Originally Posted by
Alpha-17
Couple of things I've learned since working with and buying guns as a job and not just a hobby: people have a really highly inflated view of what their stuff is worth. NIB, Like New, gently used, whatever, they think they should be getting a very good percentage of what they paid for the firearm in question, regardless of what they paid for it, or what other factors are involved. "I've only shot it XX times" is always funny, especially when you inspect it and find it packed with carbon, major scratches on the finish, and accessories missing.
Little less on topic for this thread, but it's also funny how few people seem to get the concept of wholesale prices vs retail. Not an issue in private sales, but when who you're selling it to will be turning around to resell, they're not going to be able to offer you 100% of what they'll ultimately sell it for. The higher the amount they give you, the higher they'll ask for it later. That's a really novel concept to some folks.
All that said, a gun (or whatever)'s value is exactly what someone is willing to pay for it, no more, no less. Some things we'll have at ridiculously outrageous prices (M1 Garands come to mind) and they blow out of here. Others are pretty fairly priced, and they'll sit around for months and we'll get comments every damn day about how they "used to buy these for $100 back in the day!" Stupidly high prices are annoying, but the only thing you can do is make an offer, and see if the seller accepts. If not, just let other fools be quickly parted with thier money.