Luger Prices

[Major Tom]

I'm curious about where some posters here find their lugers at such reasonable prices. For example: someone posts that he is looking to buy a certain luger at a certain price. Usually, someone will post that the price is too high and a good price would be much lower. So, where do you buy these 'lower cost lugers'? I have never seen a $900 artillery or a $500 alphabet that is in good shootable shape. I don't frequent yard sales where an old widow is selling hubby's 1900 AE for $100.

[Kyrie]

I concur.

Speaking only of "shooter grade" Lugers (defined as Lugers that are chambered for the 9 mm Luger cartridge, mismatched or reblued, that function well) I've found it difficult to buy a Luger off of Gun Broker for less than a thousand dollars. At the time I write this note I'm seeing shooter Lugers go for gavel prices in the range of $1000 - $1300. I'll see a shooter go for less than a grand maybe once a month, or once every two months.

Kyrie

[DonVoigt]

Tom,
I think you have taken the "offer" price a little lower than most I have seen said.

One has to search out and spent TIME to find bargains, in lugers or anything else.
You have to be prepared to bid or buy when you see it; and bid or look at a LOT of lugers.

Kyrie is correct, if you bid on GB- you will pay about $1000, though lugers have sold recently for under 1000, just search on ended auctions.

Guys that buy bargains, don't sell them for the same price- they raise the price and sell.


Just the parts in a luger are worth more than 1000 -piecemeal; but they may be ugly and some assembly is required.

I just built a great 9mm shooter, totally mismatched;I was going to offer it for $1000, but that is dumb on my part, I'll be offering it at $1300!

Sorry, but you just have to look harder!

[Kyrie]

Here we go, Gun Broker, Lugers sold for less than a grand, looks like the last two months. I'm listing only Erfurt/DWM guns that sold, were in 9mm, were complete, w/o obliviously broken parts, and were not listed as problem guns.

Erfurt:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/788276583
Parts gun, Navy barrel, gavel price $800 +$75 shipping
I almost bid $900 on this one, but refused to pay $75 shipping

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/785746836
Butt ugly, fires but won't cycle, gavel $766

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/783990532
parts gun (FrankenLuger), works according to seller,
gavel $804 +$25 shipping

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/786247783
ugly gun, description has seller BS, gun sold twice at $900 + $80 shipping

DWM:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/784094158
looks like a just-post-reunification German rebuild
gavel $910 + $30 shipping

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/784415273
Seriously FrankenLuger, gavel $825 + $35 shipping

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/780534669
1911 dated Mil, gavel $795, one bidder

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/782405860
kinda an Arty, gavel $895 + $25 shipping

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/787845643
1918 military, missing hold open $900 + $35 shipping

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/786431322
post unification rebuild in former DDR. Gavel $875
some of these guns were import marked so hard
the bores were actually oval shaped.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/784120675
Police gun, gavel $965, nice gun IMO

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/789322908
1920, commercial proof, Buy-it-now at $750

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/788330173
gavel $899 + $25 shipping, 1 bidder

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/787219970
very early post unification DDR rebuild, harshly
import marked, gavel $780 + $25 shipping
Sold but then relisted by same seller.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/786362041
Police gun, dated 1921, gavel $955 + $20 shipping

[DonVoigt]

Kyrie,
You are a good guy to do the "homework" for Tom.

Tom,
there is no substitute for putting forth a little effort on your own.

[Kyrie]

Actually I'm agreeing with Tom. I see folks on the forum advising shooters selling at $600 - $800 and have to wonder when they last bought a shooter Luger at auction.

There were fifteen Lugers noted in my last post, as having sold for less than a grand, over a two month period. Of those 15 Lugers only one sold for $800 or less and that sale was never consummated (gun is back up for sale, no bidders).

Of the remaining fourteen Lugers the only guns selling at less than $900 were non-functional or had been butchered in someway, or were potential money pits.

Only three of the fifteen Lugers looked to be free of defects that made them potentially problem guns, one of those three was missing parts (hold open & spring) and that one sold for $935 all told. The remaining two Lugers sold in the $950 - $1000 range.

I've been actively looking at (and bidding on) shooter Lugers for about the last twenty months. IME the only way anyone is going to get a nice shooter Luger at this point in time at auction for less than $900 is to get very, very lucky.

[DonVoigt]

Tough to beat "good luck" or diligent searching.

But seriously, I don't recall anyone here saying one could buy what Tom wrote in his post:
"I have never seen a $900 artillery or a $500 alphabet that is in good shootable shape. "

And one just cannot tell if a luger is in "good shootable shape" from a picture; people sell guns "cheap" for a reason- the reason often being that they don't work "exactly right". JMHO.

If you want a luger to shoot, better buy one from a guy that has shot it and will "guarantee" it to shoot. The only place to get one of those is on this or the other luger board. Again JMHO

[4 Scale]

Really two issues here: how do you find Lugers at a good price, and why do some members say, imply, suggest etc. that shooters may be had at prices that seem impossibly low ($300-$700).

On how to find them at good prices, I agree with the comments above. It takes lots of looking everywhere Lugers can be sold - Proxibid, Gunbroker, dealers, locally, gun shows, the WTS sections of firearm sites. It takes time and patience and it helps to enjoy the hunt.

I enjoy looking for deals and shooters, and 100% agree with Kyrie - functioning shooters typically sell in the $1,000-$1,300 range. As in that is what most shooters are actually selling for. I am certain some experienced collectors feel that is 'too much', but it is a fact that market prices are set by actual sales. The only reason I can imagine that some collectors say shooters "are worth" $500-$600 is that they haven't been in the market in the last few years.

That said, if you spend lots of time and have lots of patience or are lucky you can occasionally find surprisingly nice pistols $700- $900 but I consider those exceptions. Exceptions get figured into the average but do not set market.

[Zorba]

Originally Posted by 4 Scale

I enjoy looking for deals and shooters, and 100% agree with Kyrie - functioning shooters typically sell in the $1,000-$1,300 range. As in that is what most shooters are actually selling for. I am certain some experienced collectors feel that is 'too much', but it is a fact that market prices are set by actual sales. The only reason I can imagine that some collectors say shooters "are worth" $500-$600 is that they haven't been in the market in the last few years.

That said, if you spend lots of time and have lots of patience occasionally you can find surprisingly nice pistols $700- $900 but I consider those exceptions. Exceptions get figured into the average but do not set market.

That's about right - If you can get a great deal from another collector, that's one thing. But the FACTS are that the prices I see bandied about on this, and other collector's boards have virtually nothing to do with reality. This has been a pet irritation of mine for some time, so pardon my steam!
Luger sold for $750 on GB? Fantastic! Did it function correctly? Maybe, probably not. Easy fix? Hopefully.
I've bought my share of guns on GB, but I tend to shy away from "too good to be true 'deals'", because they probably are. I'd rather pay the real world market price, be it from GB, or one of the collector's sites such as Legacy or Simpsons, than try chasing what amounts to a pipe dream IMNSHO. That way I'll most likely get a gun that is what it says it is...


End rant!

[Edward Tinker]

ACTUALLY I never seem to get reasonable prices for ones I sell.

Because, everyone wants a luger cheaper - I have found that nice, original lugers go for $1800+ and usually higher for WW2 (easily), while mid-level lugers - folks want them at shooter prices.....

[DonVoigt]

Here is a shooter, on our trader forum for under $1000.
http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...229#post320229

[DavidJayUden]

Here is a nice one that "got away": https://www.gunbroker.com/item/788814278
dju

[DonVoigt]

Originally Posted by DavidJayUden

Here is a nice one that "got away": https://www.gunbroker.com/item/788814278
dju

Yes, looks like a "good one"; with a pretty scarce 5 digit police magazine- I would have liked to have.

[dfm]

Sometimes they're buried in odd categories on GB. I bought an Interarms Mauser P08 w/6" barrel in .30 Luger in brand new condition for $1100 last week. Found it tucked away under the "9mm ammo" column while I was browsing. No one had bid on it and the auction had just ended. Contacted the owner and he sold it for the starting bid price and covered the shipping. It's the closest to an American Eagle I'll ever have and I'm very happy with the purchase. A one-hole accurate shooter, too.

[Jim Mac]

I'm sure pawn shops and dealers set up at gun shows gets the guys that just want to sell quickly and not really care about top dollar. then again they have thier overhead so you have the cost of the gun and the price of renting a table and sitting there all weekend. Guy I bought my 1st luger actually went to a gun show looking for a shooter, he told me there was a dealer with some lugers and a old guy brings in a luger to sell. The dealer basically was explaining how the gun wasn't worth much because it was reblued, not matching etc. Guy I got it from finally asks the guy what he wanted for the gun, Got a price, the dealer said it was too much for the gun and the guy just pulled out the cash and bought it. must have been pretty reasonable because when I bought it, I paid $650 and I'm sure he made a little money. jim

[Jasta2]

Form my observations, finding a Luger in any pawn shop is almost impossible. Most shop owners I've talked to have a call list of buyers looking for curtain firearms, and most of them have Luger buyers on their list. Strange thing though, some pawn shop owners know very little about Lugers or their value, most do though. Cheapest Luger I found at a gun show was a .30 commercial in nice condition for $1,000.

[Jim Mac]

there was one at the local pawn shop, mis matched 9mm beat up looking, 950 bucks. import stamped too. jim