Blue Books should be illegal!
 

Here in Salt Lake City we have a TV station that runs a free want ads web site (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=231&cat=185).

With very rare exception, everyone advertising guns there has obviously bought a copy of the blue book, rated their gun two levels too high, then added 50%.

It doesn't matter how gently you tell some idiot that his .357 Rossi is not worth half of the $500 he's asking for it, he just won't get it.

And the number of people who think they're going to get new price out of their Glocks, Schlocks and Kahrs is just amazing. Waste of time. Want ads are just a waste of time.

David, I have found when I used to go to yard sales; the stuff is usually junk or nice stuff, with coorsponding values, cheap and trashy or nice and full value. The only good value I remember a guy getting from a want ad was a post war P1 that went for $135 about 18 years ago, from my house to the buyer...

Ed

Ed,

It is puzzling just where some dealers come up with some of the guns they have. Obviously they're not paying anywhere near retail prices for them and just as obviously, they have a higher flow of guns than can be explained by walk-ins at their stores and at gun shows.

Once in a while I'll get the long end of the stick on a buy, but more often the short end. I'd sure like to reverse that trend and increase the flow of guns under my nose. In short, I'd love to find a way to "get to" guns before dealers do and "get to" gun owners before they let a blue book fill them with dreams of riches and South Sea islands.

I think they get many guns, because they are the "gun shop" intown. Further at the gun shows, if folks know you are the "luger guy", glock guy, 1911 guy, they come to you.


ed

We get walk-in's all of the time who want to sell Grandpa's gun(s). When Joe makes them a fair and reasonable offer. They often get incensed, and come back with "Well , I was told by a friend who knows guns that it's worth twice that much!!" Joe just smiles and says, "Then you should sell it to them."

I used to sell guns at gun shows and people would be walking around with the Shotguns News or Gun List. They would compare the prices o the guns with those in their papers and ask if the price would be matched. They would get upset when told no. Then they would point to the ad and want to be sold the pistol for the ad amount.

My answer was that they should buy it from the person advertising in Shotguns News or Gun List. They would then say that they had no license. My response was that they could apply for one or order the pistol and have it shipped to the dealer of their choice. They did not like the cost of either method.