Auction sites

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alemonkey

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Why is it people seem to so often pay as much or more for an item on an auction site than they can buy it new retail? I was just outbid on a Lyman bullet mold on ebay today. It's now up to the same price as what you'd pay at Midway. I see this a lot when I look at gunbroker, too.

A little off topic maybe, but I just don't get it.
 
I've always wondered about that. I check gunbroker occasionally to see if I can find a deal, and I've yet to find one. Ebay has good deals sometimes.
 
Good observation. I guess people get caught-up in the auction process, which is what ebay is all about. I'd rather buy new unless it is a really good deal. I've been watching ebay and haven't seen a great deal yet, at least on reloading gear (not to imply they don't exist).
 
You buy from GunBroker when you know the retail price, or when you can't find the product you need. Several examples: I have never seen 7N1 7.62 x 54R in a local store, yet it was available on GunBroker. I bought Saiga 308 20 round magazines when they weren't available anywhere. I also bouhgt a working Hakim rifle with a few parts missing. I also discovered online layaway, although I haven't used it yet.
 
For alot of people its the thrill of outbidding the other, Me I will wait till I find what I am looking for on a Forum for sale or buy it new if I have to
 
Why is it people seem to so often pay as much or more for an item on an auction site than they can buy it new retail? I was just outbid on a Lyman bullet mold on ebay today. It's now up to the same price as what you'd pay at Midway. I see this a lot when I look at gunbroker, too.
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Just my opinion, but I think it is because there are a lot of folks with poor discipline skills who let themselves get caught up in a bidding "war". I've looked at a lot of the bid history data on auctions I have lost, (which is most of the ones I have entered) and more often than not there were two bidders working the auction in the last few bids. It appears there aren't a whole lot of people who can evaluate the offering, enter a maximum bid, and then walk away. (I do, and I usually don't have the winning bid.)

I see a similar "problem" at estate auctions. Very often the testosterone level around the gun table is palpable, and very often I see guns going for two or three times more than I think they are worth. The bidding often comes down to two guys, each trying to prove his wallet is bigger than the others.
 
Very often the testosterone level
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Not testosterone, competitiveness, my wife is not allowed at auctions anymore. She is one of those people who does not like to be outbid. I buy or attempt to buy stuff online because we do not have a decent gunstore within 500 miles. I too set a high bid and see the outcome after it is over. I have seen guns I want go for more than they were worth just as you guys say looking at the last bidding history between two or three guys after it is over. What do you say it's their money?

What makes people go online? I went into a pawn shop today and they were selling a used OLY AR-15 A2 with pinned on flash suppressor for $1559.99. Talk about high prices.
 
Is your wife one of those people that will pay more for a gift card than what it's worth just to 'win?' :p I can't believe how often I've seen that on ebay.
 
For someone like me where there is no gunstore worth going to within 150 miles, sometimes the only resort is a place like Gunbroker. You do have to be smart about it. I see 38 or 357 snubbies selling for $319 NIB. Add to that the $25 FFL fee and shipping if it is added, and you still beat the $429 the Ma and Pa store are trying to get. All I gotta do is run over to Rocky's place and pick it up. Saves me $60 in gas alone.
 
For someone like me where there is no gunstore worth going to within 150 miles, sometimes the only resort is a place like Gunbroker. You do have to be smart about it. I see 38 or 357 snubbies selling for $319 NIB. Add to that the $25 FFL fee and shipping if it is added, and you still beat the $429 the Ma and Pa store are trying to get. All I gotta do is run over to Rocky's place and pick it up. Saves me $60 in gas alone.
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But they're still almost always to be found cheaper at bud's or some place like that. So why go through all the extra bidding and all that if you could just buy it straight up for less money???
 
The stuff I buy on GunBroker hasn’t been made new in over 50 years. Beside that, on-line auctions always beat local prices in California in my experience. ;)

~G. Fink
 
The only things I've ever bought on the auction sites are the hard to find things. For NIB, my local shop is generally priced about the same as Bud's when you factor in shipping and transfer fees - even cheaper sometimes. I never "compete" in an auction, I set my max bid and win or lose...
 
Once ia great while, you can get a "bargain" but not often. I bought a mint 1980's S&W 37 for $180 and a mint Colt Detective Special for $225. Steve48
 
If one would calculate auction prices to inflation we would probably have a 20% inflation rate. I don't understand it myself, but I guess we are in an auction bubble too. What is even more insane is what people have for asking prices on the web. If one is selling something do you not want to sell it? What is the point of asking 5 times what something is selling for?
 
I always like the huge banner that says "NO RESERVE" and the minimum bid is set at more than it's worth. Thank heavens we don't have a QVC for guns as none of us could afford any...
 
I think part of it might be areas that people live in. Your example isn't a good one, but I know I have to pay a premium a lot of the times due to living in MA. You just can't get a lot of stuff here, and most online retailers won't ship anything firearm related (including ammo) here. I've never bought anything from Gunbroker but I can see paying a premium there if necessary.

Dope
 
I will (very reluctantly) admit to getting caught up in the bidding war once....in 1976 or so...

Charity auction, so it wasn't really a bad thing, except that my wallet was $25 lighter for 2 hand-made pillows that should have gone for about $8-$10.

I don't do auctions anymore except as a non-bidding observer....period.
 
You also have to factor in sheer inability/unwillingness to shop around. Somehow, some people just drop the hammer rather than compare prices for a couple hours.
 
I don't understand the auction sites. Its more common that you would think for items to run up past what they are worth brand new in the store.

I had some service manuals for cars and motorcycles sell for more than I paid new.
 
The last 2 purchases I made on Gunbroker were for Dan Wesson .22 revolvers. I had been looking high and low for a long time for a quality DA .22. I was bidding on a S&W Model 18, which I really wanted but it quickly got out of my price range. Good .22 DA revolvers, priced reasonably, are as rare as hens teeth.

The used S&W .22s are just priced so high right now and the new ones have that incredibly ugly lock. Besides, I got both the DWs, with a total of 4 barrels, for just a tad more than a new S&W 617...
 
The only gun I have ever bought on auction is my sp101. It was a great deal at 310.00 for a LNIB. That said my local gun shop is very competitive and have gotten me for 5 other weapons. They usually beat the online guys and associated fees by 20 dollars
 
If it was not for sites like GB those of us in rural areas would never see fancy ammo like Gold Dots. Semi Auto pistols are fairly rare in local shops. Wheeled guns are easily found though.

Driving to St Louis or the Chicago burbs to see a gun store with more than twenty or thirty gun in stock was not worth my time.
 
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