Secondary Gun Market Seems to Be Doing Well

New guns aren’t cheap. Firearms, however, are durable goods that can last generations if well cared for. I mean, I’ve got a semi-auto .22 that was my great-grandfather’s. I don’t know if it shoots anymore because they stopped making the ammo for it ages ago, but if I could find some, I bet it would run fine. That’s how a good gun works.

So, used guns are a great source of firearms for many of us. My Taurus revolver was a pawn shop buy. The CZ-75B that I’ve gifted to my son recently was as well. My Glock technically was, though it was new, and I don’t count it as such because it wasn’t on the secondary market.

And it seems the secondary market for firearms is doing pretty well these days.

We Buy Guns has released its August 2026 Secondary Firearms Market Report, providing a first-party look at firearm offer activity, completed purchases, category trends and regional participation observed through the company’s nationwide purchasing platform.

August produced the highest firearm offer volume recorded in 2026. We Buy Guns issued 2,047 offers representing $1,054,408 in total offer value. The company also completed 702 firearm purchases and paid $383,513 to sellers during the month. Compared with July, offer volume increased 1.9%, while completed purchase volume declined 6.0%. August nevertheless produced the second-highest monthly purchase total of 2026.

…

Key findings from the August 2026 report include:

• Handguns accounted for 63.0% of firearm offers and 65.8% of completed purchases.
• Rifles represented 27.3% of offers and 25.1% of purchases.
• Smith & Wesson led manufacturer activity with 224 submissions and 92 completed purchases.
• The Glock 43X was the most frequently submitted and purchased model, with 16 submissions and eight completed purchases.
• Texas generated the highest submission volume, while Indiana led completed purchases.
• Machine guns represented just 0.5% of offers but averaged $5,800; three completed purchases totaled $55,500.

This is not a slam-dunk, definitive read on the secondary market. This is what We Buy Guns is seeing and doing. Let’s keep that in mind, because while they’re saying things are good, that doesn’t mean it’s great everywhere.

But since these kinds of numbers aren’t really kept, it’s hard to say.

We know that at least some of the monthly NICS checks are for used firearms, but we don’t know which are and aren’t, nor would I want them to keep track of that.

We also know that things ain’t cheap. Inflation is still a thing, and there isn’t a lot of positive movement on bringing it down so our grocery bill doesn’t require a homeowner’s line of credit.

So, if you want a gun, the secondary market is a cheaper alternative than buying new. So long as a gun was taken care of, it’s a good way to get a quality firearm at a better price. As it is, the margins on gun sales aren’t that great for your local store, but they can work out better for everyone by going used if possible.

It’s something to watch as we move deeper and deeper into this less-than-stellar economy.

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