experts opinion on price guides
What in your opinion is the best book to find gun values? I know there is more to it then looking in a book,but it is a good place to start and learn. Thank you in advance and sorry if I am in the wrong forum.
Wally
Wally
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I use ROBERT H.BALDERSON'S Official Price Guide to Antique and Modern Firearms....
Captain Kirk, Tech Staff0 -
You are fine where you are Wally. Probably the best known of the modern firearms price guides is the Blue Book of Gun Values by S.J. Fjestad. This is up dated each year and has about 95% of the firearms you'd be likely to encounter. The down side the the Blue Book is that there are no real photos to use for identification purposes- although there are some nice color plates to demonstrate the grading process- these are very limited in number. Next down the list is the Standard Catalog of Firearms by Ned Schwing. This is a BIG book and has some of the firearms that the Blue Book leaves out...but also ignores some that the Blue Book includes. There are lots of pictures in the Standard Catalog and this can really help you if you need to identify a particualr firearm from a description, or if you simply want to know what something in particular looks like. The final book and one of the most inclusive of various manufacturers and obscure models is the Official Guide to Antique and Modern Fireams by Robert Balderson. Not all that many photos, but Balderson covers nearly everything you'd stumble across and a few guns I have never even heard of!
The prices in these guides are best estimates of what these models were selling for when the books went to press and while you might use them as a good indicator, I would not stake my reputation on any price I've seen in a book published once each year. There are also a few books which specialze in antique firearms with Flayderman's Guide by Norm Fladyerman being the best known of that type.
If you are just a beginning collector I would recommend the Standard Catalog by Schwing- only because it has so many photos and the best way to learn about firearms is to be able to recognize them by sight when you come across one. Photos will help you to do this much more than written descriptions. Even after 25+ years in this business I still bust out an old catalog or study a picture in a book to jar my memory. No one can remember what every firearm looks like!
Mark T. Christian0 -
The information given above is very good, I would like to add something, if you are going to collect a certain type or model of firearm you need to learn as much as you can about that weapon or weapons. Invest in good books and always ask question just as you did here.Another thing to remember is that a weapon can be listed at $500 as a general price but that same weapon can bring $600 in one part of the country, and $400 in another part of the country. By the same token that weapon that list for $500 may not be found anywhere for $700, prices change and trends in collecting change every day. Good luck and enjoy your hobby. dkf 0 -
blue book of gun values by far exceeds any publication i have read.
costs about 34.950 -
I buy the Blue Book and Standard Catalog every year and they are helpful in comming up with a ball park price. In most cases, I have found that dealers have not read them, and the prices asked are seldom anywhere near the book figures. There is a lot of regional variation in the values of used guns. What is highly sought in Texas may be a hard sell in Michigan. That means you need to get out among the guns and see what prices are doing.
DKF is correct in stating that you also need to look at specialized books Such as the Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson if you are planning to collect in a specific area. There are changes and variations that can affect price greatly.
Here are some sites to help you find the books you want: For searching for a particular author or title new or used try the Advanced Book Exchange: http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abep/il.dll?ph=1
Another useful book search site is Alibris: http://www.alibris.com/ One publisher of useful books is Krause: http://www.krause.com/static/firearms.htm
A dealer I like is Gun Show Books: http://www.gunshowbooks.com/home.html
There are many others including Amazon.com which often has prices below the publisher.0 -
I'll say this...Buy the book, but always ask here as well. In the short time I've used this forum,, I've found the advice here to be accurate, and you get to hear varying opinions and facts you may not get from a book, plus there's a bunch of good people here.
Orca
"God gave us beer because He loves us & wants us to be happy"
Benjamin Franklin0 -
Any values you see in books are at least 1-2 years old. It takes that much lead time to put a book together, get it published, etc. Sites like this one and gun shows are better indications of prices. Gun shows are usually high, due to the hordes of get-rich-quick types at them. 0 -
When it comes down to selling-you only need one buyer. I disagree with the "Blue Book" and most others. Perhaps guides but when I sell,
I look at the "Gun List". I do make a judgement call and price the arm
accordingly. Perhaps spend more on advertising but never a return. I never over-guess the strong percentage of finish and am always truthful. There are honest dealers and dishonest. I keep a book on the one's I will never purchase again from. The dishonest, I believe are looking for some "float time" on their returns. Too bad that the
dishonest 01's give the honest 01's a bad name. 1010 -
WALLEYMAN,
I did not wish you a welcome to the "forums".Welcome! Mark is the M-1
Garand person and legal expert but there are many others. Ask away and you will receive. 1010
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