Gun Auction

The one thing auctions do is get people to pay more than market value for an item. Once someone has decided to put money on something, an element of competitiveness combines with the fact that they start to feel like it's "theirs" (they've already half bought it...someone else is trying to take it away from them) to get their fever up and get them committing more than they "should."

It's how auctions make money -- why people don't just pick a price and put it on a "for sale" sign in the front yard.

The only time you can win at an auction is if you're bidding on something that nobody else is much interested in, and you know the market value and convince yourself to not spend more than that.

Or, if you know that item, like that item, have observed the condition of that item, and really don't care what "market value" of that item is. But you still have to decide what it's worth to you and make yourself stop bidding if the price goes higher than that.

Auctions take a certain amount of discipline. I've won a few on Gunbroker, most recently last week. I tend to bid once, the max amount I'm willing to pay. If I win, great. If not I move on. Knowing that I tend to be a little competitive, it helps me avoid letting emotion taking over.

The Blue Book is just an out-of-date, average of values from all over the U.S. with no regard for local supply and demand. It's a ball park figure in a very big ball park.
That $400 figure dates from at least 2011. (There was a discussion on another forum on the same rifle is 2011. Some guy quoted the BB listing from then.) Plus condition and chambering is everything. Add the type of barrel for a Rolling Block too.
"...to get their fever up..." Exactly what an auctioneer at a live auction does. All that gibberish they speak is to get the bidders worked up.

I went to an estate auction that had a lot of guns and gear, I had one gun in my sites and was feeling good about my chances. Until an older gentleman with a couple of teenage boys comes in, he fancied himself a gun expert and with a loud voice offered his opinion on all the guns.

Once the auction started it became clear the old guy wanted the biggest pile in the room and bought like he had very deep pockets.

I got my gun for the top end of what I valued it and the old guy impressed the kids and I witnessed what emotional buying was.

I have gotten some of my best deals at auctions, particularity farm auctions if people don'y know what they are looking at. Last score was a unsporterized Remington 03A3 with bayonet for $140. In the recent past I have scored a Norinco SKS for $185, a bring back K98 (Unfortunately it had the stock cut) for $100, another post war Czech K98 rebuild for $100, etc etc. At the auctions I go to the Marlin 30-30s, 410s, Ruger 10/22s, and anything Winchester goes high. I have picked up several milsurp bolt guns for cheap as I suspect people don't know what they are. So I think auctions are great if you know what things are worth and don't overspend. I see many modern firearms, think Remington 770, 10/22, go for more used than new due to a lack of knowledge or maybe people are just caught up in the auction.

Sunray said:

The Blue Book is just an out-of-date, average of values from all over the U.S. with no regard for local supply and demand. It's a ball park figure in a very big ball park.
That $400 figure dates from at least 2011. (There was a discussion on another forum on the same rifle is 2011. Some guy quoted the BB listing from then.) Plus condition and chambering is everything. Add the type of barrel for a Rolling Block too.
"...to get their fever up..." Exactly what an auctioneer at a live auction does. All that gibberish they speak is to get the bidders worked up.

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Do a search of Sold items on the gun auction sites and find out what the going rate is. The Blue Book is way off on most items. Under priced most of the time

If you used the Blue Book values at an auction you wouldn't buy a single gun.

I've never bought a gun at an auction because I'm not interested in paying more than the gun is worth. I'll bid one time on it and there is always someone who wants to pay more. Pretty much a waste of my time.

I have won a few auctions (actually surprised some times by the fact that no one else was bidding on the item in question), and I pretty much follow what TomJ outlined as his bidding strategy. I only bid once or twice and never go over my max bid. If I get it at my price then great; if not I move on to something else that catches my eye.

I've caught a couple of sellers bidding against me using a bogus account on Gunbroker. They are using that "competitiveness" against bidders to try and ramp up the pricing. It was easy to find as most of the positive reviews on the bogus account were from the seller.

I won't go to a local auction unless there are at least half a dozen different items I'm interested for in. Pricing at auctions can be all over the place. Usually there are a handful of people buying the majority of items and they won't let anything go too cheap. It's impossible to predict what will be a good buy versus what will go real high. Going with the same intent on getting a good deal on one specific item is usually going to end in disappointment.

Most large auction houses are now online and you will be competing against others all over the country. This really limits the chance of snagging a great deal.

It’s not what it’s worth. It’s what it’s worth to you. Deals can be had at auction. But by in large, most guns go for WAY over a “market reflective” price. Capitalism at its finest though.

One such deal I kick myself for was a JM Marlin 1895 cowboy with Octagon barrel. Probably 98-99%. I watched 9 people walk by and look at that gun....closely. I figured it would easily go for $800-$900 So I left. Danged if it didn’t go for $370.

One simple reason is if the bidder wants the firearm badly enough.
I have bid (and won) over the "retail value" of a couple of rifles that were mint because they don't come around very often in the condition those particular ones were in though ones in slightly less condition are rather abundant.
I wanted them more than the other guy/gal.
I'm seeing a lot of this with some of the Enfields that were mummy wrapped- about 10 years ago you could get one for 600-700, and now they commonly sell for 1300-1600 (and that's after they've been removed from their wrap and most if not all of the cosmoline cleaned off).
Same thing with pre-64 Winchester lever guns. If you get one looking nice enough, then it will command a far greater price than what any price guide will dictate (especially if the original box, receipt, and hang tag is still on it). Oh, I wish I would've bid on that one. Definitely a regret.
I have an unissued 03-A3 (not an arsenal rebuild, but never issued at all)- and I paid a good bit to put it in my safe.
I have a couple of Glocks, but I'll only buy a Glock if I can get it well under MSRP. And I'd never pay extra for any special colored polymer receiver, compensated slide/barrel, etc.
If I ever see a lend/lease Garand that still has significant remnants of the red pain they put on the handguards- I'll "overpay" for it.
But I draw the line at 5K for a Python. To each their own.

There’s a local auction place treat sells lots of junk. Most of it higher then retail and lots of shill bidding.

They sell 10-30 guns every two weeks - lots of Taurus, Hi-Point, shotguns. All of them go for more than you can find them in the local gun shops.

If you want a real laugh, check out the State of Wisconsin surplus auction website. Lots of confiscated guns, police glocks and shotguns and ARs. All of them going routinely for 10-20% more than they’d sell on Gunboker. And never, ever, at a price anyone on THR would pay.

The deals are there if you're patient. I've lost 8 bids on Gunbroker and won 2. Last week I came across a FNX 45 at a LGS. It was exactly what I was looking for in a night stand gun. I was going to buy a new one but found a used one in great condition on Gunbroker. There were a couple of minutes left in the bidding and I put in a $500 bid. I won it for $499. New, they go for over $700. It's in great shape, and I was at the range with it yesterday. I put over 400 rounds through it without a malfunction.

Online auctions are one thing...live auctions yet another.

I have gotten a good deal at live auctions at TWO auctions, after wasting a lot of time attending 12 Auctions. Simply not a good use of ones time, unless You truly have no life an nothing else to do.

Online auctions...Dispassionately evaluate the gun. Set a LIMIT as to what You will pay...that's it. Don't go over the limit. Once watched a buddy get into a "Who's dick is bigger" price war over a pistol. He paid almost double what it was worth....senseless. I've paid more than what I wanted to a few times, on rarely seen guns I wanted for the collection. When You need it and see one maybe every year or two...good sense goes out the window.

The online auctions from the big auction houses can be surprising at times. But be aware that they charge fees over and above the final sale price. And their packaging and shipping charges are usually high.

There are a couple of guns that have been sitting on GB for months with ridiculous opening prices on them. The seller is asking $200 more to start bids than an equal appearing gun would end up at on one of them. He keeps relisting it and never changes that opening amount, so it never sells. If he dropped it $300, he would sell it, I would bet on it, for about $100 more than the average price. Another gun has a buy it now for just a crazy price. It's a nice gun, but it's not that nice!

I was looking last week for a gun that I've wanted for a long time to go along with another one I already have. It looked great, and I have a ton of parts in case anything was wrong with it. Besides, I know how to fix anything myself too. It had a Buy It Now price that was about $200 less than similar guns were ending up on auctions for. I don't know why I didn't grab it, but I "thought about it" for an hour, and it was gone when I decided to go ahead and buy it. You have to be ready to jump on a bargain and not sit back and think on it. I didn't "need" another gun like it, I just wanted another one.

If you want online auction check out gunrunner, they start and end every month with no reserve, they have an app if using phone.

Sam1911 said:

The one thing auctions do is get people to pay more than market value for an item.

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Yes yes yes! When you go to the grocery store you don't put a bid on a box of cereal, or put a bid on a shirt at Shopko, or put a bid on a 870 Shotgun at Walmart. You just buy it.

I'm only guessing, but something like 6 or 7% of the time, you can get a gun at an auction for less than it's market value, and that's often what lures people in. I bought a used Ruger SuperBlackhawk on GB in real good condition for $365, and that was a low price, but maybe not that much lower than if I had a friend who wanted to sell one. Problem is, I had no friends who wanted to sell one. Most GB auctions I've won have ended up being fair market value. A lot I haven't won have been well above market. I saw a 3 inch S&W model 10 in avg. condition up to over $800, and there were a few days left on the auction. Crazy! And then there was the K-32 Masterpiece I posted in a thread recently that went for $6700!

Just saw a Rem No 4 at Cabelas yesterday on sale for $ 950

Missed 2 Rem 541T's NIB couple weeks ago online both sold for $ 270 each. So there are good deals out there.

The WI Suplus site has had some good deals on .22 rifles. Picked up a 580 and 521T. Last auction had a bunch of 580 series rifles that sold between $80-120. Got a good deal on 12ga slugs and buckshot in case lots for 3gun shooting. But I'm only 1-1/2 hrs away, otherwise shipping and transfers would kill the deals.

I work in maintenance in a high rise office building. I once overheard and attorney in a corner office on the phone explaining to a prospective client that his rate was $500/hour.
You never know who you are bidding against, especially in an online auction.

I have bought many weapons on online and live auctions sites for a good price. There is one time when I overpaid for a weapon where I set my max bid too high and someone ran me up to the max bid and then quit. I did learn a lesson on that one since the auction premium ate me alive there. Most of the time I look for items that someone else does not seem to want.

ford8nr said:

The WI Suplus site has had some good deals on .22 rifles. Picked up a 580 and 521T. Last auction had a bunch of 580 series rifles that sold between $80-120. Got a good deal on 12ga slugs and buckshot in case lots for 3gun shooting. But I'm only 1-1/2 hrs away, otherwise shipping and transfers would kill the deals.

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There’s the occasional deal, but this is what I see as more typical...plus 15% buyer fee