So, my father-in-law is a collector of military weapons, as well as many others for that matter. He has an operational Ma' Deuce that he legally purchased and currently owns (as well as approx 30 M1 Garands, and many more "other" rifles).

He is 80, selling the ranch, and parting with most of his collection. My question on his behalf is; where/how is the bet way to do so?

I'd start here in the Clasified Section!

How about looking out for your internet friends!

The best way is calling a local dealer and selling them as an estate sale.

Doing so you will get less money, but you don't have to deal with transfers or individual sales.

I would try and find a specialized dealer in those type of firearms, that way you get the best value for them.

Send me an e-mail, please.

Tony.

quote:

Originally posted by GroundedCLK:
The best way is calling a local dealer and selling them as an estate sale.

Doing so you will get less money, but you don't have to deal with transfers or individual sales.

I would try and find a specialized dealer in those type of firearms, that way you get the best value for them.

Sure, if he was dead this might be an option for getting things done quickly.

The man is still alive, and so cataloguing and perhaps selling here in the Classifieds is an option.

Please do not turn the thread into an Ad by making offers, guys.

If you're wanting top dollar, listing and selling them individually on a milsurp forum like Gunboards or the CMP Forum will be your best bet. But that will take a decent amount of time and effort taking photos, creating listings, fielding inquiries and offers, collecting funds, shipping the rifles, etc. Gunbroker is a similar option if you're wanting to list them for auction, with a similar time investment.

Otherwise, if you're wanting something quicker/easier and willing to sell the Garands and other milsurps together as a package, I'd reach out to Dennis Kroh at Empire Arms. He buys milsurp collections to resell, and reportedly offers fair prices (though you likely won't get as much as selling them individually yourself). For large collections like that, he often offers to travel to you in order to personally inspect the items before making an offer.

Dennis Kroh can be reached by email at: kroh AT empirearms DOT com (Note: He's currently on vacation until 2/17, so it may be a couple weeks before he gets back to you.)

Mr. Kroh probably will not be interested in the M2, since I've never seen him deal with NFA items. But that should be relatively easy to sell by itself in the classifieds section of a dedicated machine gun forum like MachineGunBoards.com, Sturmgewehr.com, or the Gunboards NFA Trader.

Just to be clear, is the Ma Duce and/or others Select or full auto fire?

If so, and this is a collection that he put together decades ago, his investment will have doubles many times over and if he is wanting to take about 1/3 to 1/2 of the current value just to get it done, there are several dealers on auction sites like Gunbroker that can either buy the entire collection or some even take on consignment for a lower percentage.

While you would get less, it relieves you of the hassle of writing the ad's, collecting payment and shipping, which while it would net you top dollar it is a lot of work. As you are probably aware (if you have ever looked at the NFA wait time thread) NFA items are not a quick turn around.

Knowing that collections like this are being liquidated makes me wish I was younger, but I'm glad that I got the few that I have at a time I could still enjoy them!

quote:

My question on his behalf is; where/how is the bet way to do so?

Really depends on what the priorities are.

If maximizing $$$ is the top desire, selling individually on a forum or website is the best way to do that. But that will entail taking tons of photos, writing down all the specifics (especially with older weapons, every little marking / detail can matter), listing, selling, taking payment, and shipping for each one.

If ease of sale is the highest priority, selling the lot to an auction house or having an auction house sell is likely the best bet. Won't net as much money but will save time and aggravation that the auction place will deal with (payments, shipping, etc).

At this point in his life, it really matters what his priorities are and how much his time is worth to him.

Obviously a NFA full auto M2 will be worth a lot and likely sell itself for market value pretty quickly.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
<Snip>
Obviously a NFA full auto M2 will be worth a lot and likely sell itself for market value pretty quickly.

Ditto ... that's one that you could probably sell yourself easily on Bowers full auto board or on Gunbroker, however the maximum length of time (2 weeks IIRC) and as RHINO said, lots of pictures ... and dealing with the questions go with getting top dollar.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder:

...Please do not turn the thread into an Ad by making offers, guys.

Thanks arc, I won't let that happen. I have bought and sold countless guns in the Classifieds here for my personal use. I assure you all that I would post them here (in the CLASSIFIEDS) exlcusively if he intends to sell them individually. I'm going to see him next the next couple of weeks and will get a better picture of what he wants to do. I just want to have some reasonable options to line out for him.

kimber, Yes FULL AUTO.

Rhino, Well, he has already meticulously catalogued the guns. The M1's for instance; Singer, NCR, Rock-ola, IBM, Inland, Standard, etc. and all of the accessories that go with each gun; bayonette lug, # of mags, butt stock mag pouch with mfg name, etc.

We have a pic, but mutliple detailed pics, posting, collecting, transfers, etc. would be a PIA.

At least he’s doing this ahead of time, and on his terms. When my grandfather passed six years ago in a small town in Georgia, I had to do a quick liquidation of his firearms with the local gun store picking/choosing what they would take at bottom dollar value. If your FIL is there in DFW, you/he will at least have more options to move the items than I did...and you have time to do it wisely.

quote:

Originally posted by Cobra21:

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder:

...Please do not turn the thread into an Ad by making offers, guys.

Thanks arc, I won't let that happen. I have bought and sold countless guns in the Classifieds here for my personal use. I assure you all that I would post them here (in the CLASSIFIEDS) exlcusively if he intends to sell them individually. I'm going to see him next the next couple of weeks and will get a better picture of what he wants to do. I just want to have some reasonable options to line out for him.

It's alright, we want a fair price for everyone, and a fair marketplace.

I have a question regarding selling multiple personally owned firearms. Aside from normal ATF rules, are there any additional laws or rules that would limit how many firearms an individual could sell at a time or timeframe without being a FFL or business?

I haven't read the reg's in years, but as i recall, liquidating your collection isn't considered "in the business"

Where it gets sticky is when an unlicensed seller buyers a gun from someone walking around selling, or a firearm from another dealer, then puts it on his table for sale.

quote:

Originally posted by Cobra21:
kimber, Yes FULL AUTO.

Rhino, Well, he has already meticulously catalogued the guns. The M1's for instance; Singer, NCR, Rock-ola, IBM, Inland, Standard, etc. and all of the accessories that go with each gun; bayonette lug, # of mags, butt stock mag pouch with mfg name, etc.

We have a pic, but mutliple detailed pics, posting, collecting, transfers, etc. would be a PIA.

Respectfully, you are describing M1 carbines not Garands.

quote:

Originally posted by Belgian Blue:
I have a question regarding selling multiple personally owned firearms. Aside from normal ATF rules, are there any additional laws or rules that would limit how many firearms an individual could sell at a time or timeframe without being a FFL or business?

He's fine selling a collection he has acquired over the years.

The problem is when you start buying and selling frequently. Assuming he's just selling he should be fine.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

quote:

My question on his behalf is; where/how is the bet way to do so?

Really depends on what the priorities are.

If maximizing $$$ is the top desire, selling individually on a forum or website is the best way to do that. But that will entail taking tons of photos, writing down all the specifics (especially with older weapons, every little marking / detail can matter), listing, selling, taking payment, and shipping for each one.

If ease of sale is the highest priority, selling the lot to an auction house or having an auction house sell is likely the best bet. Won't net as much money but will save time and aggravation that the auction place will deal with (payments, shipping, etc).

At this point in his life, it really matters what his priorities are and how much his time is worth to him.

Obviously a NFA full auto M2 will be worth a lot and likely sell itself for market value pretty quickly.

These are my thoughts. But it also seems that he has enough quantity of Garands and such that an auction house (the right one and location) would probably bring fair market value and he'd pay a 10% commission to the auctioneers with little hassle in regards to selling them.

One of the large auction houses are best equipped to handle a job like this.

If your FIL does have 30 M1 Carbines then could you ask him if any of them are marked "Bundes Grenzpolizei"?

Some carbines were loaned to Germany after the war and the Bundes Grenzpolizei were the Border Patrol of Germany during that time.