Commercial values on the rise...

[Power Surge]

I think people are finally seeing the collectability of the commercial variants. Being into the commercial guns myself, I have been checking gunbroker and local sources daily for months now. I am definitely seeing a fast growing rise in prices. Now don't get me wrong.....there are tons of commercial guns available that people are ASKING big dollars for, and not getting. But they are just swinging for the fences with some of these guns hoping to get a home run. However, actual SELLING prices are shooting up quickly.

A Beta Arms D, NIB, just sold on GB last night for almost $1000. Another NIB D, just sold last week for $760. A NIB "M" sold for $870. An Honor Guard sold for $850. A very rare 88 Sporter sold for $800. A Farmer's Friend with wood box sold for $800. A 6-digit ghost Paratrooper, which was actually a Birklee Hunter, sold for $660. A rare model 63 sold for $560.

These are just a few examples. There are dozens of other commercial variants that have sold prices over the 5-600 mark.

Aside from the obvious observation that values are rising, there is another observation....there are plenty of people out there who know what some of these guns are. Many of them were listed as wrong models....models not worth much as they were listed....but they had high numbers of bidders on them and high selling prices because people saw what they really were.

Even though there's no military value to these guns (other than ones made from old guns, but then they have been altered from original), the fact is that you can't turn back time. These guns were made 20+years ago and you can't turn back time.

[CARBINE]

Yeah, I think the prices for all sks carbines will have a steady increase.  I agree with you, I think more and more people are becoming familiar with recognizing the different breeds of commercial sks and they are starting to get traction and become more and more collectable to a generation that likes the more modified look and not the traditional as much, or you got some guys like me that like them both.
I wonder if it would be a big pain to separate the commercial sks out of the Chinese monthly report and put it in the commercial section, food for thought....Maybe Power Surge would be interested in taking that role?

[Power Surge]

Yeah, I think the prices for all sks carbines will have a steady increase.  I agree with you, I think more and more people are becoming familiar with recognizing the different breeds of commercial sks and they are starting to get traction and become more and more collectable to a generation that likes the more modified look and not the traditional as much, or you got some guys like me that like them both.
I wonder if it would be a big pain to separate the commercial sks out of the Chinese monthly report and put it in the commercial section, food for thought....Maybe Power Surge would be interested in taking that role?

I've already offered my services for any help here several times

I think like most things collectible, "variations" are always a driving reason for collecting. Most of your commercial guns are visually different from each other, and that's a big appeal.

[Loose}{Cannon]

What cha wanna do?    Lemme know and we will figure it out if viable. 

[running-man]

It'll be interesting to see what the June GB numbers say when all is said and done. 

Here are the results from the past three months:

March:
Exporter Modified AK Magazine 8 guns @ $673.88 avg.
Exporter Modified (All types, AK, paratrooper, Honor Guard, Misc. Mods): 14 guns @ $667.35
Exporter Modified (All types, only VG condition): 4 guns @ $579.25

April:
Exporter Modified AK Magazine 12 guns @ $608.25 avg.
Exporter Modified (All types, AK, paratrooper, Honor Guard, Misc. Mods): 21 guns @ $558.05
Exporter Modified (All types, only VG condition): 7 guns @ $635.57

May:
Exporter Modified AK Magazine 11 guns @ $558.45 avg.
Exporter Modified (All types, AK, paratrooper, Honor Guard, Misc. Mods): 20 guns @ $543.10
Exporter Modified (All types, only VG condition): 7 guns @ $594.00

I don't break down the exact type of gun beyond "AK, paratrooper, Honor Guard, Misc. Mods" 

Still, the data seem to say that the commercial market is cooling off a bit in general.  You could easily argue that the higher end guns are maintaining if not climbing in price but you've also got to remember as well that the AK mag SKSs will be heavily influenced by current AK prices.  SOG has AKs for $500-$600, Century has PAPs for $500, WASRs for $550, AIM has IO AKMs for $489.95.  Until those prices move, I doubt you'll see much appreciation of the AK mag SKSs.

[running-man]

I wonder if it would be a big pain to separate the commercial sks out of the Chinese monthly report and put it in the commercial section, food for thought....Maybe Power Surge would be interested in taking that role?

It wouldn't be easy.  It could be done, however.  I guess it depends on how useful it would be to know what a polytech hunter is selling for vs a bricklee hunter.  Tracking an NR vs a 63, 93, or Sporter could get squirrley given that most GB listings are horsetrash and you don't get a clear photo of the receiver for 33% of the guns.

and yes PS has indicated he's ready to help (which I'm all up for!), I'm just having a hard time figuring out a way to divide and share the workload.  The GB listings is all done off a single MS excel spreadsheet, splitting it up isn't going to work well, and unfortunately the equations I'm using don't populate through Google Sheets so using their nifty online collaborating tools aren't going to work either.  Maybe I'll try Open office & see how that works. 

[CARBINE]

It'll be interesting to see what the June GB numbers say when all is said and done. 

Here are the results from the past three months:

March:
Exporter Modified AK Magazine 8 guns @ $673.88 avg.
Exporter Modified (All types, AK, paratrooper, Honor Guard, Misc. Mods): 14 guns @ $667.35
Exporter Modified (All types, only VG condition): 4 guns @ $579.25

April:
Exporter Modified AK Magazine 12 guns @ $608.25 avg.
Exporter Modified (All types, AK, paratrooper, Honor Guard, Misc. Mods): 21 guns @ $558.05
Exporter Modified (All types, only VG condition): 7 guns @ $635.57

May:
Exporter Modified AK Magazine 11 guns @ $558.45 avg.
Exporter Modified (All types, AK, paratrooper, Honor Guard, Misc. Mods): 20 guns @ $543.10
Exporter Modified (All types, only VG condition): 7 guns @ $594.00

I don't break down the exact type of gun beyond "AK, paratrooper, Honor Guard, Misc. Mods" 

Maybe it doesn't need to be a spread sheet/share data with each other, could be a simple post with the breakdown of the commercial guns each month and what they are, Cowboy companion, farmers friend with original box and scope, ect.  I would like to see the commercial section get more love, I think it would attract a few other members.......another crowd so to speak. You all did a great job in the commercial section in the sks guide I think it would be a great addition to that. JMO

[running-man]

PS and I will put our heads together and see how we can make this work.  The Commercials are indeed a red headed stepchild in the Chinese GB listings.