Selling guns through a large Auction site or house?

I have sold guns at Hessney Auction. They are located in Geneva, NY. I drop them off and they send me a check - 13% and tax. Example. I took a rifle Remington 788 in 308 to a gun shop. The LGS wanted to give me $125.00. I paid $200 for the gun. At auction it went for $788.
Just for your info.

I have never sold, but have bought from both rock island and morphy. I could not say enough good things about them. Items came in better than the pictures, packaged fantastic.....ups on the other hand......but the great packing job by RI saved the rifles.

If you are thinking of doing business I can say from the person doing the buying I will do it again and again, they are very good professional, and friendly......the way it should be.

Rule3 said:

Please no Gunbroker or sell them on a forum suggestions.

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Regardless, I will suggest finding a LGS who has a good reputation on Gunbroker. My LGS charges 20% consignment and has a very good track record for moving quality guns on GB and getting great $$$ for the seller.

thegatman said:

I took a rifle Remington 788 in 308 to a gun shop.... I paid $200 for the gun. At auction it went for $788.....

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An interesting coincidence!

Rule3 said:

But the locals do not want to hassle with listing on GB. They just want 20% to sell it in their shop with a limited amount of exposure So it sits there..

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That is unfortunate. My LGS is an example of how a shop can thrive by embracing internet sales instead of trying to fight or ignore them.

Are you talking many, several, estate level, collection?

Steffes Auction

I have bought from them. Go of to deal with. I like how they run their online auctions.

.455_Hunter said:

That is unfortunate. My LGS is an example of how a shop can thrive by embracing internet sales instead of trying to fight or ignore them.

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I can see how it could be a hard road to hoe. Most local shops are owned by......ah.....vintage folk. And the internet thing is seen as just more trouble than it is really worth. Usually some young whipper snapper needs to come in and try to sell that idea. And from what I have seen sometimes they get a green light others hard no.

Rule3 said:

They list Farm Equipment?

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The do estate sale, also. They are an FFL.

I sold 28 guns in 2020 through the Rock Island Auction Company. Since I live within 25 miles of their location, They waved the pic-up fee. When they arrived, exactly when they said they would, to the hour, their men brought cases for every gun, inventoried them and gave me a receipt. A day later, the company E-mailed me a complete inventory sheet. A few days later they E-mailed me again, with their assessments of condition and estimated prices. The assessments were fair and the estimates higher than I would have expected. The auction happened and I made more money than I expected. They mailed the check a day early and a very happy and satisfied customer is now typing this.

I'm sure either one of these two Jessica's could help you out.

I recently had to sell about 260 firearms to settle an estate. Through an auction house however it was conducted entirely online via proxibid. Almost everything went higher than expected. Their fees I found a little out of line. Anything selling for under $1000 was 20%. Anything over $1000 was 15%. Plus they charged the buyer a 15% premium. But they did all the work. Pictures, description, listing nationwide, advertising. Certainly save me a big burden.

Yes, I have sold a fairly large collection -- 100+ items -- through an auction house. More specifically, I sold through Rock Island. Was it worth it? Yes, I received almost a third more than I expected. I have worked in gun shops for almost 60 years now and have helped dozens of individuals, heirs, trusts, lawyers, museums, etc. sell collections big and small. In addition, as a collector and as one of those guys behind the counter at your LGS, I've been involved in buying from more than 40 different auction houses. Would I use Rock Island again today? Not necessarily... you have to remember that all auction houses do not operate the same.
1. All auction houses charge sellers different rates. Some auction houses don't charge sellers a percentage of sale at all.
2. Even if they don't charge a percentage on the sale, most auction houses will charge you to come pick up the collection, especially if it's a small collection. So, try to find a good one that is close or at least convenient for you to take your items to.
3. Many auction houses really don't like to spend time with low price items. For example, Rock Island has two types of auctions -- "local" or "regional" auctions for the lower priced, less collectible items, and "premier" auctions for the more valuable stuff. However, even with the more valuable items, Rock Island doesn't like to offer a single item if it isn't going to bring more than $1,000. From their perspective, such items are simply not worth the time. Other auction houses have different views on this subject.
4. The lenght of time involved has to be considered. Some auction houses will want to sell your collection at different auctions, which may be spread out over a year or more! You have to ask about time, i.e. will all items be sold at the same auction? How many auctions? How long will it take to get my money?
5. What happens if something doesn't sell? Non paying bidder? Etc.
6. Will the auction house allow a reserve? Some won't, some will but only with a charge to you the seller.
7. What about returned items? There is a chance, some say a growing chance, that somebody will buy one of your items and then return it because he/she isn't happey with it. They might contend that it was falsely represented (catalogues are another important question) or they bought it because they needed a few parts for a similar item they had and stripped the part off of yours and are now claiming it was broken, etc. What happens in those cases?
8. What about the catalog? Do sellers have to pay for pictures? Some auction houses used to do that; not sure any more. Paper catalog or only on-line? How many pictures? How many catalogs? How widely distributed. Listed on Proxibid? Auctionzip? Etc.
9. How many ways are bids accepted? Some auction houses are moving to "on-line only" auctions. The fewer ways that an auction house accepts bids, the more limited the number and type of bidder. Lots of folks will not bid on-line, but will submit an absentee bid either by phone or attend the auction in order to see and examine the item as well as bid in person.
10. Taxes! What do they do about taxes? Are you going to get a 1099?
Hope this helps some. Please keep us posted.