Collecting

[jonnyone]

I've reflected on my collection over last week or so and its got me thinking (yep- it really did hurt my brain).

I know that I collect using my heart not my head. I collect guns that I take a fancy to (to own and use), rather than those which should appreciate in value and will be sought after in future years (in other words financial investments).

Have others arrived at this rationale behind their collecting? Am I alone in this or do other buy on impulse?

Or is there room for collecting both a rifle/pistol that you fancy owning/shooting AND which will appreciate in future years?

Dave

[Muskett]

As an investment they don't add up, only in the value of ownership; you are doing well if you can just break even monetary wise, and that doesn't include your time.

The rest is just the fun of it, so don't worry. Buy what you like.

There are a heck of other things in life that cost a lot and no fun at all.

I've just bought another Park Rifle which makes me happy

[pjbingham]

Personally I buy with my heart, if something appeals it could be for a number of reasons, maybe as simple as just the wear and patina but it talks to you and you have to have it. I've never bought something because one day it will be worth more, It does concern me what will happen when I'm gone but not from a monetary point of view just that everything goes to collectors. Buy what you love has to be the way I reckon

[Josie & John]

I've reflected on my collection over last week or so and its got me thinking (yep- it really did hurt my brain).

I know that I collect using my heart not my head. I collect guns that I take a fancy to (to own and use), rather than those which should appreciate in value and will be sought after in future years (in other words financial investments).

Have others arrived at this rationale behind their collecting? Am I alone in this or do other buy on impulse?

Or is there room for collecting both a rifle/pistol that you fancy owning/shooting AND which will appreciate in future years?

Dave

I think you have the right reasoning Dave. I too collect with my heart rather than an eye for investment, which is a nice side effect rather than primary reason.

All of my guns have to be in working order and any that do not shoot don't stay long. I enjoy the accessories such as pellet and original box packaging, sights, catalogues, advertising as much as the guns as they all help to build an overall picture of a specific period in time. The good thing about collectables is as long as you buy wisely and do not damage a gun while it is in your temporary care, you usually get your stake back, perhaps with a small profit when it comes to moving it on. That does not happen with most other pastimes.

John

[Abasmajor]

I think you have the right reasoning Dave. I too collect with my heart rather than an eye for investment, which is a nice side effect rather than primary reason.

All of my guns have to be in working order and any that do not shoot don't stay long. I enjoy the accessories such as pellet and original box packaging, sights, catalogues, advertising as much as the guns as they all help to build an overall picture of a specific period in time. The good thing about collectables is as long as you buy wisely and do not damage a gun while it is in your temporary care, you usually get your stake back, perhaps with a small profit when it comes to moving it on. That does not happen with most other pastimes.

John

Hi,

I fully agree with JM's sentiments regarding collecting and have never bought anything with a view to making a future profit. In fact, I still have quite a few duplicated items in my collection which were notionally replaced when something in better condition came along.

Just about every hobby has a cost implication, so if I can break even financially when it comes to passing on my guns to future collectors, I will have had many years of pleasure at little or no cost.

Bargain.

Regards

Brian

[Garvin]

Like the others, I collect with my heart, although I like to think my head makes an appearance when it's time to make a decision on cost/value! Occasionally I sell a gun at a loss, although most of the time I break even or make a small profit - which is then generally ploughed straight into 'investing' in another collectable.

One thing I've learned about myself over the years is how fickle I am, in terms of not being at all interested in something one minute and desperately yearning for it the next. Another is that I can talk myself into anything, such as 'if I buy this, I can sell the [less good] one I already have for £x, so I'm hardly really spending anything on it and it's much better than the one I have'. This calculation is usually made in about two milliseconds - the time it takes to click on the 'bid now' button.

PS I have a policy of never regretting a decision I've made...

[Josie & John]

Like the others, I collect with my heart, although I like to think my head makes an appearance when it's time to make a decision on cost/value! Occasionally I sell a gun at a loss, although most of the time I break even or make a small profit - which is then generally ploughed straight into 'investing' in another collectable.

One thing I've learned about myself over the years is how fickle I am, in terms of not being at all interested in something one minute and desperately yearning for it the next. Another is that I can talk myself into anything, such as 'if I buy this, I can sell the [less good] one I already have for £x, so I'm hardly really spending anything on it and it's much better than the one I have'. This calculation is usually made in about two milliseconds - the time it takes to click on the 'bid now' button.

PS I have a policy of never regretting a decision I've made...

I agree wholeheartedly, although I have regretted selling certain items when collecting direction and/or finances dictated as I invariably ended up paying more for said item when another came along later.

John

[micky]

I to collect with the heart, as long as l think it is a fair price to pay. there have been guns that l have realy wanted and maybe paid slighty over the odds at the time because they rarely come up for sale mostly from dealers, but l have not regreated it, l will also buy guns that need some/lot of TLC just because l don't have one, where some collectors would pass them over. having said that l am now having to downsize some as not having the room since moving house.

[fozzy45]

My collection started with anything airsporter. Then i got rid of the standards ones and just collected the specials, Stutzen, carbine, mk1,2 and 3 'S' and Centenary, plus a Mercury MK1 S and Challenger. I then got onto Weihrauchs, buying bad conditioned ones and restoring them, generally the MK1s, 77k, 80s and 35Es. I have built a couple of custom rifles which are keepers. I have just restored a MK1 TX SR. I have really thinned my collection out now and tend to restore for other people or buy a special for myself. I have a couple of FWB 127 sports, MK1 and 2 that i got at reasonable money.
As for making money on guns, i have always made money when selling them on, more often than not doubling my money. This is due to the resto costs being minimal as thats what i/we do.
This is in no way a boast at all, just saying that you can make a bit of money on guns with knowledge and resto experience.
Fozzy.

[I. J.]

I started collecting due to a love of engineering, engines, airguns etc. hence I like mainly German stuff, have a dislike for Wobbly pistols (poor cocking linkage, bad design, inflated prices ) and have only a couple of Crosmans (M1 and model 70) in my collection due to their plastic construction. Just take a close look at the design and engineering of a Rekord trigger unit.
I also collect the air rifles I couldn't afford when I was a kid. (Poor family. If I hadn't been born a boy I would have had nothing to play with. )
Whether they increase in value or not is irrelevant but I think its better than money in the bank. Of course I buy at the best price I can and have been known to buy a better example to replace the one I own. At the moment Im unable to shoot springer rifles much due to 'Arfur' so a whole new world of 10m match pistol has opened up to me. Now that is expensive.
Also the people who shoot air guns down at the club are, with very few exceptions, a great bunch and your always guaranteed a laugh at some one else s expense.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Airs...?sort=6&page=1

ATB
Ian

[ggggr]

I do not think of myself as a collector, rather a tinkerer. I started off after many years away from airguns, buying stuff I wanted as a kid. I bought a Webley Mk3 which was a gun I could not afford. Then out of curiousity, I bought a dog rough Webley Hawk. Once I joined here and had acquired a few more guns, I found that due to lack of information about stripping some guns, that I somehow started the "Idiots guide". I would then buy cheap examples of stuff I did not have so I could strip them and write up the strip down. I would buy some guns because they were cheap and I used to get them working as a hobby to take my mind off where I lived/housing problems.
I explained to someone that I would buy a gun that was not working for £25-£30, get it working, fitting a piston washer, breech seal and a mainspring that would fit AND it would still be worth £25- £30 .That is why I have kept so many of them, plus the thing that once I have done them, I feel that they should (mainly) stay.
I like to be able to plink, so things that are not much fun to have gone. These are gats, G4's, Webley Stinger, Zenit.
I've had a lot of help off here and have been sold some guns cheaply as people know I will get them working and will not break them for spares on that auction site. A couple of things that spring (see what I did there) to mind are the Relum Repeatier from Ogilkes (barsteward to do that!) and the Tell 2 from Garvin. There are now pics of a stripped Tell 2 on the internet, which I have not seen before.
Some things I do not really like but as they are from my youth, I keep them. A couple of Relums are a bit of a bugger to cock. The Paratroopers are Gamo's, which I don't like for some reason and I have a couple of Crosman 1300 pistols, which I don't really like either.
I have got rid of any other later Crosman or Daisy that have come my way and all other Gamos have gone as well.
There are a few things I regret not buying (A cheap Anschutz 275 on here), being one. I do have rougher examples of collectable guns. I somehow ended up with a lot of Meteors (16 I think).
I have recently passed of a mk4 Meteor and a Webley Hawk mk3 to a mate to use with his grandson and to show him how to strip them. There were no sights with the guns, but he will use a scope. Not having sights and being rough, but working, they were not worth much and I would not break them. The thing is, they are worth something to get a youngster into shooting.



Ok--I have bought REALLY rough guns because I feel sorry for them

[jonnyone]

Hiya all and thanks for the replies.

I can relate to a great deal of the replies here- so I know I am not alone

For example. I initially thought I would just buy the guns that I couldnt afford in my youth. Well that idea came and went and I carried on (like I.J ). However, as I wanted to be a car mechanic as a school kid (but was put off by some appallingly bad career advice from a teacher) springers satisfy the mechanic fighting within me as I regard them as very simple and small scale "engines". In fact they are a damn sight easier to maintain than today's cars so maybe I should not gripe about the career advice? Cheaper to maintain and improve as well!

As mentioned they can also be a "focus" and take your mind off other matters that life throws your way from time to time- plus there is always the great social angle cos it is a well known fact fellow air gunners are a great bunch and there is always good banter to be had.

On a worrying note unlike some of you that buy and possibly replace with better examples later on (and then sell on the less good example) i tend to hoard the whole lot! I've not made it around to that discipline yet! So just like you ggggr my collection is often the final resting place for tired unloved guns which nobody which are spare to other people's collections (can I get charity status on this one)

Just like fozzy45 I have given up focusing on one make/marque since as above I never keep to that and yes I have not given a second thought to a particular model one minute and have a bad hankering for it the next! Sometimes resulting in me paying a tad over the odds for the said item. Hey ho. You cant always be in the right place at the right time!

Just to finish off one something that has intrigued me. The re-introduction of the FWB Sport (or are they calling it something different)? I've got a couple n sold one example to my nephew for a reduced amount. I can fully understand the reasons behind FWB reintroducing this gun- but I notice the cost is slightly eye watering. A couple of things. One- is there still the market for this gun- especially at this new cost. Two- is is THAT much better than the ones most of us have in our collections? Three- if not would you be better off buying an older example and undertaking a full renovation of it-plus maybe spoiling yourself and getting a custom walnut stock? Ive had a look at the new model and my first reaction is to say it is not a patch (at leasts aesthetics wise) on the older model? If like me you see springers and miniature cars then the relevant cost of renovating them is small in comparison to renovating a classic car (and I know each has it's devotees) It does make me wonder whether there is a market for renovating old classics? Is there a demand for such a market and could it thrive?

Dave

[Garvin]

Dave, I should just clarify that while I convince myself a new purchase is justified, necessary in fact, on the basis that I will recoup most of the cost by selling the less good condition duplicate, I rarely actually do it.

Strangely, when I compare the two side by side - my new acquisition and the one it is 'replacing' - almost invariably there is a difference I hadn't spotted before, which makes them completely different variations and so impossible to sell either of them.

[TopDog]

Thank heaven for that! I am not a collector, I buy only airguns that I need!

Since amassing my first "collection" in the 80's and early 90's, I move on to a different era (overlapping to a degree due to the constant pressure of nostalgia) and start another! Now really on my 3rd "collection" with a BrumBow and Venom theme is such a theme can be found and a few odd-ball interesting things. Settled on a limit of 18 rifles which I can accommodate in my cabinets but slightly overflow atm! First "collection" was a bit motley number 55 rifles and 18 pistols at it's height and then Hungerford and Dunblane dictated that I should not display them around my office walls on shelves where they were easy to access to exercise as the mood took one! This lot got pruned and adjusted to 3 rifles and 11 pistols and again (house move motivated) to 17 rifles and 6 pistols. These are all gone now to grace other "collections".

This means of course that I can change direction any time the mood may take me; feel a change coming on again! So the 22 rifles and 3 pistols may suffer some change again! That, my friends, is what I think collecting is all about! My boxed collection of Matchbox Models of Yesteryear languishes in boxes in the garage being no longer of any interest. SWMBO has a similar issue with her collection of Hummel Figurines! As soon as it becomes clinical, it stagnates and becomes a meaningless (or obsessive) exercise! Keep it fluid, keep it interesting but above all - ENJOY IT; and shoot the rifles and pistols in your collection! You may guess that I do not have (nor desire) any boxed un-fired examples in my collection!

Ah; feel better for that!

atvb
David

[Josie & John]

Dave, I should just clarify that while I convince myself a new purchase is justified, necessary in fact, on the basis that I will recoup most of the cost by selling the less good condition duplicate, I rarely actually do it.

Strangely, when I compare the two side by side - my new acquisition and the one it is 'replacing' - almost invariably there is a difference I hadn't spotted before, which makes them completely different variations and so impossible to sell either of them.

Been there and done it. That's how I ended up with a collection of Webley pistols that Josie says '"All look the same" but we know different, eh? The trouble comes when you run out of space to display the collection and some dear old pieces have to leave.

John