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Mint condition VS . Unfired?
ap3572001
Member Posts: 441 ✭✭
I was always wondering about the typical difference in value of "Unfired in the box" pistols VS, Mint (or 99%) condition?
Comments
XXpct condition is up to the seller and the buyer to agree on the percentage value. With a 99pct firearm, seller is well served to show a closeup photo of that one percent that kept the firearm from being 100pct..so the seller can judge for himself.
In collecting circles, less than 98pct. drops the value considerably. Hope I helped. Joe
EDIT:
AP..givette here again. I just read your post below. The answer is this..do you want to enjoy it, or save it for increased valuation? If the former, you will take a hit on value if you fire it. If the latter then put it away. A collectors' piece is best left unfired. That begs the question: is yours a collector piece?
If you search the auction side and come up with several for sale, best to shoot the thing and enjoy. Life's too short. Again best, Joe
the term most widely used in the gun realm is NIB (new in box). a NIB gun in a sense should be a gun that all others are graded by. if a gun is in its box unfired, or assembled, its considered mint.
back to the coins...if you take a mint coin out of its u.s. mint wrapper and touch it, its no longer mint. it drops to circulated and loses value steeply.
same with a NIB gun. if its been assembled, its not NIB any longer, and being assembled, its been used, thus its not mint, rather 99.9%.
many people in the gun world will accept a unfired gun 'assembled' as mint. some dont.
again, its a game of splitting hairs, but for the most part, if the gun can be used to measure all other specimans by, odds are, its mint.
Former Member U.S. Navy Shooting Team
Former NSSA All American
Navy Distinguished Pistol Shot
MO, CT, VA.
I have some guns that are unfired, but I rarely, if ever, handle them. When I do, I wear white cotton gloves, & don't rack the slide or cock them. Even opening & closing most boxes will cause wear that devalues the box.
Neal
Understand. But doesn't it depend WHICH guns we are talking about. My example with an unfired , boxed CZ75 from the 80's. Whoudl shooting it , hurt its value in any big way? Or an unfired mid 80's Interarms PPK? Whould shooting it really bring down the value?
Very subjective. (items in blue). You will lose some value. The more you shoot, the more the gun will look like it's shot. Since you have asked again for "how much" loss, and the firearms are of differing values, lets go with a percentage scale (and this is out of character for me-to commit to making a statement that can't be nailed down by numbers)
1st shot: 3-5pct loss in value (over NIB)
1 box: 20pct loss in value (over NIB)
This is assuming that there is no exterior wear to the finish from handling. With signs of handling, add another 5-10pct loss.
Observation: since you inquired more than once on the "value loss" issue, don't fire them. Get some used guns, or don't concern yourself over value loss when you do shoot them. Best I could do. Sincerely, Joe
Also a gun might never have been fired, but that doesn't necessarily mean its in 100% condition. For example, revolvers that have been dry fired might have a drag line on the cylinder, or fingerprint or other marks from being handled or dropped, etc. Plenty of gun stores have unfired guns with marks on them, for example.
In terms of collectibility, I think the rule is pretty simple. If you want the gun to retain as much value as possible, you don't shoot it, *particularly* if its a "mint" type gun.
If you are buying the gun as an investment or a collectors piece, you're best off not shooting it, though there may be exceptions. If the gun has already been shot a whole bunch, for example, but just has extra value because its rare or unusual, a few more rounds probably won't make any difference in value.
As to how much value an in the box pre-B CZ75 might lose from being fired once, there is no answer to that question. Those guns aren't all *that* precious, there aren't that many who collect them, and it would depend on the market for the gun at the time you tried to sell it. Assuming the gun is otherwise 99%+ it probably wouldn't make much of a difference, but again, if you are REALLY an investor (instead of a shooter) why take the chance?
I'll tell you (as a caution) that the original plastic CZ-75 grips aren't all that durable, so be careful about firing the gun with a ring on (for example) if you want it to stay 100%.
Personally, I say if you bought it because you want to shoot it and didn't pay a huge premium for it being "mint", then shoot it. Pre-B CZ-75s are unusual in the USA because of Cold-war era importation restrictions, but there are a zillion of them "out there" in Europe. This isn't a gun that is likely to be precious any time during your lifetime, and getting absolutely top dollar for a gun like this isn't that easy anyway.