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Originally posted by sigfreund:

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Originally posted by grumpy1:
One question I have is what if the buyer claims there is a problem with a firearm he bought on consignment?

It’s normally store policy.
I have seen some policies state “As is,” and out the door ends anyone else’s responsibility.
Another store (long ago) offered a 30-day warranty and the consigner didn’t get paid until that period was over.

We did the "as is" on consignment. We'd state any issues we were aware of, but make clear it was a used gun that was not really ours and once they purchased it they owned it. While we test fired and inspected used guns we took in we did not do that with consignments as we did not own them. In some circumstances we'd contact seller on behalf of buyer if buyer had a question or something. But we'd never give out the sellers information without their permission.

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Originally posted by FN in MT:
An acquaintance recently sold a small estate collection through a local gun shop that traditionally did a 20% commission. He brought thrm in and told them he'd do 10% no more.....they jumped on it.

That's a good lesson right there. Especially in these times, it's a sellers market.

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Originally posted by 12131:
My LGS/FFL charges me 10%.

There are some excellent sellers on GB that take consignments. The two that come to mind are Eatswoods Arms (10%) and Keystone Arms (15%). Their presentations for consignees' guns are superb.

With Keystone Arms' uncanny ability to hyper-inflate the exclusiveness of every gun they post (ie. Ultra Rare, Unobtainium, Ultra Exclusive, Once-in-a-lifetime, etc. etc. ) they succeed in fooling most buyers into over-paying. Definitely good for a consignment sale, not so much for repuatation amongst gun boards.

Today I visited a local gun store where I have sold guns on consignment. Now,the owner only wants to deal with new guns. I noticed that his used gun selection had some overpriced guns and a couple of real dogs. The well worn High Standard cowboy 22 LR,Was a stand out for $397. I guess a dealer has to be careful of what he accepts on consignment for what dollar amount.

A more skilled dealer would just have to say no to some guns and monitor prices on acceptable firearms to see they are in line. Most experienced Gun shop owners know how to do this.

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Originally posted by Mountain Walker:
Today I visited a local gun store where I have sold guns on consignment. Now,the owner only wants to deal with new guns. I noticed that his used gun selection had some overpriced guns and a couple of real dogs. The well worn High Standard cowboy 22 LR,Was a stand out for $397. I guess a dealer has to be careful of what he accepts on consignment for what dollar amount.

A more skilled dealer would just have to say no to some guns and monitor prices on acceptable firearms to see they are in line. Most experienced Gun shop owners know how to do this.

Indeed. We'd occasionally pass on consignments because we knew it would never sell. We'd always be up front and suggest a price if the seller was way high or way low. We obviously had a strong motivation to sell for as much as possible since we took a %. Most sellers that started out way high would be reasonable and come down. We didn't mind putting something out for what we thought was a bit too high for abit. We could always call the seller if somebody made an offer. But some people had crazy ideas on what their item was worth. While the cost to a dealer to consign something is fairly low, it's not zero. In addition to maintaining it on the books (granted, that cost is negligible) the dealer is also responsible for the item from a monetary standpoint. Building burns down and insurance needs to cover it, it gets scratched, etc. They also take up valuable display space and employee time showing them. So yeah, we're not putting out your chrome plated and poorly engraved P08 for $4,500. If you can get that for it awesome, take it and run. But it wouldn't be from us

I think 20% of consignment fee is crazy. No retail gun store gets that on a new hand gun sale. They make 10% or less on hand guns (not long arms where there is more margin for dealers). Think, what the hell does a consignment store do for selling your gun to earn that much margin. Jeesh, I simply don't do it and rather sell directly.

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Originally posted by Alex D:
I think 20% of consignment fee is crazy. No retail gun store gets that on a new hand gun sale. They make 10% or less on hand guns (not long arms where there is more margin for dealers).

Most in my area are doing better than 10% currently. Everyone is snatching up handguns. But used guns is where they can make a killing.

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Now is a good time to get rid of any "dogs" from your collection.

Dogs?
I prefer to think of them as "Gently Used and Tenderly Loved Safe Queens" . . . thank you very much!

Sold three such guns back in April.
The LGS was VERY interested in selling them since one was an M&P Shield and two were Ruger SP101's . . . perfect products for the current COVID buying panic.
Commission was 15%. While a bit steep in my opinion, it did save me the hassle of collecting money, shipping guns, etc.

PLUS they all sold fast!

I dropped them off on a Sunday and the Shield sold the very next day!
The SP101's sold in two and three days!
Went in a week later and picked up my check for the proceeds.

Is this a great country or what???

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Originally posted by Alex D:

Alex!

Go into your profile and in the signature box add “ [.hr.] In front of all your stuff....

Remove the dots, I put them in to keep the brackets from Placing a line in this post....

It will separate your post from your signature...

My LGS charges 15% for consignment. It is the only way I will sell a gun. The sale is legal and the store does all the paperwork. I have two handguns I want to put on consignment but have put it off due to this COVID-19 stuff. I never thought about this being a good time to do this because of the rush of new people buying firearms. We have not had a positive case of the virus in this county since May 26 and only 7 confirmed cases in total, so I might finally break down and take those two in and put them on consignment. Haven’t shot either of them in years.

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Originally posted by Alex D:
Think, what the hell does a consignment store do for selling your gun to earn that much margin. Jeesh, I simply don't do it and rather sell directly.

Let's people use a credit card so your gun sells quicker. Especially important for guns over $1k.

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Originally posted by DanH:

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Originally posted by Alex D:
Think, what the hell does a consignment store do for selling your gun to earn that much margin. Jeesh, I simply don't do it and rather sell directly.

Let's people use a credit card so your gun sells quicker. Especially important for guns over $1k.

Not to mention the fact that you do not have to deal with inane questions from tire kickers and lowball buyers. Sorry, I had an 96% + Colt .45 Government Model for sale at a very fair price a few months ago on Armslist. What a painful experience that was. I will use a dealer next time instead of selling it myself just so I don't have to deal with the public.

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Think, what the hell does a consignment store do for selling your gun to earn that much margin. Jeesh, I simply don't do it and rather sell directly.

Credit card use, put it on a shelf where people see it, post it to GunBroker where people see it, answer stupid questions, handle the transfer/shipping/paperwork...

Just putting it on GunBroker is worth the fee. Are you going to send a money order to Joe Snuffy who has sold 2 guns in 3 years, or to a gun store with 1500 sales this year and a 98% rating?

If you send your money to Snuffy you deserve what you get.

THese are all good reasons ... for you! And you should pay the 20%. None of these applies to my experience. I've literally sold over 20 guns on GB.com plus ammo and parts and if you are not stupid about accepting a buyer without history or paying via PayPal you will not have a problem. I have not experienced the issues you list. Not once in over 40 transactions. But again, it is entirely individual decision. For me its completely nuts to pay 20% commission. Obviously many disagree and gladly pay that much or these commissioned sellers would not be doing business.

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Originally posted by tanksoldier:

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Think, what the hell does a consignment store do for selling your gun to earn that much margin. Jeesh, I simply don't do it and rather sell directly.

Credit card use, put it on a shelf where people see it, post it to GunBroker where people see it, answer stupid questions, handle the transfer/shipping/paperwork...

Just putting it on GunBroker is worth the fee. Are you going to send a money order to Joe Snuffy who has sold 2 guns in 3 years, or to a gun store with 1500 sales this year and a 98% rating?

If you send your money to Snuffy you deserve what you get.

Thanks for the tip! Did as you advised. There should be a line now.

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Originally posted by MikeinNC:

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Originally posted by Alex D:

Alex!

Go into your profile and in the signature box add “ [.hr.] In front of all your stuff....

Remove the dots, I put them in to keep the brackets from Placing a line in this post....

It will separate your post from your signature...

quote:

Originally posted by Alex D:
THese are all good reasons ... for you! And you should pay the 20%. None of these applies to my experience. I've literally sold over 20 guns on GB.com plus ammo and parts and if you are not stupid about accepting a buyer without history or paying via PayPal you will not have a problem.

Purchasing a firearm with PayPal is a violation of their terms and services, and if they find out, they've been know to freeze the violator's accounts and keep whatever money may or may not be in there. If you want to risk getting thrown off of a useful platform by violating their rules, that's your problem. Not mine.

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Originally posted by wingspar:
My LGS charges 15% for consignment. It is the only way I will sell a gun. The sale is legal and the store does all the paperwork. I have two handguns I want to put on consignment but have put it off due to this COVID-19 stuff. I never thought about this being a good time to do this because of the rush of new people buying firearms. We have not had a positive case of the virus in this county since May 26 and only 7 confirmed cases in total, so I might finally break down and take those two in and put them on consignment. Haven’t shot either of them in years.

All of the Floyd rioting is why guns are selling off of the shelves, not because of covid.

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Originally posted by jimmy123x:

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Originally posted by wingspar:
My LGS charges 15% for consignment. It is the only way I will sell a gun. The sale is legal and the store does all the paperwork. I have two handguns I want to put on consignment but have put it off due to this COVID-19 stuff. I never thought about this being a good time to do this because of the rush of new people buying firearms. We have not had a positive case of the virus in this county since May 26 and only 7 confirmed cases in total, so I might finally break down and take those two in and put them on consignment. Haven’t shot either of them in years.

All of the Floyd rioting is why guns are selling off of the shelves, not because of covid.

It's both.

Consider me a contrarian. I think selling good guns is a mistake. The uncertainty of times ahead, including the election, underscores the point that a good gun will last as long as you take care of it, but the money you make from its sale will be gone quickly.

Unless you're using said money to upgrade your arsenal.