How to Sell Antique Guns in the US

Stage 1: Identification and Appraisal of Your Antique Guns

The goal of this stage is to figure out what your asking price should be before you try to sell your antique gun. For this part, you can get the gun appraised by experts or try to do it yourself.

Generally, that means doing the following:

• Determining which type of antique gun it is and what model
• Assessing the condition of the gun
• Confirming that it’s an antique gun (as noted earlier, it has to be pre-1899)
• Checking its current market value based on type, condition, and demand

So how do you figure those things out? Here are the options:

Option 1: Check Gun Marketplace Data for Similar Models

Specifically, you should start by going to gun marketplaces like Firearmland or Gunbroker. From there, run a search on their completed auctions or sales.

You can usually find this in their advanced search options. The idea is to look up similar listings, whether by name or through photos.

This will not only help you find the going price for the antique gun but also the model if you don’t already know it. It’s a great way to do some DIY appraisal, though you should consider all the factors affecting prices (like gun condition).

As an aside, this also lets you see listings that never sold on some platforms. It’s worth looking at them too because they can help you identify what prices may be too high for the model.

Option 2. Use the “Blue Book of Antique American Firearms and Values”

This reference is the gold standard for antique gun valuation. It covers more than 2,100 firearm models manufactured prior to 1 January 1899.

The hundreds of high-resolution color images in this book should make identifying and appraising your gun easier, aside from making the book a must-have for any gun collector’s library. You can grab it here.

Option 3. Get the Gun Appraised by Experts

If you’d rather have the certainty of a valuation from experts, this is the best route to take. You can have this done in person or online, although the latter will naturally require you to provide a lot of clear photographs.

If you want to do it online, Bluebook Publications (the publisher of the Blue Book of Antique American Firearms and Values) actually offers an online $50 appraisal. The downside is that it can take up to 3 weeks with them.

Larger firearm buyers like Cash for Arms offer the same service but much faster. We typically have appraisal values in 24 hours from guns being submitted to us for sale, in fact… plus you don’t need to pay!

If you’d rather get the appraisal done in person, though, remember to seek gun shops or gun dealers who specialize in antique firearms. Others won’t be knowledgeable enough to give you a fair value for your gun.

Stage 2: Where to Sell Your Antique Guns

Once you’ve had it appraised, it’s time to sell! There are at least 5 ways to sell an antique gun in the US, with each one having its pros and cons.

1. Sell Your Antique Gun to Cash for Arms

This is one of the fastest and easiest options for selling an antique gun in the US. As mentioned earlier, the process of selling guns to us even includes a free appraisal on which we base our offer.

If you’re not satisfied with our offer, you can also consign your gun to us. We’ll use our contacts to sell it on a marketplace where it can still get top-dollar for you.

Pros:

• It takes only a couple of minutes to submit your guns to the site.
• You only need to wait about 24 hours for our appraisal and offer.
• Payments are issued within 24 hours of us receiving your gun, with all sale and shipping costs covered.
• We actually have the expertise to fairly appraise and value antique guns.
• We offer some of the best prices in the market, as our clients attest.

Cons:

• If you think you can get a better offer from something like a private sale or auction (although those typically aren’t guaranteed and take much longer), you may want to pass.

2. Auction Your Old Gun Online

There are several options for this, but Gunbroker is the usual choice here. As one of the biggest gun auction sites, it lets you access a big pool of buyers. The auction format also means you can get a good price if there’s a lot of interest in your gun.

Pros:

• Lets you set a minimum price while opening the possibility of more than that through bids.
• On bigger sites, this method offers a quick way to get exposure to takers.

Cons:

• Only a few platforms are available since most auction websites (like eBay) prohibit gun sales.
• It can be hard to sell if you’re new to a platform, due to reputation point systems that favor site account age.
• There’s no real guarantee of a sale with auctions vs. immediate offers like those from Cash for Arms.
• The sign-up process for auction sites like these can be troublesome.
• Listing creation for these sites is usually a long, involved process.
• The platforms charge additional fees on sale, cutting into your profit.

4. Sell It on a Gun Enthusiasts Forum

Some gun forums, like TheFiringLine.com and Calguns.net, have marketplaces for private gun sales. ******They’re an alternative to gun auction sites if you still want to do private person-to-person sales.

Pros:

• Most buyers will be open to negotiation, if you prefer that in your transaction.
• Depending on the forum, this can be a good way to find communities (via forum sections for antique gun collectors) of likely buyers.

Cons:

• You’ll need to spend time building credibility within the forum’s community before people consider buying from you.
• You have to go through all firearm sale requirements yourself, e.g. running background checks on buyers, covering shipping fees or doing meet-ups, etc.
• This often requires the most time and effort of all options, despite the best prices from it just equaling those we already offer at Cash for Arms.

5. Take Your Old Gun to a Gun Show, Gun Auction, or Local Gun Shop

Most gun shows, gun auctions, and shops will have people (usually dealers) who’ll consider buying antique guns. That said, there’s no guarantee of that, so it may sometimes take time to find a potential buyer at these locations.

Pros:

• This can be a fun and social in-person experience, especially if you go to a gun show or shop where haggling is encouraged.
• This is a good option if you don’t want to deal with shipping and you have shows or shops very close to your area.
• Unless they offer to take the antique gun on consignment, you usually get the money upfront.

Cons:

• You don’t have a guarantee that you’ll find someone willing to buy the gun prior to traveling there.
• You also don’t know if you’ll find someone who specializes in antique guns, so you may not get the fairest appraisal.
• You need to travel with the firearm to the location, which can be a hassle.
• Gun shops and dealers in particular will hesitate to buy a gun if they deem demand for it low in their target market.

6. Take Your Antique Gun to a Pawn Shop

Selling to a pawn shop should be your last resort if you want to sell an antique gun for profit. Pawn shops are ubiquitous, sure, but they’re also not known for gun expertise.

Antique guns require even more specialized expertise than regular ones for appraisal, so you’ll already be losing there. Pawn shops generally don’t base their offers on your appraised value but on theirs, after all.

Pros:

• Pawn shops are easy to find.
• You get your money upfront.

Cons:

• Most pawn shops can’t appraise antique guns fairly.
• Even if a pawn shop knows the correct value of your gun, it will offer the lowest possible price for it, often going as low as 15% of its market value.
• Most pawn shops may not buy antique guns, as they have a more specialized market and lower demand.
• A fair number of pawn shops don’t buy guns of any kind.

Conclusion

This tells you that selling an antique gun can involve a lot of effort or hardly any, depending on which route you take.

If you want the smoothest path to profit, it’s clear that Cash for Arms is superior to all the other options. It’s the most convenient choice, combines free appraisal with sale, is legally safest, and in most cases, also nets you the best prices!

To have us make an offer on your antique gun, simply submit it to us. It can take as little as two minutes and we’ll have an offer ready for you in 24 hours! You can call us at (904) 977-5477.

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