The way I see an in-family sale is that Uncle Frank should pay decent money for the gun - it shouldn't be given to him - but he should be given some consideration for the fact that he is keeping it in the family. And that he is family. Let's not lose sight of the fact that chances are good ONLY Uncle Frank even wants the gun, and he's reeeeally in an exclusive position as he's probably the ONLY person in the family who is willing to cough up thousands of dollars for it. Sure, Cousin Joey would like to get it to cut off the barrels for his cowboy action shooting but he's maxed out at $400.
What if the family, despite their great love for Uncle Frank, decides he can vie for the gun on the open market just like everyone else. So they contract an auction house to sell it - right away there goes any premium they would have received over Uncle Frank's $6K. OK, they decide to list it on GunBroker for cheap and sell it for $8K. They're as happy as clams, and Uncle Frank can go pound sand. They go through the hassle of getting the gun to the new owner, pray every night his funds are good, etc. Since there are 4 family members involved, the extra $2K gets a 4 way split and each family member gets an additional $500. Is it worth $500 to ding Uncle Frank and, by the way, the gun is no longer in the family anyway?
It's a $6K gun in this situation. Open market, no holds barred, I'd could see $8K.
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