Scoring a Fiery Good Deal: How to Sell a Gun for Maximum Profit

If you are in need of extra cash, it may be time to sell your extra firearms. Here are tips and tricks on how to sell a gun for maximum profit.

The average gun owner has 5 firearms in their house. Whether the number of firearms in your house is higher or lower than this, there comes a time where you’ll want or need to sell some of your guns for some extra cash.

When that time comes, you want to ensure you get the best prices possible so you make the most out of your old firearms!

If you’re wondering how to sell a gun for maximum profit, then keep reading. We’ll give you the best tips on how to sell guns.

Prepare Your Gun First

When you’re selling anything else in life, what do you do first? Clean it! No matter if it’s your house, car, computer, or couch, one of the first things you tackle is getting it spotless and looking as close to new as possible.

When it comes to the best way to sell a gun, the same principle applies. You want to give your firearm a thorough cleaning so it looks sparkling new. Make sure you get all the residue out of the bore; it should be so clear that you can see the rifling if you shone a light through the bore.

You also want to properly lubricate your gun too.

In addition, consider the modifications to your firearm. Are they hard-to-find mods? Then you might be better off doing something like selling a used rifle scope separate from the gun.

This can be especially true if your used rifle scope is in excellent condition and you’d like to get top-dollar for it so you can purchase a newer scope that you have your heart set on.

Do Your Research

If you’re not sure about your gun’s history, manufacturer, type, and more, then this is the time to brush up on research. After all, if you don’t know anything about your gun, how are you going to know if you’re getting good or bad offers?

If you don’t know the manufacturer of your gun, take a close look at it to find out. Then, go online to see what it’s going for new. If possible, you should also see how much people are selling their used firearms for and what condition they’re in.

From there, you can roughly estimate how much you can expect to get for your own gun. Make sure to be completely honest with yourself about the condition of your gun. If you’re not, then you may be in for a shock when you try and sell it to someone who scrutinizes every square inch of it.

So make sure you thoroughly examine your gun as if you were the buyer. Notice a scratch? Then factor that into your assessment; you can’t really label your firearm as “in mint condition” when there are noticeable scratches on it.

Check Local Laws

Unfortunately, there are different state laws for the sale of firearms. Some may be more complicated than others, so you may be tempted to skip the steps, such as going through a dealer.

But if you do this and get caught, you risk hefty fines or even jail time. In the end, you’ll pay heavily for not complying with the law, so it’s definitely not worth even thinking about doing it.

So make sure you know all the steps you must go through before completing a firearm sale to avoid getting into legal trouble.

Sell Privately

The bottom line is, if you go through a middleman, you’ll never get the best price for your gun. For instance, selling a gun to a gun shop will yield you a mediocre return.

This is because the gun shop is the middleman; you sell to them, and they’ll sell your gun to someone else. You’re essentially sacrificing a cut of your sales to the gun shop (or another middleman) in exchange for the convenience.

So if you go through just a little more trouble to sell your firearm on your own, it can really pay off in the end. One of the main reasons is because you can set your own price and look for someone who’s willing to pay for it.

This does mean you have to put in more work. You’ll have to find the right venues to advertise your gun in, such as online forums. Then, you’ll have to vet the replies and determine which ones to respond to and potentially sell to.

Another thing to consider is selling your gun on an online auction. If you have a valuable firearm and you’d like to try your luck, this may be a good option.

Avoid Pawnshops

As you may already know from prior experience selling other belongings, pawn shops offer terrible prices, even for pristine guns. In fact, out of all the options available to you, pawn shops are probably on the bottom of the list.

The reason why pawn shops are able to charge such abysmal prices is because people are desperate for immediate cash. So if you’re ever short on money and really need cash ASAP, pawnshops can be a good idea. The price cut you take in the value of your gun may be worth it to scrape together enough cash to pay rent for the month.

Otherwise, if you’re not in a big hurry, pawnshops should be avoided. Or at the very least, they should be your last resort.

Know How to Sell a Gun for the Best Prices

By knowing how to sell a gun, you’ll ensure that you get the best prices for your firearms when you’re ready to let them go.

You’ve spent so much money and time investing in these pieces, so you should do everything you can to get the most out of them. By following our tips in this article, you’ll ensure you aren’t low-balled when you go to sell your guns.

To read more on topics like this, check out the Money category