What Possesses People???

reddog81 said:

I went to an auction once where the same guy "won" over half the stuff. The bill of sale for the next auction still had all that stuff coming up for auction again.

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Yep. Sounds like a shill bidder. What's really going on is that the seller has a minimum price in mind, but doesn't want to set a reserve because it might scare off some bidders. So he has a buddy bid the price up to his minimum. If the buddy ends up getting it, they just cancel the sale. (The auctioneer might get his cut anyway, though, so this strategy is not without its costs.)

DeepSouth said:

I sure wish stuff like that happened at cattle auctions.

but nope, sellers leave broke as we were when got there.

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I had a hard time liking your post because the words are tragic but so true, I recall my Grandfather saying the same thing at auction decades ago. His operation made money some years, barely kept his head above water most years, lost a bundle other years.

Stay safe.

alsaqr said:

Have attended numerous estate auctions here in OK. i've often watched firearms being bid hundreds above their worth. Many people here claim that every new gun purchased is "registered". Bidders willingly pay much more to obtain an "unregistered" firearm.

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But doesn't an auctioneer handling firearms have to have an FFL? If so, the buyer still has to fill out a Form 4473.

I avoid live auctions. Folks are already competitive and some cannot control themselves Shills in the crowd can be unbelievable.. Net actions can be just as bad, if not worse. I have noticed some recent changes and wonder if all the added fees and taxes will stop/impact shill bids?

We had a guy here who over a 10-12 year period embezzled close to $6 million dollars from the local school system. He was in charge of maintenance and construction. During that time the county built 2 new high schools and, among other things conspired with vendors to overcharge for materials and labor and pocket kickbacks.

When caught he lost everything. He had over 200 guns that the county auctioned off to recoup the money taken. I went to the auction, but never bid. Every single gun sold for a lot more than it should have. Then the buyer had to pick it up at a local gun shop and pay a $25 transfer fee.

alsaqr said:

Have attended numerous estate auctions here in OK. i've often watched firearms being bid hundreds above their worth. Many people here claim that every new gun purchased is "registered". Bidders willingly pay much more to obtain an "unregistered" firearm.

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The one gun I mentioned at an estate auction the transfer was done on a 4473 form by the auctioneer who was a FFL. Not that a 4473 form completion and background check through NICS registers a gun.

Here in Ohio what we call private sales at gun shows are perfectly legal transactions.The seller is supposed to ask the buyer if they are under any sort of gun disability (can't legally buy a gun), if they are over 21 years of age and a resident of the State of Ohio. There is no NICS check and no identification required of the buyer. Licensed dealers will tell people they need to do the drill, private sale tables normally have a sign stating private sales. So there is really no merit to seeking out an estate sale where no transfer paperwork is required. Just go to a good gun show and this includes private sales with people just walking the show looking to sell whatever they are dragging around with them. There have been pushes in the past to eliminate this practice but they have failed to date. Other states like NJ do not permit this.

Ron

AlexanderA said:

But doesn't an auctioneer handling firearms have to have an FFL? If so, the buyer still has to fill out a Form 4473.

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The ones I have seen do. I mention that above.

Ron

Guns/ammo often do go crazy around here especially since covid. On the other hand, if you do your research, figure a price and stick to it, with a little luck you can get some great deals.

A few of them never learned that the Covid panics generally are over, or they expect continued price increases due to various factors, ie forced reduction of US oil production (--but Keep Buying R. oil--), consequent inflation.

Too much news instills a general unease, due to speculations and implications related to 'various overseas topics'.

Some of them want to spend their Tax Refund before their wife has a chance to "Buy Something Pretty".

Ignition Override said:

A few of them never learned that the Covid panics generally are over, or they expect continued price increases due to various factors, ie forced reduction of US oil production (--but Keep Buying R. oil--), consequent inflation.

Too much news instills a general unease, due to speculations and implications related to 'various overseas topics'.

Some of them want to spend their Tax Refund before their wife has a chance to "Buy Something Pretty".

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FWIW Reaction to $5-$7 fuel here has apparently started to panic folks. Fear "sells" everything from canned goods to guns and ammo.

Where I live, the Amish folks are usually the ones driving up auction prices on everything from land to guns, equipment to scratch and dent groceries. Don't know where they get all their money. I guess if they're bumming a ride to the auction, they're required to come home loaded down.

I've got a friend that's an FFL dealer/shop owner AND has an auction service. His specialty is estate auctions and liquidating large collections (imagine that). We talk once a month or so, and he's always telling me about something coming up in an auction that might interest me. I've never gone to one, but without fail whatever he told me about goes for an easy 40% above value...which is usually 80% more than I can afford.

230RN said:

As for the auction, I gave up trying to figure out mass behavior quite a while ago. I got as close as observing that the more people involved in a behavior, the stupider the behavior got.

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If somebody else wants it, it must be good. If many people want it, sky's the limit!

From what i hear Banning stuff works well

Terry G said:

I always get a grin when I hear how someone "Won" an auction. Is paying more than anyone else for something a "Win"?

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About 2 months ago I "won" a GB auction on a rare CZ compact, paid 510 bucks. Thing looks brand new.
Can't even buy a plain jane model for what I paid...I guess I did WIN.

Racinfan83 said:

Two guys went at it. Ended at $2100.

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Reminds of eBay auctions and "sniping". Sniping is when you bid within the last few seconds so that no one has time to outbid you. A "nuclear snipe" is when you want the item so badly that you bid outrageously, KNOWING no one will outbid you. A seller's dream is when an item draws two nuclear snipers.

Decades ago I attended a live auction because I was poor but needed an air compressor. While the auctioneer was chanting inside one of the buildings, I was outside, hearing him dropping the opening bid for who-knows-what. No one wanted whatever he was pitching. I went into the building, and as I entered, he pointed right at me and hollered "Give me a dollar!" "One dollar!" says I. "Sold!" Turns out I bought not one but two electric kilns. Sold one for a hundred bucks and put the other one into use.

Being lured into a bidding war can be a disaster. More than once seen Winners attempting to escape the room without paying.

I gave up trying to figure out auction mentalities, but I'm convinced there are some people who just don't like losing anything but thier money!
I went to a farm auction a couple years ago that had three items I was interested in. A John Deer 4020 power shift with a loader, decent shape but not mint, worth about $12k, a 5' tiller with worn out bearings and u-joints, new price $1100, and a heavily used 8" horizontal band saw, new price at that time about $350. Tractor went for $20k, tiller went for $1300, band saw went for $350. I went home scratching my head.

Thinks thats bad? Recent TP shortage provided some visual entertainment similar to heated auctions.

It is worth what someone will pay you for it. SOMEONE is different from EVERYONE.

Maybe live bidding (vs. online) makes it harder for people to risk "losing", in front of other people.

Like i said earlier no more live auctions for me. Its especially dangerous for folks who have NEVER been to one. Some local ones are now requiring a CC to bid. Guess it keeps "lucky" winners from slipping out under the tent walls when they realize what they did???

I forgot to add this tidbit. Some online gun auctions deal harshly with those "winners" who are either slow in paying or don't pay at all. The auction host in some can/will automatically leave negative feedback and BAN bad bidders with out any seller input. It also cuts off any communication between buyers and sellers so no hope of rectifying issues there. If a credit card was used to join an auction the information associated with the card (Name, Addresses, Email, and SS#) may be used for whatever. The possibility of a bidders "vetting" service or sending to collections/credit rating companies comes to mind.

Just because it is available locally to some people does not mean that it is available to others, that often explains such behavior in online auctions.

The purpose of an auction is to maximize the producer surplus and minimize consumer surplus, so getting a high price is the point. As to why some people pass up an opportunity to buy at a fixed price for less, that has to be a function of not looking, etc.

Racinfan83 said:

Not in my state. As long as you're a state resident and of age, it's considered a private sale. You pay the trust/estate directly for the firearm and the auction house takes their cut from the estate.
Some are large enough with several estates and some new guns put in the mix - at those they have an FFL holder (gun store/range owner) set up in the basement, and his co runs all the paperwork for a $25 fee added to the gun price by the auction house. I've been to a lot of these so pretty knowledgeable about how they work ...

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You're lucky. Seen some lucky winners get nailed 20% commission, 12% tax and a $75 transfer fee for a $400 C&R!!!