Pricing your gun for sale

[JeffsSig]

When you go to sell that favorite gun that you have done upgrades to:

Do you add the old parts along with the gun in the price you are asking?

Do you sell the gun only with the upgrades asking the extra price for the upgrades?

As I see it.

Buy a gun for 500$

Buy upgrade #1 for 50$

Buy upgrade #2 for 100$

Then try to sell the gun with only upgrades for 650$ isn’t a fair way to price your gun unless you have the old parts in with the sale.

Make sense?

Just something I look at when I see a gun for sale here.

[glockster157]

I normally shy away from guns that have upgrades added unless they are exactly what I would have done myself, like add Meprolites to a Glock carry pistol. Lasers, lights, grips, gadgets like guide rods, etc, mean little to nothing to me and I don't add much value for them. I realize that some do and won't come down on their price and that is fine, I just pass on the sale. I usually start a value on a used gun close to wholesale price for a new one, kinda like trade-in value on a car. That is with the box preferably,in very good to like new condition and with all the accessories. Holsters mean little to me either, they usually wind up in my holster box. As to the old parts, my advice to most is to put the original parts back in the gun to sell it and sell the aftermarket parts separately.

[Westwindmike]

I agree with glockster157. Put it back stock and sell it. I don't want to pay for a bunch of "upgrades" that I don't want or need. One mans upgrade is another mans junk.

[Smith]

Those who try to break even on upgrades will usually find the road difficult. Those you pretty much eat the cost on unless they are something specifically in demand or special. Much like anything else you sell used.

[Guest cheez]

I normally shy away from guns that have upgrades added unless they are exactly what I would have done myself, like add Meprolites to a Glock carry pistol. Lasers, lights, grips, gadgets like guide rods, etc, mean little to nothing to me and I don't add much value for them. I realize that some do and won't come down on their price and that is fine, I just pass on the sale. I usually start a value on a used gun close to wholesale price for a new one, kinda like trade-in value on a car. That is with the box preferably,in very good to like new condition and with all the accessories. Holsters mean little to me either, they usually wind up in my holster box. As to the old parts, my advice to most is to put the original parts back in the gun to sell it and sell the aftermarket parts separately.

+1

[Guest bkelm18]

If the gun has upgrades, I sell it with the upgrades. I make the cost reasonable. I'll include the original parts if possible. If you don't like buying an upgraded gun, don't buy it.

[TNRobocop]

Upgrades to a gun without the old parts is like selling a car advertising that it has a new battery, new alternator, new tires, etc.

You have to have those items for the car to run just like a gun has to have them for it operate. New safety, new mag release and such are required, whether new or not.

This of course doesn't apply to items of bling that are extraneous to the gun like Crimson Trace grips and such. Most of those type gadgets can be taken off and will not affect the use of the gun. Those are of course a different matter entirely.

[Guest gcrookston]

It depends on the type of gun and the upgrades. In some instances "upgrades" detract in value (an A2 Match barrel on a Colt 601 for instance). I've spent a lot of time putting back to orginal "upgraded" guns to turn for a profit, reselling the upgrades separately for 25 cents on the dollar or trading them for the valuable original parts I needed to score a bigger profit.

There are rare occasions when upgrades are worth every penny - But those upgrades are generally done by people with names like Jim Clark, Duane Wiebe, Roger Green...

[Guest johnsuttontn]

I agree. Put it back stock. You shouldnt charge someone for upgrades you wanted. put it back stock and sell the upgrades seperate. I would prefer to upgrade a gun to my needs and wants not someone that i bought the gun from. Just my opinion.

[Guest coldblackwind]

Personally, I don't much care about the upgrades when I'm buying a gun, unless its something particularly spectacular, and as such I'm not willing to pay for them. Now, if you have something ridiculous, like an eotech, acog, or such like, that's one thing, but most of the time I won't pay extra, but I will give you the option to take it off, provided I end up at the right price. If I sell a gun, I either sell it with the upgrades for the same price, or close to it that I would without them, or I take the upgrades off, depending mostly on how much I'm into them, and the effort required to remove them (IE if the gun won't work afterword, I'm not likely gonna hunt down the original parts if I don't have them).

[byrnemm]

In my (admittedly limited) experience, selling "packages" = less $ than parting out.

It's hard to think of upgrades so rare or unpopular that no one is going to want to buy them separately. Especially on the big forums or the manufacturer forums.

[kwe45919]

It really depends on the firearm on what you could/would/should do.....

Edited August 13, 2010 by kwe45919

[Guest VolGrad]

I just sold a OD G19 that had been mod'd as follows;

Grip reduction, finger grooves removed, custom stippling (Broken Arrow Tactical)

Vickers mag release

GLOCK ext slide stop

GLOCK smooth trigger

Ameriglo Pro Op front, plain black rear

GHOST 3.5# connector

Of course, I had all the stock parts so I offered for sale in either configuration. I offered it for one price set back to stock (except for the custom grip work, duh) and another price with the "upgraded" parts. Had it sold with the "upgrades" I would not have included the original parts unless the buyer asked for them. The buyer wanted it stock so that's how he got it. I have the take-offs in my parts bin as spares. I could prob sell them for a few bucks but it's not worth it. I'll use them eventually.

You will rarely get all your money back on "upgrades". Like others have said, rarely does the buyer want it set up just like you have it. I find I can generally make more money parting things out than I can otherwise. For instance, Night Sights are pretty personal. Everyone has a preference. I generally just take them off and sell a gun with std sights and then sell the NS in the classifieds. I usually do well this way. Same goes for holsters ... especially holsters. I hardly EVER include holsters in a package deal. You will NEVER get what you have in them that way.