The seller wants the best price he can get, the buyer also wants the same thing. Often these are unrealistic figures for both of them.

I just received a beautiful custom rifle that will never realize the initial cost of the build at resale. However I will enjoy it the rest of my days and it wasn't built with the idea of retained value. Besides it's in an odd caliber but thats what I wanted.

If you have a bunch of GH Damascus guns in well worn condition, or a few VH guns in the same condition, put the realistic $400 or less price tags on them and let the next owner try to get $1000 out of them or enjoy shooting them. You will be much happier in the long run. The same goes for the hideous refinished guns you have been hoarding, for whatever reason. Sell them cheap and start over in your collecting goals.

C.O.B. I have three guns that meet that same criteria....CSMC Fox guns, 410,28,16 very expensive, very personalized. The good thing...I'm using 2 of them and the third I bought 2nd hand and hope to break even on it when its sold. Oh...its long paid for and I like it too so whatever. If I enjoy my guns till my last breath I'm good with that, the person who ends up with them will have $.00 in them and will not feel a bit bad about the hammer price! SXS ohio

An old gun dealer I knew over 35 years ago (and now deceased) told me “ a fast dime is better than a slow dollar”! 😊

As a relatively new collector I have paid retail prices on some nice Parkers with no regrets, though I might look for better prices now. I have also found some great deals on shooter quality Parker 10s and 12s on the auction sites in Grades 0-2. I don’t see these guns appreciating much or at all, but they have brought me a lot of joy and I felt good about saving a few. In fact, it has been hard lately not to buy some of the shooter quality hammer guns at recent prices!

It does seem that the 16 gauge and smaller Parkers are commanding higher prices as has been previously mentioned. Perhaps not as high as 5 – 10 years ago, but there is still premium for these guns. I don’t think I have ever seen an original 28 gauge VH for under 10k (which makes it unattainable for me).

So I agree there are some good deals out there now, but it seems highly desirable guns in both gauge and grade are at level I am not at…yet. I am going to focus more on quality this year. I have very nice Parkers I can shoot while I am saving…

Along the same lines, I have also bought some nice antique percussion shotguns and rifles over that last year or two that are works of art as well as pieces of history. And I shoot those as well. The market on antique muzzleloaders has really dropped and I have picked up some nice guns. I would love to find a percussion Purdey shotgun or other top maker, but that is another wish list...

It seems to be a time to buy original lower grade guns that are all there(not projects) and enjoy shooting some nice Parkers…

Life is short. Fill it with folks and things that bring you joy.

Bill; I have always said that 10 dimes is twice as much money as 2 quarters. One just had to work a little harder.

These average guns sell every day for exactly what they are worth. The "Market" is always there and always working. The "market" will pay POS prices for POS guns; average prices for average guns; good prices for good guns; and excellent prices for excellent guns. Below are some recent internet examples of average guns selling for exactly what they are worth.

You can sell every gun you own in 7 days and the market will pay you the value of your gun every time. If that is not what you paid for it, saw others sell for, browsed on some dealer web site, read in some book, or decided for yourself, then the problem is you and not the market. JMO.

Cheers

PML

Parker GH SxS 12ga Damacus refinished w/ case
Price
$1,290.00
Item #:845776929Listing has Ended36 Bids
No Reserve
•

Parker Bros SxS 1926 Trojan 16ga 26” BBLS
Price
$909.67
Item #:844241724Listing has Ended35 Bids
No Reserve
•

Refinished and Reblued 12ga Parker Model GH
Price
$765.00
Item #:844324003Listing has Ended34 Bids
No Reserve
•

Parker 20ga V 28" Barrels
Parker 20 Vulcan DHE VH Parker Brothers
Price
$1,425.00
Item #:849883098Listing has Ended30 Bids
No Reserve
•

Parker Brothers Lifter Action 10GA
Price
$1,231.00
Item #:845535347Listing has Ended25 Bids
No Reserve
•

Winchester Parker Reproduction DHE 28 Gauge 26" Straight Stock, MFD 1984-89
Price
$4,225.99
Item #:846733776Listing has Ended25 Bids
No Reserve
•

Parker Bros Grade VH 12 ga DB 30" Barrel Its a Shooter
Price
$565.00
Item #:845137485Listing has Ended24 Bids
No Reserve
•

Parker Brother 12GA English Stock Lifter Action
Price
$555.00
Item #:847717275Listing has Ended10 Bids
No Reserve
•

20 GAUGE PARKER REPRODUCTION DOUBLE TRIGGERS
Price
$3,800.00
Item #:839645130Listing has Ended2 Bids
No Reserve
•

Parker Bros. VH 12g Two Barrel Set 28" & 26" Redhead LOM Case PGCA Letter
Price
$1,500.00
Item #:841815543Listing has Ended1 Bids
No Reserve
•

Parker DH 10 Gauge
Price
$950.00
Item #:846029459Listing has Ended1 Bids
No Reserve
•

Parker Bros. 12ga. SxS Shotgun 26" Hunter Arms ? Fulton Boxlock ?
Price
$299.95
Item #:846501860Listing has Ended1 Bids
No Reserve
•

Parker Brothers 12 gauge SxS Damascus 30" 1887
Price
$999.99
Item #:847532850Listing has Ended1 Bids
No Reserve
•

1903 Parker Brothers Grade VH 28" SXS 12 Gauge - Beautiful Gun
Price
$999.99
Item #:848617091Listing has Ended1 Bids
No Reserve

The first gentleman that I worked for after college, my mentor I guess you could say, made the statement to a successful businessman that we were doing tax work for-"never invest more money in the stock market than you are willing to lose". In other words your investments should be diverse, with only the amount you are willing to lose be invested in the market. The market is volatile, subject to sudden and unexpected change.

I think the same could be said about the money we put in double guns. Don't invest more in American doubles than you are willing to lose. The market is volatile, subject to sudden and unexpected change. Buy what you like. Like what you buy. But don't put more in than you are willing to lose.

Prices
 

One of our shooting "challenges" is approximately for the last ten years the number of hunting license across the US is slowly declined. We are losing the next generation of hunters/shooters as this number declines the appreciation for better quality firearms disappear so fewer potential buyers for our toys. I was told by one of the Arizona Game and Fish employees last year in the US their were more college shooting scholarships then applicates. Somehow we need to get more kids/families out to our shooting clubs and teach them about the joy of shooting, friendship, camaraderie of the side x side and the lifetime memories they will share in this group. If this happens I think the price issue will disappear, just my opinion.