York, Pa Gun Turn-in “BuyBack” Event Nets 36 Guns

By Dean Weingarten

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- On 28 October, 2017, for two hours, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., there was a gun turn in event in York, Pennsylvania. It did not attract many people. It has been reported that 36 guns were turned in.

From ydr.com:

“I have no use for it and I just wanted to get rid of it,” he said of the Ruger. Plus, he said, he has two grandchildren and figured turning in the gun was the best way to eliminate any chance they could access the pistol.

That handgun was one of 36 guns York City Police collected over a two-hour period Friday night.

There were at least a dozen long guns. I looked at privately owned pictures of the event that are protected by copyright.

There were about 20 handguns, mostly old revolvers, turned in. At least one Colt revolver and a Smith & Wesson or two were included in the handguns turned in. Their value would have been about $400 to $600 each.  A Ruger MKI .22 was turned in. They are worth about $250.  One of the guns turned in was a starter pistol. I have been unable to identify any of the long guns, other than a single barreled shotgun and a .22 rifle. Some of the long guns appeared to have broken stocks.

100 gift cards had been purchased from The Villa shoe store. The money came from the  York County District Attorney’s office.  That would be $5,000 dollars.

It seems a little strange to purchase gift cards from only one store. It is the equivalent of giving a store money.

As only 36 guns were collected, I suspect the other gift cards will be turned back to the shoe store for a refund. The “buyback’ was only open for two hours, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

There was a private buyer at the scene. It is unknown if he was able to purchase any firearms.

From yorkdispatch.com:

Stationed next to the firehouse was a man holding a cardboard sign that read, “Consult Me First,” in an effort to attract gunowners who might want to get a fairer price than the city’s $50.

He said he was not affiliated with any gun shop, but believed some guns were likely worth more than what the city could provide. About halfway through the event, he said he had not yet had anyone stop by.

During the period of the gun turn in, there was a gun show in York, at the York County fairgrounds.  I suspect most of the guns brought in would have sold for $50 or more, cash. Certainly the Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers would have sold for hundreds.  The admission for the gun show was $8.

Gun turn in events tend to be counter productive. They are not really “buy backs” because you cannot “buy back” something that you never owned. The people turning in the guns tend to be older females who inherited the guns. They often turn in guns worth hundreds of dollars for a $50 gift card. They could as easily have taken the gun to the gun show and sold it for hundreds of dollars.

But they do not have the knowledge of how much the guns are worth. They do not take the time to do the online search to find out. If they do, they are the ones who turn in the starter pistols or the older, obsolete revolvers.

I do not know if the lone private purchaser was able to buy any of the firearms that turned up. I wish him luck. Too bad he missed that collectible Colt.

Link to article with numerous examples of private sales at gun turn in events

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.