Armslist.com

[patrick]

Now I know that Armslist has always been pretty much a joke,but has anybody been looking at it lately?Used G19's for $650.00?"Custom Glocks" for $1000.00 plus?What's wrong with these people?

[photogpat]

People can ask for whatever price they want - doesn't mean they're selling it at that price.

Watch the listings - the $650 G19's generally show up at $600, then $550, then $500 (CASH TODAY), then $450 OBO...

[Thunder71]

Guess I've never thought of Armslist as a joke - I've bought and sold there without issue. I just pass on the stuff I think is over priced or make what I think is a reasonable offer.

[usnret]

That explains where some of the people that post in the for sale adds here get their prices.

[gun_fan111]

Custom Glocks can easily be found in $2500-3000 range, depending on work $1000 could be a steal!

[yuppiejr]

On the flip side, the lowballers/bottom feeders are almost as entertaining as the ones who overprice. All part of the "what's it worth" game, which, as previously stated, is exactly what someone is willing to pay.

Armslist is great, it costs nothing to use and can provide a useful way to buy/sell items, or simply entertain. Free market economics at work.

[greenfarmer]

If your trying to sell something, it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

[MJY65]

I've never bought or sold on Armslist, but 2 of the 3 times I've sold on Gunbroker the ad was copy/pasted to Armslist by a scammer.

[Ironbear]

• Gun bought at some inflated price
• Parts ordered off of internet (Custom Parts)
• Parts installed by user of unknown skill, knowledge, and intelligence (Custom Work)
• Gun shot so that it is now used reliability tested

Price for "Custom" gun = New Price + Parts Price + "Custom Work" Labor + Testing Cost/Labor

Seems perfectly reasonable to me! Wouldn't you pay top dollar for all that!!


I've never understood some people's expectation, that "custom" work of unspecified pedigree, should automatically command a premium price. Unless I have some idea of the "gunsmith's" skills and/or reputation, or have sufficient understanding of the work done to evaluate it; I would view it as a risk/liability. If a person is a stranger to me, I have to assume that "home gunsmithed" is "home bubba'd"!

[dupa]

with armslist you get what you pay for. it's better then slipping a add on craigslist and hoping a buyer see's it before it gets flagged. I've had a few good trades come from armslist.

a 2 second search will give you an idea what market price is. i always wonder what the gougers are thinking as you see their adds pop up over and over.

[gjlog]

My guess is that sellers know that there is a sub-class of gun buyers, newbies and casual buyers, who don't know enough about gun values to realize they are overpaying. It's the same thing at gun shows. Did any of you see the prices at last week's gun show at Rivercenter in St. Paul? A used S+W model 36, blued, in decent shape--$!,000. A Sig P238 $700. C'mon. Yet, there were buyers willingly paying those prices. It might make sense if you could buy a gun without tax and papers, but those were retail prices from FFL's. Nuts.

[yuppiejr]

My guess is that sellers know that there is a sub-class of gun buyers, newbies and casual buyers, who don't know enough about gun values to realize they are overpaying. It's the same thing at gun shows. Did any of you see the prices at last week's gun show at Rivercenter in St. Paul? A used S+W model 36, blued, in decent shape--$!,000. A Sig P238 $700. C'mon. Yet, there were buyers willingly paying those prices. It might make sense if you could buy a gun without tax and papers, but those were retail prices from FFL's. Nuts.

It pays to be an educated buyer or seller... there are folks looking to take advantage of ignorance on both sides. Some people will pay more for a specific firearm that has sentimental or collection value beyond it's market price, some will sell items well below value out of ignorance or a need to liquidate into cash quickly. The gun community is full of some pretty interesting buyers and sellers, a large number of whom seem more interested in finding/bagging a deal than actually using any of the products in question.