Selling Guns Online via Classifieds, Craigslist, and Ebay sucks! Any Better Ways?

[Gunny_McSmith]

Originally Posted by Old School Punk

I don't really think that "where" people sell their stuff is the problem, in my opinion, the problem is "how" they go about doing it.

Too many people are too lazy, or incompetent to properly present and value thier items, and then they end up unhappy and disillusioned when their item doesn't sell.

I come from a background of buying and selling vintage collectible items, and here are a few things that I have observed.

1. No Pictures = No Sale, or considerably lower sell price.
Peoples interpretation of phrases "like new condition" or "mint condition" can vary too much to be taken at face value.
I have seen guys list a gun as "carefully maintained" and "in perfect condition", and then in the next sentence follow it up with, missing the hammer and the safety didn't work, so they removed it. Huh???
Close up pictures do a far better job than any description ever will.

2. Modification = Lower Sell Price.
I know that this seems to defy logic to some sellers, but to a lot of people, including myself, when an item has been modified or upgraded, you just don't know what your getting into.
If you don't personaly know "who" did the work, you just don't know what your going to end up with.
This may have been the guys first project, or he may have cheaped out on the parts he used or whatever.
The first thing that comes to my mind when I see an upgraded item for sale is, that the item was used so heavily that it failed, and had to be repaired with after market parts. The other thing that I tend to think is that the upgrades that were done, didn't work out too well, and that is why the item is up for sale.
This isn't limited to just airsoft items, just look at the car market. I am sure we have all seen one of those 1969 Camaro's advertised in the Auto Trader with over $70,000.00 bucks invested in it, yet the thing sits there week after week unsold for $28,000.00. It's sad, but in most peoples books, a stock item will almost always be worth more than a modified one.

3. Used item = Lower Selling Price.
It doesn't matter if the item was plinked once or twice in the basement, or if it was used weekly in outdoor games. If it's used, it's worth less that it was brand new.
Many, many times I have got on quote on a brand new gun that is less than a "used one" being offered for sale in the classified section here on the board.
It doesn't matter if you put an upgraded spring and barrel in the thing, because it's used, it just isn't worth as much as a "brand new", never been touched one.
If you bought a gun for $300.00 and you put $100.00 worth of upgrades into it and you used it and enjoyed it, you can't expect to sell it for $400.00 when your done with it. It's worth $200.00 if your lucky.
"Using and enjoying" an item, isn't free, it ends up costing you something in depreciation.

4. Poor Communication = Lower Selling Price.
If English isn't your first language, and you aren't comfortable communicating in English, then you are going to have a heck of a time selling your item here in North America. If your English isn't good, my advise to you would be to seek some someone to help you out with your sale. If your not prepared, or able to speak the same language as the potential buyers, your just not going to be able to sell your item for as much as someone who is able to communicate in a proffesional manner.
This is not a slag against "new Canadians", it also applies to "shit punk" young kids that only know how to write the "English" language using their texting short hand BS. LOL.
Take the extra few seconds and fricken write your ad in a way that everyone can understand, and you will have a lot more success selling your item.

5. Poor Customer Service = No Sale.
If your wanting to sell an item, don't put it up for sale on a board and then go on Holidays for a week. If your actually interested in selling something, then be prepared to answer some stupid questions over and over again, or spell everything out really clearly in your ad.
Also get back to people promptly when they contact you. If your selling something, you need to get back to them in a reasonable amount of time. Also when you do get back to them, be nice to them even if they are as annoying as fuck. Remember they are doing you a favor by purchasing your item, so threat them properly and respond to them quickly and you will have a far better chance of selling your item for a better price.

6. Greater Availability = Lower Resale Value.
We are all happy that better airsoft guns are finaly making their way into Canada, but we have to accept that it is going to hurt that resale value of the guns we own when we go to sell them someday.
Take Real Sword Guns for instance. These guns were scarce as hens teeth in Canada a few years ago. They had the reputation of being the best guns on the market and because of their scarcity, they commanded a hefty premium.
Fortunately or unfortunately things have changed in the last year or so, and now almost every Real Sword airsoft gun can be legally imported into Canada buy a licensed distributer.
So that beautiful Real Sword AK47 that you bought a few years ago, for something like $700.00 bucks though "questionable" channels, is no longer worth what you paid for it.
Believe me this pains me because I bought a RS - Dragunov SVD last year and I paid at least a $400.00 premium on it, just to get one in my hands. Now that I can source the same gun at a bunch of different places here in Canada, the premium that I paid last year for it has basically evaporated away.

Anyway, I don't mean to sound like an arrogant prick here, these are just a few observations that I have made about buying and selling used airsoft items on the internet.


Later

Gordo

Originally Posted by graff

would like to add

- "custom painting your gun" that lowers the re-sale value, it does not add to the value.

- if your AEG or anything really has been up for sale for 4 months, maybe you should think about lowering your price instead of just "bumping" your ad back to the top?

Soooo true, that's why I sold all my guns in 1 day.... :P (since I've been aved!)

Keep this in mind... if you want to sell something, you have to make the customer want the gun, dream about it....while still beeing honest, and not advertising for crap... etc

If you mention the words ''doesnt work'', ''cheap'' , ''wobbling'' ... etc...
It wont sell...

PS: yeah, get the right price, doesnt mean that you added a new part in it that its now worth twice the price... the airsoft market is growing in canada = prices will go down... :P

[DoctorBadVibez]

Easy peasy, I got my wife's female friends involved in airsoft, now everytime PMS comes around, they target practice... Aside from my army of hotness idea, you can still get a friend or colleague into airsoft and sell them a nice weapon that you're not using... If your friends don't like guns, ditch em and get new friends....