So, Two SKS's Walk Into A Bar.....

[Larry D.]

Well, no a bar, per se......

A buddy came over last night with a Yugo and a civilian export Chicom.
He's heard the stories about SKS's selling for upwards of a thousand and wants to get in on the action. He's decided to sell off these 2 and keep his Russian, and wants me to look them over to see if anything stood out - good or bad.
I really gotta stop doing this for people.
The Yugo was nothing really special except for the nut for the cross bolt was gone. No accessories at all except the cleaning rod.
The Chicom was missing the cleaning rod, and someone had poorly refinished the stock without bothering to remove anything. Appeared as though whoever did it didn't even bother disassembling it. It did have a sling and, oddly enough, the cleaning kit in the stock.

As I point these things out, he starts to get a bit ticked off at me for "running them down" in order to get a better deal.

At this point, I asked him if he was gonna put them up on gun joker or armslust.
Nope. He wants me to buy them for 600 each. Then I can make fabulously huge profits for these thousand dollar rifles.
 
Needless to say, no deal was struck. He put them back in his vehicle and we had a few beers and called it a night.

I guess the upshot of this little tale is that when some people think there's money to be made, they can be a little silly.

Be careful out there fellas.

[Bubbazinetti]

I've seen practically "as new" Type 56s locally for the $599 that were 100% complete.Looked like they came right off the assembly line.

[running-man]

Well, no a bar, per se......
Nope. He wants me to buy them for 600 each. Then I can make fabulously huge profits for these thousand dollar rifles.

Money makes people do weird things.  You should have countered for both of them for $600 to see what he would have done. 

Sad thing is, if he put them on GB or armslist, he might actually get $1200 to $1500 for the pair.  It's crazy out there.  3+ million background checks in June marks the third time this year that number has been that high.  Distributors out of product, suppliers with stretched out delivery dates, ammo starting to get scarce.  I hope everyone currently has what they need because if you don't you'll pay up for it these days.

[Larry D.]

I told him that I'd never pay more than 300 unless it was a Russian.
He countered that I could trade him some AR10 pats. I don't own an AR10, and never will.
He counter-countered that I could just put said parts on my credit card. The total on that little venture would have been well over 700.

I like he SKS as well as the next guy, but, to me, 300 is the limit unless it's a Russian.

I may well be able to prove my point in 2 weeks. I still have a nibble on a neutered Chicom for under 200.......

[Shoot The Refurbs]

I told him that I'd never pay more than 300 unless it was a Russian.
He countered that I could trade him some AR10 pats. I don't own an AR10, and never will.
He counter-countered that I could just put said parts on my credit card. The total on that little venture would have been well over 700.

I like he SKS as well as the next guy, but, to me, 300 is the limit unless it's a Russian.

I may well be able to prove my point in 2 weeks. I still have a nibble on a neutered Chicom for under 200.......

600 for a yugo that needs work? 
But I can think of several Variants other than a Russian I'd be happy to fork upwards of 3 bills for. I did not have the fortune of being of age during the 89$ sks with a case of ammo days, so i guess my idea for pricing is skewed from those that have been around since the inception.
The first SKS I ever owned was also the first rifle i ever owned and was a Russian BBQ refurb, hence my moniker. I was happy as hell to walk away with that thing for 325$ OTD.
This was around 10 years ago, and i remember people giving me all sorts of grief because I overpaid in their eyes. Of course if we could buy Russian refurbs for about 300$ now, we'd all have some pretty full safes. 

[Larry D.]

Amen, STR!

I'm old enough to remember literally barrels of Chicoms for 29.99. That very quickly jumped to 39.99. Then 49, then 59... After that, they jumped to a hundred.
They seemed to stay around a hundred for a long time.

[Tbone13]

The proper way to sell to a friend is to show the piece and set an ask. If your buddy was trying to act like you somehow owed it to him to pay whatever for his guns, he was in the wrong and a little rude.
I'd low ball him if he does that again.

I have sold stuff off to friends and I just tell them what I want for it, let them chisel me down 5 or 10%, and everyone is happy.  I try to throw in little deal sweeteners like ammo or slings, cases, whatever.
If no one's interested there is always gun broker.com (is the old Shotgun News still out there?)

[Larry D.]

The proper way to sell to a friend is to show the piece and set an ask. If your buddy was trying to act like you somehow owed it to him to pay whatever for his guns, he was in the wrong and a little rude.
I'd low ball him if he does that again.

I have sold stuff off to friends and I just tell them what I want for it, let them chisel me down 5 or 10%, and everyone is happy.  I try to throw in little deal sweeteners like ammo or slings, cases, whatever.
If no one's interested there is always gun broker.com (is the old Shotgun News still out there?)

Exactly.
I have never had any issue with someone making a fair profit on something. It kinda surprised me that he took this approach on them. He and I have done several deals in the past and this stuff has never come up before.
That's why I gave him a pass on this one. But if he takes this approach again, I'll need to reconsider his status as a friend.

[newchi]

Amen, STR!

I'm old enough to remember literally barrels of Chicoms for 29.99. That very quickly jumped to 39.99. Then 49, then 59... After that, they jumped to a hundred.
They seemed to stay around a hundred for a long time.

People in canada tell me that about enfields, just stuffed into a barrel back in the day.