Valuation Threads --- A mixed blessing?

[mallyally]

reply to valuation questions /A a gun is worth what someone thinks it is (to them / buyer or seller )
B most people have a good idea what its worth before they post on here anyway
C you can easily make enemies that way / who needs that
realy its a waste of time asking as most of the people who reply have one of the guns in question and they would like it to be worth xxxx anyway
so as i said i NEVER give valuations

[Lakey]

reply to valuation questions /A a gun is worth what someone thinks it is (to them / buyer or seller )
B most people have a good idea what its worth before they post on here anyway C you can easily make enemies that way / who needs that
realy its a waste of time asking as most of the people who reply have one of the guns in question and they would like it to be worth xxxx anyway
so as i said i NEVER give valuations

Maybe they got that 'good idea' from other valuation threads on the BBS

[mallyally]

Maybe they got that 'good idea' from other valuation threads on the BBS

so why ask the question
unless they have had it in the loft for twenty years surely they remember what they paid for it
i have seen these type of threads posted by someone who only bought the thing a month ago / on here so are they asking if its value has gone up or down

[Lakey]

so why ask the question
unless they have had it in the loft for twenty years surely they remember what they paid for it
i have seen these type of threads posted by someone who only bought the thing a month ago / on here so are they asking if its value has gone up or down

Maybe thy are just seeking reassurance that the 'good deal' they thought they had was really a good deal?

My question still stands - Does replying to valuation threads help to fuel ever escalating prices, by educating sellers, or would it be beter not to reply to them and therefore leave sellers 'in the dark' thereby hoping for a bargain?

Mally,from what you have said, you perhaps favour the latter course of action?

I agree that it is the seller responsibility to arrive at his own price, however that is why these valuation threads arise. to help them establish that price.

[mallyally]

Mally,from what you have said, you perhaps favour the latter couse of action?

what on earth makes you think that
if you read my posts again you will see that i have given my reasons for not attempting to give any valuations
some of the best deals i have had have been from gun shops secondhand racks anyway
the few things i HAVE bought off here weren't particularly cheap anyway but i wanted them so paid the asking price

[Lakey]

what on earth makes you think that
if you read my posts again you will see that i have given my reasons for not attempting to give any valuations
some of the best deals i have had have been from gun shops secondhand racks anyway
the few things i HAVE bought off here weren't particularly cheap anyway but i wanted them so paid the asking price

Maybe I mis-read your post I too have had some good deals in the past from my local gun shops
All the best

Lakey

[Troubledshooter]

If all sellers were to leave their prices on items sold, this would enable some of those seeking a valuation to possibly find what they are looking for by doing a search.
I know some items don't sell for the initial asking price, but if this price has been reduced, it often shows on the sales thread.
I'm not in the market place much nowadays, therefore not au fait with many of the current values, so I rarely respond to valuation threads.

[Mark D]

Interesting dilemma you have raised Andy. I for one have asked for valuations on some of my guns and where appropriate will continue to do so! The reason is simple, having purchased some of my stuff over 25 years ago and it not being something I can find by doing a search - my BSF M20 Match for example then it's nice to get an idea of 'current' worth. Of course an estimation of worth, does not guarantee a sale and some items can take months to sell, why some pieces, that may fill a slot in someone's collection get snapped up. Yet some rare items take a while, there was a Tell 3 on here several months back, probably the only one ever to be offered for sale on the BBs in it's history and it took a few days to sell!

The whole valuation process is fraught anyway, as condition is so critical to value on common place guns, then add in rare items, transition models, scarce calibre's, box's. literature, accessories and it can radically alter the price.

As one who has stopped being an 'active' collector, by that I mean getting up at 5am and driving 150 miles to a fair, 150 miles back - with nothing! Or racing to the newsagents to buy the comics a soon as it opened, so I could scan the ads for the 'bargains' - once drove 100 miles to look at the most beaten up pre-war senior that I have ever seen, which had been described as 'mint' - most of us have been there!

Yes, you may end up missing out on a gun that the owner would have parted with for £50 instead of £80 or £100, but does it really matter in the great scheme of things? I think not, there's more to collecting than just getting the best deals. My BSA Merlin came to me for free, by a neighbour who had seen me shooting with an old BSA mod D in the back garden and thought I may like them, yes there were two! as his son had left home and he did not want them cluttering up his house.

So for those that like to offer up there knowledge and experience I say may it long continue and those that don't, well that's there choice - good job we are not all wound the same!