Went to the LGS this afternoon. Just killing time. I looked over in the corner and saw the junk holster box and remembered a friend needed one for a couple of guns and ambled over for a look.
Down in the bottom I found what I was looking for, one little tiny holster for a J frame S&W and a big old fashioned pancake holster for a K frame. That is not what the friend has but it is close enough. They will fit a Ruger Security Six and a Charter Arms Undercover good enough.
I take them to the counter where the old man is sitting. He had polio as a kid so he sits most of the time. The young guy in training intercepts me and looks at the old cruddy leather.
They are stained from ink and dirt, the thumb break safeties have been removed with electric hedge clippers and various stitches are gone or about to turn lose. That is why they are in the bottom of the box!
"What'ell you give for them?" this stupid kid asks, like he is in charge of the world.
I was not born yesterday and the old man behind the desk about rolled out of his chair. He knows I am going to insult this show-flake and low ball him into submission.
"I'll give you $5 for both of them." I offer dead pan serious. "That way you don't have to move them from one box to the other for the next ten years."
If the kid had been chewing dip he would have swallowed it. He was actually shocked speechless and took a step back.
He grabbed the holsters and looked them over quickly like they were contaminated with something and stated "But these are leather!"
As serious as a heart attack I replied, "Well you should put some prices on stuff and not tell me to price it. You asked what they were worth and they are worth $5.
Old guy was out of control by now he was laughing so hard, shaking his head and pounding one of his crutches on the floor.
Young kid looks at me then looks at old guy and shakes his head, "You old guys are all the same. You think I should give stuff away!"
Old Guy stops laughing long enough to tell the kid you never let a customer price your stuff. You start that battle with a price tag marked high enough to make some money and go from there.
Young kid finally puts the holsters down and says $25, which was close to what I had anticipated so I offered $20 and took the two holsters home knowing I had provided young kid a life lesson for any trade of any sellable item.
Arriving at the house I got onto the internet and looked up the price on the holsters.
The little simple holster for the J frame sold new back before the century flipped over for $29.95. $10 was a fair price for it stained and beat to he!!.
The K frame holster was another piece of work. It is still in production and I discovered that the thumb snap was not cut off, it never had one. Beat up, covered with fish scale stamping, dyed oxblood but still looking pretty good and all the stitches holding, new price is $170.
My buddy is not getting this K frame holster, he is getting a plain slick black leather copy of it, minus the stampings and fancy work.
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