Guide · Selling
How to sell a gun collection.
Whether it is your own collection or one you have inherited, the mechanics are the same and the order matters. Most of the money that gets lost in this process is lost in the first week, before anybody is even called.
First: do nothing to them
Before any of the rest of it — do not clean, polish, oil, refinish or repair anything. This is not fussiness. Removing original finish from a collectible firearm is irreversible and it is the fastest way to lose money that exists in this trade. Keep the boxes, the papers, the receipts and the odd bits in the drawer.
Then leave everything where it is. There is no advantage to moving guns before you know what they are, and several disadvantages.
Second: find out what you actually have
Not a valuation yet — an inventory. Even a rough one changes every conversation that follows. Write down, for each gun: the maker, the model if it is marked, the caliber or gauge, and the serial number. Photograph both sides in daylight, plus any markings on the barrel or receiver.
If that is beyond what you can reasonably do — and with forty guns in a safe it usually is — that is fine. It is our job, and it is a normal request.What determines value is worth reading first either way, because it tells you what you are looking at.
Third: choose how to sell
There are four honest routes and they suit different situations. Two of them are not us, and we will say so when they fit better.
| Route | Sell to a dealer | Consignment | Auction | Private sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | Same day | Weeks | Months | However long it takes |
| What you get | Fair, certain, lower | More, minus a cut | Most, for the right gun | Most, minus your time |
| Certainty | Guaranteed | Sells eventually | Whatever the room does | No guarantee |
| Work for you | None | None | Little | All of it |
| Best for | Whole collections and estates | Good pieces worth waiting on | Rare and genuinely collectible | One or two guns, no hurry |
Sell outright to a dealer
Fast, final, one transaction, one payment, paperwork handled. You won't get the absolute top price any single piece could fetch — the buyer is taking on the money and the time. What you get instead is a number today with no conditions.
Consignment
Someone sells it for you and takes a percentage. Gets more than an outright sale on the right material. You're trading certainty and time for that: it pays when it sells, and it fetches whatever the market gives.
Auction
For a rare or genuinely collectible gun, nothing beats competing bidders. For ordinary guns it often lands below a dealer offer once fees come out, and it takes months. If what you have belongs at auction, we will tell you.
Private sale
Can bring a good price with no middleman. It's also slow, involves strangers coming to your address, and puts the whole process on you. For a large collection it's realistically a second job.
Three ways to get paid
We price all three so you can see the difference and pick the one that suits you — and you can split a collection across them.
| Option | Cash today Fastest | Consignment Highest total | Trade credit Most value |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | We buy it outright | We sell it for you and take a cut | Credit toward any firearm we can get you |
| When you're paid | Same day | When it sells | Right away, as credit |
| How much | Lowest of the three | Usually the most | More than cash |
| Certainty | Guaranteed | Depends what it sells for | Guaranteed |
| Best for | Estates, whole collections, anyone who wants it done | Good individual pieces worth waiting on | Trading up instead of getting out |
Cash is the lowest number and we’ll say so plainly — we’re taking on the money, the risk, and however long it takes to sell. Trade credit is worth the most because it is not limited to a shelf: we can order new, and source through distributors, other dealers and auctions, so it goes toward whatever you actually want rather than whatever happens to be in stock.
Fourth: get a list, not just a total
In most collections a handful of pieces carry most of the money, and a single total tells you nothing about which. A written list with a value against each firearm tells you what you actually have, and it is the thing that lets you decide to sell some of it and keep the rest.
It also lets you split the sale. Families regularly take an outright price for the bulk of a collection and consign the two or three pieces where waiting is genuinely worth it.
What happens on the day
- We go through the collection where it sits and identify each firearm.
- Condition and originality are assessed piece by piece, and we tell you what we are seeing as we go.
- You get a written list with a value against each firearm, and the reasoning on the ones that carry the money.
- You decide — all of it, some of it, or none of it. There is no pressure and no fee either way.
- If you sell, everything is handled through our license and you get a record of exactly what left the house.
Common questions
Do I have to sell the whole collection?
No. Keeping two or three and selling the rest is completely normal, and there is no penalty for it — we price the pieces you are selling on their own merits.
How long does it take?
An outright sale can be done in a single visit: we look, we price, you decide, you are paid. Consignment and auction take weeks to months depending on the material and the sale calendar.
Do I need to bring them anywhere?
Not for a collection or an estate. We come to you. Moving a quantity of firearms is exactly the sort of thing worth avoiding if there is no need for it.
What paperwork is involved?
For you, very little — identification, and a record of what changed hands. Everything is handled properly through our license, and you get a record of what left the house.
What if I don't know what any of it is?
That is normal and it is not a problem. You are not expected to have a list.
Inherited rather than bought? What to do with inherited firearms covers the parts specific to an estate.