Auctions and overpaying

Gunbroker.com is a great place, but can have auctions that end up going for more than what you are bidding on is worth!

I could see it, IF you're bidding on a really rare piece, but IMPE, this seems to rarely
happen. If it's that rare, you only have to buy it once...

Dibbs said:

I could see it, IF you're bidding on a really rare piece, but IMPE, this seems to rarely
happen. If it's that rare, you only have to buy it once...

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I agree, but sometimes the small stuff can go for more than it should, than add in the shipping cost gives you the wow factor!

Got to do your research before the sale. Set your limits. I always go with the attitude that there isn't anything at the sale that I absolutley can't live without. Have gotten some pretty good deals over the years. Have gone home empty handed from alot of sales to. It's ok to keep the money in your pocket for another time.

i've attended numerous live auctions. Watched two guys dual over a broken Dillon loading machine. The winner paid $200 above the price of an new machine.

Seen guns at auctions sell for $100-300 above their worth. Many Okies will pay a premium to obtain an "unregistered" gun. Watched a Remington 700 BDL rifle with cheapo scope sell for $800.

I think Estate Auctions are the worst. Back in the day, there were deals to me had on all kinds of goodies, not just guns, but today it gets Insane. I recently went to a well advertised Estate auction that promised a lot of top shelf guns. The first gun up was an everyday Remington 1100. Nice but nothing special. A $400-500 gun on most used racks. It immediately went for over $700. The next few long guns brought too much and then they started with the handguns. They were bringing more than retail and then I noticed that one guy was winning most of the guns. I'm guessing he bought close to 10k total and most were handguns. I was standing around with a couple of buds laughing at what we were seeing when it was over and this guy went to settle up at the pay table. When he realized he had to do paperwork and a background check, he just walked away. That answered our questions. It really caused a scene. He was gone before the officials could corner him and all of those guns were sitting there and no money! By the time every one realized what had happened, the majority of the people had left. I didn't stay around to see what they did but it did turn out quite humorous

I grew up in southern Iowa on a farm. My Dad worked nights in a factory in Des Moines and he often sent me to farm auctions when there was something he thought we could use. Usually he gave me a maximum price he was willing to pay but after a few years he gave me free range. You do not "win" an auction, you are the highest bidder. Whether you "win" or not is determined by what you paid. I am thankful that I learned that at an early age (around 15) as it has served me well in my life.

Speedo66 said:

I am not a fan of in person auctions, period. The auctioneer is blabbering away, I can't understand a thing he or she is saying, and somehow with no hands or paddles being raised, the price keeps going up. Not to mention shills, ridiculous fees, etc.

Ebay is about as close to auctions as I want to get.

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As a kid, my brothers and I would go with dad to the stockyard auctions. Most of those auctioneers were pretty good of doing that gibberish and making sense of it. I found it quite entertaining. Of course, cattle move around a lot more than inanimate objects.

Dang, Academy had these pistols (Heritage) on sale for $99 before Christmas. I bought 3 and gave them to grandkids. They were thr model with the American flag grip.

When I first "discovered" GunBroker, I found myself overbidding in the heat of the moment. Dang it, I know better from collecting rare Masonic books, but I did it anyway. Nowadays, unless it's truly a near one-of-a-kind, I decide what I'm willing to pay (along with some help from the Blue Book of Gun Values). I also wait to bid til near the end of the auction. If it goes over what I'm willing to pay by more than $25 or $50, then I let it go. There's almost always gonna be another one.

As you guys report, local auctions can get nuts!! During the rimfire shortage, guys were paying $80-$90 for a brick of ordinary plinking ammo...now selling for $25. I bid on a NIB Winchester 9417 that I could have bought for around $1200. Hoping I could get a bargain I was prepared to bid a max $1000. It sold for a whopping $2500! I've never, I mean never found a bargain at an auction. All the guns and ammo sell at or above full retail. I have bought several guns on GunBroker at bargain prices. Picked up a NIB Anschutz 1517MPR for $706...retail is typically around $1200. Also found a NIB Remington 700 CDL .243 for $540 (MSRP $1080) with free shipping. These were both "penny auctions". Have bought several other GB guns at higher prices, but never paid more than I intended. And always with no hassle. Guess I have been lucky.

I used to go to Gun auctions. Here is what I found

Those that require a background check seem to bring reasonable prices. The ones that don’t, the price goes up

Problem with auctions is like the problem with ebay, it can collect all the people that don’t know what things are worth together and then “ooh baby,” watch the bids. The best chance online is poorly-described items. I’ve seen the same thing with pawn shops, especially with tools. They’re frequently near retail and look like they were delivered from orbit without a parachute. Oddly, pawn shops seem to be a good place to find deals on guns, probably because they buy really low and want to get their markup quick so they can put their money back to work. (As you can tell, I am not an economist...)

I'd include LGS in this topic as well. I hear prices mentioned on this board that I rarely see locally.

Two years ago I was at an auction that had about 50 guns. Most were Taurus, Brynco, Universal and other second tier makers. They had three M-1 carbines, two were Universals and one was an unknown with an optic sight replacing the rear sight so you could not see the maker's name. I looked at the oddball and noticed that all the parts I could see were GI parts so I bid and won it for $300. When I got it home I was able to see that it was an Inland worth much more than what I paid.

Wisco said:

View attachment 829535 This is an example of what I see locally. It’s insane. Literally, insane. Online auctions, farm auctions, etc.

People really ARE that dumb.

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Yup. I remember in the early starting days of online auctions a friend came over and asked to use my computer. He logged into an auction site and brought up an auction for a CD that was up to $42.00. I didn't think much of it as there are collectible CD's. Then he logged into Amazon and the same CD was currently available for $16 plush shipping. It wasn't an out of print or limited run CD at all. There were just two guys who were bound and determined that the other guy wasn't going to win the auction. Sometimes it's not ignorance, it's arrogant stupidity.

My Dad was an auctioneer, among other things, when I was a kid. I remember him telling me the best way to make money in an auction had everything to do with egos and manipulation. My Dad got a percentage so it behooved him to do what he could to get people into being part of the process. He would watch people bidding and if he got an inkling that one guy didn’t like another but they both were bidding on the same thing he would work it so it became a contest.

That’s how I see auctions on line only there is no auctioneer. It does become a contest and somebody wants to win, if for nothing else, to take the prize from someone else. Ego and manipulation.

Research and know how much you are willing to pay. Any other way is just a waste of money and time.

^ you can play the rational game but if someone is playing an emotional game all your research will offer is comfort that you didn’t over pay, but you didn’t win either.

Knowing what the actual worth is will keep from spending way to much for an item. Also the S/H and any fees to get aid item to you. The best way to win an auction is to find an item that is described wrong that nobody is paying attention to you can lowball on. I find this at online auctions. Sometimes a pawn shop will have a deal because they do not know what they have. I generally set a max price I am willing to pay and stop there. I have lost 25 auctions for an item and the next time will get it for the starting bid. You never know.

If you do it right, there are some really good deals out there.
This is my latest example of the kind of deals you can find. Kahr K9, winning bid $230.



There are a few tricks. I avoid the most well known auction site like the plague. Too much traffic, too many people bidding, too many bidding wars. You can get good deals, but they are fewer and harder to find.

Sellers with great feedback but comparatively low transactions will have less of a following of people scoping them regularly for good deals, and will turn people off who are looking for extremely high transaction numbers before they trust a seller. I look for over 100 transactions but less than, say, 500. This lets me bid with reasonable confidence on an item that will get less traffic, and less bids.

I look for auctions ending on weekdays. If an auction is ending on a weekday in the late evening, or early morning, thats even better. Many more people are at work or sleeping when the auction ends, which means less bids, and less last second bid sniping.

I adjust the search options to look at buy-it-now auctions that were just listed. Lots of people post a buy-it-now price that is significantly lower than fair market value for whatever reason, but as soon as the first bid is place that option disappears. If its a really good deal I don't bother bidding and taking chances at a bidding war, I just use the buy it now option.

If I don't know but suspect an item is a good deal, I research it to make sure its a good deal, or I won't bid. Before I bid on anything I look to see what the current market value is. If the auction item doesn't beat market value by a fair margin even after accounting for shipping and transfer fee's, I don't bid. I'll only bid to a certain point below market value and then I stop.

Over the years these techniques have allowed me to expand my collection greatly, and on the rare occasions that I have to sell a firearm, In most cases I make money, and I never lose money which makes the act a lot less painful

The downside is you often have to wait a long time for a specific item to come along. Its more of a game of opportunity rather than a focused hunt.

Wisco said:

That’s a heck of a buy on a solid pistol.

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Thanks, just so's nobody think's i'm just throwing numbers out there

https://www.gunauction.com/buy/15697405

Thats my super secret spot though, so don't tell anybody.