Guns as Investments

[HavokCycle]

i know people that have invested wisely, horse traded, and other wise cheaply accrued safes full of antique guns. i couldn't imagine what they're all worth.
gun shows are rip offs. - 600 bucks for a second hand glock? are you effing nuts?
gun broker is a bit better but still high, and by high i mean, people that know the real value of them and want it out of the piece.
like any other investment, buy low, sell high.

what i can say for certain is, guns i picked up 10 years ago, even cheap crap - but quality - are still worth something.
IE - a ruger .40 i bought in like, 2002, i sold it for more than i paid.

 

[walleyepw]

Don't buy just for investment. Buy a firearm(s) that you will enjoy shooting or just looking at. Buy quality, hold the gun and say "Would this be a enjoyable gun in 5, 10, 20 years or more."

 

[super duty1]

I have found just about any firearm increases in value over time.

 

[Raskolnikov]

I'd be using my guns to protect my gold and silver!

Very true. But in the event of SHTF, you'll be protecting just about everything.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I do not think they are much of an investment. Just try and sell a few and see the wall of low ball offers you get for a really nice vintage gun.

You CAN say no to their offers.

What's wrong with "low ball" offers? Price is nothing but information.

gun shows are rip offs. - 600 bucks for a second hand glock? are you effing nuts?

Gun shows are marketplaces. If you do not want to buy the $600 Glock, you do not have to.

The guns I posted were purchased at the Indy1500. I tripled my money with just one pistol. I do that every show.

At some shows you can make over ten times your money:

View From The Porch: Gun show find...

 

[CTS]

For me, I do think of my guns as an investment. However, I think gold and silver are better investments--which will also protect you for when SHTF.

You can't eat gold and silver. If food is in short supply why would I trade it for gold? Tangible useful assets (like guns) are the way to go IMO.

Personally I guess I would go for higher end guns, that are also happen to be very reliable firearms.

 

[iSaladbar]

a lot of times you can find a really good deal on a gun. id find a couple guns that intrigue you and try to find somebody that has one and shoot it. Then talk to some dealers and see what their prices are and then come here and see what you can find! you will probably be amazed on some of the stuff you can find. I have found quite a few great deals on here

 

[Raskolnikov]

You can't eat gold and silver. If food is in short supply why would I trade it for gold? Tangible useful assets (like guns) are the way to go IMO.

Personally I guess I would go for higher end guns, that are also happen to be very reliable firearms.

I'm not in disagreement with your point, but I'm not in full agreement. Food can certainly be an investment--both for oneself and to sell to others. As you may know, seeds have been used as currency during certain points in history. However, no one has ever starved from having an abundance of gold and silver. Despite how scarce food can become, there will (almost) always be someone selling it. Those people want money or non-edible items. Gold and silver work perfectly.

 

[74J10]

I'm not in disagreement with your point, but I'm not in full agreement. Food can certainly be an investment--both for oneself and to sell to others. As you may know, seeds have been used as currency during certain points in history. However, no one has ever starved from having an abundance of gold and silver. Despite how scarce food can become, there will (almost) always be someone selling it. Those people want money or non-edible items. Gold and silver work perfectly.

That was my idea/point. Not knocking you or anyone else, but it seems that food and water would be more important to have then gold or silver. I would not have thought that people would be trading gold and silver for food or water if things really got bad, but I honestly have no idea. My thought is gold and silver have no real use outside of some industrial uses, if SHTF industry collapses and I will want the essentials...food, water, shelter; whatever I might have an excess of I trade for what I have the least of.

Back on topic, I have made money/broke even on the two I have sold. One was a Mossburg 500, made money, another was a Beretta PX4, broke even. Haven't sold much else.

 

[gregkl]

You CAN say no to their offers.

What's wrong with "low ball" offers? Price is nothing but information.



Gun shows are marketplaces. If you do not want to buy the $600 Glock, you do not have to.

The guns I posted were purchased at the Indy1500. I tripled my money with just one pistol. I do that every show.

At some shows you can make over ten times your money:

View From The Porch: Gun show find...

Will you take me gun shopping?

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Just find me in Indy. I'll be there with my Smith consultant.

 

[Miles42]

If I wanted low ball offers I would just skip the hassle and take the gun to a dealer. Nothing wrong with them I guess but they get a little testy when you do not respond to them LOL

 

[PaulKersey]

New production mass produced guns, such as Glocks - M&P - LCR, etc. - are great for their intended purpose but are not good investments, in my view. You could buy one of these common guns and store it to resell in ten years and would likely be disappointed with the appreciation, unless someone wanted to pay a premium for nostalgic reasons. I don't think you will lose much, but it's not like a mutual fund. High-end guns might work well as investments, such as the premium over/under shotguns, assuming the price of entry is not prohibitive.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Hold on to anything long enough and it will go up in price thanks to inflation. That doesn't really mean its a good investment. Gold is a great example, its had a good run lately and thanks to marketing and scare mongering lots of folks are speculating on it. Lots of folks have short memories (or are young'uns) and don't remember that none of this is new and that Gold STILL hasn't returned to its peak 1980 value when adjusted for inflation.

There's nothing wrong with speculating on material goods. Anything from guns to baseball cards to precious metals, just make sure it has the appropriate level of emphasis in your investing strategy. I know most of us have a SHTF plan, but you really ought to have a S didn't HTF plan for retirement, too. If you have a sizeable portion of your net worth in something that isn't paying you dividends or interest, you may not be using your money to its fullest capacity, but that's a decision you have to make based on your own comfort level.

I don't "invest" in guns, I personally can't resist the temptation to carry and shoot them. I'd be the last person you'd want to trust with your museum quality one of a kind pistol and a box of period correct ammo... I invest in boring things like dividend paying stocks and ETFs. I woke up one day and realized I was a financial moron, completely ignorant as to how to actually manage and keep my money, and my situation reflected that. I took some classes, read some books, educated myself, and fixed it. In 2002 my net worth was -$36,000 or so. Today its a fuzz over $130k, and in 6 years, 3 months (barring a major emergency) I'll be debt free.

So, based on my own experience I would suggest investing in boring and mundane investment vehicles that you understand and are comfortable with and leave guns for being the toys and tools they are. If you happen to make some money on them, all the better as in increases the toy and tool fund.

 

[gregkl]

Hold on to anything long enough and it will go up in price thanks to inflation. That doesn't really mean its a good investment. Gold is a great example, its had a good run lately and thanks to marketing and scare mongering lots of folks are speculating on it. Lots of folks have short memories (or are young'uns) and don't remember that none of this is new and that Gold STILL hasn't returned to its peak 1980 value when adjusted for inflation.

There's nothing wrong with speculating on material goods. Anything from guns to baseball cards to precious metals, just make sure it has the appropriate level of emphasis in your investing strategy. I know most of us have a SHTF plan, but you really ought to have a S didn't HTF plan for retirement, too. If you have a sizeable portion of your net worth in something that isn't paying you dividends or interest, you may not be using your money to its fullest capacity, but that's a decision you have to make based on your own comfort level.

I don't "invest" in guns, I personally can't resist the temptation to carry and shoot them. I'd be the last person you'd want to trust with your museum quality one of a kind pistol and a box of period correct ammo... I invest in boring things like dividend paying stocks and ETFs. I woke up one day and realized I was a financial moron, completely ignorant as to how to actually manage and keep my money, and my situation reflected that. I took some classes, read some books, educated myself, and fixed it. In 2002 my net worth was -$36,000 or so. Today its a fuzz over $130k, and in 6 years, 3 months (barring a major emergency) I'll be debt free.

So, based on my own experience I would suggest investing in boring and mundane investment vehicles that you understand and are comfortable with and leave guns for being the toys and tools they are. If you happen to make some money on them, all the better as in increases the toy and tool fund.

Well written. I guess I was looking at it more like for my hobby, are guns a good investment? When I look back at my other hobbies, collecting baseball caps, bicycling, motorcycling, triathlon, cars, and a few others, guns have been the only hobby that I would not lose money if I decided to get out of it. Which is a moot point, since I don't sell guns anyway. My son will get them.

Retirement planning is done through funds, stocks, etc. If I did any kind of "investing" in guns, it would be to maybe purchase something I didn't really want at a low enough price so I could make a few bucks to save towards what I wanted to buy.

 

[GlockRyan]

I would have to agree with the people who said anything about Colts.