Gun Auction

[Moonclip]

Any of you ever have been to a gun auction? I had the pleasure of attending my first, held at a local American Legion Hall. Had to fight traffic and rain but thankfully they postponed the start so I could preview some stuff. About 95% guns, a welcome change from gunshows and beanie babies.

Got myself a $4 mixed drink and a surprisingly good chili dog from the nice legion ladies and sat down. I didn't seriously plan on buying anything, the estimates in the catalogue seemed high. 10% buyers premium but some guns went for quite good prices I though and of course the biddinmg got heated sometimes and guns went for too much too.

I managed to snag a 7.7 Japanese Arisaka with the aircraft sights and bayonet and a barely defaced mum for $150, I figured the Bayonet was worth at least $50 alone so I guess it was ok. I also got a pretty decent CZ52 rifle with the regular wood stock, not the ugly Century arms black paint for $125, ammo is problematic though.

I missed a S/S Ruger bearcat at $225 NIB or ANIB and a French MAS 49 at $175. I'm looking forward to attending another if it comes up but I'd like any tips from you experienced auction attenders.

I already know to stay sober but what is the best time to bid? I would stupidly not bid on an item first that I wanted but has low desireablity, for example a Chinese O/U NIB 12ga. Little interest but one guy snagged it and I wouldn't go $125. Also I would bid first like on the MAS 49 at $150, someone did $175, and I was not willing to do $200. Any strategies you guys have and I know next time to get to the preview early and check for problems the guns I'm especially interested in.

All in all it was a positive experience and I plan on bringing more cash next time. They also had pretty younger girls holding up the firearms which was nice!

Another thing I noticed and would appreciate feedback on is if it a good thing to wait until later in the auction to get deals. I noticed one fellow consistantly outbidding me on the milsurp. He spent quite a bit and was quite willing to get in a bidding war, I saw him pay too much for a Carcano too. Maybe not surprisingly, he may have run out of cash as I was unopposed pretty much on my two milsurp purchases. Maybe towrds the end people are reluctant to spend any more or they might end up leaving as the auction did last over 3 hours.

 

[jsalcedo]

Sounds like some good deals.

I would gladly pay the prices you did.

Congrats on the new guns!

 

[dch1978]

Auction

If you ask a question about auction strategy you are going to get a hundred different strategies. The best piece of advice I can give is know what you want to pay and don't comprise it. Thinking its only $10 more will break the bank every time. Ohh and don't ever expect the great deal, they never come when you are looking for them, only when you "happen" to get in on the bid.

Anyway the theory works for me on Ebay, I have lost more auctions than I can count but they all eventually sold for higher than retail. Never thought about the individual auction again.

 

[poppy]

Recently went to an auction myself. No sales tax, no buyer's premium, just out the door prices. It was one guy's collection and most were NIB plus some nice collector pieces, about 70 guns total. I did not buy anything because the guns that I was interested in went for about what I have been able to pay elsewhere without the hipe of an auction. The only exception was 2 Ruger Bisley Vaqueros (out of production), one of which I would really liked to have bought, but they were consecutive S/Ns so the price got too high.

Besides knowing your limit on each piece, don't wait too long to get into the bidding. The spotters will pay more attention to you if you bid early. The auctioneer appreciates bidders who are active. If the first item that you are really interested in is down the list, then bid on something higher on the list, just make sure your max. bid is well below market value. If you win it, you can always sell it for a profit.

Don't get sucked into believing that people will run out of money half way through the auction and later items will go for less. If anything, I have seen late items go for more, because bidders had not won any bids and did not want to go home empty handed.

The only time I have seen real bargains at a gun auction was one that involved the inventory of a gun store that was going out of business. The auctioneer had no clue about guns or gun values and several went for wholesale or less prices. One FFL store owner that I knew walked away with several buys. poppy

 

[Polishrifleman]

+1 on Poppy and the spotters, if the spotter comes to your table you can request higher incriments in bidding not vocalized by the auctioneer. The auctioneer might be calling for a $50 increase but if you tell the spotter you will go $25 they should do it, the downside is they will then be nagging you but set your limits and be happy with them.

I really like ebay and how they set up the max bid system. I bid the amount I am willing to pay including the shipping cost and forget about it. If I win the auction I know I got a good deal according to my standards and if I didn't then oh well there will be another one.