Seattle Gun Buyback Exceeds Expectations, Blows Through $118,000 in Under Three Hours

[Decoy of Fenris]

41. Isn't that the point of a gun buyback?

Gun buyback: Sell guns here for preset prices. Guns are off the street and a consumer made a profit.

You have to remember something, mate. Guns, like anything else, are commodities. There are folks who bulk-bought AR-15s, pre-Sandy Hook, essentially waiting for them to appreciate in value. Those same people earned back 400-500% on each gun thanks to the current gun-rush; gun speculators, if you will. It's similar to the stock market, but in firearms.

As a personal anecdote, I picked up a Mosin Nagant not too very long ago for forty bucks. The same gun is worth around a hundred and ten to the right casual buyer, but because it's matched (and the seller didn't check the stamping), it's worth significantly more than that. Likewise, there are people that bulk-buy Mosins and kitbash them to be worth more than they bought them for. It's as much an industrial as a commercial venture.


In regards to the buyback; We semi-recently had a buyback up here that guaranteed freedom from prosecution regarding any firearm turned in. Likewise, the Seattle buyback was, to my knowledge, "no questions asked". It's basically a "Get out of jail free", if you can offload your firearm there. I thought that was common practice for buybacks.


In regards to legality; So long as you have a guy with an FFL, selling broken/damaged/unworkable firearms for a profit is perfectly legal. Even if it wasn't, what's your problem with it? Guns are getting off the street. Isn't that the point?