I watched this auction in disbelief. A DP rifle sold for just over $600 US. I am missing something here?
US PROPERTY NO. 4 MK 1 ENFIELD RIFLE-MATCHING : Curios & Relics at GunBroker.com
Brian B
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I watched this auction in disbelief. A DP rifle sold for just over $600 US. I am missing something here?
US PROPERTY NO. 4 MK 1 ENFIELD RIFLE-MATCHING : Curios & Relics at GunBroker.com
Brian B
I guess somebody wanted a refinished NZ marked No.4 REALLY bad...
Just remember also Brian that everything is cheap ------, yesterday
"A fool and his money are soon parted." (I'm a good example of that saying!)
"There's a sucker born every minute." The above auction seems to enforce that view...
Any more cliches that y'all think will help?
How about "the customer is always right"? As Peter suggests, prices of days gone by are moot. The bottom line is if you are (like myself) attempting to build a Lee Enfield collection today you sometimes just have to suck it up. I've shuddered at the cost of some of the scarcer rifles I've purchased but some fair deals from decent people have come along as well. After all, what's the alternative- a Mosin-Nagant collection? Just kidding, I have a couple of those too and they are certainly cheap.
Ridolpho
I would agree that I have overpaid as well to fill that hole in the collection. I just amazed that someone would pay that much for a DRILL PURPOSE rifle. I could see $600 for that rifle IF it was a non-DP. I have noticed a nice increase in LE prices over the past few months. It's a good thing if we need to sell.
I have been trying to fill some holes in the collection. The No 9 is still eluding me!! And then there is the L96A1!!
Brian B
US$600.00 isn't altogether mad for a good example. But for a non-shootable, sanded, locally pitted, recently imported and even more freshly painted thing, well....
If it were not for the 21 bids I might conclude that pehaps the DP designation was not fully understood by the bidders.
Yes, H.O.H., imagine buying that thinking "DP" is some kind of desirable marking and only then typing in DP in a search on this forum! Personally I've made dumber purchases like my 23C Savage No. 4T. Bought away from home it took about 15 minutes to understand my mistake- after I got home and the vendor was on his way home 2 or 3 Provinces away. At least with online sales or auctions you can do some serious research before buying.
Ridolpho
I am fairly new to the hobby and found this site about the time my intrest in milsurps developed. Information gleened here has saved me from a few mistakes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridolpho
I'm beginning to think I'm auctioning off the wrong things..
Purchase this fine vintage piece, a 1940's warhorse, DP marked. This "Desirable Piece" will fill that niche in your collection.:dancingbanana:
I was thinking more along the line of "Double Price"...Quote:
Originally Posted by muffett.2008
It's like old convertible autos. Install a cheap new carpet and top after having giving the mass of body filler a shiny new coat of paint and you can sell a shot-out old rust-bucket for far more than any rational utility value. I remember one that was so bad the doors wouldn't open ... unless there was nobody sitting in the "cockpit"! A fact discovered after the new owner had paid for his toy .Quote:
Originally Posted by Anzac15
So...Tart up your old beaters (that have some desirable feature like "matching numbers") and make a fortune. Just don't expect repeat customers.
I'm sort of concerned for the wider world now that a fellow has overpaid for a DP rifle. After cleaning and rummaging up some ammo, I think he's headed to the range. No one knows why it was marked DP or if it is safe to fire. Gulp!
I just can't believe that! You can see the pitting on the rearsight and other areas, which has been just painted over, and the paint or whatever it is was clearly applied after the import as the import marks are covered up--not even like one can say it was "painted for parade ground use by the Royal Foot Guard of New Zealand" or something like that. There is a gawd-awful coating of some sort of shiny s*** on the stock, and the stock seems to have been sanded. I guess from a distance it's a pretty enough looking rifle, but $600!
Still, when one looks at the so-called "Russian capture" black painted electropencil forcematched shellacked German K98ks, which are now priced at about $600, or the CRAZY prices people are paying for mixmaster Franken-Garands, maybe it's all of a piece. Makes me feel better about the value of the contents of my gun safe. Of course, when I sold my mismatched 1913 dated Enfield SMLE a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't find someone who wanted to pay more than $375............. maybe it's a location thing? Or the lure of a US made Lee-Enfield?
Ed
It seems that the wide audience provided by the internet drives prices much higher than they go locally. My most recent anecdotal evidence of this is a Mk 7 bayonet purchased for $75 locally when they are normally north of $200 on e-bay.
I haven't got a clue to what a DP rifle is worth, even if it's a NZ marked one but I'm a firm believer that there is a place in ANY Enfield collection for a DP rifle. It is what it is/are what they are, a 'real' training aid. Although I'd prefer to see an L59 in a collection.
Now there's a thought......... Maybe someone ought to put an L59 on the auction, see what it fetches then reproduce some more (simplicity itself.......) converted/culled from old worthless ex sporters. If I was living in the US noiw and had access to some of this old sporterised tat, this is what I'd be doing
Strewth Peter, stop putting ideas into their heads.:banghead:
You are only dirty with P the P:thup: because he thought of it before you. :D Not enough No4s here to do the job any way.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by muffett.2008
Last two I saw for sale the seller was asking $475 and $495 and neither of them sold. I was able to land two a few years back for under $175 each. Don't see them for sale too often!Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Laidler