I think you nailed it, I just paid $35 each for a 20 ga 2 3/4" Deluxe, same in 16 ga and a set of tools for 10 ga, no shot dipper, a few weeks ago. Any more and I'd have walked away. I also paid $20 for a set of tools for 444 Marlin, no box, no load chart, and missing the capper rod. In retrospect, walking away may have been a smarter option.Ranch Dog wrote:Kits that are still in production would be worth something less than the current retail of a new kit. You can check what kits of a specific caliber have sold for on eBay by using the "Advanced" search and selecting "Completed" auctions/sales.
Overall, I would say that the prices have gotten soft for a lot of the kits. Collectors drove the prices, not actual reloaders, and many don't have the money they once did.
Probably the most valuable kit right now is the 12 Gauge 3" if it is the small kit $55 to $65 depending on how the condition compares with the similar kits listed. If it is the complete kit, in the long box, about $15 more.
Kits with near-obsolete cartridges, like the 6mm Rem, are not selling well at all. About $20 to $25. One very nice kit only sold for $15.
These amounts are about ¾ of what they were selling for eighteen months ago.
I've sold a few sets over the years, for some of the odd and discontinued sets you can charge a bit more, if there is some demand. I have a 458 Win Mag set that will probably never sell, so I've started robbing parts from it. Same with a 220 Swift set and and a 300 Weatherby set. So glad none of those were a big investment.
Neat tools, but truthfully every time I use a set, I ask myself, why, there are better options.
IMO, the 410 set is the grail, not too hard to sell a 410 set. I think I have a wad guide, was with a 12 ga set I bought.