Where have all the guns gone?

[jayhawk]

I’ve never stopped “wheelin and dealin”, even during the pandemic. But has anyone noticed that the gun market is completely dried up? A recent scan on gunbroker, armslist (yeah I know it’s sketchy), pawn shops, etc. has left me wondering where everything has gone. And it’s not just black guns. Its 30-30s, 9mm pistols, 20ga O/U, and anything In between.

Anyone have a similar experience? Is everyone just sitting on them? It’s not just guns either. That’s what I’m shopping for/selling right now.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I agree. Over the last few years the used gun options have gone away. Sheels in Great Falls used to have racks of used rifles and shotguns. When I would visit the midwest, Cabelas had an extensive collections of used guns. In the last few years all I have seen are ARs. It always used to be a afternoons pastime to see what was on the racks that you couldn't live without. It gave you a place to go while the wife and kids were shopping.

 

[Weldor]

Went a gun show this past weekend, same nothing there. Mostly AR or pistols. Lots of jewelry and junk. Not even any 22's.

 

[BRTreedogs]

They made non ffl transfers illegal in my state a few years ago.
With associated fees I can't get enough out of anything used to make it worth selling.
Shipping has doubled. So same thing.

 

[Rich M]

When I was a kid, the gun shops were fun to visit and always had tons of used guns. You're right - the volume of used guns are just not there like they used to be. There are also a lot more people and it doesn't cost anything to hold em.

The used gun "value" has climbed sky high as well. Why folks will pay 80-90% of new for something someone else may have abused is beyond me. Consignment at a gun shop is 25% or more. Trade in values are likewise pretty low. So the used gun you buy now costs almost as much as a new gun and the trade in from your old gun is low. Think most folks said forget that and just hold the guns.




On another vein, Craigslist wont let you post up guns, and many other places have similar restrictions. Makes it harder to sell guns.

We have a local forum that lists guns - same guys buy and sell em for $$. They list em about "$50" less than new. Crazy, but after a month or two, it says sold and another will pop up from same guy.

 

[Agross]

I stopped at the cabelas closest to me a month or two ago, and was looking around . They got rid of their used gun racks, they used to have several. I said something to the guy and he said anything they would get was gone immediately and people just stopped bringing them in. He said everybody is buying and nobody is selling.

 

[ChrisA]

Didn't seem like a shortage at Brownells show room two weeks ago, and seems like the classifieds on several forums I visit have plenty of non-AR listings. I haven't been to a pawn shop or gun show for decades so I might be out of the loop.

Chris

 

[MattB]

My guess is the huge pandemic mark-up's have disappeared so sellers are not as motived to sell. Essentially, there may have been a phenomenon where there was a bulge in the used market which has caused a supply deficit in its wake.

 

[dieselchessy]

I think people sell and trade guns to make money, and people sell guns to upgrade.

But now all the guns and ammo are too expensive and marked up to really sell to upgrade.
So what we have left is the money makers buying them high and then selling them higher. Used rifles are selling for more than they were worth new, and just below the current new buy price.

 

[Andrew12gauge]

The local auction house used to regularly list 20+ firearms on each weekly auction, now there are weeks they aren’t selling any and when they do have any it is 2-4 most weeks


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[Ol’ Cheebs]

In the future we’ll all hunt with plastic stocked 6.5s and ARs,
That’s why I live in the past

 

[Shraggs]

Think it depends on the gun show. I work them eac weekend. Most are really geared to the plastic carry options. A few routinely have hundreds of options for traditional rifles of every type and caliber.

 

[grfox92]

I'm in Northwest Wyoming and there is no shortage of any type of gun whatsoever. Pretty much any pistol you desire is on the shelf in my local shops. The only thing missing is in a ray of calibers when it comes to Rifles. There are plenty of rifles on the shelf just not a lot of diversity in the calibers available.

Edit: I noticed we are talking about used guns specifically, and there seems to be the normal amount for sale. There are however no deals. Everyone wants a premium for their junk. There was a Glock 20 on consignment with 3 magazines, they were asking $650. There were brand new ones in the case for $629.

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[Spoonbill]

Its hard to take a big haircut on a gun right now when the prices for everything have gone up. Prime example is Tikka, not too long ago you could find tikkas for 6-700 new, now it hard to find a used one for under 650 and those are usually pretty well used (speaking as a lefty).

 

[jayhawk]

glad to hear I’m not the only one experiencing things like this.

Seems like everyone wants to charge pandemic prices, but no one wants to pay them.

 

[Harvey_NW]

I think for myself and most individuals it's just easier and more convenient to sell them online. Your listing gets WAY more exposure, and it takes the risk out of meeting someone with bad intent locally. I've bought and sold a couple on here without issue, and it's been easy dealing.

 

[wind gypsy]

I think for myself and most individuals it's just easier and more convenient to sell them online. Your listing gets WAY more exposure, and it takes the risk out of meeting someone with bad intent locally. I've bought and sold a couple on here without issue, and it's been easy dealing.

That's what I was thinking. Seems like a gun shop would get way more interest and interested buyers online but you'd think they'd still have their inventory on display if they have a storefront? I couldn't even find a used gun section last time i was in a Scheels.

 

[jayhawk]

I think for myself and most individuals it's just easier and more convenient to sell them online. Your listing gets WAY more exposure, and it takes the risk out of meeting someone with bad intent locally. I've bought and sold a couple on here without issue, and it's been easy dealing.

I hear you. I’ve had good success online, and you avoid sketchy characters. But I’m also seeing the same thing in the online market. Armslist, private sellers on gunbroker, and others just don’t have NEAR the selection they used to.