[King Cobb]

Gun prices always get soft in the summer. I collect a variety of different brands. I have noticed guns seem to historically be cheaper in June, July, and early August. I bought a brand new in box Colt special Combat for about $800 below retail just last summer. Thats better than most of my experiences but it is there.

Part of the issue is people try to sell, how do I word this, more common/poorer condition guns for the prices that they see higher condition possibly far more collectible guns for sell. I am sorry, but a 2 frame DH 12 gauge with 30" barrels with worn barrels and no case colors isn't a rare enough gun that you should be pricing it based off of the price of a 1 frame DHE with 26 or 32 inch barrels and in high condition. But people do this.

People also try to sell guns as a complete unknown entity for the prices they see Steve Barnett or Puglisi or some other well known gun dealer has guns listed for. You aren't going to get that premium if you don't have that reputation and client base.

Often they are just clueless about the actual condition of their gun in the 1st place. I recently ran across someone trying to get rid of their grandfather's DHE 16. It was straight stocked and a 16 with ejectors so it had some interest value, but at the same time, the butt plate was gone and replaced with a vent pad, the barrels had no blue, no case, stock was only 13 LOP, engraving appeared to have been buffed, and both pieces of wood were heavily gouged and abused. There were prices I would have been interested in the gun at, but $8,000 was nowhere in the ballpark. I asked where he got that price and was told, "its a parker, they sale for way more than that online." Attempts to explain the difference in quality and grade and condition and such between what he had and what he had looked at were not successful. But this is what I do run into on the rare occasions I stumble upon a "locally" available gun.

I agree with Mr. Mullins, I do not buy guns for profit, despite what I tell my wife..."Its an investment dear." At the same time I do try to not make donations to idiots who think they have something they don't. I think collectors tend to get negative about the future of collecting as they age. I am on the younger end of the spectrum and have read heaps of nashing of teeth by colt people convinced no one is going to keep buying SAAs....yet just like Parkers the prices aren't getting any cheaper.