I was working my part-time job at the LGS today. Very busy day for some reason. A lot of folks looking for small 9mm carry guns.

Anyways it slowed down after lunch. Then a little old Granny pulled in and pressed the door buzzer. I let her in and she said; "Young man, I have some guns in the trunk of my car. Id like to sell them. Would you fetch them for me?"

She was carrying a cloth sack. Yes ma'am I'll get them, whats in the sack? Shechanded it to me and I pulled out a pristine H&R 22 revolver and a less than pristine nickel Colt Cobra. The Cobra had a lot of lint and grime and dried or sticky lubricant. It had been stored in the Safariland IWB thumbreak that it was sitting in.

In the trunk she had an Ithica Featherweight 12 guage and a Benneli Super 90. The manager examined the guns and asked her who they belonged to and why did she want to sell them. She informed us that they were her late husbands guns and she didnt want them in the house any longer. He inquired as to how much she wanted for the lot and she replied that she didnt know and was hoping he would tell her what they were worth.

After some time spent showing her the flaws in the various guns and an explanation of wholesale and retail, which she understood and agreed with, he offered her $1200. She lit up and was thrilled. Note to self - sell all my guns soon so the wife doesnt give them away.

After she left, the manager held out the Colt Cobra to me. "You want this boy? $425. Its a real gun unlike them old Smith and Wessons you carry."

I have a long history with the Colt Cobra. My father carried one off duty and in retirement. It was the first gun I ever held and first one I ever shot. It is in storage since I inherited it upon his passing. I carried my own Cobra for a few years on duty as a BUG and off duty on my own time.

Vintage on this one is 1975. The nickel is a little milky in spots. There are some scratches here and there. I think some Flitz will improve the appearance dramatically. A good deep cleaning is in order as the congealed lubricants make the pull less than optimal.

But I am very happy to get a fine carry sixgun at such a good price. After cleaning and testing it may wind up in a holster. Since I am retired I can carry whatever I want. And this Colt Cobra is one fine carry gun! Regards 18DAI

I am always reminded of the old joke about a wife selling the guns based upon what the deceased husband swore he paid for them.

Either way, congrats on the new Colt!

I've heard several stories locally of widows that sold their late husbands guns for pennies on the dollar because "they don't want them in the house". It's very sad, because they could make a decent amount of money if they were sold for what they were worth.

I feel sorry for the man that takes advantage of old ladies like this.

$425 for a Cobra? Nice! Bet he didn't have to ask that twice.

A better deal than my $800 X-Five.

Man, you tell us about a super nice gun, but no pics? You should be banned for this offense.

Well......its not "super nice" yet. After I pay it off next payday and finish taking it apart and cleaning it, I will post a pic. Regards 18DAI

I knew a guy who’s widow auctioned off his collection. She did quite well.

Very cool. Thanks for sharing. I love these gun store stories. Congrats on your new Cobra!

Wait just a minute - door buzzer?? You must live behind the Iron Curtain ... . I lived in heavily restricted Germany for many years - but never encountered a locked door to any gun showrooms. That said, they did ask for weapons cards (WBK) to show handguns ...

Once, a lady walked into the PD and told the dispatcher her husband had recently passed away and she wanted to get rid of the ammo he had stored away.
20K of .38 special. Took us 2 years to burn it up.

quote:

Originally posted by John3200:
I feel sorry for the man that takes advantage of old ladies like this.

You likely also don't make your livelihood in the buying and selling of guns.

Besides, from the description it sounds like the owner explained the difference between a prospective much higher sale price if she exerted any effort, and the low price he offered that constitutes profit on his part. You know, the businessman who must buy low and sell high to make money.

Pawn shops exist. And thrive, in some places. I don't think anyone is unaware pawn shops don't give you top dollar for stuff, to downright "rip you off" (in a mutually agreed transaction).

Would you rather he paid her every penny he could? And then sit on the guns for a few years while they're priced high enough to cover expenses, but not low enough to move quick?

If you've ever seen a great price for a used gun in a pawn shop or gun store and jumped at the chance, know the last owner likely got the same treatment as this woman, or worse, and you're encouraging it.

quote:

Originally posted by John3200:
I feel sorry for the man that takes advantage of old ladies like this.

^^^^^^^^
But in all fairness, I hate that phrase "Doesn't want them in the house"

Probably didn't want the husband in the house either.

Just be fair in dealings.

I wasnt going to bother with the "poor old lady taken advantage of remark, but since it is being addressed.

The only gun that she brought in that was in good condition was the H&R. Her husband had notvpassed recently - evidently - and the two shottys had been stored in cheap rifle bags, in the attic. BOTH had surface rust and the Ithica had some rust in the bore. All this was pointed out to her, PRIOR to him offering to buy them (which surprised us as we figured he would decline to buy them as he OFTEN does.)

So even though we "took advantage of this old lady" if the other three guns clean up decently and sell at what the manager is thinking, we will make a whopping $250 profit - including the $425 I'm paying on the Cobra. Oh, and as I mentioned, she left the store HAPPY with her $1200. Which was probably 4 or 500 more than the other local LGSs would have offered her. We are not a non-profit.

Enough on that BS. Yes, we have a buzzer/electronic lock on the front door as well as bullet resistant glass in the storefront (we face a major thoroughfare and are concerned about rounds leaving the store too) and a hightech surveillance system that records voice as well as video.

The store is located about 100 yards from a settlement of miscreants and we get cased frequently and in the last 3 months there have been three attempted break ins after closing. Two of us are ex-LE/MILITARY and one of the part time guys is still employed with the local police. We dont work off commission we are all salaried. The owner is a gun enthusiast who is quite well off. He wants the customers treated well and all their questions answered. He doesnt care if they buy a gun.(he actually said that more than once!)

He feels that if they have a good experience in the shop, they may tell one or two other people and come back and buy a gun. But if they are treated like they are at the other two established gunshops locally, they will complain to 10 or more folks.

We are a high end shop. Daniel Defense, Browning, Nighthawk, Sig, Colt, Glock, Ed Brown, Les Baer, Dan Wesson, CZ and others are what we stock. We do carry some Rugers and some S&Ws which bulk up our low end sales. We are a Sig and Kimber Master dealer as well.

And everyone who enters our shop gets treated FAIRLY. We dont twist anyones arm and we don't gouge anyone either. We don't have to. Regards 18DAI

Yeah I'm sick of the "take advantage" comments as well. As if a gun store (a very low margin, high inventory cost business) can afford to pay anywhere near cash retail for someone's old guns.

If people don't want to be "taken advantage" of, they are welcome to sell them one at a time to private buyers over the course of the next few months, just like any other item in their house they no longer want.

P.S. post a "before" picture of that Cobra as well, let's see how nice she cleans up!

Congrats on that Colt! I look forward to some before and after pics.

I had a lady casually ask if I knew anything about guns one day at the music store I managed. I told her I know one or two things, and asked why? She had rescued her elderly uncle from a facility where he was being abused, and she didn’t want his guns in the house since she had small children and was scared of them. I told her I could look them over and we could look up what we could find about fair prices to try to sell them for.

The next day, she came back and asked if I would carry them in from the trunk. She had an old towel wrapped around “the big one,” a sporterized Enfield Mk IV, and “the little ones” were loose in a laundry bag. She told me “I know we talked about selling them, but I just want them out of the house and be done with it. If you want them, you can have them all.” In the bag was a Jennings .25, an EAA .22 SAA clone, several other .22 revolvers made out what felt like pot metal I didn’t recognize the maker, and a blued 2” Smith 10-5. The .22’s were all junk that I may have disabled and tossed into very deep salt water. The Smith was the best of the bunch, had a very buttery trigger and I kept it and enjoyed it for years before selling it to fund an AR. The Enfield would have made a good Jungle Carbine project, I just didn’t feel like messing with it.

Please take a snap before cleaning. I think before and after shots would be interesting.

quote:

Originally posted by 18DAI:
Well......its not "super nice" yet. After I pay it off next payday and finish taking it apart and cleaning it, I will post a pic. Regards 18DAI

I agree. That would be most interesting

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
Please take a snap before cleaning. I think before and after shots would be interesting.

quote:

Originally posted by 18DAI:
Well......its not "super nice" yet. After I pay it off next payday and finish taking it apart and cleaning it, I will post a pic. Regards 18DAI

Not that anybody asked, but $1200 seemed generous to me based on market value of what was brought in and their respective conditions.

Same here. I was just going to compliment the store owner for not offering her $300. Sounds to me like they have some integrity.