best way to liquidate guns

E

Ernest II

New member
My brother in law is not far from leaving us dure to cancer.The wife and I have been discussing what to do about alot of his belongings. Sadly to say we know we need to get the guns out of his house soon as we can or they would be stolen.You know how small towns are and with the economy the way it is and the break ins that have went on recently. Not to mention alot of people know he has many many guns.Some of them we will keep but alot of them will be sold. What would be the quickest way to let them go and not be burned to bad?
Thanks for any advice.Local gun shops are kind of not a good idea.
Daryl P.
 
well, around here auctions are a fairly good way to sell guns as long as they are advertised. Some will bring new price and better for average guns. Not talking online, but like estate auction, or farm auction.
 
Originally Posted By: travjcwell, around here auctions are a fairly good way to sell guns as long as they are advertised. Some will bring new price and better for average guns. Not talking online, but like estate auction, or farm auction.

Gotta agree that public sales tend to make used guns worth more than new ones sometimes. I've noticed around here (rural, farming area in PA), if the guns get over say, $800 or $1K, most guys are out on bidding. But, boy if it's under that, they'll bid more than it's worth to buy elsewhere! I think you make the auctioneer's fees back real quick, and much more you may not have had before. Been thinking of cleaning out a bunch myself that way.

The other way is over the net - put 'em on here, Gunsamerica, Gunbroker, etc., and price 'em just under what the other guy is asking.

JMHO.
 
Daryl P,

First off I am sorry for your circumstances. Not easy for sure.

Sounds to me like you need to take possession of the guns, then make a plan with a auction service out of area. Internet maybe, but you could travel out of the "area" and consign them. Dunno. Best of luck, and God Bless.
 
Originally Posted By: travjcAlso try gunbroker.com , I have bought several rifles on that site.

I have no problem selling on Gunbroker.com. Talk to your local gunshop about transfers and shipping. Add that into the cost of the gun. Get yourself a gun value book amd look them up. Is sold a pistol last month for $350 Gunbroker charged me $10.50 Shipping was $22 and tranfer was $25. I always ship from FFL to FFL. Best of luck.
 
I hate to be go all lawyer on you, but are or will these guns legally be yours to sell?

1. Does your brother in law have a will?
2. Are you or your wife named as executors?
3. Does he name you or your wife as the one to recieve the guns or are you the heirs?

If the answer to any of the above is "no", then you better slow down or you could find yourself in the klink. You need to be the legal owner or the executor or a trustee before you even start moving the guns, much less start selling them off or keeping them.

Grouse
 
Originally Posted By: The Famous GrouseI hate to be go all lawyer on you, but are or will these guns legally be yours to sell?

1. Does your brother in law have a will?
2. Are you or your wife named as executors?
3. Does he name you or your wife as the one to recieve the guns or are you the heirs?

If the answer to any of the above is "no", then you better slow down or you could find yourself in the klink. You need to be the legal owner or the executor or a trustee before you even start moving the guns, much less start selling them off or keeping them.

Grouse




Depends on whom the wife is married to, the OP or the brother-in-law.
 
Really sorry to hear about your BIL. This is the tough part of life with a loving family.

Couple of very wise pieces of wisdom on here. Get the guns secured before others who have no right try to get involved. Make sure you have the legal right to sell them before you start.

If BIL can assist, you might consider checking to see if he has any specific wishes for any of them.

I would try selling here with the minimal amount of selling expenses before going consignment at the gun shop and/or Gun Broker.
 
Depending on what he has, some of them might fall under the C&R requirements, i.e. more than 50 years old. So you can sell directly to an 03 C&R licensee.
 
Originally Posted By: travjcDepends on whom the wife is married to, the OP or the brother-in-law.

It also depends on the state the BIL lives in, etc, etc, etc, insert hundreds of variables here. The bottom line is the same. The OP must be the legal owner of the guns or be legally entitled to take possession of them pending the disposition of the estate (even for safekeeping), and/or to sell them. Or else he is putting himself at risk of committing a crime.

One thing I've learned about dealing with estates is that when one person assumes that they are "the only heir" or "the natural one to take charge of things once [insert name here] dies", or "the one so-and-so would have wanted to have [name precious object here]" that's where things go very, very wrong. This is why a will is SO important and it's also important to have a good executor so that things are done as quickly as possible and legally.

Grouse
 
I wouldn't try and sell them to a gunshop, as most likely they will offer to buy them for way less than what they are worth.... since they can buy guns at wholesale price from suppliers. They will want to make a dollar or two for themselves. Consignment would be the way to go within a gunshop.

If you have the time for pics to post on forums or places like gunbroker.com or gunsamerica.com via online.

But like was said, you need to be legal to do any selling.
 
Depending on what BIL wants and how sick he is now,it might be better to sell what you are going to sell before he passes.Again depending on his wishes.
 
Originally Posted By: NitromanDepending on what he has, some of them might fall under the C&R requirements, i.e. more than 50 years old. So you can sell directly to an 03 C&R licensee.

Good idea! You have to check with BATF to see if they are on the C&R list. There even new firearms on that list.
 
The man's wife can sell any community property. I recommend selling on Backpage.com

They have free local ads or you can post in multiple cities and states. They don't get anything from the sale. State the terms of your sale in the ad and specify that any S&H must involve an FFL to facilitate a transfer. If the buyer wants to purchase from you in person, it is a private sale and wouldn't require an FFL. Cover your back side with a bill of sale and the buyers name, physical address, phone number and local drivers license.
 
When my brother passed, I consigned his guns, (he had 63 pistols and rifles) at the local gunshop. They took 15% for thier commission. It was easy. It did however, take about 6 months to liquidate the entire inventory.


Tom
 
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