Take Good Advice But Buy With Your Heart

Investing in a gun might seem daunting but if you know what you’re looking for and what you want, it’s a good start, says Simon Reinhold

- Simon Reinhold

When I worked in retail one of my mentors in the gun trade once said: “The secret of selling at a good price is buying at a good price.” Like all the best advice, it is deceptively simple and rather obvious, but there are so many factors to consider when you are buying at auction that having them reduced to a simple sentence is a benefit.

With the economy in stasis while we ride out the storm of COVID-19, anyone claiming to know what a good investment at an auction will be in the short term is a fool. We will have to fall back on the simple principles of buying well.

Buying a new gun will give you a warranty from the maker and there should be a good after-sales service from your gun shop — if not, change your gun shop. But like buying a new car, you drop significant value as soon as you drive it off the forecourt or, in the case of a gun, fire a shot through it.

There are, however, some items that will almost always hold their value. These fall into the category of unusual and highly desirable. Though they may be a significant outlay, they will always have a market. As I write I am looking at a pair of 20-bore, round-action, trigger-plate side-by-sides built by David McKay Brown. These tick many of the boxes that, even in these uncertain times, we can say that if bought at the right price they will hold their money.

That is probably the best we can hope for as private individuals buying at auction. Very rarely can you buy at auction, include the buyer’s premium, then sell at a profit if you are not in the gun trade.