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Have Online Sales Affected the Price of Guns?

sohigh1sohigh1 Member Posts: 862 ✭✭✭✭
edited February 2012 in General Discussion
I was reading another thread and did not want to hijack it. In that thread, there was mention of the fact that some USED guns sell for more than NEW guns in an online auction format.

Has the availablity of guns over the internet affected, in any way, the price you would pay at a local gunshop? Has the ability of several morons to run the price of a used gun up to and above the price of the same gun NIB caused the prices of all guns to go up?


I know there is no way to prove this one way or the other, but just wanted to know what your opinions are.
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Comments

  • discusdaddiscusdad Member Posts: 11,427 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    as strictly from a "buyer" standpoint i think they have. if only because of the "got to have it" attitude and the online sellers depending on the old adage, "a fool and his money are soon parted".its definietely a 2 edged sword here. sellers providing a service/product and buyers having an easy way to buy something they desire. in the old days a seller/gunshop had to contend with compettion a lot more i feel, and keep his selling price more or less inline with his neighbors prices. also the art of haggling is lost with online sales. many times i bought guns by haggling with the shop owner to a poiunt we both felt we got a good deal. outbidding someone i dont consider as haggling down to an agreeable price.
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  • discusdaddiscusdad Member Posts: 11,427 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    and before the spelling nazi's attack my arthritic fingers havent loosened up yet[:D]
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  • legearlegear Member Posts: 6,716
    edited November -1
    Yep, I dont buy local.

    One seller on GB has SA XDs $379-$500+, local the best price to be found is $499-$700.

    Sad thing is looking in our local for sale ads and seeing someone selling a XD .40 4" for $525 USED, and in the ad they always say " paid $625 new at BassPro"
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  • D@DD@D Member Posts: 4,407
    edited November -1
    I don't think so but I'm a cheap ol'sob and I'll shop around. My ffl is a good friend so if I see something I just have him send out his ffl & pay him 20.00 for the transfer & his time. There are deals out there you just have to hold out & look a little longer than say 8-10 years ago. Oh I miss those days 80.00 for an SKS or 80.00 for 1000rds of ammo.[:(]
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  • MVPMVP Member Posts: 23,453 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The internet auctions and internet in general has drastically changed firearms sales and collecting prices. The amount of information that is available now to everyone interested in purchasing a fiream is huge compared to 20 years ago. I see the collectable market prices skyrocket since this internet thing happened.
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  • mark christianmark christian Member Posts: 24,453 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Internet changed teh entire gun business. Once upon a time you were either limited to sales from your shop or gun shows (after the BATFE changed the regulations to allow it) or through Shotgun News or Gun List (just to name two). Gun shows meant two people being away from the shop for a weekend (you must have two at the table), as well as just taking up a lot of time, and with generally poor sales results. In the case of Gun List; you either bought a few lines of space or a portion of a page or a column and tried to cram as much into that space as possible. Photos? Just about impossible, except for the big players. Lead times were typically 60-90 days, which means that you mailed your listings in July and probably saw them in September. The phone would then start ringing and you'd spend all day trying to describe slight the differnce in (say) a rear sights on a specific pistol because of the variations between production dates. Now you can simply take a digital photo of the area in question and e-mail it in under two minutes. You'd get your money out of the guns, but that would be all you'd get. With Gun Broker you might well get more...A lot more! When my friend Ron and I owned our shop (1985-2005) we did not make good use of online sales and I now know full well that we lost considerable money because of it. Any shop that is not using Gun Broker to sell off their trade-ins and used guns is not making the kind of money that they should be.
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  • shilowarshilowar Member Posts: 38,811 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    IMO online gun sales have increased availability of models and brought prices down. Online sales of all products have done this to their respective markets.

    Competition benefits the consumer
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  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 51,593 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    In my view the prices have actually gone down in one sense: If I can buy it from Mark on GB for $400 I am not likely to pay my local shop $600 which is what they will be asking. On-line selling reduces overhead for a lot of sellers who do not have to have a store front and the overhead that goes with that. It also tends to level regional price differences. Savage 99's tend to ask high in my area and get sold, but in other parts of the country prices are more modest, and on-line I can buy from those places. Gotta-have-it-at-any-price buyers create blips in the market, but don't really drive it up.

    They are up in the sense that the local guy is still asking $600 while Mark and I are having coffee and leaving each other nice feedback.
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  • NavybatNavybat Member Posts: 6,849 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    But I love buying used online...none of the guns have been shot more than 100 rounds! EVER! [xx(]
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  • Rack OpsRack Ops Member Posts: 18,596 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I've spent much less per gun once I discovered online sales.

    The only gun shop in my area that carries a wide selection of things I want marks them up steeply.

    I used to think those were legitimate prices......now I know better. Haven't bought a thing from them since.
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  • WulfmannWulfmann Member Posts: 4,901 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The most important aspect of the internet is the availability for research meaning you can (if you choose) be better informed as to the fair price of most items be they firearms, cars, computers etc.

    Knowledge is power but assumption without comparing can still be found just like in the gun stores.

    Wulfmann
    3YUCmbB.jpg
    "Fools learn from their own mistakes. I learn from the mistakes of others"
    Otto von Bismarck
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  • spasmcreekspasmcreek Member Posts: 37,717 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    surely our govt could do something to destroy the freedom of shopping around
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  • 1911a1-fan1911a1-fan Member Posts: 51,193 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    i think its pretty level myself, by time you pay shipping and transfer fee's its not always that great of deal

    the biggest advantage of online is finding that gun you want that you would have to spend 50 bucks in gas, drive around to gun shop to gun shop, and still come up empty, you can get two days worth of search in a few minutes and never leave your chair



    i am fortunate to know a few dealers that give me anything 10% over cost, glock 17 for 450.00, brand name ar lowers for 100-120, parts kits for 50-65
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  • sharpshooter039sharpshooter039 Member Posts: 5,897 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    One thing it does for sure is gives you a ready refrence for what any item is selling for. we have several local boards that allow guns sales, anytime I see something I am interested in I look on GB to see what they have been selling for to compair prices. Sometimes the local deal is the best,,sometimes I find the best deal on GB and buy it there
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  • bearman49709bearman49709 Member Posts: 503 ✭
    edited November -1
    I never find deals on line, my LGS always has lower prices even beating Buds. Only thing I buy on line is used guns that I cant find in my area.
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  • MrGunz22MrGunz22 Member Posts: 2,086 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I buy exclusively off of Gunbroker. Local prices aren't even in the same ballpark. I can pay for the gun, shipping and transfer fees and still save a bunch of money. I LOVE GUNBROKER!!!!!!!!!!!!
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  • redneckandyredneckandy Member Posts: 9,710 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I think it has leveled the price of used guns out. Everyone check online to see what their firearm is worth. Harder and harder to get a good deal anymore.
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  • 11b6r11b6r Member Posts: 16,584 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    With CURRENT guns, it has sort of leveled prices across different regions of the country, with some decrease in selling prices. My LGS may want $700, but I know those are selling for $500 in most of the country.

    For COLLECTABLE guns, it has increased the selling price, by increasing the number of potential buyers that are aware it is for sale. I collect older Mossberg 22s. 10 yrs ago, I MIGHT run across a Mdl 142A for $75 at a local shop. Heck, its just a little 22 bolt action sporter, and a Mossberg. Not like it was a Winchester or something. NOW JoeBob puts it up on GunBroker, and hundreds of Mossberg fans see it, discuss it on collector boards, and I am competing with a collector 2600 miles away that knows what it is worth. Last 142A that sold here was $281.
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  • gruntledgruntled Member Posts: 8,218 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    May depend on where you live. You have to pay shipping & dealer fees.
    In Kalifornia the dealers REALLY stick it to you. The cheapest transfer dealer I have found wants $75. I was going to buy the Earl direct from North American Arms when it first came out & even buying it from the factory the the two dealers I asked both wanted $125. They all take the position that you are stealing food from their children's mouths if you buy on-line.
    That plus shipping kills any "deals". It is useful though to get an idea of what prices should be. I snapped up a used Ruger Bearcat recently after checking the prices they had been going for here.

    Mark: Is your store the one just north of San Juan Capistrano & on the west side near the freeway? How much do you charge for recieving guns?
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  • pistoljimpistoljim Member Posts: 967 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by shilowar
    IMO online gun sales have increased availability of models and brought prices down. Online sales of all products have done this to their respective markets.

    Competition benefits the consumer


    I agree with you. I have been buying and selling things (not guns)
    for 20 years. The internet has all but done away with the "rare"
    item. Nothing is hard to find anymore.
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  • sohigh1sohigh1 Member Posts: 862 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by redneckandy
    I think it has leveled the price of used guns out. Everyone check online to see what their firearm is worth. Harder and harder to get a good deal anymore.


    I posted in another thread about going to a gun show in Muncie, IN on Saturday. The guys selling there either had not checked or did not care about the prices on the internet. Things were WAY over priced.

    So, throwing another added demension into this, it seems as if the advent of internet gun sales may not have had any effect on gun shows.
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  • ni haoni hao Member Posts: 2,200 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Since I happened upon GBer, I have not bought a single gun at a local store. I have not been to a gun show in almost 3 years. I have saved a lot of money by not going to these shows in gas and ticket prices. We usually have 2-3 shows a month here. The admission prices add up and I could never find anything close to the price that my dealer would sell new to me. My dealer is a good friend and understands he can't compete with the prices here. He is more than happy to do transfers for me and I am happy to give him $20 to do so. When I bid on an item, I always include the cost of transfer and shipping to my bid. I am very happy with GBer.
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  • Alan RushingAlan Rushing Member Posts: 8,805 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by Rack Ops
    I've spent much less per gun once I discovered online sales.

    The only gun shop in my area that carries a wide selection of things I want marks them up steeply.

    I used to think those were legitimate prices......now I know better. Haven't bought a thing from them since.

    . . . Agreed ! [^]

    The prices around my locale here are over the top and then some. [xx(]
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  • sohigh1sohigh1 Member Posts: 862 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have observed some of the opposite than what some of you guys are telling.

    Here is what I mean: I am currently looking for a NAA Mini Revolver. I can get one from that online retailer in KY, you know the one, for $200 with free shipping.

    Now, here on GB, the same gun has been listed as high as $309. As far as I can tell, it's the same gun.

    Also, there is a local gun shop here that is selling them for as low as $180 for the .22 Short. No one on GB comes close to that.

    Also, as mentioned above, if there is no buy it now on a gun, there is the possibilty of two morons running the thing up over the price of the same gun new.

    So, I don't know. Maybe the whole internet thing is a wash, in that you can find SOME things cheaper here, while you may find other guns cheaper elsewhere.
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