Question Is anybody actually selling anything here or at CalG?

[Tere_Hanges]

On another note I notice you have zero feedback for anything bought or sold so your words of wisdom kind of means nothing.
Not trying to be rude in the least but let me put it this way, I sold an AR-15 build a few months ago here for 500.00 where the scope runs 400.00 and the upper 700.00, Dragonhead flash hider 300.00 if one had to buy it today let alone all the trick shyt in the lower.
It was an older build and I bought it for 450.00, all I did was get my money back.

Its not a good idea to judge me based on the limited data from this site. This is a new site. Like most of us, I'm new to this site. But Im not new to buying and selling. So far I only listed one item for sale and it sold within days of listing it. I provided fedback. For whatever reason, the seller did not. That really doesnt mean anything, and I would caution anyone reading too much into that.

I've bought and sold many items over the years through other sites like CGN and Armslist. I maxed out on the 5 seller PPTs within the first week of 2024. And I've bought quite a few used guns this year. The exact total is frankly nobody's business. Sorry I didnt conduct those transactions through this site for all to see. But am very experienced buying and selling. But of course everyone is free to believe what they want. I'm not really expressing a complicated opinion. Maybe unpopular, but certainly not complicated.

But thats all besides the point. My point is simple supply and demand. Sellers can ask whatever price they want. But potential buyers have some say. And they can express that by offering the price they want. When most potential buyers start asking the same price and it is a lot lower than the seller thought was "reasonable", at some point you have to consider that the market has changed and the price curve is trending down.

It's also important to consider market demographics. Older "collectors" that used to dominate the market are losing influence as younger buyers come in with different ideas of how much something is worth. An older "collecter" might have a great idea what something is worth to their generation. Unfortunately for them, their generation is on the decline. And the younger generations are simply in a different situation with different perspective. Maybe having less disposable income and more interest in newer more utilitarian needs. Its all about understanding markets. You can't expect to sell a luxury car very fast for top dollar in a market comprised mostly of people looking for a good deal on a Honda and Toyota to get from point A to point B.

The point Im making is very simple. Some people my not like or agree with me. But that doesnt mean there isnt some truth to it. Some times the truth hurts.

 

[echo1]

Myself, with the approach I use, the feedback may or may not come into play. I judge the seller/buyer based on their initial contact and their ability to articulate and answer question I may have. Some folks are poor communicators or crochety old farts, but good guys. Sometimes you have to reach in al pull it out. The tools come to the surface quickly.
As to the marketplace, all the gun forums I'm on are showing the impact from the crappy economy. I have always bought/sold from all over the country. Since December 2023 I've picked up/sent iron to/from Oregon (X2), Texas, Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina and SoKal to/from people I didn't know or never met. Now I have new friends. You gotta start somewhere, you gotta have trust. PAX

 

[nubsoft]

4th Quarter is always a bad time to sell. Car Repos are up, defaulted mortgage payments are also up. No one has disposable money and thats going to lead to Extreme price sensitivity. The "deals" that people are getting are most likely individuals that have over spent and are absolutely scrambling to make their next credit card payment IMO. If you found yourself in a bad spot, then yes, its going to feel like every sale is going to be eating a loss.

I would wait until tax returns start coming out then you might see things pick up a bit.

 

[Tere_Hanges]

4th Quarter is always a bad time to sell. Car Repos are up, defaulted mortgage payments are also up. No one has disposable money and thats going to lead to Extreme price sensitivity. The "deals" that people are getting are most likely individuals that have over spent and are absolutely scrambling to make their next credit card payment IMO. If you found yourself in a bad spot, then yes, its going to feel like every sale is going to be eating a loss.

I would wait until tax returns start coming out then you might see things pick up a bit.

Very true. But it's also a great time to buy if you have any extra cash that others need. Q4 and Q1 are great times to buy because many people are selling off what they don't want to raise funds for the Holidays. It happens every year. There are a lot of great used deals at the end and beginning of the year.

 

[HateCA]

If the election goes sideways this will have a big influence on the gun market just as it has in the past. Disposable cash is tight but if people think they're going to be aced out they will find the cash for something they want. That feeling isn't yet here again.

 

[Glassmtn]

Very true. But it's also a great time to buy if you have any extra cash that others need. Q4 and Q1 are great times to buy because many people are selling off what they don't want to raise funds for the Holidays. It happens every year. There are a lot of great used deals at the end and beginning of the year.

That is true. I have traditionally made all of my big purchases in January and February. It’s amazing the deals you can get when it’s cold and gray.

 

[ikeo1]

I havent been able to read my unread messages for over a month, it just will not let you get to messages at any hour of the day or night. I can't believe this is still continuing, absolute madness. I can get a search in once a week, but how do people even post things? How is there anyone close to the guy telling him WTF is going on.

This is one of the biggest reasons CGN is having problems with its marketplace. People can't message one another reliably. No new users, bad search, no messaging. At this point, its only good for OT, IMHO. The value of the site cratered.

 

[joshr]

I've bought a couple here, so at least a few people have had luck selling here.

I basically don't go to calguns.net anymore. It's down half the time, the search doesn't load right the other half. I'm hoping this site gets more people migrating over so it can hit critical mass and fully take over.

 

[GAAPlebees]

Just sold my AR pistol and it went very smoothly. Calguns straight up doesn't work half the time.

 

[CWINSD]

I'm trying to tell myself I can wait until the CA VP9's start being sold off private party.

Trying.


And failing.

That extra $100 or so bucks is going to f*cking suuuuuuuck.

I'm totally with you. I was going to put a deposit down but decided to wait. On a side note, I finally sold something but technically the buyer found it within the minute or two per day that Calguns is actually working.

 

[Radman64]

I listed the .308 that I just sold today on this site and also listed it on CGN pretty much at the same time. On CGN it only has 17 views, that would not have been the case before the failed up-grade.

 

[Jdmor09]

one shotgun sold within approximately two weeks. My other guns have gotten interest but mainly from SoCal. I suspect the lower population/socioeconomic status of central California makes sales a little bit harder. Not really pressed for cash, but I’ll adjust my pricing if need be.

 

[Radman64]

Very true. But it's also a great time to buy if you have any extra cash that others need. Q4 and Q1 are great times to buy because many people are selling off what they don't want to raise funds for the Holidays. It happens every year. There are a lot of great used deals at the end and beginning of the year.

Again I meant no disrespect, I have been a active seller since the 90's when I sold at gun shows well before the internet took off.
My RIA 1911A1 I have posted here for sale I have gotten like 5 offers asking me if I will take 300.00 for the set-up, other's in the 300.00+. One guy tried to tell me Sportsman's had them on sale not long ago for 299.00 to which I replied he should have bought one lol.
I was living in Reno when Clinton got elected and in my later 20's, the amount of old timers who came from out of state to sell their firearms at what was then called the Big Reno Gun Show at the Hilton December show was insane thinking they were going to be banned, I ran out of money lol. SVT-40 for 300.00, FN49 in 8mm for 250.00, Hakim for 150.00, G43 for 400.00, they really thought Clinton was going to ban firearm's. I stupidly traded the G43 a few years later for a Underwood carbine, where's that time machine hot tub!

 

[Radman64]

one shotgun sold within approximately two weeks. My other guns have gotten interest but mainly from SoCal. I suspect the lower population/socioeconomic status of central California makes sales a little bit harder. Not really pressed for cash, but I’ll adjust my pricing if need be.

I've made many trips to buy in the Central Valley because it was a good deal, I just made it a road trip that the purchase of the items became a part of sometimes spending the night. I bought a cherry Garand from a guy who lived in Fresno but met me in Merced, spent the night both times and went to the Castle Air Museum. Motels were very inexpensive so where the steak dinners, always hit Andersons Split Pee on the way home, all you can eat haha.

 

[cobian1984]

Yeah, I am not questioning if this is a good site or not. I think it’s been very well run so far and I much prefer the format to CalGuns I’m just curious if anybody’s actually selling anything. Clearly at least two people have sold something unless you bought from the same person twice lol.

I second the reply from the buyer’s perspective. I’ve actually bought several firearms on here, all from different sellers, so it seems like there is some success for the sellers who list here. That being said, you’re waiting for a buyer who is looking for the exact item you’re listing, so it could take a while. I did notice that a couple of the guns I bought had been listed for several months, so seems like it can take a bit of patience.

 

[pikachu]

I snapped up a new $350 g17.3 here within minutes of it being listed. Price and market dynamics is what is causing listings to sit.

That and I feel it’s a buyer’s market these days.

 

[Plenty_Pack_556]

I sold 1 accessory here, and bought a rifle with 2 scopes, and a pelican case for 650 after dros. I sold the 2 scopes for 650...

Edit: bought a completed mega arms lower for 200 after dros. Finally replacing my poverty pony lower on my goto AR.

 

[Radman64]

I snapped up a new $350 g17.3 here within minutes of it being listed. Price and market dynamics is what is causing listings to sit.

That and I feel it’s a buyer’s market these days.

From my perspective it's always been a buyers market but patience and awareness is the key for getting good deals, no such thing in this state today at a gun store, back in the 80's it was a different story though.

 

[ikeo1]

If you want some stats, the number of sold items here where users marked as sold is at 928 items. The rate of sale is increasing. It’s not just crazy deals and low prices. It’s also regularly priced items. The rate itself is up from 700-930 in around a month+.

From the time of this post on Tuesday. We went form 928 to 943 items sold from when i was looking, so if that's to be believed. It's ~15 items sold on here in 2 days, which isn't bad IMHO. Things are moving with a bunch of new listings coming online as people continually sign up for listing and buying. It's usually more as most people don't mark them all sold. Sometimes people Close it or wait to mark sold, but I think its a good indication of the rate things move without getting into specifics of pricing challenges. It's a great question and a good metric. I'll keep tabs on it.

 

[W.H.O.]

Things sell. Depends on the item & where you're located. It's a PITA for me personally as I'm on the Central Coast. Just recently took a whole day to drive down to L.A. to buy something. Been sick so I can't go get it, but it's still not super easy to make the time to drive ~2.5hrs each way to sign a slip only to need to do it again to pick up within 30 days.
Trying to plan a trip to the bay to do the same thing RN and it's rough. Honestly I'd pay extra in a lot of cases to meet half way or something for convenience sake (tall person+long drive is an awful combo)

Someone with an 01 or something needs to start a delivery transfer service . Transfer,10 day, pick up, transport, drop off/transfer.