I would like to start a spreadsheet on my firearms to
1) Catalog what I have
2) Record the S/N in case of theft
3) Get a decent value of what the firearm is worth

My question is: what application would provide me with a good estimate of worth?
I can think of Gunbroker.... any others?
Thanks!

GB is the gorilla in the room. Search for completed listings in advanced search and pay no attention to high prices with zero bids.

Guns International is basically a classified ad and not an auction. I've bought guns there at a fair price.

Gun Auction.com is the old Auction Arms auction site and it's a good site but not the volume off GB.

Gun forum classifieds give a good indication of ask. Come up with your absolute low value and then deduct another 20%.

I have a spreadsheet with all the normal stuff and annually I value them on GB. That way Mrs. Mike doesn’t get ripped off if I pass before her. Also have a column for what I paid for - the real price.

Completed listings on Gunbroker are your greatest resource. If a gun is still in production then you can also look at gun.deals to find the best current prices, then I’d suggest reducing by 10-20% if it’s in excellent shape, more if in worse shape.

The generally recognized definition of fair market value is what an educated willing buyer and willing seller will buy/sell for. I’m reminded of working for a judge fresh out of law school, and he handled community property settlements between divorced couples. He would tell the parties to value items at a price that they were willing to “buy” or “sell” it. For example using stereotypes, if a boat was worth $10,000 and the wife (who didn’t want it) said it was worth $20,000 the judge would give the boat to her and she would owe the husband $20,000. This really made people try hard to put fair values.

This always stuck with me and I remind people to think about what they would be willing to buy it for- not just how much they hope to sell it for.

When i made my Spreadsheet i did my resech using GB and Blue Book. and tried to give a honest Value. In Case of my passing.Before my wife.
I also took pics of the ones not in production anymore

Thanks for all the replies. I had forgotten about Blue Book. Two sources would make for a better balanced estimate!

Most of the things in my collection are relatively normal. While some may be scarce I would hardly call them rare. At several time I have moved stuff out in order to shift my attention in another direction. I peruse GB pretty regularly and follow a lot of auctions looking for bidding while discounting the anomalies as well as the apparent “shill” bidding. You start to notice upticks and downturns in bidding which coincide with prices. I will also pay attention to the rising and falling of new gun prices. I no longer look at blue book value as the printed data lags a little behind real time data like GB once the garbage is filtered, but will admit they get you in the ballpark. Here is another site I use True Gun Value which lists up concluded online listings and sales.

All that said, there are times like now that prices and sales are slow. My guess is they will certainly get slower as the economy continues to stumble and strain most Americans. We are entering a buyer’s market for those that can afford to be buyers. When selling in these types of markets, one needs patience and grounding in reality. Depending on how badly I need or don’t need the money may dictate the price I am willing to take. I may list something at the upper end of reality to explore whether someone wants it more than myself. Everything I have is for sale, some of it not at a price the market is willing to pay. I would love to have more space and be better prepared to be a buyer, but at current conditions some of it isn’t worth the effort to let go in the current market. I do have a spreadsheet that I am trying to maintain on an annual basis which I am using to cull the herd.

Excel works for me just fine. I can record everything I want, sort, search etc.

True Gun Value provides historical pricing, mainly from Gun Broker.

True Gun Value

blue book is great for the item or gun descriptions and some details on some varied models, but almost worthless on prices,


GB, completed, ignore anything without bid


google searches for other auctions and sales,


keep in mind for some auctions like RIA etc, that price it sold for includes sales tax, premiums etc, so deduct 20% or so,

You might want to check on the recent proposed rules by the ATF. Tracking gun values is now going to be a criteria to determine if you are a dealer without a license. If you do keep records, treat them like the Ring of Power. Keep them secret, keep them safe.



Armed Attorneys



The Four Boxes Diner

SIGforum member K0ZZZ had developed a nice database app for tracking firearms.

http://shotworkspro.com/