Import stamps & values?

[J.G.C.]

I was wondering what the effect Import Stamps have on the value of a gun? Does it have no effect, or will it devalue the gun by a certain percentage? Thanks Jon

[dhunter93]

I was wondering what the effect Import Stamps have on the value of a gun? Does it have no effect, or will it devalue the gun by a certain percentage? Thanks Jon

How bad of a hit all depends on how rare the firearm is..If it's a rebuilt and mismatched M1 carbine or Garand there is almost no hit at all because although they are great guns, the collector value is low because they are mismatched; so a $500 gun stays a $500 gun regardless of an import mark. Now lets say it's a rare one like a matching G41 or Navy luger, in this case an import mark kills a lot of the value because serious collectors will not touch it. So a $7500 G41 could end up being a $4,000-$5,000 gun because of an import mark..

[Jason]

I was wondering what the effect Import Stamps have on the value of a gun? Does it have no effect, or will it devalue the gun by a certain percentage? Thanks Jon

Jon,
I would not have a gun with an import stamp in my collection.

[SMG]

Jon, it is just another part of a weapons history and as stated earlier it depends on how rare. But i'd bet it would be different if all milsurps had Import stamps then i would guess no collectors would have any guns in their collections.

[Ronnie Fry]

I have two or three import marked guns in my aggregation. Because, as mentioned above, they are uncommon or rare in ANY condition.
The marks on a collectable piece, IMHO, do devalue the item. No question about it.

r

[jtb1967]

I'd rather have them without the import mark, but for most common things like the run of the mill 91/30, it doesn't seem to make much difference. I collect because I enjoy having them, so I don't loose too much sleep over import marks.

[mjones]

I don't have any import marked pistols in my 34 Axis pistols but do have one RC import marked K98k. The remainer of my K98ks and G33/40 are not import marked. Not all are matching either, 4 are bolt miss matched and 2 are restored sporters that were originally vet bring backs, so they have a miss matched stock.

Mike

[MauserKar98k]

An import mark won't ever keep a firearm out of my collection, except if it is one of those newer, huge dot matrix import marks. Those just are too horrible looking to ignore.

[Matt Weber]

Very good question here. In the past, import markings on a firearm really hurt the value of the gun. I would say it almost cut it in half! (say a $800 P38, would be a $400 P38).

However, I have noticed a trend in recent years, that the collecting market has been more acceptable to the import marked firearms. And that the values of these import marked guns has rose gradually.
This is mainly due to the fact, as mentioned above, that several firearms (or variations), have become almost impossible to find without an import marking. Therefore collectors have accepted certain import marked guns into thier collections for the sake of completing a collection. (Example: try finding an "AC No date" P38 these days without an import mark!?)

BUT......(there's always a "but" right?) even though import guns have become more accepted in the current market, they will never hold the same value as a non-import gun. (example: you have 2 P38s. Both are "AC42" Walthers, both are all matching, both in 95% condition. One is import marked, while the other one is not. The non-import one will always be worth more!)

Matt