Where can I sell my airsoft guns? How should I sell them so people actually buy them?
These are pretty common questions in the airsoft community.
Airsoft can be a rather expensive hobby, especially when you keep on buying new airsoft guns to expand your collection or to improve your battle performance.
The good news is that you can always recoup a part of your initial expenses by selling the airsoft guns you no longer use.
Just keep in mind, however, that used airsoft guns are a lot like used cars—once they’re no longer brand new, their prices drop precipitously.
The Ideal Way
In a perfect world, you can introduce a friend to airsoft.
At first, they’ll probably go with rented weapons why you use your reliable customized weapons. They then realize that your weapons are superior to theirs.
Of course, you can then sell them your weapon when you decide to upgrade to a new one. You can even get a nice price.
In the Real World
Of course, things aren’t that easy in real life. In fact, your buddy might just find better deals elsewhere, so you need to go elsewhere as well.
So, what should you do? Here are some tips that can help:
Post Your Ads Online
Selling used airsoft guns is much like selling any other item. You go to the old standby buy & sell online platforms and sell your stuff.
These will include:
- eBay
- craigslist
- Local classifieds
- Airsoft forums and message boards
Go online and check various airsoft websites, and see if they have a message board and forum, or even a classified ads section.
If you’re selling an entry-level airsoft gun that’s still in terrific shape, eBay is most likely your best bet.
But for highly customized weapons, you may find the forums as a better platform. These people will know what you’re talking about when you describe the various upgraded components.
Alternative Selling Platforms
You should still check around town to see if you can sell your airsoft items to locals:
- Some local police departments like to buy airsoft weapons for training.
- You may want to find commercial airsoft fields and see if they want to buy your weapons. They can then rent your weapons to their customers, or they may sell your weapon directly to them.
Set a Reasonable Price
The most common reason why a used airsoft gun won’t sell is because the price is just too high.
So set a price that’s about half of what you originally paid for it. Sometimes you may even have to go with ⅓ the original price.
Use Great Pictures
As they say, pictures are worth a thousand words.
- Put in lots of good pictures with your ads.
- Make sure your weapon is clean and shiny when you take the pictures.
- Upload the photos to Photobucket or similar sites so that the pics can show up on screen.
- Use a good camera, and not just the camera on your cheap smartphone.
- Take your pictures with excellent lighting. Take a picture of it outside, on a sunny day.
Additional Tips
Your ads should also have the following:
- If potential customers post questions, answer them.
- Post a video (or a link of your YouTube video) of the gun in action. This tells people that it works, and that’s it’s accurate.
- Put in all the specs.
- If you’ve upgraded the weapon, list all the upgrades. Mention the brands for the parts, along with the specs for these parts.
- Describe how long you’ve used the gun and how frequently.
- Describe how each upgrade helped to improve the weapon.
- Mention if a pro put in the upgrades.
- For customized guns, mention the original prices of each upgraded components. That way, customers will realize how much of a bargain they’re getting.
Conclusion
Wait for a few weeks, and if it doesn’t sell, reduce the price slightly.
Of course, you don’t have to sell your airsoft guns. You can always gift them to your kids, nephews, nieces, and friends.
Making money is one thing, but converting new airsoft fans is priceless!