Having trouble selling guns here? Try Craigslist

[TonyNorCal]

As some of you may have seen, I'd been trying to sell a few guns here for a good two months or so. I'd lowered my Taurus .38 to $199 and Camp 9 to $335...both to no avail. Well, a few days back I posted both on Craigslist at my original, two month ago prices of $255 for the Taurus and $375 for the Camp 9. Both were transferred to their new owners Monday morning at these prices (arranged for both guys to come to the shop at the same time). Splendid. $96 more than I lowered them to here and sold ASAP.
Thanks Craigslist.

[TonyNorCal]

As some of you may have seen, I'd been trying to sell a few guns here for a good two months or so. I'd lowered my Taurus .38 to $199 and Camp 9 to $335...both to no avail. Well, a few days back I posted both on Craigslist at my original, two month ago prices of $255 for the Taurus and $375 for the Camp 9. Both were transferred to their new owners Monday morning at these prices (arranged for both guys to come to the shop at the same time). Splendid. $96 more than I lowered them to here and sold ASAP.
Thanks Craigslist.

[LongBch_SigP226]

Hmmm...craigslist lists firearm as prohibited and restricted item.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/about/prohibited.items.html

[bwiese]

No offense Tony but when you are on CalGUNS you are dealing with a lot more 'people who know guns'. So the folks here are not necessarily willing to pay top dollar for these fairly common guns, and might not be of high demand here.

And you might've just lucked on on Craigslist.

If you want to get the best price for your guns and exposure to widest possible market, you should try GunBroker.COM or maybe AuctionArms - kinda an EBay for guns... just gotta ship it to/thru an FFL...


Bill Wiese
San Jose

[jnojr]

There's alos the fact that CalGuns is really a pretty limited forum. I'm guessing there's 1000, maybe 2000, registered users. craigslist reaches tens, if nor hundreds, of thousands.

The prices Tony dropped his guns to were really ridiculously low... The Taurus M85 retails for over $300! I paid $268 for my M605 IIRC, and the guy had actually run out and bought a new one for $274 wholesale, I think it was. (Big plug for Sherwoods Guns in KY... he lost money honoring a deal he made. Definitely a stand-up guy).

[trempel_ry@yahoo.com]

You do get responses from Craigslist and I've sold and bought a couple of firearms there. They do have a policy against selling or buying any weapons, ammunition etc., even if it's legal and you note in your ad that transaction is to be done through a FFL. More than once my ads have been removed because of that.

[zatoh]

Yeah, I usually avoid looking for guns and stuff on Craig's for that reason (prohibited) as do most of us. Why bother? They rely on users to flag postings so if no one flags them then you are free to sell almost whatever you want.

Good for you though that you pulled one over on that eBay company. I just wish that you were a little less smug about it.

Calguns is a great place for enthusiasts whether it's buying, selling, trading or for information. Of my purchases so far I can only count one as being a"killer" deal. The others I think were fair to good prices to pay for what I got.

Oh yeah, BTW I paid $150 for my Taurus 85. Granted, it was an older model and was a while back but it still hurts to see them going for over $250 even if that's the going rate.

[rkt88edmo]

Craigslist is definitely very useful. Especially for selling and buying things.

[PKAY]

CalGuns.net is a great place to list your firearms for sale particularly if you wish to sell to folks close to home and/or unlisted handguns in a FTF PPT or consignment transfer. As far as the gun auction sites go, I have only purchased once there as a successful bidder ($945 for a stainless 4" Python). For the most part the auction sites often degenerate into an ego battle between 2 or among 3 or so people. The resultant sale price can often be WAY out of line. I find GunsAmerica.com to be the best. Set price, negotiable. Good folks on the sales end and the webmaster is always on the lookout for fraudulent sellers. Just remember, ask lots of questions, ask for additional photos for evaluation, talk to the seller on the phone. After a number of purchases through GunsAmerica over the past 3 years, I have never been burned once. Generally, the actual firearm often exceeds the condition as noted in the ad.

[-hanko]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by bwiese:
No offense Tony but when you are on CalGUNS you are dealing with a lot more 'people who know guns'. So the folks here are not necessarily willing to pay top dollar for these fairly common guns, and might not be of high demand here.

Bill Wiese
San Jose </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
The Camp 9 is by no means 'common'; if the gun was in good shape, the price ($395) was toward the upper end but definitely not out of line. Were it a Camp 45, it would have been a steal.

-hanko

[TonyNorCal]

My Camp 9 sold for $375, which I feel was in the fair range. Craigs list has the advantage of reaching a far greater number of people than CalGuns and allows potential buyers to search specific areas/cities. Would I rather have sold them here? Absolutely. I tired for two months with very low prices. Unfortunately, Santa Rosa appears to be somewhat off the grid insofar as members here are concerned. Craigs list doesn't allow weapons, however, I do not believe that to be reasonable, and thus I am willing to post there. I suppose that is decision that each must make according to his/her own assessment.

[TonyNorCal]

Incidentally, if anyone is interested in a Camp 45 I exchanged mail with a fellow in Arizona was, as of a month ago, had one to sell for $425. If interested I can dig up the mail and refer you.

[chickenfried]

I would've bought the taurus but Santa Rosa was too far for away from Daly City. Another way we get screwed by the waiting period. One trip down and back to get the gun, sure. Two it would have to be something I really want.

[maxicon]

+1 on the waiting list problem. I considered picking up 2 of those guns, because they were great prices on stuff that I'd like to have, but by the time you throw in 2 round trips, it's just too much time.

It's a shame, really, but nothing to be done about it.

[eviioiive]

I tried listing a gun on craigs and it was flagged and removed within an hour...