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Utah air trade in

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hawkeye69 said:
No one selling a gun to a dealer is expecting "top dollar". We all understand that dealers need to make a profit on the resale. Whether their offer reflects a reasonable profit, depends on your point of view. As for me, I agree with the OP.
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Hello @hawkeye69

I agree with you and the OP. What some of the folks up from this post fail to understand is that the Dealer will make a good profit on the "new gun". So the wise dealer could actually make only say $50.00 on the "resale" of the trade in gun and simply add that $50.00 to the profit from the new gun sale.

Also what the folks up from this post fail to realize is the "dealer in question" lost a customer :(! Most likely the customer will now give his business to the "wise dealer" that did no try and screw him over :geek: .

AND when the wise dealer resales the trade-in gun he gets another customer. Just smart business practice.

I have always heard that greed and stupidity go hand and hand o_O

ThomasT
 
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L.Leon said:
I agree with the assessment by @WorriedMan. Though the offer was fairly low, considering what they sell them for used. It is, what it is. A lot of these PCPs are priced way up there. I understand it about what the market will bear. But for what most of us do with air guns? The 1.5K, 2K-3K PCPs are pricey. So unless a private buyer is looking for a particular model you’re selling? It’s hard to get back 2/3rds of your investment. Good post, and would have been better if you left dealer/vendors name, blank.
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Would be good to know who to do business with. ( Industry Feedback )
 
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For retail stores, 200% markup is not unusual on inventory. It covers salaries, health insurance, interest to the bank, utilities, parts, returns and pilfering and loss. You can also expect your purchase to be worth far less than the sale price the moment it leaves the store. With that said the offer is low. They obviously don’t need any used guns like yours
 
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I think it’s normal for the lowball offer. They are in business to make a profit and everything legal is on the table for doing that.
The lowball offer is always insulting because it leaves you feeling like a fool if you go for it.
They are hugely invested in their business and are swimming with the sharks, facing heavy competition too.
I run a small business and I’m way too nice to offend someone with a lowball offer, I just pay the asking price for whatever I want so as not to offend anyone.
In my opinion that makes me a terrible businessman lol!
I’m a very small business, and can get away with watching out for people’s feelings, but I would fail so quickly if I tried that in deeper waters!
In my opinion what they did with the lowball offer is “just business”.
 
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madeintheuk said:
To start, this is not intended to be a bashing thread on Utah air. this is more of story time to get others opinions on the subject.

so yesterday, I reached out by email to Utah in order to possibly trade in a practically brand new (2 month old) crown saber tactical. I’ve been listing it on the forums in different ways, and also wanted to get an idea of what I could do through a dealer. I was interested in getting a wildcat bt compact in trade for it.

after emailing them, they asked to supply them with pictures and a short description of the rifle which I did.
to my surprise, when they got back to me, the offered me $830 for my crown. This is a rifle that sells brand new for $2k, and used for $1800 on their site She. They’re available used.
I understand what overhead is, and they have to make their cut, but almost $1k on a rifle that’s only been shot 2 magazines?
im wondering if they threw out such a lowball offer because they really weren’t interested. Or maybe the market for used crowns is low right now. Either way, I respectfully declined, but I got to thinking. Is this normal? What do y’all think?

again. Be respectful, and no bashing. This is purely a conversational piece.
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Yes, this is normal practice for any store. Trade in price newer higher then 40 percent They gave you 40 percent of price I prefer to sell my item myself directly. There is many ways to doing that. American Airguns, for example
 
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madeintheuk said:
To start, this is not intended to be a bashing thread on Utah air. this is more of story time to get others opinions on the subject.

so yesterday, I reached out by email to Utah in order to possibly trade in a practically brand new (2 month old) crown saber tactical. I’ve been listing it on the forums in different ways, and also wanted to get an idea of what I could do through a dealer. I was interested in getting a wildcat bt compact in trade for it.

after emailing them, they asked to supply them with pictures and a short description of the rifle which I did.
to my surprise, when they got back to me, the offered me $830 for my crown. This is a rifle that sells brand new for $2k, and used for $1800 on their site She. They’re available used.
I understand what overhead is, and they have to make their cut, but almost $1k on a rifle that’s only been shot 2 magazines?
im wondering if they threw out such a lowball offer because they really weren’t interested. Or maybe the market for used crowns is low right now. Either way, I respectfully declined, but I got to thinking. Is this normal? What do y’all think?

again. Be respectful, and no bashing. This is purely a conversational piece.
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Normal that 50 to 60% of retail for a trade in. Mine used that I bought from dealer was $1350 plus tax. How much use is not relevant. Used at best can sell for 70% of retail, usually more like 65%. Plus no way to know how long to sell. If you wanted $1800, then wait until it sells. You listed so you know it takes time. Same way in firearms
 
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If you buy a DIAMOND which has a very standard value across the world, and you break up, you will get roughly 60% of the value back.

This is very standard. Businesses are not in the "we will sell it, then buy it back and sell it AGAIN" business.

If I had to guess it was....

1. Low balled intentionally bc it had to worth their time (used items do not sell as fast so this will likely sit a while)
2. Done to dissuade people from selling back things they just bought.

I would've said no thank you and sold it on here. Be patient. It sounds like you wanted this to go EXACTLY how you wanted it go. That is the gun that won RMAC lol maybe you need to market it as such. "Selling a brand new Crown with the Saber Tactical Chassis (which is sold out everywhere!!!) this is the same model gun that won RMAC 2023" =)
 
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bfloyd1095 said:
List it on Ebay.

I have sold multiple guns over there recently.
Here is my opinion on why they sell so much faster over there.
1) sheer volume of eyes on your listing, the views you receive over there is Much higher than anywhere else.
2) ebay buyers are loyal to a fault to ebay, they feel they are protected and less apt to being scammed
3) they expect to pay more for that safety, and are willing to do so.

Things you need to be aware of as a seller
the fee's ebay gets 10% of the sales price, you can also get popped for up to 3.5% for credit card,PP fee's .. So factor this hit into your list price, Again ebay buyers are used to higher prices, at least the educated ebay buyer is. If you get a moron simply, and politely tell him to kick rocks.

Make Sure you are VERY specific in your item description, and make sure you are clear if your pics do not match your listing, i.e. pics with scope and mounts, but you are not including those itiems...Be VERY clear.....

lastly give the potential buyers the "Best Offer Option", most ebayer's like to haggle and feel like they got a discount, even a small victory is big with them.

I know it sounds crazy that they are willing to pay more, but i see it every day, i have been selling over there for over 20 years, the ridiculous thing is my website has been up for the same amount of time, the prices are a minimum of 14% off on the website, before any kind of promo discounts, and yet my ebay sales are 10x greater... I have thrown a boatload of cash at that issue to no avail, ebay buyers are loyal as hell.. Lol
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I’ve all but given up on eBay for selling anything. Aside from the high fees, there are too many scammers there and eBay always sides with the buyer even if they’re obviously lying. So frustrating.
 
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Stan’s boy John said:
For retail stores, 200% markup is not unusual on inventory. It covers salaries, health insurance, interest to the bank, utilities, parts, returns and pilfering and loss. You can also expect your purchase to be worth far less than the sale price the moment it leaves the store. With that said the offer is low. They obviously don’t need any used guns like yours
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Retail markup is 200%, I'd like to know where you get that idea. I was a Distributor for Hair Care Product and only had a 30% mark up from wholesale to Retail. Cars/Trucks maybe 10% Including any holdback on domestics. Fuel a couple cents a gallon.

Smitty
 
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Smitty911 said:
Retail markup is 200%, I'd like to know where you get that idea. I was a Distributor for Hair Care Product and only had a 30% mark up from wholesale to Retail. Cars/Trucks maybe 10% Including any holdback on domestics. Fuel a couple cents a gallon.

Smitty
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I didn’t say IS I said it’s not unusual. If you want more examples you should ask a successful entrepreneur instead of a distributor.

https://www.businessinsider.com/products-high-markups-2014-7?op=1
 
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extradrygin2001 said:
Try a different store, Air Guns of Arizona offered me a good price for a used pcp that is was looking to trade in. Now do understand that it was ruffly 0.75 percent of the original price. However when dealing with a retail store that is a good offer especially when they do not carry the brand I was looking to trade in.

AOA 🫡
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AOA will give you a better price for a trade-in as they are making a profit on the sale as well. They would have offered you less, if you just wanted to sell them the gun.
 
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On a tangent, you didn't say why you were shedding the Crown. Perhaps, you like I will explore the sub 1K guns. Depending on your shooting desires.
Hunting doesn't require 1.5k + guns.
If you want to understand my opinion, research Dana's FUX gun expose. ( sorry, my tablet doesn't have the little Francois flip for the e!)
 
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I think your price is high, and I dont think Utah would actually list one for $1800. More like $1500-$1600 depending on extras. The amount of use doesnt really seem to affect their prices, with the exception of actual marks or damage. And as someone who does a lot of buying in various markets, a common theme is sellers thinking their stuff is worth more than the market does. We have all heard it before, but buyers really do determine the value of things. If I am trying to sell something and it doesnt sell for weeks or months, my price is too high simple as that. You can try waiting longer and might find somebody willing to pay a little more, but a lot of times that isnt going to happen.

And running a business is very expensive, most people dont realize how much profit margins are eaten up by overhead. Its actually kinda cool that places like AOA and Utah even consider taking trades, as I know they cant be making much profit on many of them. Its a fine line when taking in trades, you need to make money but dont want to insult your customer base with dirt nasty low offers. They arent doing anything worse than any other business that takes in trades for profit. For example it probably cost Utah close to $200 just in labor to process a listing for a trade in. Then there are business taxes, rent, marketing, utilities, govt program fees, etc before they can even break even. From their perspective I think they gave you a fair trade in value.
 
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Price seemed a bit high to me too, but everyone is entitled to ask whatever price they want. I sold a .22 Crown Continuum Synthetic on the classifieds here within about a month. It was in like new condition. I got $1,275 for it and I paid for shipping. I had an FX Verminator full kit (2 scopes, arrows, case) I paid $2,400 for in 2012. Doubt it had a tin through it. Had it re-sealed at AoA even though it did not leak, but I knew I'd hear about it. In like 2019, I got $1,150 for it. Airguns are NOT an investment. Neither are powder burners, tools or anything else I have bought. Doubt I ever made more than $100 on 3 or 4 of any kind of gun, and I've owned over 100. When I was a kid, they always said guns and tools were an investment. Like so many things in life-it was a lie.
 
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If i was a dealer and any FX gun came into my shop my thought is what will it take to get it back to original condition ? FX is a tinkerer's delight , a user can twist and turn all sort of things . as a perspective buyer i would expect the gun to be in original Working configuration

I have bought and sold many guns my rule is not over 50 percent of list buy or sell .
 
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I don’t get where any of you think I though I was getting $1800 trade in for this.
it’s a saber tactical crown I bought brand spanking new, and shot 2 mags through it. Im not expecting to get full price, or private sale value, but you can’t possibly think that offering under half of what the gun is worth private sale is OK. To say that I’m over pricing it, you should probably look at what these go for new. It’s not a VP, or a synthetic.
I don’t ever expect to make money on the airguns I sell, I don’t do this for profit, but as low ball as this Utah offer was, I was insulted.

I don’t get off by screwing the people that are part of my sport, but I also don’t want to be the guy getting screwed either. My crown is still in my possession, and I should be trading it for something I can use by the weekend. Thanks for all the responses. I know from now on, if I can’t sell or trade something, I’ll hold on to it till the market picks up. It’s just not worth trading to a dealer.
 
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madeintheuk said:
I don’t get where any of you think I though I was getting $1800 trade in for this.
it’s a saber tactical crown I bought brand spanking new, and shot 2 mags through it. Im not expecting to get full price, or private sale value, but you can’t possibly think that offering under half of what the gun is worth private sale is OK. To say that I’m over pricing it, you should probably look at what these go for new. It’s not a VP, or a synthetic.
I don’t ever expect to make money on the airguns I sell, I don’t do this for profit, but as low ball as this Utah offer was, I was insulted.

I don’t get off by screwing the people that are part of my sport, but I also don’t want to be the guy getting screwed either. My crown is still in my possession, and I should be trading it for something I can use by the weekend. Thanks for all the responses. I know from now on, if I can’t sell or trade something, I’ll hold on to it till the market picks up. It’s just not worth trading to a dealer.
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"This is a rifle that sells brand new for $2k, and used for $1800 on their site"

I didnt see anyone that thought you were going to get $1800 for trade in, just a lot of estimates in the 40-60% retail is normal trade value. My comment was noting that Utah wouldnt list it for sale for that much, so your estimate of profit was wrong from the get go. I have seen more than one Saber Crown for sale at Utah and they have been $1500-$1600 usually, depending on extras. A couple of them were listed for months before they sold. The difference in people that think your trade offer was fair or unfair is often explained by the perspective of people that actually sell for profit. You think it was a lowball, but in reality Utah isnt going to actually profit very much buying it from you at their offer price. Simple math, but most people dont see all the numbers involved so it may seem like they are ripping you off. A new Crown chassis version is $1925-$1975 plus $40 shipping from Utah as I type this. Most people arent going to want to pay ~91% retail ($1800) for anything that has been previously used. And for what its worth, I dont even know what you are asking for yours in the classifieds, I was just making the point that its always a buyers market. Out of curiosity how much did you expect Utah to offer you?


I sold more things last year than most people sell in a lifetime, and I have learned a lot about people the hard way. Nobody here is trying to beat you up over this, just a little tough love that you asked for specifically 🙃
 
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I almost bought that ST Crown from MADEINTHEUK. If I didn’t have the future expenses involved for RMAC and possibly EBR, I told Andy I’d buy it from him if I didn’t make registration for RMAC. I was totally good with paying his asking price, as a new, blemished crown goes for approx $1300 and a new ST stock around $600, and last I checked, those ST chassis currently are out of stock(for awhile now)

Plus, there’s something to be said about buying from a reputable and trusting person. I have known Andy for a good couple of years now and when he tells me he’s got less than a tin of shots thru it, I trust him. I also knew it wasn’t modified or tweaked on, so that alone is worth paying a premium in used prices.

I’d rather pay top dollar in the used market buying from a trusted source than get a swinging deal for way less, only to open the gun up and see it’s been hacked into by previous owners.

Now having said that, I found out it has sold, and if I still had the chance to buy it now I would not pay his original $1800 asking price from the new seller. No way. To me, knowing the seller is a big deal
 
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