M1 Carbines

[joepamjohn]

Looking for advice. A good long time friend has a safe full of Carbines. I am not talking mixmaster re-imports. There are some real nice original guns of desirable makers. He has been collecting these since before anyone even cared enough to phony them or make knock off parts. He also has tons of other related items too like bayonets, knives, carbine cases, etc.

He is getting a little older, and is coming to the realization that it may be difficult for his family to sell these if something should happen to him. He is also a little concerned about possible future legislative restrictions relating to semi autos, and guns in general.

I told him it would probably be best to get these all appraised and maybe consider an auction house like Butterfields, or sell only to a FFL 03 holder. He is not going to hassle with doing PPT’s on all of these. I am way off my game on values and would like to see him maximize his return on investment, but am unsure of where to start.

This is still only in the early thought stages and may actually never even happen once it comes to actually letting them go. This decision really troubles him for obvious reasons. Just trying to be proactive.

Regards, John

[winetoad]

Certainly take your time and do the research as to the value of his collection. I would think these would command top dollar. Nice of you to help him.

[Donkeypunch0420]

Sounds like he has a small fortune in carbines. The guys on the CMP forum, Gunboards, or even here will be able to give you a fair and honest valuation. Auctions are great for the really valuable stuff, but get ready to get raked over the coals in fees. Get and post some pics here, we love looking at old relics. Plenty of collectors scour the Marketplace here and on Gunboards, shouldn't be too hard to find some buyers willing to shell out some bucks.

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

Don't have to worry about PPT's if he'll ship. You're more than capable of helping him sell if you're already posting on here. As donkeypunch said, check the CMP and gunboards forum. If your friend has an IBM carbine I'll pay fair price for it.

[kcheung2]

He has to realize those are conflicting requirements. If he wants the most convenient route, then dump them off at an auction house. They take care of the pictures, listing, collecting payment, and shipping. He just gets a (small) check at the end. Convenience costs money, there's no getting around that.

Maximizing his money requires him to take lots of good pictures and sell each gun individually himself. As a buyer, I'll pay good money for 1 gun that I want. Even stupid money, because it's only 1 gun and admittedly the process can involve emotions more than logic. But if I have to buy a batch to get to that, then I shift into reselling mode and start calculating costs.

As a compromise, he could start off individually selling a few that he's less interested in. That would maximize his money, and afterwards he could decide if he missed those guns and stop, or if he didn't even notice their absence and keep on selling.

[eeeeman]

Most auction houses will send him a 1099 on the sales.

[GUNNER45]

Pm sent.

[MajorSideburns]

Not to totally hijack the thread but I have a somewhat related question. Does anybody know what an unmolested, completely original M1 Carbine bringback would be worth, purchased directly from the WW2 veteran's family, authenticity guaranteed? Let's assume the most common maker and configuration, for argument sake, just to get a baseline and bottom dollar. It has known documented history and has seen combat

[Donkeypunch0420]

^ Condition is still king even with bring backs. How much documentation can be provided? Any USGI paperwork showing the soldier being able to take it home? At the very least, a written note by the soldier telling where and when he served, and any battle he used it in will raise it's value. Without any such documentation, a buyer will be subject to the axiom; buy the gun, not the story. With lots of documentation, the sky's the limit.

A correct Inland in very good bring back condition I'd say is worth at least $1000 - $1500 in today's market. If documentation can be provided, I'd say $2000 - $3000 depending on how cool the paperwork is.

[Jess B. Guy]

Having sold (and bought!) innumerable carbines over the years, right now $1000 seems to be the base line for a clean arsenal rebuild Inland. I've seen them at $850, but they don't last long at that price. As said, condition is always important. Check CMP website and the auction prices. Some get scary.
There's an Inland, Bavarian return, original flip sight, at $1800.

[joepamjohn]

I appreciate the replies and large amount of PM’s. As I stated this thread was mainly intended to for information gathering in possible ways to move on these should the time come. If this progresses I will attempt to get a list compiled and go from there. I will probably see him over the weekend and will take his pulse again on this subject, sharing what I have learned here. I think the FFL 03 is the way to go.

[SVT-40]

Not to totally hijack the thread but I have a somewhat related question. Does anybody know what an unmolested, completely original M1 Carbine bringback would be worth, purchased directly from the WW2 veteran's family, authenticity guaranteed? Let's assume the most common maker and configuration, for argument sake, just to get a baseline and bottom dollar. It has known documented history and has seen combat

What "documentation"? I've heard the same story hundreds of times. Often those same firearms were recent imports.

The gun may have good value. The stories are worthless unless there are original Government issued documents.

Buy the gun, not the story.

[Duck Killer]

Auction house he will get screwed. Plus have to pay taxes. A lot of time they are not worth what they are appriased for. Sometime they are worth more. The hard part is getting someone to pay that kind of money.

[Jimja]

I am way off my game on values and would like to see him maximize his return on investment, but am unsure of where to start.

By far the best place to figure out values for common guns, like an m1 carbine, is to look on gunbroker at the recently sold history.

I just did a quick check, 7,512 results (mostly parts) with 300+ carbines sold. Tell him to take some time, a few hours, and go through all the sold rifle listings, an average of those sold (Winchester vs IBM vs Inland, etc) will give him a very good idea about values. That's the best place to start

For the "real nice original guns of desirable makers", an auction like gunbroker with many good, clean photos is the best way to go. Don't post on calguns, you want buyers from all over the country to be able to see and bid on them

Good luck!

[bruce381]

John another carbine guy you and I know in concord has and still uses "jack the dog" on gunbroker he always get top dollar and a they sell in a week or so. Just ship to jack and thats it.

My take is 100% correct 1500
100 % minty 2000
line outs minty 2500
M1a1 3-4000