I don't know how anybody knows what a gun is worth. The most I know in some situations is how much similar guns have sold for in the past. To even give that statement, a person needs to keep current on sales prices , sales prices , not asking prices, and people are reticent to disclose how much they actually paid or got.
We have had situations where a person will listen to somebody here giving an uninformed opinion and then believing that. In one instance, a person got an off the cuff statement from a person who had not ever bought an expensive gun that his gun was worth about $100,000, so that's what he thought. He tried to peddle the gun unsuccessfully for a year and accused potential buyers of trying to lowball him before he finally sold it for $45,000, which is close to where it should have been at the start. That casual and wrong opinion of value cost the owner a year and resulted in many hard feelings.
We have had numerous warnings on the forum and in the Parker Pages about not judging a gun unless it is held in the hand. Some you can tell quickly, but others you need the gun in hand.
You know we have one of our most esteemed members, Bill Mullins, who is the Parker values editor for the Fjestad Blue Book of Gun Values. He follows current sales and provides a range of expected values. Condition is commonly overstated in Parkers, but I believe that if a person is realistic about condition, the Blue Book will be the best source for expected sales prices. I don't get it why a person who wants to have an idea about how much his gun might sell for can't check in the Fjestad Blue Book.
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