wants that exact rifle and it's within a couple hundred of new cost, they may take the short wait or they may decide to just build new as it will be "theirs" instead of used. On the flip side, if it's not exactly what they want they will likely only buy if it's a discount big enough to warrant the compromise in their mind.

Additionally, 308s have seemed to be really cheap lately. It's all a supply and demand issue in my mind as more people gravitate to 6/6.5/7s.

 

[_Windrider_]

Supply and demand. There is a glut of supply since Obama is gone. If the mid terms go unfavorable you will see a shift. When 2020 rolls around it’ll be game on and supply will drop drastically and demand will sky rocket, especially if we get a warren or a booker or a Harris.

 

[Iamero]

Yea that’s for sure, 308s are rock bottom right now. Even 300 win mags have been hard to move lately.

I was just curious if elections would drive bolt guns to pickup as well. I think the general anxiety of someone like Warren getting in would be enough to push every part of the market to go crazy again. I don’t care much about the gassers, but I hated seeing reloading gear dry up.

 

[pmclaine]

People sell their guns?

How curious?

 

[thejeep]

Change costs.

 

[wildcats]

Big boys always have to have new toys

 

[W54/XM-388]

There are a couple issues in the bolt guns you refer to.

When you sell your "custom" gun, you may have paid a lot for it to be just the way you want, but that doesn't mean somebody else thinks what you picked is the best thing ever.

If the rifle is a .308 that is not a popular caliber for target shooting these days so the price will reflect the lack of demand and what people think they would have to pay for rebarreling it to something else.

You are also going to be competing not just with what someone could get a new built one for but also with what they could get used parts for such as barreled action / used stock, / used action, barrel from elsewhere and stock from etc.

If the rifle is in one of the "popular" calibers, the buyer also has to think about barrel life, most of the "popular" calibers have a sub 2k prime barrel life and that could be easily cut in half if someone was pushing things to the edge. So anyone who has done the dance for awhile will keep barrel life in their mind.

Another thing is the twist rate, recently everybody needs much faster twists than before to shoot the heavy / solid bullets, so the barrels may or may not have them.

In addition, you usually have to come up with the money now not part now part later or pay on a credit card etc.

On the high end name brand ones like AI, they sell well, but often the sellers have a bit too high an idea of what their used one is worth compared to the best deal that can be had from a top vendor on a cash deal as well as the discounts offered for show demos by the same vendors.
They also often want to sell it with a bunch of barrels that someone may not want, or other accessories.
There is also the question of how much is getting it new exactly the way you want worth vs used for a good deal.
The AI and other top brand ones sell very well if priced well, or they sit if priced high.

In the political arena, nothing is going to make bolt rifles the new hot item. If they start talking about banning or restricting bolt rifles, it means the war is already lost & confiscation is the next step.

One last thought is that things sell for more from November through May when people have cash or extra funds. Then June through October is the ramen noodle eating time & buyers will be wanting a better deal, especially as new sellers are quite aggressive around that time frame.

 

[Redmanss]

Back when you could count the number of reliable premium builders on one hand, and each of them had a 12+ month waiting list, the used market was lucrative. Now that there's two dozen quality builders just here on the Hide where you can go from order to rounds downrange often in less than three months, I don't see the used bolt action market ever coming back to the levels seen five years ago. Used to be a steal to get a GAP with 300 rounds down the barrel for $3500. Now, pricing starts with a "2" and even unfired custom rifles take a $1k hit on pricing.

Enjoy the times and get some good rigs at bargain pricing. If you want an investment rifle, buy a crate of SCAR 17s, they never seem to lose value.

 

[Iamero]

Haha as long as the SCARs are FDE, I don’t know what makes them so much more popular than the black ones; especially with their 5 different colors of FDE on them.

I think the market is also changing to follow latest and greatest technology in the field. Whether that’s ballistic performance from new cartridges, quick barrel swap setups, or new systems like Remage, TL3 and other actions with savage barrels, etc.

On top of that there are more options now than ever before for accessory options: barrels, stocks, trigger, etc. it’s nuts now how many new companies entered the market recently as the PRS hype grew. With companies like Bergara, Ruger, and Savage offering rifles that are capable of 1/2 MOA accuracy for sub $1,000 it is bound to affect the used “custom” rifle market as well unless you have a top tier build from someone like GAP, SAC, AO, etc.

 

[jbuck88]

There are a couple issues in the bolt guns you refer to.

When you sell your "custom" gun, you may have paid a lot for it to be just the way you want, but that doesn't mean somebody else thinks what you picked is the best thing ever.

If the rifle is a .308 that is not a popular caliber for target shooting these days so the price will reflect the lack of demand and what people think they would have to pay for rebarreling it to something else.

You are also going to be competing not just with what someone could get a new built one for but also with what they could get used parts for such as barreled action / used stock, / used action, barrel from elsewhere and stock from etc.

If the rifle is in one of the "popular" calibers, the buyer also has to think about barrel life, most of the "popular" calibers have a sub 2k prime barrel life and that could be easily cut in half if someone was pushing things to the edge. So anyone who has done the dance for awhile will keep barrel life in their mind.

Another thing is the twist rate, recently everybody needs much faster twists than before to shoot the heavy / solid bullets, so the barrels may or may not have them.

In addition, you usually have to come up with the money now not part now part later or pay on a credit card etc.

On the high end name brand ones like AI, they sell well, but often the sellers have a bit too high an idea of what their used one is worth compared to the best deal that can be had from a top vendor on a cash deal as well as the discounts offered for show demos by the same vendors.
They also often want to sell it with a bunch of barrels that someone may not want, or other accessories.
There is also the question of how much is getting it new exactly the way you want worth vs used for a good deal.
The AI and other top brand ones sell very well if priced well, or they sit if priced high.

In the political arena, nothing is going to make bolt rifles the new hot item. If they start talking about banning or restricting bolt rifles, it means the war is already lost & confiscation is the next step.

One last thought is that things sell for more from November through May when people have cash or extra funds. Then June through October is the ramen noodle eating time & buyers will be wanting a better deal, especially as new sellers are quite aggressive around that time frame.

I think there is a lot of truth here. I have been half ass'd putting together my next build, but there are so many more factory rifles filling the gaps that use to exist. Every from ultra lights to full chassis systems. At almost every price point there is a factory gun: Ruger, Tikka, DT, Barrett, and AI just to name a few.
AI's seem to be holding pretty solid, but again when you start going more custom and less traditional you start limiting your market.

 

[Unknown]

Custom guns, custom cars, custom boats, custom knives rarely bring what their original owners put into building them. A custom hot rod may cost it's original owner/builder $50-75K to build, and if it sold for $35-40K they would be doing well. Same principle applies to rifle builds. I built an AR15 using standard grade (Aero) upper and lower receivers, but high end barrel, gas block, trigger, bolt carrier, bolt, etc. I probably had $1200-1600 into building it, and I would be surprised if I could sell it for $800-900 just because the market is so flooded with rifles now. But I didn't build it to sell, I built it because it was what I wanted to own, keep, and shoot. It is still doing great and I still have no intention of selling it.

 

[_Windrider_]

There are a couple issues in the bolt guns you refer to.

When you sell your "custom" gun, you may have paid a lot for it to be just the way you want, but that doesn't mean somebody else thinks what you picked is the best thing ever.

If the rifle is a .308 that is not a popular caliber for target shooting these days so the price will reflect the lack of demand and what people think they would have to pay for rebarreling it to something else.

You are also going to be competing not just with what someone could get a new built one for but also with what they could get used parts for such as barreled action / used stock, / used action, barrel from elsewhere and stock from etc.

If the rifle is in one of the "popular" calibers, the buyer also has to think about barrel life, most of the "popular" calibers have a sub 2k prime barrel life and that could be easily cut in half if someone was pushing things to the edge. So anyone who has done the dance for awhile will keep barrel life in their mind.

Another thing is the twist rate, recently everybody needs much faster twists than before to shoot the heavy / solid bullets, so the barrels may or may not have them.

In addition, you usually have to come up with the money now not part now part later or pay on a credit card etc.

On the high end name brand ones like AI, they sell well, but often the sellers have a bit too high an idea of what their used one is worth compared to the best deal that can be had from a top vendor on a cash deal as well as the discounts offered for show demos by the same vendors.
They also often want to sell it with a bunch of barrels that someone may not want, or other accessories.
There is also the question of how much is getting it new exactly the way you want worth vs used for a good deal.
The AI and other top brand ones sell very well if priced well, or they sit if priced high.

In the political arena, nothing is going to make bolt rifles the new hot item. If they start talking about banning or restricting bolt rifles, it means the war is already lost & confiscation is the next step.

One last thought is that things sell for more from November through May when people have cash or extra funds. Then June through October is the ramen noodle eating time & buyers will be wanting a better deal, especially as new sellers are quite aggressive around that time frame.

U got a pwobwem with wamen noodles?

 

[W54/XM-388]

U got a pwobwem with wamen noodles?

Hot instant ramen noodles from a vending machine warmed up many a cold winter night especially when one was pinching the ¥100 coins to have some left for Aquarius.

 

[Codiekfx400]

Also the new custom budget actions like the origin and nucleus might be to blame. Suddenly a trued Remington 700 is not so desireable when a Origin costs $825. Then order a match grade barrel from PVA or Keystone accuracy and you have a damn fine shooter.

 

[308pirate]

To me, the advent of sub $1000 precision semi mass-produced actions, remage barrels, and no-bedding chassis with aics mag compatibility makes a true custom less attractive either new or used.

I don't think I'll ever buy another fiberglass or laminated stock for a precision rifle.

 

[yakstone]

That and the fact that folks don't get that used anything is a minimum 25 - 50% discount.

I see a ton of stuff listed on here that folks are close and sometimes above what you could purchase from one of the SH sponsors for, brand new.

 

[lightman]

Some things are a good investment and others are not. Unfortunately custom rifles are not. I'm thinking of selling my custom long range bench rifle and I expect to take a beating on it.

 

[Maggot]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/m/93e...ed3396b353b/the-gun-business-is-bouncing.html

 

[supercorndogs]

That and the fact that folks don't get that used anything is a minimum 25 - 50% discount.

I see a ton of stuff listed on here that folks are close and sometimes above what you could purchase from one of the SH sponsors for, brand new.

LOL. Bullshit. A lot of high prices. Yes. But anything used is 25-50% off. No. Know your market, know your prices. You can sell used items for almost new prices or more, when they are desirable and scarce. The used market drove up the price of the RPR IMO. The used gun market has never been great, unless of coarse, you got a great deal on it.