All The Advice That I Can Get!!!

[bayouredd]

Round 1
I was approached very discreetly today by one of my customers & asked if I knew anything about guns. It seems that the person in question has just lost her husband and has several guns that she doesn?t want her kids to have and she wants them out of her house. She just doesn?t want to be taken advantage of with the selling. This is all understandable, at least to me. My customer is a Doctor & my business is very much done on a trust basis. He didn?t want anything to do with it as he was asked first, but felt that I was trustworthy enough to ask.

At this point, I don?t have a clue as to what I am going to find or how large the collection is. I do know that the neighborhood that this is in is quite affluent so, I am a bit excited to see what this is all about. It could be that I will be in over my head, but have a very good and honest friend that would be excited to help. I would not do this without discussion with the party involved.

I may be posting this too soon but I would like some opinions and options for sales to give in the preliminary talks. Being in customer service for almost all of my adult life, I have no problem thinking that I can make her comfortable with my help.

[painter]

I'd be looking for a licensed appraiser that doesn't also buy collections.

The next step depends on the size of the collection IMO.

[GRU7_Mike]

Not seeing where you are from, be careful about what guns could be on a restricted or banned list for your state showing them to someone.  Common guns you can go to online sites like GunBroker.com or GunsAmerica for at least a rough idea of the value by what the used firearms  are selling for.

[Grendel]

Unless they are real collectors items, the auction sites and/or search engines will give you a ballpark figure - up or down dependent on condition/accessories and whatnot.

If they include rarities, take them to a proper appraiser, not Harry the Bastard Auctioneers, Car Sales, and Realty.

[bayouredd]

Round 2
Thanx for the initial replies. A good starting point...

I took a look at the collection & there was nothing extravagant there. It was a dozen total. Some nice stuff but mostly fun guns if you will. The only older stuff was a Sears 12 guage and a Glenfield 22 rifle that may have some age to it. Nothing there would I have considered a collectable. There was an AR and a KT Sub 2000. One thing for sure, none of it had many miles on them. I really think that 90% was never shot or not more than a maiden voyage.

There may but some listed on this forum in the near future, but she doesn't want her name tagged to them & I haven't figure out the best route for this as anything shipped out of here will have to go through an FFL.

Any thoughts, Please...

[armoredman]

Always, always go through an FFL unless you personally KNOW the buyer who lives next door. Also, check the laws where you are, and where you may be selling them - she is the legal owner, not you, and it may not be legal for you to sell them without some sort of legal transfer from her to you. Don't get yourself hemmed up trying to help someone. Perhaps going to a local gun shop for consignment might help.

[larryflew]

Another reason to go through an FFL is shipping price on handguns. You as an individual have to ship via Fedex or UPS next day. The FFL can use USPS flat rate so even with his fees it's usually cheaper than shipping yourself. On long guns you can ship with USPS but in either case it has to ship to an FFL in the receiving state.

Local sales really depend on your state's laws concerning sales to individuals in your state.

Glenfield 22's are high in sales numbers since they where sold by every hardware store everywhere and probably worth $140 in very good condition. Besides the gunbroker suggestion there are a lot of guys here with knowledge about guns other than CZ's for your value hunt.

Slight problem with her not wanting to have her name tied to the sales since she is the legal owner. You selling them could be considered as doing an FFL type sale without a license.

[bayouredd]

Always, always go through an FFL unless you personally KNOW the buyer who lives next door. Also, check the laws where you are, and where you may be selling them - she is the legal owner, not you, and it may not be legal for you to sell them without some sort of legal transfer from her to you. Don't get yourself hemmed up trying to help someone. Perhaps going to a local gun shop for consignment might help.

Exactly my thought. I am not one to circumvent a FFL & don't consider their fees exorbitant. As far as her being the owner and not me, is exactly why I am asking the crew. I do not want to overstep my bounds & really appreciate the advice of experience. Consignment is a choice for me & by the way I am in Florida so I can sell to individuals. I just don't want to be guilty of selling to felons. I do have a customer base of Dentist & Doctors & have been discussing it with them on the qt; with interest.

Thanx for the advice, it is mucho appreciated...

Local sales really depend on your state's laws concerning sales to individuals in your state.

Glenfield 22's are high in sales numbers since they where sold by every hardware store everywhere and probably worth $140 in very good condition. Besides the gunbroker suggestion there are a lot of guys here with knowledge about guns other than CZ's for your value hunt.

Slight problem with her not wanting to have her name tied to the sales since she is the legal owner. You selling them could be considered as doing an FFL type sale without a license.

Florida is a bit lax on selling to individuals, but I am not in tune with selling to a felon, so I will only sell to a trusted party.
Thanx for the Glenfield info. I had no idea.
Your final statement is exactly what has me bothered. This is the main reason that I don't want to overstep my bounds. I have a couple of Doctors that I trust possibly interested in the collection; otherwise she will have to tag her name to the transaction if anything goes through FFL...
Thanx for the help, Larry.

***
It is a bit precarious, but at least I am not dealing with highly collectable or a large amount.
Any other info appreciated...

[eastman]

Take it to a dealer and put it on consignment sale. I've bought several used items that were on consignment and I've never been given the previous owner's name or contact info. All of the purchase paperwork only acknowledged the shop I bought it at.