5 Mistakes People Make When Selling Guns They Don’t Want Anymore

Aaron Spuler is a firearms enthusiast and recreational shooter. Follow more or his work at The Weapon Blog

Thinking of selling a gun you no longer want (maybe to fund the purchase of a new one)? Well, hold your horses, partner. It’s all too easy to make mistakes here! 

There are a lot of things you can do wrong when selling a gun. If you want to know how to pull off the sale while getting the best deal for your firearm, let’s go over the pitfalls to avoid.

1. Forgetting to Research Market Value

A surprising number of people make this mistake. They sell their gun for what they guess it might be worth instead of checking the current going rate. 

This can lead to several issues. If you price higher than the proper market value, you’ll have trouble selling the gun. If you price lower, you’ll give up potential profit you could be making!

And don’t be fooled into thinking market value is static, by the way. It can fluctuate based on things like current demand and supply, and even gun trends. That’s even before we consider gun condition and customization level. 

Try checking out online marketplaces for recently sold (not old sales or ongoing sales) guns like yours. You’ll see what people are willing to pay. You can also get your gun appraised by industry professionals – places like Cash for Arms do it for free online.

2. Ignoring Legal Requirements

This matters because different states have different laws for private gun sales. Some let you sell your gun directly to other private persons, easy-peasy. Others make you go through licensed dealers.

Always check the laws in your state to find out if you need to use a dealer for your sales. It’s obviously easier not to have to go through one, but the law’s the law. Better safe than sorry! 

3. Presenting the Guns Badly

Selling a gun is pretty similar to selling most other physical products. Presentation matters. 

Keep in mind that this is as true for selling the gun through in-person meetings as it is for online sales. In the former, you have to make sure the gun looks clean and well-kept for the buyer to bite. In the latter, you have to do the same – just in photos.

Always clean your gun before staging it for sale or taking photographs. Ask someone good with a camera to take the photos if you need to. 

Put as much description as you can in the listing, by the way. People are more likely to inquire about guns that are clear about what they are. Don’t be shy about highlighting the gun’s best features too!

4. Selling to Pawn Shops

A lot of pawn shops buy guns. That doesn’t mean you should get desperate and sell your gun to them.

Here’s why: pawn shops almost always have the lowest offers among gun buyers. Except for that joker offering you “three fiddy” for it online, of course. 

So, don’t bother offering the gun to a pawnbroker unless you have absolutely zero alternatives. You’ll lose a chance to sell that gun for what it’s really worth.

5. Rushing the Sale

Rushing a sale is one of the worst things you can do when selling a gun. It puts you in a position of weakness for negotiations and makes you more likely to take bad deals.

Don’t walk into a sale you might end up regretting. Do your due diligence for every part of the smart sale process, from checking market value to screening your buyers. 

A good way to do this while avoiding time-wasters is to set time limits for everything. Say you’re at the negotiation phase with a potential buyer, for example. So you don’t waste time on someone just tire-kicking, give yourself a day to deal with him. 

If you’ve answered all questions on that day and the buyer still hasn’t chosen to close the sale, you might want to move on to the next candidate.

Conclusion

Selling an unwanted gun requires care if you’re after the best sale price on the deal. Before you do it, make sure you know what the gun’s worth right now and can present it properly. Check what your legal obligations in your state are too. Being informed, calm and rational will get you the best possible profit here!

Source: https://www.weapon-blog.com/2024/10/5-mistakes-people-make-when-selling-guns-they-dont-want-anymore/