The way I have always gone about giving someone a price on a firearm, whether one is being bought or sold, is to use the Blue Book of Gun Values. This is a widely known reliable source for firearms of any type. From antiques to the more modern firearms of today, this service has almost everything you are looking for. The Blue Book of Gun Values also makes finding your exact make and model pretty easy. Just type in who makes it and subcategories pop up (Pistol, Revolver, Rifle) for that manufacturer. Once you have narrowed this down and found the make and model of the firearm, this service will show you every variation of that firearm and how much it is worth in todays market based on things like the current or last listed MSRP and by checking out the sales history of the firearm. If the demand for a particular firearm has dropped in recent years, then you can expect the price of the firearm to drop as well. If the quality of the firearms finishes or function is poor than this too can diminish the firearms value and The Blue Book of Gun Values will help you determine the worth of the firearm accordingly. Finally, this service usually lists any factory altercations to the firearm that may add or subtract value such as the manufactures specialty grips or the optic that came with the firearm.
With regard to what firearms my business will be appraising, the best answer is probably any firearm that the individual owner wants done. While it is true that firearms worth less than $1,000 do not need an appraisal for insurance reasons, it still may be smart to have one done for every firearm to get a greater sense of what your total collection may be worth. On top of that you may think your old beat-up firearm is not worth anything and find out it is rare and worth thousands of dollars.
As I have worked for a number of different FFLs over the years, I can say firsthand that appraisals are important for many reasons. First and foremost, one of the industry standards for firearms appraisals is to use a BlueBookofGunValues.com subscription or literature and it will become your first source every time you need a price. This site will show you the firearms’ last or current MSRP pricing, different listings for the value of the firearm depending on the quality it is in, and even show you historically what it was worth in the past. Showing a history of the pricing helps me determine if the firearm is increasing, decreasing, or flatlining in value. Knowing how much I can re-sell a firearm for and whether that will change in the future has an impact on how much I would offer to purchase someone’s firearm.
When someone comes into the gun range and would like to buy, sell or trade a firearm and there is a question of what the firearm is worth, my first step is to look it up in the blue book of gun values. Showing the firearms worth to the customer usually eliminates a lot of the back-and-forth price gouging and lets them know that you are being as fair as you can as a business who relies on profits to continue operations. I would absolutely go to a Gun Store, Range, Pawn Shop or any other establishment that uses the blue book of gun values for firearms appraisals because that usually means they are not in the business of ripping people off. If the establishment does not use the blue book of gun values to determine their appraisal amount, then I would be looking for different certifications to determine the persons knowledge of firearms and pricing and maybe research the books they are reading their pricing out of. At the very least I would be sure the pricing they are reading in the book was from the current year as the market for gun values may vary wildly depending on the make and model.
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