When selling an airgun – How to choose JOY over pain

[JungleShooter]

 

When selling an airgun – How to choose JOY over pain



Which type of person are your in our airgun universe?

Besides the collector species, there seem to be two other types:



(A) Shooters.  Buys a gun. Shoots it until it breaks, or until he finds a gun that’s more interesting. | Spends much money on pellets and air.



(B) Modders.  Buys a gun. Tries it out. Says: “Hey, it shoots great. Let's take it apart.” | Spends much money on performance parts.



In the end though, they are both the same: They get what they pay for: (A) The shooter really doesn't buy pellets, instead he pays for the JOY of shooting pellets downrange, (B) the modder really doesn’t buy parts, instead he pays for the JOY of tweaking and making the almost impossible reality. They’re both happy. They get what they pay for.





Now...., when the modder wants to set the price for selling one of his modded guns, he could be asking – “How much did I pay for the parts I put onto this gun – what are they worth?”



However, maybe even more to the point he could be asking – “How much did I pay for the joy of modding and tweaking – was it worth it?”



And if it was worth it – he could sell the gun without a feeling of PAIN and loss of not getting most of the money back that the parts cost. Because it was really the joy of modding he paid for. And he had plenty of joy.... (the buyer of a modded gun does not get any of the joy of modding, because it’s all over, the tweaking is done, the excitement is gone... – and we KNOW the buyer is not going to pay for the modder's joy....).





So, I’m trying to understand the airgun universe correctly, and here it seems just like gravity we have a general principle that governs our airgun world and how we derive joy from our guns. Something like this(?):



(A) The shooter pays for shots, (B) the modder pays for mods.



(A) Pellets and (B) parts are just a means to an end. The joy of shooting and the joy of modding.





And when the day of selling a gun rolls around (because the wife keeps insisting “No more unless you sell some!”) both type (A) and (B) can remain happy if they don’t expect a high resale price for what they paid for – because with much joy the shots have been fired, and with equal joy the mods have been installed....



May you find joy this day,

Matthias

 

[stinkajames]

Very interesting outlook, brother. It would seem that we should all be pairing off as modder/shooter teams. The modder buys the gun new and tinkers and tunes it to be the best it can be, then the shooter buys it and shoots the hell out of it before selling and splitting the loss between the two. 

 

[SteveV]

That's actually a very healthy, unselfish way of looking at the whole "airgun process" as it were -

And if we adopt the attitude of "paying a little rent" for the joy of owning and shooting of our airguns, it makes it easier to sell, let go, and move on to the next airgun adventure/purchase.

 

[wyshadow]

And if we adopt the attitude of "paying a little rent" for the joy of owning and shooting of our airguns, it makes it easier to sell, let go, and move on to the next airgun adventure/purchase.

That's what I tell myself when I sell a gun. If I take a lost of 300 but I had the gun for 3 years, then it would be I rented the gun for 300 which isn't bad

 

[Beeman22]

That's actually a very healthy, unselfish way of looking at the whole "airgun process" as it were -

And if we adopt the attitude of "paying a little rent" for the joy of owning and shooting of our airguns, it makes it easier to sell, let go, and move on to the next airgun adventure/purchase.

I like that thought process. I'm a shooter/collector, so I'm a little different, but they way I look at things now is if I buy a gun (let's suppose it's a $400 springer), shoot it for a while, enjoy looking at it, get bored and then sell it for a loss of $50-75 a year later, the loss was just rent for a year. So why get hung up on the fact I couldn't sell it for what I paid?

The problem with this rationale is that it makes it easier to buy things, as in "Oh, that one looks nice, fair price....yeah, I'll buy it. Maybe I'll love it and keep it forever. Or maybe I'll just "rent" it for a little while." Problem is, once it comes in, selling it always seems harder, even if you don't focus on what it cost to "rent". And, just like that, the safe is full and the wife is pissed!

 

[cavedweller]

There is another type of airgunner - they buy several, try several out only to learn they have a favorite that they seem to go back to for whatever reason... Over and over again that one gun just has the perfect feel... soon they realize the rest are just collecting dust and it's time to stick with what you enjoy most and sell the rest.

 

[DirtyDovi]

This is a great thread!

I treat my guns just like I do with my other passions/hobbies..

I used to design/build custom cycles and vehicles, so I know what can be spent in the process, 
and also know how hard it is to part with certain things - especially when having to take enormous losses sometimes.. 
In the end, I think that some of the cost is totally justified [worth it] for the enjoyment / experience involved along the way / in the process..

I'm a die-hard customizer / tinkerer, and usually modify anything/everything I get my paws on.. 

I'm still waiting for 'that certain gun' to do that with though.. And I can't wait until' I find one I can go all out on! 
For the time being, I'll steal what others have mentioned..
I've just been 'renting' them - So to speak.

All last year, I had to shoot inside, so, no modding/tinkering - Just shooting, and it was still an absolute blast! 
The plan was and is to get a good amount of rifles, and pit them against each other to try to find my favorites, then a favorite from there.. 
Sell them, and start over.. There are so many models/styles/etc. out there that it's way too hard just to settle on one - so far..

I've been airgunning and shooting rimfires for 20+ years too, so . . . It never ends! haha

Which reminds me.. With a heavy heart, I really need to start listing my current collection for sale.. 

*Sigh*

 

Sam -

 

[ChuckHunter]

Awesome outlook on airguns in general!!!

And right on as far as I'm concerned...

But you still always have those few that think just because they only used it lightly and took very good care of it that it still should bring new or even higher prices when they go to sell....its still a used gun !

Just a few short years ago especially in the springer market older beemans would bring as much if not more than the original purchase price. Those days are gone and you still see some of the older collectors trying to recover the money they spent. 

Places like krale in Netherlands has put the crunch on those big prices. 

I like the rental idea and it's really never bothered me to take a loss when I had so much fun in time I owned the gun...

Nice post!!!

James from Michigan, 

 

[bandg]

And not only is it "used", it may not be backed by any warranty from an established seller or maker. It's always a question as to why something is for sale. Problem? Poor performance? Or just need the money or want something different? Hard to know buying used.

 

[vdwb]

I think there may be one more variation of the modder. Instead of buying a rifle and modifying it, you buy all the parts, both stock and aftermarket and assemble a rifle from that pile of parts. Very fun, exciting and gratifying. You also know your rifle inside and out. This is how I have my fun until I take the big leap into high dollar machines. I have read where many have regrets going this route but to me it is a learning experience. The rabbit hole is getting deeper.

Dennis

 

[Saltlake58]

Another variation to the Modder - buy the gun, take it back to factory specs, and then tune it with only factory or very limited upgrades. Just to see what it can do! (That's more my area)