Joe Salter

There have been a number of items fron Joe's inventory recently posted here. His photo arrays are superb. If you know what to look for, there aren't going to be any surprises. Ad. copy is, well, flowery? And not necessarily as accurate as would be expected? Not as helpful as the photos? And the prices.... Makes me feel better about everything I have ever bought, and pessimistic about ever buying anything again, if these prices represent the future. There is nothing wrong with charging and expecting to pay a premium for an exceptional piece. Joe certainly isn't shy when he prices his items. I would really like to know if items actually sell for these prices. I would dearly like to know who is paying these prices; might want to sell them some stuff.

Exceptional pieces can sell for exceptional prices. With the power of the internet, the markets have gone from whoemever walks through the shop/show, to world wide exposure where the one guy who must have the piece for his collection and is tired of waiting for one to show up. I know I have paid dearly for some of my holy grails.

Were it not for the couple of dealers who seem to lead the pack in the pricing on this stuff, I am sure Longbranch Enfields would still be $125, and Liberator pistols would be $69.

I guess my only comment about Mr. Salter is that he plunders all of the milsurp rifles from Canada that he can and takes them stateside so even if you wanted to pay the price you can't buy any of the milsurps....which were Canadian to begin with.

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Originally Posted by Dante

I guess my only comment about Mr. Salter is that he plunders all of the milsurp rifles from Canada that he can and takes them stateside so even if you wanted to pay the price you can't buy any of the milsurps....which were Canadian to begin with.

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Joe does sell some milsurps in Canada and has ads in Canadian Access but he is a busisnessman and knows where the market is for a lot of stuff and it is not here.

Trouble is some shops are using his site as a "guide" when pricing stuff up here. Then they wonder why the stuff just sits on the rack. Fact is, "word of mouth" and endless gunshow trips are still best/cheapest way to build a collection. Business man yeah, but Salter can stay where he is IMHO.
Geoff in Victoria

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Originally Posted by Dante

I guess my only comment about Mr. Salter is that he plunders all of the milsurp rifles from Canada that he can and takes them stateside so even if you wanted to pay the price you can't buy any of the milsurps....which were Canadian to begin with.

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Good point you have there...he's plundering the country of milsurps...and we wonder why they're not so easy to find...

Joe was no different than a lot of Canadian "collectors" and I use the term loosely. Once registration started, the people in it for the "dollar" shipped everything they could to the US for top dollar. Collectors my ***....in it for the dollar. If tomorrow my collection is worth nothing, I look at it as if it was expensive scotch....I had the pleasure of owning or more correctly being a caretaker of some of history. We can never own history, we are just temporary caretakers. Met some great people on the way, and made some lifelong friends, and also met a number of people that I hope never to run into again. However, it may end, it has been an interesting road, and just remember that in the "new world order" we probably will be the last generation to own firearms in the quantity and types that we now do (eg: MG's semi auto rifles, short (prohibited pistols...over 50% of pistols are now prohibited under Canada's current gun laws) so just think about it.....You are in it for the collection or the dollars...not both. Some people help maintain their collection, but many have no focus other than the $$$$$$$$$$. You see some in other gun boards with 150 and 250 trades...they are just dealers without licenses and if something has 10 cents in excess value it is bought and sold.... What is a collector...sometimes it takes a long look in the mirror and see if you fit....

A lot of my buying and selling is just to trade up to guns I want more than what I have, and trying to subsidize expensive buys that I couldn't otherwise manage...funds aren't unlimited for most of us, plus we have to keep the wife somewhat happy by not totally draining the funds...

I'm proud of the Canadian rifles I've accumulated in a short time...I love them all. Anything I've sold is still in Canada. The LB .22 1944 I recently got was traded to me because I'm keeping it in the country as a Canadian collector, and I take that seriously.

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Originally Posted by wheaty

Joe was no different than a lot of Canadian "collectors" and I use the term loosely. Once registration started, the people in it for the "dollar" shipped everything they could to the US for top dollar. Collectors my ***....in it for the dollar. If tomorrow my collection is worth nothing, I look at it as if it was expensive scotch....I had the pleasure of owning or more correctly being a caretaker of some of history. We can never own history, we are just temporary caretakers. Met some great people on the way, and made some lifelong friends, and also met a number of people that I hope never to run into again. However, it may end, it has been an interesting road, and just remember that in the "new world order" we probably will be the last generation to own firearms in the quantity and types that we now do (eg: MG's semi auto rifles, short (prohibited pistols...over 50% of pistols are now prohibited under Canada's current gun laws) so just think about it.....You are in it for the collection or the dollars...not both. Some people help maintain their collection, but many have no focus other than the $$$$$$$$$$. You see some in other gun boards with 150 and 250 trades...they are just dealers without licenses and if something has 10 cents in excess value it is bought and sold.... What is a collector...sometimes it takes a long look in the mirror and see if you fit....

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Funds are not unlimited to most of us, and what you are doing is what most "collectors" do...You have a focus on the Lee Enfields or British and Canadian arms.... We all buy a collection or two just for one piece and then have to scuttle and sell the rest before the wife finds out that we spend three times the monthly grocery bill on 10 pieces,and only wanted one or two but that IS collecting. Nor cherry picking for the US market. Do YOU see a collector in the mirror ??? I'm currently selling off a pile of kit that has been around here for so long some of it was new when I bought it and now an antique...:-)## However, it was part of a collection at one time, but things do move on.

Since Joe is a Dealer, he only pays 50 to 60 % of what it is worth, as he has to make a profit.

Why anyone would sell to a dealer is beyond me as it's a Lose-Lose proposition for you and a Win-Win proposition for the dealer. Like trading in a car, you only get Wholesale Price.