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What to do with a gun estate?

My son’s father in-law passed away a few days ago and left a gun collection behind. Maybe 30 or so guns both hand guns and long guns. So my son is left with the chore of finding the vale of these guns and selling them for his mother in-law. So folks, besides the obvious online gun auctions like Gunbroker.com, where can he go to find their true value? I can address the condition of the firearms but assessing their value is out of my league. And we live far from any large city. I advised him to photo all of them as well as list info on them. Are there online firearm appraisers that can be trusted? Thanks. There are no consignment shops in the small nearby town. Folks the only way to ANY city over 2,000 people is by plane or boat 90 + miles away or by car 8 hours away and that would be through Canada whom would frown on all those guns going through. The red tape to do so would take months and be a mile long. Thanks though for the info. Thanks John r I may just do that in a few days. They are understandably in grief now, so it will be a few days before I can. Thanks DJ, some good advice. You know; I love living remote, but at times like this it makes things a bit hard. Fisher12 thanks for the input and I agree they are family heirlooms. However the man that passed away did not set things up for his wife at all. No bank account, no bonds, no life insurance nothing! She owns the land and a cabin and all the stuff he left on it. Now she has bills to pay with zero income and about $300,000 bucks of heavy equipment many boys toys in the yard, that has sat there for decades along with the guns inside. And sadly he didn’t take care of any of it. So its sell or she will loose it all. But if my son sells it and invests that money she will be ok. If he had taken care of the heavy equipment and the boy toys they wouldn’t be a pile of rust now and the guns would stay in the family. Such a shame and a waste. Thanks guys!

Public Comments

1. Find a popular gun shop in your area that handles firearms on consignment. They will usually asses the values for a fee or sell them for you on consignment for a percentage. This will be the easiest way for you as they will do all paperwork and the price will be fair as they want the best return they can get.
2. it is extremly hard to value a firearm unless you are in person. what I would do is compare the guns you have to those on the gun ebay sites to get an idea, then take them to a gun store. Most gun stores are pretty fair about value and price. another thought would be to call your insurance company to have them appraised as if you were going to have them insured.
3. unfortunately.. to save a headache of selling online and shipping, paperwork, etc.. your best bet is probably to devote a day to drive into the city or the closest reputable gun shop.. and have them appraised. Ill bet you could even drop off the guns with the shop and work out some sort of deal where they could sell them for you, and take a certain agreed upon percentage of the sale. that would take the headaches out of the work.. and leave you with money in your pocket. Just a thought, call the gun shop first and ask to speak to the owner or manager and see if they would do that for ya... if not, then i guess online would be your next best bet.... have the buyers swallow the shipping costs and transfer of ownership fees.
4. If you will post a list of the guns: manufacturer, model number and your best guess as to its condition (100% is new in box) I can tell you what the Blue Book says for each.
5. Tell you what I would do beeds....go to Gunbroker and Auction Arms (this is the site I use most often to buy and sell) and look up their listed dealers in your area of your state. Call them and ask them if they do consignment sales and what their fees and policies are. Rather than a simple appraisal, which involves looking up the current market price in any one of the guides, the dealer will also assess the condition with a professional eye and tell the family a good "ask" price and a good "sell" price. For common hunting guns and handguns, he will likely offer them in his shop to his customers. For rare or collectable guns, he should offer them online, as the market is much greater and so is the return. If he is smart, he will also put an ad in the local paper that he has an 'estate sale' and list a few of the items. This costs like $25 to $40. Many people will come to his shop to look them over and many will buy if the prices are right (he will also get some side business of his own, so negotiate to split the cost of the ad with him 75/25) A friend that runs a shop charges $25 minimum or 15% of the sell price for consignment guns, whichever is higher. He will also charge the cost of the agreed upon ads he runs, etc. against the sale price. A good shop will create an inventory, with a description of each firearm, serial number, his recommended sell price, ask price and final sell price and buyer. He does all the legal paperwork and transfers as part of this fee. For most people, especially heirs of estates that do not know guns or how to sell them, this is a great deal on a lot of professional service he provides. It's the only way to do it. One thing, he is likely going to want a copy of the estate judgement that gives the family or widow clear possession of the property. Selling a deceased relative's guns is a sticky legal business if "Cousin Joe" shows up and claims that he has rights to them or that the father-in-law was just keeping his gun for him in his safe. While most gun dealers are honest guys, they will often 'appraise' the gun on what they would like to buy it for rather than a real market price. Take that option out of the equasion for them by hiring him to sell on consignment. I had a case here where a well-known shop bought a lot of guns from a widow of a WWII vet and he only paid her about half of their value or less. When the members of my club found out about this guy doing this, we not only boycotted his shop but we make a lot of noise at gun shows, so much that he doesn't even get tables anymore.
6. Beed tell your son they are family Heirlooms waiting to be passed not some thing to sell. If you want a prices get a copy of Blue Book of Gun Values by S. P. Fjestad or a copy of Gun Traders Guide. The both list about the same prices. But do you sell guns handed down?