hello- and some questions

[John Talmage]

Hello,

I am a new member to this forum and appreciate finding it (thank you Parker Man on one forum I found).

While I grew up shooting Parkers (20ga and 12), I have now inherited several includng the guns I grew up shooting. While I will probably keep these two, I do not plan to keep the others. I am at a loss as to go about learning about them and my next steps. Any advice would be appreciated. Should I work through a dealer (anyone know a reputable one) or sell through forums, how do I even get an idea of value, etc?

I am sorry I asking newbie questions. I have see some of this stuff addressed, but am finding it overwheling to read through all past posts.

Jake

[George Lander]

John: The first thing that you should do is to order letters on your Parkers if the records. exist. Better still, even before that, you should become a member of PGCA. It's the best $40 you will ever spend and the letters for members cost considerably less. There may be some provenance or history behing some of your guns that would enhance the value. PGCA Members can post guns for sale on this forum, whereas "Forum Members" cannot. You can probably realise as much for your guns here as from a dealer without the dealer's commission. You may also want to look into auctioning them with a reserve.

Best Regards, George

[Paul P.]

John, like George said join the Assn. Then read the various posts. Do not be afraid to ask questions here,(the only stupid question is the one that is not asked) This is a long and enjoyable ride. The knowledge available here is amazing. We are all learing as we go.
You can't sell on this forum unless you are a member, so join up. This group of people is proof that learing can be fun.
By the way, welcome to the Assn.

[John Talmage]

Thank you for the advice. So, joining is important. I can do that. How do I go about getting "letters"? What are they?
Thanks for the advice and help.

[Paul P.]

The letters are a complation of rescearch of the remaining records of the Parker Gun Co. They may contain info on who ordered the guns, when the orders were placed, when the gun was shipped, where it was shipped and what options may have been requested. In general it's a bunch of fun and interesting stuff about your guns.
There is a link on the home page (left side collum) that will give all the info on how to go about getting this done.
You can order a letter without beimng a member. The cost is much higher for non members than for members. You can join and get a letter for a gun cheap than just getting a letter for a non member. (this eats into your expantion funds of your Parker collection)