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Gun aficionado - 'investing' in a SIG 551...

nsxotic911

nsxotic911

Legendary Member
Joined
6 November 2006
Messages
3,359
Location
Austin, TX
I have a gunbroker/friend that is pushign me heavily into 'investing' into a SIG 551. One of 250 limited edition, can no longer be imported, which are becoming increasingly scarce.. and brokers raising prices daily as supply is dwindling.

I'm very tempted to get two, and sell the 2nd one when the prices.. double? In 1 - 2 years, especially considering potentially draconian gun laws.

Thoughts.. It's just that I'll be out 8K+ :eek::eek::eek::eek:
 
Good chance you are buying at the top. If it's such a good deal why doesn't he keep them.
 
Hmmm that's a tough call. From what I've seen, guns have been a pretty good investment. Most of the guys I know that have bought limited edition guns, or fully automatics or the like have made a pretty good return on their initial investment; 3 to 10 times initial cost.

However, the appreciation of these kind of guns have been around for a long while and people have caught on this investment already. It's hard to tell if prices have already peaked or are inflated (like baseball cards in the 90's). I think if the gun is just a collectible, the it's not the best investment. With the economy going down the crappy, things like collectibles and luxuries will get hammered in value because of less disposable income. However, if there is a high demand or need, meanwhile a dwindling supply, then you could make good money on it. Take fully automatic rifles, which are getting harder and harder to get. Their value has steadily increased since their ban. And now with a Democrat taking office, I would assume there was/will be a jump in value yet again.
 
Vega$ NSX said:
Hmmm that's a tough call. From what I've seen, guns have been a pretty good investment. Most of the guys I know that have bought limited edition guns, or fully automatics or the like have made a pretty good return on their initial investment; 3 to 10 times initial cost.

However, the appreciation of these kind of guns have been around for a long while and people have caught on this investment already. It's hard to tell if prices have already peaked or are inflated (like baseball cards in the 90's). I think if the gun is just a collectible, the it's not the best investment. With the economy going down the crappy, things like collectibles and luxuries will get hammered in value because of less disposable income. However, if there is a high demand or need, meanwhile a dwindling supply, then you could make good money on it. Take fully automatic rifles, which are getting harder and harder to get. Their value has steadily increased since their ban. And now with a Democrat taking office, I would assume there was/will be a jump in value yet again.
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Thanks for the insight....

You know the automatic weapons have been banned long ago... BUMMER! :mad: or at least you can't purchase one that wasn't made boef relike 198x.
 
slownsxt said:
What makes you say that? There were only 250 made... but I did notice some of the other 55x's are going for much lower.
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How many made is almost irrelevant. I say you are buying near the top for the same reasons "regular" people starting buying tech stocks in 2000 and the same reason why everyone wanted to buy gold when it 1000 an ounce many months back.

The only reason you know about it is the hype-all of which has been priced into the asset class you are investing in. Supposedly demand is at all time highs in fear of Obama making severe restrictions. If this occurs, much of it is already priced in. If this doesn't occur, you will have bought at the top.
 
Automatic weapons are not really hard to get {subguns.com}. It just depends on if you want to pay 20 grand for one. One can still register one if they qualify.
 
davidf said:
Automatic weapons are not really hard to get {subguns.com}. It just depends on if you want to pay 20 grand for one. One can still register one if they qualify.
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But that's what I mean. I have 3 friends, two with automatic guns and one in the process. It's not so much of the process, which was actually just filling out forms, and a thorough background check, but having a spare $20K on hand and finding the right one is a little more difficult. Plus like slownsxt said, they to be manufactured before 198(6???). I think it's that combination that keeps the prices high and will continue to stay high. Whereas, I'm not sure a limited production gun will be as good as an investment, at least in the short term.
 
Depends...if its a TRUE sig 551 or one of the "NEW" ones that were just made (about 300 made) which are on new recievers I believe. If it's a true pre-ban (older then 91) then it's worth about 10K. The "NEW" ones are 3K and I think they will be a good investment. The pre 91 sig 551's are pushing the top of value for a semi auto.
 
Vega$ NSX said:
Hmmm that's a tough call. From what I've seen, guns have been a pretty good investment. Most of the guys I know that have bought limited edition guns, or fully automatics or the like have made a pretty good return on their initial investment; 3 to 10 times initial cost.

However, the appreciation of these kind of guns have been around for a long while and people have caught on this investment already. It's hard to tell if prices have already peaked or are inflated (like baseball cards in the 90's). I think if the gun is just a collectible, the it's not the best investment. With the economy going down the crappy, things like collectibles and luxuries will get hammered in value because of less disposable income. However, if there is a high demand or need, meanwhile a dwindling supply, then you could make good money on it. Take fully automatic rifles, which are getting harder and harder to get. Their value has steadily increased since their ban. And now with a Democrat taking office, I would assume there was/will be a jump in value yet again.
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Most of this is silly talk.

Guns are hotter then EVER now....prices are exploding through the roof! Bad economy equals huge gun appreciation....I just spent 12k on a semi auto rifle.
 
SWIFTVISION said:
Most of this is silly talk.

Guns are hotter then EVER now....prices are exploding through the roof! Bad economy equals huge gun appreciation....I just spent 12k on a semi auto rifle.
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Which is exactly why you would not want to start your investment now.
 
sahtt said:
Which is exactly why you would not want to start your investment now.
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Bingo! When the general public (and I would consider a public forum general public) says something is a hot investment, it means the cat was already out of the bag a long while ago. Think of baseball cards in the 80's, or real estate just a few years ago, or internet stocks in the 90's. Everyone was saying, this is a "hot" investment and prices were blowing up. The problem is, most of the people who got in on it were too late. Unless you know something the general public doesn't know, you are already too late in the game. It is very hard to say where guns are in this inflation and I don't think it's at the beginning. As Swiftvision already said himself, prices have been blowing up and prices are already exploding through the roof. So unless you already have a collection of guns, I would take caution in investing now. Someone is making a lot of money right now on guns, so just who do you think is paying it?

Remember two things: What goes up, must come down. And rich people often get rich by doing the opposite of what everyone is doing at the moment.
 
I used to be a class three dealer. From just glancing at the link, it looks like they are parts guns (swiss parts put on an american made receiver). If so worth maybe 1k. Any gun "put together" will have crap resale. Not that the 551 was not a terrific piece, but you do have so much to choose from now. The new sigs look very robust, but they are very front heavy with mediocre ergonomics. Good for a field rifle, but too unwieldy for the urban rifle most of lust for (got to be able to shoot from an NSX drivers window easily) of course. I've owned most. My recommendations: One or two ar's built especially to your tastes, my all time favorite the steyr aug is supposed to be reintroduced in the next few months (stock and carrier austrian, the rest made domestic by sabre defense. Flatop only, no price yet but probaly around $2200. I love AUG's! Like the NSX off the chart ergonomics and build quality. And the other very interesting piece is the FN SCAR's that are also supposed to be out any time in both 223 and 308. Like the AUG's, you can change barrells in seconds. Be carefull out there, lots of people taking advantage of the buying frenzy! Personally I would not buy any guns for profit. You would have to get real lucky to make money, not to mention Nancy would love to take them from you, and for the first time in my life I'm a little worried. That said I'm still buying!! One cold dead hand of the NSX steering wheel and the other on my AUG. What a way to go!
 
Tanto2 said:
I used to be a class three dealer. From just glancing at the link, it looks like they are parts guns (swiss parts put on an american made receiver). If so worth maybe 1k. Any gun "put together" will have crap resale. Not that the 551 was not a terrific piece, but you do have so much to choose from now. The new sigs look very robust, but they are very front heavy with mediocre ergonomics. Good for a field rifle, but too unwieldy for the urban rifle most of lust for (got to be able to shoot from an NSX drivers window easily) of course. I've owned most. My recommendations: One or two ar's built especially to your tastes, my all time favorite the steyr aug is supposed to be reintroduced in the next few months (stock and carrier austrian, the rest made domestic by sabre defense. Flatop only, no price yet but probaly around $2200. I love AUG's! Like the NSX off the chart ergonomics and build quality. And the other very interesting piece is the FN SCAR's that are also supposed to be out any time in both 223 and 308. Like the AUG's, you can change barrells in seconds. Be carefull out there, lots of people taking advantage of the buying frenzy! Personally I would not buy any guns for profit. You would have to get real lucky to make money, not to mention Nancy would love to take them from you, and for the first time in my life I'm a little worried. That said I'm still buying!! One cold dead hand of the NSX steering wheel and the other on my AUG. What a way to go!
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..Just making sure we're talking about the same gun. i'm talking about this:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=117431397#PIC

I may still be able to get one for around 4K, though I could hae had it around $3500 a few weeks ago had I gotten off the fence... though this deal is risk.

My goal/plan was to buy two, sell one once the value goess 50%-100%.

You really think this is a waste of money?

These suckers have sold out fast, and less than a dozen still are on the market. I hear the skepticism here, but other GUN FFL and Enthusiast folks have said different things.

At th very least, they're saying b/c it's a limited edition.... with no expectation that it will come back, the price won't dip on the buying price, so I can save my money back when I sell.

You really think the guys that bought it, it will depreceaite to 1 -2K after the frenzy is over?
 
IMO, you are taking a risk. If Obama and the congress actually pass a gun control bill the value will go up dramatically until the next time we have a republican in office or until that law expires if it has an expiration. If they don't pass a gun control law, then your gun will probably lose some value or breakeven. The best time to have bought this was when obama was just starting to campaign.

Regardless if you lose money or not...if you get it, get it to enjoy it...not for profit. Very few people ever get a chance to see a class 3 weapon in person especially one that could be so rare.

Good luck and have fun!

slownsxt said:
..Just making sure we're talking about the same gun. i'm talking about this:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=117431397#PIC

I may still be able to get one for around 4K, though I could hae had it around $3500 a few weeks ago had I gotten off the fence... though this deal is risk.

My goal/plan was to buy two, sell one once the value goess 50%-100%.

You really think this is a waste of money?

These suckers have sold out fast, and less than a dozen still are on the market. I hear the skepticism here, but other GUN FFL and Enthusiast folks have said different things.

At th very least, they're saying b/c it's a limited edition.... with no expectation that it will come back, the price won't dip on the buying price, so I can save my money back when I sell.

You really think the guys that bought it, it will depreceaite to 1 -2K after the frenzy is over?
Click to expand...
 
5 years ago I went to my credit union and borrowed 20 grand to buy an HK/MP5 for sale on subguns. My plan was to try and get it paid off in 4 years. I had the signature and all the papers I needed but just could'nt force myself into a 20 thousand dollar gun no matter how bad I wanted it. I now look back and literally want to kick my on ass since it would've been paid for a year ago.:frown: So I opted for a registered Colt 9mm SBR with DOE upper assm.
 
richn001 said:
IMO, you are taking a risk. If Obama and the congress actually pass a gun control bill the value will go up dramatically until the next time we have a republican in office or until that law expires if it has an expiration. If they don't pass a gun control law, then your gun will probably lose some value or breakeven. The best time to have bought this was when obama was just starting to campaign.

Regardless if you lose money or not...if you get it, get it to enjoy it...not for profit. Very few people ever get a chance to see a class 3 weapon in person especially one that could be so rare.

Good luck and have fun!
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Obama is as much anti-gun as Bush is pro-life. It's a calculated risk.
 
First of all, keep in mind that I am NOT located in the USA :smile:

Where do or did you get the idea that the SIG 551 was only made in a limited production run.
The SIG 551 can be had for way less than the prices mentioned here in this thread. I understand that prices in the US are very high because of the assault-rifle and other legal 'bans', but, in my opinion, that doesn't necessarily mean that a rifle is suddenly worth much more in my opinion.

The SIG 551 is an excellent gun, but it is no better than many other guns.
Like someone stated above, the ergonomics are OK but not more than that. It IS very reliable and accurate and I like the clippable magazines but I wouldn't buy one myself.

Like Tanto mentioned, I still prefer the Steyr AUG. Have had mine for close to 17 years now and still love it. Even though mine is getting a bild old by now. I have an original AUG-SA, with the green stock and 20" barrel. Have won many what we call 'dynamic service rifle' matches with it I would not hesitate to trust my life with it.
Of course, that is of no concern where live though :biggrin: :biggrin:

The other rifle I have is an original Dutch Sniper FAL rifle in .308 which I like for different reasons. But lately I have been thinking about buying a DSA FAL-carbine instead and sell the sniper FAL. Would love to have a short and handy FAL rifle :smile:
 
Allright folks, I'm about to pull the trigger on this.........later in the afternoon.
Last chance to talk me out of it.

Really, I'm just concerned if the price goes down. There's 250 of them - so how can it unless something cooler, more limited comes along the way that is lower in price?
 
slownsxt said:
Allright folks, I'm about to pull the trigger on this.........later in the afternoon.
Last chance to talk me out of it.

Really, I'm just concerned if the price goes down. There's 250 of them - so how can it unless something cooler, more limited comes along the way that is lower in price?
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Guns are in big demand right now. After it is clear guns won't be seized the value will go down on all guns.
 
steveny said:
Guns are in big demand right now. After it is clear guns won't be seized the value will go down on all guns.
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..but the flip side is that there's only 250 of these.. and they all sold out within a few months. Starting prices were low $3000's and they have recently sold for high $4000s.

I have yet to find that limited good quality parts lose their value.. A 1991 NSX is still 30K, a supercharger is still 6500 - 10K... a Pheonis Gold Limited Edition Carbon Fiber amp that I just bought was still 1K - same as it was almost 10 years ago when I first had one..

Ya know?
 
Well you may not "lose" money per se, but if it doesn't appreciate then you are losing money in opportunity lost. Would you really want to tie up money in a non-appreciating asset. I think if you want it because it is your hobbie, knock yourself out and consider it a sunk cost. But if you are looking at it as an investment, I think you'll have better opportunities elsewhere.
 
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