2020 K98 Prices?

[BishopofBling]

I recently just purchased a K98 for $1100, it's a Byf 44 f block. Everything appears to match besides the firing pin which has a serial number on it while the safety and striker piece is unnumbered by the looks of it. I assume the previous owner lost the original firing pin and the flag safety as well as the striker piece and got a replacement. I have not pulled it out of the wood yet to check if the wood stock matches but it appears period correct so I wouldn't be surprised if it matched. There's also no import mark anywhere so I assume this could either be a GI bring back or a very early import. At some point I may post some pics on here when I have the time so you guys can see it.

The reason why I'm mentioning the above isn't to brag or anything as Byf 44s aren't super rare but I got the K98 collectors bug and while looking at more of them the prices are all over the place. I can't seem to make heads or tails of what K98s are worth. I think I'm getting better at spotting fakes and telling if a rifle is correct so I don't get scammed but I don't really know how to value them if you know what I mean. Prices have changed a lot over the years but is there a general rule of thumb for what K98s are going for? Could someone list general price ranges for the different K98s you'll find. For example, Non-import marked total mismatched vs a matching numbers vs an import marked mismatch etc.

 

[R.W. Parker]

Judging by what some people have paid for the blatant forgeries that have been exposed by the fellows on this forum, I'd say the old adage is truer than ever: "Things are worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them."

Two other sayings I used to hear from dealers at the shows:

"I wish I could buy those for the Blue Book price!"

"I wish I could sell those for the Blue Book price!"

Merry Christmas!

Richie

 

[sprat]

I suggest you slow down and start re-reading the older post here, first to answer your own questions about your rifle and you will get a feel for what actual collectible firearms sell for, NOT shooters shooter are never worth collectibles no matter how much you clean that rifle, I will know if its been shooter. also there are two markets the gun auction prices and the actual price

sort of like walking into a gun show and seeing a luger in a case for $ 1,500.00, but your buddy has a beat up shooter with mis matched parts its worth $ 500-600 to a dealer even less

there is a difference between collecting and accumulating and shooting, you need to decide

 

[Warrior1354]

Well that's a big question right there but if your just sticking with collectable rifles prices are all over the price.

A nice byf44 that is all matching, original, and nice will cost close to $1800-$2000.

But collecting anything K98k there are so many variations.

For one I like early Gustloff and Erma/Feima about any Erma or Feima produced K98k rifle are going to be expensive either on gunbroker, auction, or from a collector. You just don't see nice 27, AX, 337 coded rifles nice and original coming up for sale. If your lucky you will find one at an estate sale or a show but remember other collectors are looking for them too. Have to be quick at the shows!

Very scarce rifles like S/147k, BSW, bcd with MG15 barrel or others will start at $4000-$6000 sometimes much more depending on how much some body wants it. I would call those pieces grail rifles when they come up for sale many collectors have been hunting for them and many want them!

Some of the coolest and best priced K98k rifles are the depot/reworks so many different variations but you can find them for good prices most of the time. Most collectors or dealers don't know what they are half the time and sometimes you can get them for well under what their true value are. I know I have.

I could explain more but this would take alot of pages of info. Best advise stick around and learn, trust me knowledge is valuable in this field and making friends is an even bigger plus in the k98k field. I have forged long lasting friendship with many members here who have gone out of the way to help me.

 

[BishopofBling]

Well that's a big question right there but if your just sticking with collectable rifles prices are all over the price.

A nice byf44 that is all matching, original, and nice will cost close to $1800-$2000.

But collecting anything K98k there are so many variations.

For one I like early Gustloff and Erma/Feima about any Erma or Feima produced K98k rifle are going to be expensive either on gunbroker, auction, or from a collector. You just don't see nice 27, AX, 337 coded rifles nice and original coming up for sale. If your lucky you will find one at an estate sale or a show but remember other collectors are looking for them too. Have to be quick at the shows!

Very scarce rifles like S/147k, BSW, bcd with MG15 barrel or others will start at $4000-$6000 sometimes much more depending on how much some body wants it. I would call those pieces grail rifles when they come up for sale many collectors have been hunting for them and many want them!

Some of the coolest and best priced K98k rifles are the depot/reworks so many different variations but you can find them for good prices most of the time. Most collectors or dealers don't know what they are half the time and sometimes you can get them for well under what their true value are. I know I have.



I could explain more but this would take alot of pages of info. Best advise stick around and learn, trust me knowledge is valuable in this field and making friends is an even bigger plus in the k98k field. I have forged long lasting friendship with many members here who have gone out of the way to help me.

Part of the reason why I joined this forum was because of the wealth of knowledge on here and collectors communities are generally very helpful. I have some collectors books so I can get educated as well. The only downside with collectors books is that they only teach you how to identify if something is original or correct or rarity not valuation.

I do know of the rarer models such as the BCDs with the MG15 barrels or the SS contract BNZ guns. But, I mean like general rule of thumb for run of the mill K98s. What's the price range for say a numbers matching '43 or a GI bringback bolt mismatch. I try to use GB to gauge prices but it seems that bidding wars over inflate the value so its not too accurate and local K98s are few and far between so prices are all over the place. You got guys sometimes asking close to $1,000 for a RC which is absurd. I've been trying to eye either a dot or dou or a BCD 4 but I don't know what's the price range so to speak. Basically the minimum price being no numbers matching and the maximum price of an all matching original.

Judging by your price estimate for an all original Byf 44 I don't think I did too bad with my purchase.

 

[morticianman1990]

I think what you paid for your rifle wasn't a bad deal at all. From what I've seen in the past couple years it's hard to find a K98k being sold for less than around $700 and those are reworks or complete missmatch rifles. Nicer bolt missmatch or small missmatchs will fluctuate around $1000-1500 and matching rifles start appearing around $1500. There are always deals to be had, and rare variations and codes which are worth a lot more than $1500 but you can get a feel for those after seeing what people are posting them and selling them more. The super rare stuff that doesn't get sold often is kind of the old adage mentioned above. Search and post a WTB ad and if someone wants to sell one whatever number they say you'll have to determine if it's worth it to you.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[heavy_mech]

For one I like early Gustloff and Erma/Feima about any Erma or Feima produced K98k rifle are going to be expensive either on gunbroker, auction, or from a collector. You just don't see nice 27, AX, 337 coded rifles nice and original coming up for sale. If your lucky you will find one at an estate sale or a show but remember other collectors are looking for them too. Have to be quick at the shows!

These were my first love and quest. Expect a knife fight in most cases. They were very well finished and since they made all (mostly) their own parts they're very easy to validate. Seems they still hold lots of collector interest both from serious and casual collectors.

Very scarce rifles like S/147k, BSW, bcd with MG15 barrel or others will start at $4000-$6000 sometimes much more depending on how much some body wants it. I would call those pieces grail rifles when they come up for sale many collectors have been hunting for them and many want them!

This is where it gets crazy and part of what makes it so hard to say "what is a Nazi rifle worth". These pieces can represent a huge danger zone too. Since they're so scare and desirable fraudsters exploit this. Sadly it's more common to see a blantant fake sell for huge money on Gunbonker than a genuine example.

Some of the coolest and best priced K98k rifles are the depot/reworks so many different variations but you can find them for good prices most of the time. Most collectors or dealers don't know what they are half the time and sometimes you can get them for well under what their true value are. I know I have.

I don't really have to expand on this much but Jordan is right in that if you have a sharp eye and understand these (NOT an easy task) they can represent a great opportunity for a value buy and even putting it to some of the turd dealers since many really don't think they are original or correct.

 

[Warrior1354]

There is not doubt you can get a matching scarce coded K98k rifle for well under what their worth I know I have. The best deal I got was the 1940 660 it had a few issues with it but the price tag of under $300, and that was back in 2014. Over the years I have picked up many different K98k rifles on auctions and at shows my favorite still, is the 1939 337. That was at the Indy 1500 show and dealers hated the price for what it was but they had no clue how rare it was. Knowledge is so powerful in this collecting field. Sure anyone can throw butt loads of money at an all matching BSW K98k rifle for $8000 at Rock island but is it matching, did they see it person, are the fonts correct, is it a restoration, etc.

Still the best deals are done between friends but you can still get lucky at the shows if you know what your looking at. Remember always look over something a keen eye is very important. That's how I found these beauty's in the last year, and that was Gunbroker which is hard to do these days.

Not K98k rifles but a captured rework R35 French carbine that is marked for a German depot and Gew98m rebarreled with a Simson replacement barrel plus LK5 marked on the stock. Sure they don't hold the same title as the K98k but they were both WWII veterans and were used.

 

[BishopofBling]

I don't really have to expand on this much but Jordan is right in that if you have a sharp eye and understand these (NOT an easy task) they can represent a great opportunity for a value buy and even putting it to some of the turd dealers since many really don't think they are original or correct.

That's kind of where the problem lies for me. Let's say hypothetically I can accurately assess a rifle is original and its rarity, the problem is, how do I know I'm over paying? Just last week someone offered me the price on a mid war K98 but none of the furniture was correct. The wood stock and barrel band didn't match as they were an early war type and the only thing that matched was the bolt to itself. I didn't bother checking the rest of the parts if they were matching as the owner was saying the rifle would cost me over $2,000. Granted, it wasn't import marked, came with a winter trigger, and I assume but I didn't look too deep into it to verify; an original bayonet, frog, scabbard and sling. But even with all that I figured the rifle would be worth at most $2,000 and that's really pushing it.

It seems that the very rare rifles are going to be hard to gauge as they are so rare that it really boils down to how much someone is willing to pay. But for standard original K98s, you can more accurately asses value since you can more easily turn it down and find a better deal elsewhere just like how I did with the rifle above. Unless, of course, you really want that particular rifle. It's just hard for me to walk into a gun shop and after I verify that a rifle is original to the best of my abilities and then putting a price on it. Basically being able to know what's a fair price to pay?

 

[BishopofBling]

There is not doubt you can get a matching scarce coded K98k rifle for well under what their worth I know I have. The best deal I got was the 1940 660 it had a few issues with it but the price tag of under $300, and that was back in 2014. Over the years I have picked up many different K98k rifles on auctions and at shows my favorite still, is the 1939 337. That was at the Indy 1500 show and dealers hated the price for what it was but they had no clue how rare it was. Knowledge is so powerful in this collecting field. Sure anyone can throw butt loads of money at an all matching BSW K98k rifle for $8000 at Rock island but is it matching, did they see it person, are the fonts correct, is it a restoration, etc.

Still the best deals are done between friends but you can still get lucky at the shows if you know what your looking at. Remember always look over something a keen eye is very important. That's how I found these beauty's in the last year, and that was Gunbroker which is hard to do these days.

Not K98k rifles but a captured rework R35 French carbine that is marked for a German depot and Gew98m rebarreled with a Simson replacement barrel plus LK5 marked on the stock. Sure they don't hold the same title as the K98k but they were both WWII veterans and were used.

That is an interesting rifle it's like a mini Lebel 1886.

Now that is a good deal holy smokes. Even in 2014 I'd think getting any original K98 for sub-$300 is an amazing deal. It sounds like you stole that thing.

 

[BishopofBling]

I think what you paid for your rifle wasn't a bad deal at all. From what I've seen in the past couple years it's hard to find a K98k being sold for less than around $700 and those are reworks or complete missmatch rifles. Nicer bolt missmatch or small missmatchs will fluctuate around $1000-1500 and matching rifles start appearing around $1500. There are always deals to be had, and rare variations and codes which are worth a lot more than $1500 but you can get a feel for those after seeing what people are posting them and selling them more. The super rare stuff that doesn't get sold often is kind of the old adage mentioned above. Search and post a WTB ad and if someone wants to sell one whatever number they say you'll have to determine if it's worth it to you.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

That's kind of what I'm looking for, just a general rule of thumb for prices on K98s I may come across. I do strongly agree that the super rare stuff is basically whatever you're willing to pay for it so it's hard to put an exact price on those.

Basically, if I'm getting an all matching original non-rare K98 for below $1,500 then that's considered a pretty good deal.

 

[heavy_mech]

..the owner was saying the rifle would cost me over $2,000.

Yeah hard pass. Some owners have convinced themselves their rare 'gem' is worth way more than it actually is. All the wood is wrong and it's got a 'winter trigger'? $2k?

How about this with the lower value being maybe 'combat carried' condition or with a small wart and the higher end being really correct and in higher condition? I hate doing 'values' but here goes. I'll also say rarity and condition rule in all cases.

RC (400-maybe 900)
Stock mismatch (700-1200)
Bolt mismatch (700-1500+) with lower being really wrong bolt and higher being correct type, matching patina and a higher end rifle
Matching original (1200-2000+) lower end would be common code in good servicable condition up to higher grade and scarcity.
Top tier (2000-?)

Obviously they can be found for lower (especially if you're lucky and/or really diligent but I think this could be a fair guideline for retail purchases. Overhyped junk is all over the place so taking a sellers word for it has associated risks. Take some of the GB and aukshun 'sales' with a grain of salt as maybe of those with crazy prices either never consumate or are immediately relisted.

 

[sombra]

I rarely/never see a nice matching rifle for less than $1800, any code.

 

[morticianman1990]

That's kind of what I'm looking for, just a general rule of thumb for prices on K98s I may come across. I do strongly agree that the super rare stuff is basically whatever you're willing to pay for it so it's hard to put an exact price on those.

Basically, if I'm getting an all matching original non-rare K98 for below $1,500 then that's considered a pretty good deal.

Glad I could help! Those are the general numbers I keep in my head and everyone's numbers will be a little different. You can see heavy mech and I have pretty similar valuations for things with a lot of overlap. I feel that if you can get a matching rifle for $1500 or even less you're at the very least not getting ripped off, and probably getting a good deal in my opinion.

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[heavy_mech]

I rarely/never see a nice matching rifle for less than $1800, any code.

I hear this a lot and I feel you. Large auction houses, auctions with an internet footprint and Nazi dealers you'll basically NEVER see this. Part of the trick is not paying 4 or 6K for an obviously bad rifle yet we see laughably bad 'sales' (for the buyer) on a near weekly basis. Lately a few of the semi-annual auctions have produced really high realized prices, even before the premium.

 

[BishopofBling]

Yeah hard pass. Some owners have convinced themselves their rare 'gem' is worth way more than it actually is. All the wood is wrong and it's got a 'winter trigger'? $2k?

It was apparently an original winter trigger like this:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ww2-german-wehrmacht-k98-rifle-winter-457210397

Not the oversized winter trigger guard you'll find on post war Czech rifles. Regardless, I thought the rifle by itself was worth at most $1,000 as all of the parts were original but not correct and the only thing matching was the bolt to itself. The accessories were definitely not worth over $1,000.

I couldn't verify the originality of the accessories as well so that gave me another reason to pass. A general rule of thumb I follow is if I don't know much about it then I'll pass unless the deal is really, really good.

 

[Bob in OHIO]

Pricing is tricky....

https://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?38836-Price-Setting-is-tricky&highlight=pricing

 

[heavy_mech]

It was apparently an original winter trigger..

Not the oversized winter trigger guard you'll find on post war Czech rifles.

Ah I see. Glad to see you understand the difference because usually it's the other way around with this 'feature'. I often can't tell if the sellers are just dishonest or clueless regarding those postie Czech pieces.

 

[heavy_mech]

Pricing is tricky....

That's an interesting chart. One way to tell based on the price point is how fast it sells... or doesn't. When your WTS lasts in minutes it was well priced and well bought. There's a site champ here and probably has 7 of 10 fastest sales....