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Hi all.

So I don't get the time to go much anymore so thinking of selling up and will post details at some point.

My question is can I have some advice on selling privately please. I want to raise as much money as possible for a new car but never sold before. And hints or tips would be great. Ie checking whose coming to the house, what and when to show them? What to check on their licence? (I've only ever had the two guns so haven't added or removed anything in a long while)

Any advice welcome. Thank you.

prepare yourself to deal with the wasters

If you're still a member of a club it might be better to arrange the sale there. Depending on the club the buyer might even be able to 'try before they buy', which always goes down well. Certainly don't do it on your own in a private/secluded setting with someone unknown to you.

I have sold rifles through my local gun shop, they have a Gun Trader account. I deposit my gun with them and when it is sold I get the money and relevant paper work. Yes they do charge commission but it's hassle free for me.

Go into the whole process with realistic expectations.
I work part time in a gun shop and it is frankly amazing the value some people place on their guns.

Spend some time on forums such as this to see what similar items have previously sold for. Guntrader and Gunstar are two other sources where you will probably find similar items and see how they are priced in the current market.

Selling privately will often realise the best prices, but prepare yourself for the inevitable tyre kickers who sometimes have no intention of buying but are just being nosey.
Selling through a dealer can be less hassle, but they will expect commission accordingly.

Sell privately, you are just going to have to wade through the walls,and try and trust your instincts over the buyers character and intentions...

Thanks for all of the advice. People that have sold privately, have you ever requested to see a copy of a perspective buyers FAC or anything before given them your address? It's just obviously anyone can contact you from the classifieds gun star etc.

Yes it would be prudent,and any evasion of that will be pure body language reading without even meeting them.

I request such within any such sale.

ruger_steve wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 11:50 am Thanks for all of the advice. People that have sold privately, have you ever requested to see a copy of a perspective buyers FAC or anything before given them your address? It's just obviously anyone can contact you from the classifieds gun star etc.

I have but they were equally suspicious of me wanting to know where they live and they have guns in the house, which was reasonable. In the end I was sent a photo of the front of the cert with the address details covered over and a photo of the 'To acquire' section to prove they had the right slot for what I was selling.

The latter is a good idea now I think of it, i once met a guy who wanted to buy a moderator and didn't have a new slot on his ticket, he'd just disposed of his moderator and thought he could just take mine and inform the FLD. It was local so not a massive deal, but if someone was coming from the other end of the country and i'd taken time off work for it, I would've been pretty peeved.

Dealers are full of rifles they can't sell, cost of living, ammo and consumables costs and many Counties having slow turn around on variations amd renewals isn't helping... be prepared you are not going to get what you think is a fair price....

Alan