Smith and Wesson 360 Japan

[raycejones]

Hi everyone,

I want to start off by saying this is NOT a way to get around the post count for buying/selling but I do need some advice on a gun's value due to scarcity.

I have a Smith and Wesson model 360J in .38 spl. I have researched it and found that they are a little hard to come by as they are Japanese police overstock. I have been trying to sell it, but every time I do gun shops basically offer me $200 on trade by comparing it to non-360 smiths. Can someone tell me if these offers are anywhere near what I should expect?

 

[KellyinAvon]

Hi everyone,

I want to start off by saying this is NOT a way to get around the post count for buying/selling but I do need some advice on a gun's value due to scarcity.

I have a Smith and Wesson model 360J in .38 spl. I have researched it and found that they are a little hard to come by as they are Japanese police overstock. I have been trying to sell it, but every time I do gun shops basically offer me $200 on trade by comparing it to non-360 smiths. Can someone tell me if these offers are anywhere near what I should expect?

When I see "NOT a way to get around the post count..." it does get my attention.

After further review:

 

[mcapo]

Well...A dealer is going to offer you wholesale and a 360j in 38 is a pretty small market. Not saying there isn't some collector "value" but its a small niche and the earlier 357 models have a bit more marketability.

I will guess a price but it is a total WAG and would depend upon condition, box, survival model (edit: you answered that in the OP) or not, etc.

That being said....and subject to correction by someone that actually knows...I would says its within 25% of $500 as a retail price.

Getting retail? That is another topic.

and BTW - KellyInAvon gave you an unexpected break on this thread. Must be in a good mood today? Tread lightly with your follow-up posts....

 

[92FSTech]

A 360J isn't anything special. Nice guns, and I like mine, but it's just another J-Frame with a lock, and not a collector piece. IIRC I bought mine new for $415, so $200 trade-in for a used one from a shop isn't out of line.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Well...A dealer is going to offer you wholesale and a 360j in 38 is a pretty small market. Not saying there isn't some collector "value" but its a small niche and the earlier 357 models have a bit more marketability.

I will guess a price but it is a total WAG and would depend upon condition, box, survival model (edit: you answered that in the OP) or not, etc.

That being said....and subject to correction by someone that actually knows...I would says its within 25% of $500 as a retail price.

Getting retail? That is another topic.

and BTW - KellyInAvon gave you an unexpected break on this thread. Must be in a good mood today? Tread lightly with your follow-up posts....

Well you can’t spell mood without m, o, and d

 

[raycejones]

Well you can’t spell mood without m, o, and d

Super appreciative!

 

[actaeon277]

Like they said, if you're selling it at a gun store, you're going to get less.
Cause they want to turn around and sell it for a profit.

Selling private is a bit more difficult, but you'll get more.
Besides, if you sell it yourself, and no one is buying it, you can always drop the price down.
If it gets low enough, you can always go the 'gun store' route.

 

[88E30M50]

Another option would be to put it on consignment at a shop that does that. Ive sold a lot of guns that way. USDS takes 15%, which is reasonable to me. Some want 25%, which is not. With a consignment, both you and the gun shop have a vested interest in a higher price. A while back, I was letting an AR go, and the trade price offered was $300. I put it on consignment, and it sold for $700, of which I took about $600 home.

 

[Caleb8521]

I AM NOT looking to sell either of these guns or get around the post count to be allowed to sell even if I had the post count these ARE NOT FOR SALE I am just looking for information on these guns!! I’ve looked several places and I am just trying to find out any info I can on it NOT FOR SALE!! From what I’ve looked up the smith and Wesson model 360 j where made for Japanese police but my model does not have the j after the model just 360 I can’t seem to find them anywhere at all neither can I find the 357 which I have as well that is also NOT FOR SALE!! I’m just looking to get as much information about the two guns as I can

 

[Route 45]

I AM NOT looking to sell either of these guns or get around the post count to be allowed to sell even if I had the post count these ARE NOT FOR SALE I am just looking for information on these guns!! I’ve looked several places and I am just trying to find out any info I can on it NOT FOR SALE!! From what I’ve looked up the smith and Wesson model 360 j where made for Japanese police but my model does not have the j after the model just 360 I can’t seem to find them anywhere at all neither can I find the 357 which I have as well that is also NOT FOR SALE!! I’m just looking to get as much information about the two guns as I can

How much do you want for those gloves?

 

[Caleb8521]

How much do you want for those gloves?

Not for sale just looking for information on them

 

[shootersix]

Normally I tell people to check gun broker, register for a account, then look at completed auctions, then look for the same picture auctions and throw those out (those are the guys who think their stuff is made of gold), in this instance (the 360j) there’s a guy asking 1100 and it’s been listed a few times

But it looks like it’s been selling at about 575 to 600 bucks, but remember that “j” after the serial number only means something to a limited market!…me personally I don’t collect police guns, but someone who does might give you the 575-600, but in a person to person transaction I’d say 350 tops, and 200 from a dealer is about what you should expect

 

[Caleb8521]

Normally I tell people to check gun broker, register for a account, then look at completed auctions, then look for the same picture auctions and throw those out (those are the guys who think their stuff is made of gold), in this instance (the 360j) there’s a guy asking 1100 and it’s been listed a few times

But it looks like it’s been selling at about 575 to 600 bucks, but remember that “j” after the serial number only means something to a limited market!…me personally I don’t collect police guns, but someone who does might give you the 575-600, but in a person to person transaction I’d say 350 tops, and 200 from a dealer is about what you should expect

There not j models there just model 360s and I can’t find anything on my I have gun broker I’ve looked on there and I can’t find a plain 360 I have the boxes and there lnib just can’t find anything on them

 

[shootersix]

There not j models there just model 360s and I can’t find anything on my I have gun broker I’ve looked on there and I can’t find a plain 360 I have the boxes and there lnib just can’t find anything on them

 

[shootersix]

There not j models there just model 360s and I can’t find anything on my I have gun broker I’ve looked on there and I can’t find a plain 360 I have the boxes and there lnib just can’t find anything on them

In the post above those are current auctions, the pics in this post are completed auctions

 

[MrSmitty]

View attachment 314855

Now lets see...only the police have guns.....would that be a police state?.......

 

[92FSTech]

Apparently I've been sitting on a gold mine if you go by what the gunbroker sellers are asking these days. Then again, I don't buy guns to just leave them wrapped in plastic in the box, so mine probably wouldn't bring anywhere near that much anyway...it has way too much "character" from actual use. No regrets here...the 360 is too good a carry gun to let it languish in the factory packaging.

FWIW, mine says "M360J" below the S/N on the frame under the crane.

 

[shootersix]

So here’s a story, I worked in a shop for a few years, one day a guy comes in with a smith m&p9, he’s wanting to sell/trade it, I take it out and it’s got a loaded chamber indicator that pops up on the top of the barrel (like a ruger sr9) it’s got triple serial numbers (frame, slide and barrel).

So to come up with a price, I go to the distributor’s websites and try to find the sku, and nothing comes up, so I go to smith’s website and find the sku, but it doesn’t tell me anything, so I google it, and find out (from a smith and Wesson forum) it’s a contract overrun for a police department in Belgium, and that the entire overrun was bought by academy, I ask “did you buy it there?”…yep he did, so I use my detective skills…and come up with a price!…exactly the same price I’d offer for a smith and Wesson m&p 9! Because unless someone who comes in is looking for a Belgian police gun…it’s a hard sell!

Here’s another story (and the owner of the shop was standing behind me when this happened!), a guy walks in with a wooden box and a pair of white gloves, he puts on the gloves, opens the box and pulls out a California Highway Patrol edition Colt 1911, I ask what do you want for it? He replied “how much will you pay?”…I said “750”…he laughed and said I want 1500! I said “in Indiana?, you might get that in California, but not here!”, then I suggested if he wanted that, he’d do better trying to sell it online to a highway patrolman in California, and try and find a police officer forum, the owner of the shop (who was a police officer) said that’s a fair offer.

So, the moral of the story is this, you bought it, so obviously you think it’s worth what you paid for it, if you’re trying to sell it and not getting what you want…keep it, tell your friends the story, hold onto it, unless your safe is full, it ain’t taking up that much space, and shoot it, but I’d skip the 357 magnum rounds and shoot 38 special! Cause I got a feeling that 357 magnum in a j frame air weight might kick a little!

Just my 2 cents

 

[Caleb8521]

In the post above those are current auctions, the pics in this post are completed auctions

 

[Caleb8521]

So here’s a story, I worked in a shop for a few years, one day a guy comes in with a smith m&p9, he’s wanting to sell/trade it, I take it out and it’s got a loaded chamber indicator that pops up on the top of the barrel (like a ruger sr9) it’s got triple serial numbers (frame, slide and barrel).

So to come up with a price, I go to the distributor’s websites and try to find the sku, and nothing comes up, so I go to smith’s website and find the sku, but it doesn’t tell me anything, so I google it, and find out (from a smith and Wesson forum) it’s a contract overrun for a police department in Belgium, and that the entire overrun was bought by academy, I ask “did you buy it there?”…yep he did, so I use my detective skills…and come up with a price!…exactly the same price I’d offer for a smith and Wesson m&p 9! Because unless someone who comes in is looking for a Belgian police gun…it’s a hard sell!

Here’s another story (and the owner of the shop was standing behind me when this happened!), a guy walks in with a wooden box and a pair of white gloves, he puts on the gloves, opens the box and pulls out a California Highway Patrol edition Colt 1911, I ask what do you want for it? He replied “how much will you pay?”…I said “750”…he laughed and said I want 1500! I said “in Indiana?, you might get that in California, but not here!”, then I suggested if he wanted that, he’d do better trying to sell it online to a highway patrolman in California, and try and find a police officer forum, the owner of the shop (who was a police officer) said that’s a fair offer.

So, the moral of the story is this, you bought it, so obviously you think it’s worth what you paid for it, if you’re trying to sell it and not getting what you want…keep it, tell your friends the story, hold onto it, unless your safe is full, it ain’t taking up that much space, and shoot it, but I’d skip the 357 magnum rounds and shoot 38 special! Cause I got a feeling that 357 magnum in a j frame air weight might kick a little!

Just my 2 cents

The magnum loads aren’t very pleasant