So why does somebody bid like this?

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Jim NE

Jim NE

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Bud's Gun Shop has a website auction. There are a whole bunch of guns on it now...more than when I last went there.

Somebody, as of right now, has bid a new S&W SD 40VE up to $420. That's almost $100 more than what that very same site sells the gun for brand new, off the shelf (yes, it's in stock)!!

What am I missing? There are 3 hours left on this auction. Is this just a shill bidding racket?? Not making accusations, I'm just trying to understand what I'm looking at.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog...000790/auctions_id/3905/page/1/auction_show/1

Here's the gun you can buy off the shelf:

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/.../products_id/83127/S&W+SD40VE+40S+BlackSS+14R
 
Here is one that ends in 30 minutes for S&W bodyguard 380 for $430

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/auction_info.php/products_id/715000705/auctions_id/3894/page/1/auction_show/1

Here it is for $399

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/21_39_71/products_id/62623/S%26W+Bodyguard+380+Integral+Laser+380+ACP+2.75%22+6%2B1+Sy

I am a big fan of Buds Gun Shop and have bought lots of guns from them over the years at very good prices. All transactions have gone great. I know they will not do it, but they really should let you know what the "buy it now" prices is going for. I guess if people are stupid enough to pay it, then maybe it will help buds make more money and keep the cost of the guns I buy down
 
A good question and I don’t have an answer. I’ve seen guns go for ridiculously high prices on auction sites and at “In person” auctions. Maybe in the bidders area it’s not that high a price. Or maybe the bidding started out low and the macho “I’m going to get that gun” attitude took over no matter what the price. I’ve even seen auctions where the bidding has exceeded the “Buy it now” price… Go figure.
 
Twiki357 said:
A good question and I don’t have an answer. I’ve seen guns go for ridiculously high prices on auction sites and at “In person” auctions. Maybe in the bidders area it’s not that high a price. Or maybe the bidding started out low and the macho “I’m going to get that gun” attitude took over no matter what the price. I’ve even seen auctions where the bidding has exceeded the “Buy it now” price… Go figure.
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Even if all that is true the same gun is available on the same site for less when you buy it outright. I agree, I have seen plenty of bidders at live auctions get caught up in the moment when bidding and overpay. Once the auction is over on Bud's site you can't see the price of the winning bid so I can't see how much over the price on the site they went.
 
The weird thing is that buying a gun from Bud's outright seems much more straightforward and far less complicated than going through the auction/bid process. It's hard to understand how somebody gets involved in a Bud's auction without knowing how to shop and buy a gun directly from Bud's. As TennJed pointed out, there's more than one person who unwisely paid more for the gun than necessary.

On the other hand, the majority of people on these auctions are probably buying weapons for less than you can get them with a purchase. When all is said and done, the auctions probably create more good will towards Bud's than ill, but I'd be mad if I paid 100 bucks too much for an SD pistol. Of course, I'd only have myself to blame. Not trying to fault Bud's or the auction, just trying to understand why people do what they do.

Auctions can draw you in and get you feeling possessive about something you don't own, but the high bidder at the time of my original post hadn't even made a previous bid. It's possible the person mistook the gun being bid on for a higher priced/quality model, I suppose. :confused: Who knows.
 
BCRider said:
Are there any added extras when using the bidding compared to the direct purchase. Does Bud's soak up the FFL fees and/or taxes for the auction guns?
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I honestly don't know, but even if they did, that $100 would more than offset it. FFL fees around here are 25-35 bucks.

Purchases of guns from Bud's almost always get free shipping, so that wouldn't be an auction benefit, either.

I've bought several guns from Bud's and had no probs, generally speaking. They are often lower than other places, but if a gun is more difficult to get, they'll sometimes ask even above list price.
 
It's called auction fever, and you see it all the time on eBay. I'm big time into RC, and I've watched in disbelief as something like a new take-out brushless motor that can be bought any time for $39 will get bid up to $55, $60, more. People just fixate on that item and decide they have to win the auction, have to beat the competition. It's pure silliness, but a very frequent phenomenon.

I just sit back and shake my head.
 
Back in the early days of ebay, a friend of mine used to put items up for auction using his ebay account, then bid them up using his girlfriend's account.

Just sayin...
 
Im not saying Buds does this, however, have seen it happen elsewhere:

If there is a anonymous "bidder" than can artificially create a "bidding war" then the seller makes more profit by having a "real bidder" get caught up in a "bidding war", the seller has created themselves more profit although perhaps on a shady premise. If you can make an extra few percent here and there it adds up for the seller. Not that I would approve morally of such practice.

Newborn kept me up all night, so i hope that made a little sense.
 
I have seen this happen on places where there is bidding - I lost a Colt 1903 last Sunday because of silly "games". I don't get why someone will list a gun with "no reserve!!" and then start the bidding at $200 more than the gun is worth.

And then they wonder why no one bids....:banghead:

Some folks love that auction biznuss and they just wanna win the item and they bid, and bid, and bid until they pay too much. I'm not much on auctions anymore. I'll just buy stuff where the price is listed and negotiate with the seller. Barter as it were.

Auctions just don't appeal to me.

VooDoo
 
although perhaps on a shady premise......... Not that I would approve morally of such practice.
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It's no different than a retailer attempting to sell something at higher than market value. Either the potential buyers look at it and laugh, and it doesn't sell, or some sucker pays the exorbitant price, and later regrets his purchase.

Immoral? No, it's an open market. Ill-advised? I think so; the seller will earn a reputation for trying to hose people before too long. Look at CTD.

If people are too stupid to research market value before buying or selling an item, then it's their own fault if they get taken. Likewise, if a business goes under because they regularly convince people to sell to them at a substantial loss or because they consistently over-price everything, then they deserve to fail.

I don't get why someone will list a gun with "no reserve!!" and then start the bidding at $200 more than the gun is worth.
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I'd prefer a starting price that's too high to a reserve of unknown figures. I will not even watch items with a reserve on general principle. It's along the same lines as bait-and-switch; "Look! It's only $0.99 to start for this $300 item! but you won't get it for less than $280"

People should know by now that auctions with reserve very seldom bid as high as NR listing anyway. I'll watch time after time an RC car or truck get relisted with a reserve while other similar vehicles with no reserve go 50%-100% higher.

Just start the auction at the lowest figure you're willing to accept, unless you know the market well enough to be certain that your item will reach a certain point if you start it lower. Even then, sometimes the stars are misaligned, and things go stupid cheap. I scored an OFNA Ultra LX Comp 1/8 buggy with engine for $85 a few weeks ago; I was the only bidder. OFNA 1/8 rollers without engines routinely go $100-$130. Not even a case of low feedback seller or short-term listing, just that apparently no one else was looking for one that week.
 
Jim NE said:
Bud's Gun Shop has a website auction. There are a whole bunch of guns on it now...more than when I last went there.

Somebody, as of right now, has bid a new S&W SD 40VE up to $420. That's almost $100 more than what that very same site sells the gun for brand new, off the shelf (yes, it's in stock)!!

What am I missing? There are 3 hours left on this auction. Is this just a shill bidding racket?? Not making accusations, I'm just trying to understand what I'm looking at.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog...000790/auctions_id/3905/page/1/auction_show/1

Here's the gun you can buy off the shelf:

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/.../products_id/83127/S&W+SD40VE+40S+BlackSS+14R
Click to expand...
1) because they are morons ... and yes, there are a LOT of them out there

2) they never intend to complete the sale. and yes, there are LOTS of people out there that just love screwing up stuff on the internet ... because they can

3) they are a "shill" bidder, just there to run the price up
 
I have seen auction fever work and it is interesting. The item and/or its value will tend to get lost in a competition between bidders who are each determined that others won't get "his" item. It sounds like a macho thing, but I have seen the same thing with the "not so gentle" sex, just on different types of goods.


Jim
 
Bid the most you're willing to spend from the get go & call it good. A fool and his money are indeed soon parted.

Funnel
 
funnelcake said:
Bid the most you're willing to spend from the get go & call it good. A fool and his money are indeed soon parted.

Funnel
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On that Buds auction that will get you paying exactly what you bid, there are no auto-bidders to up your bid automatically.

People should know by now that auctions with reserve very seldom bid as high as NR listing anyway
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I would beg to differ as just last week, ALL of my reserve auctions SOLD.

I typically use a reserve auction when I am not sure what an item is actually worth, BUT, am not willing to gamble and give it away with a no reserve listing that is under the money or letting it sit with a start price that is too high.
 
I would beg to differ as just last week, ALL of my reserve auctions SOLD.
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I never said they don't sell, I said they rarely bid as high. Final sale prices on firearms tend to be more consistent than other things, but the pattern still holds. Watch any particular class of item on eBay for awhile, and you'll see what I'm talking about. For instance, I regularly watch RC10GT nitro trucks, as I buy and sell quite a few of them. This last week, out of the more than 40 that were for sale, not one of the trucks with a reserve bid over $60, while the average selling price of the NR trucks was $70-$100.
 
I do understand for certain items that are rare. A few years back I bought a Rossi overland coach 12 gage for $630 shipped to my FFL. that is a $400 shotgun on its best day, but I had
been looking for a decent example for over 3 years, and this one was flawless. Might never see another one so clean, and I was in it with 3 other bidders. I am very happy with the gun even though I paid way over retail.
 
Last year, there was a S&W M58, Blue, 4" with a minimum bid of $450. I had been wanting one for several years and never could afford the high prices.

The pix showed a pistol that looked a little ragged so I hit the $450 bid and forgot about it. Imagine my surprise when I got an email say congratulations, you won.........

I mailed the money and FFL and when the pistol arrived, it was virtually perfect. And I received an S.D. Myers holster with it.

You never know
 
I guess the same reason I watched a Mossberg 500 (standard 18.5" barrel black composite) go at an estate sale for almost $500. I think people get caught up in competition. That is the only thing I can think of.. A couple of people who hate to lose end up basically in a bidding war.
 
It's called an auction. Go to a local one and just watch the craziness that goes on. I have seen stuff for hunting that is available from Walmart for $100 NIB go for $129 used.at an auction. I am almost always outbid at local auctions by people that have no idea what they are paying.
Ebay used to be that way but it is now just about used exclusively as a virtual storefront for businesses.
 
Shill bidding

I live close to buds and have watched their "auctions" for years they ALWAYS go this way and magically bid higher than the guns are worth and never less. I dont much care forthe place. as soon as the ammo craze started last year they doubled their prices on pmags and do this often with all their items. Their law enforcement section is great though and have great prices in that department. This weekend is the first tome I found new huns cheaper though. Their remington 700 sps were about $25 more expensive than Dunhams. Shady bidding has been my experience on their auctions
 
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Sometimes you overpay in an auction because you get caught up in the moment. Also, one can get a great bargain buying from an auction.
 
Best time for bidders is around any holiday. I picked up 3 old top break revolvers in good shape for around $150.00 over 4th of July holiday. Haven't seen any as cheap since then. I was throwing out min bids and I won all 3. I wasn't really in the market for 3, but I got them cheap enough. When I was selling over $1500.00 a month in vintage stereo equipment a month on Ebay a few years ago I always avoided listing around holidays. I learned one lesson on auctions and that is nobody can predict the outcome. You have about the same odds pulling the lever on a one armed bandit.
 
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