Why do people pay more at auctions?

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They get caught up in the auction and it becomes a completive thing. I also think that they never had much in the way of brains to begin with.
 
Yes people get caught up in an auction, but sometimes it is for something that is hard to find and get. Not saying they should, but i can understand on items that are in short supply.

Jim
 
I'd like a good answer to this too. Went to an auction with 250 guns up. I never saw so many guns sell at 200-300 over retail. Watched a Saiga AK-47 Sell for 1800$ Local Gun Shop had the same thing on shelf for 650$.
If I ever sell a personal gun I'm selling it at auction.
 
I am Caveman, Hear me roar!

The above sentence is a crude way of summarizing tomes of psychobabble. Throw in the famous example of frogs that hop out of boiling water but at the same time will sit still when slowly boiled and you now know everything there is to know.

Oh ya, can't forget the Amygdala hijack. It's a fancy foo-foo term that's thrown around when people want to pretend we know more about the brain than we really do. The Amygdala has something to do with aggression but we really don't understand the nuts and bolts of that part of the brain. All we know, in a nutshell, is how behavior is altered when people have that section damaged.

I'm sure someone will come along and try to debate me, but the fact is we really don't understand the brains neural networks. We just have an extensive catalogue of it's quirky behaviors, hormones and what happens when something is damaged. We kind of understand the neuron, but there are plenty of gaps in that knowledge base as well. As important as the brain is, we are just now (as in next year) starting to funnel serious money into brain research.

http://blogs.nature.com/news/2013/0...tious-brain-map-project-with-100-million.html



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It's the lure of getting that great deal, don't you know, The lotto of guns. Ponzi schemes reconfigured.
 
I used to browse actions for deals just a few years ago. Now I just sit back and watch the less intelligent spend their money frivolously!
 
Like the saying goes: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” And I suspect that includes some magnetic attraction to auctions. The few that I’ve gone to were a waste of time. Every firearm sold for at least $100 to $200 over market. Then add to that, sales tax, a 10% to 15% “Buyers premium”, and the FFL transfer fee…. Ridiculous. Don’t even bother anymore.
 
We have a local facebook gun sale group here. And I often see used guns( some very used) going for new prices. I guess an idiot and his money are easily parted.
 
Why do people pay more at auctions?
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Either scenario below is possible.
1. Get a minimum of 2 bidders who want it bad enough.
2. Shill bidders.

But then, there times when you're lucky, when the item you really want can be had for a bargain, because of not enough bidder interest at the time, for whatever reasons.
 
As talked about already, people get caught up in bidding and don't pay attention to the price as opposed to new or buying used.

That and if its something they want to add to their collection regardless of the price. Throw in emotions and look out, people will go nuts!
 
Auctions are lunacy.
As are local classifieds. I swear, everyone who sells a gun in central PA must be sipping on Wild Turkey when they come up with prices. Guys are almost always asking several hundred dollars more for used guns than I'd pay for full retail of a new gun.
Why would I pay more for a used gun that I could buy a new one for?
 
Some people arent into guns as much as we are. I have had friends of friends want to brag to me buying a taurus .38 used for "only 750." My response was, that is a nice revolver. I needed laptop in a hurry, I knew then I was paying too much but didnt really care. I didnt want to put fourth the effort and time into tracking down a better deal. I still have my laptop it works well.
 
In addition, it seems to be one of several things:

First, someone may really want an item, and is willing to pay a premium for sentimental reasons.
Like the guy who paid $250 for a model airplane kit that sold for $15 back in the day. It wasn't that great of a kit; I know, I built one. He told me it was because "it reminded him of his dad". Well, O.K...

More prevalent is the "Win at any cost!" mindset. I saw a pair of fellows on daBay (maybe a shill bidder and one other?) get into a feather fight over instructions for making a ghillie suit. The "winning" bidder ended up paying like $25 + postage of $1.25 for 2 poorly-copied pages.

Me? I went to another auction, and bought exactly the same instructions for $2.25, including postage. Still over priced & haven't made the suit yet! :D

In my neck of the woods, people tend to believe their ooold stuff is worth much more than logic would dictate: Nearly retail. I look, then just shake my head!;)

But, I figure, if it makes them happy to be happy, then they should go right ahead being happy! :)
 
As are local classifieds. I swear, everyone who sells a gun in central PA must be sipping on Wild Turkey when they come up with prices.
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Our local TX gun trader is just as bad...
 
I always set in my mind what a given item is worth to ME. If the bidding exceeds that, so be it. Some folks simply inflate the bid to "drop it" at any time. That is the sport.
Dan
:rolleyes:
 
People get caught up in the bidding. They set the top price that they're willing to bid, but then when someone bids over them by a few dollars, they start thinking "well, it's only $10 more and it would be a shame to loose that item just to save $10..." If you get several bidders with that reaction, the winning bid can easily go for more than retail. Also, some people actually don't know what retail price actually is (bad strategy for an auction, but it happens).

However not all auctions wind up that way. I recently got a HK P7M8 in good condition for $900 (average going rate was about $1200) simply because I was the only bidder, knew what I was looking for, and the auction was designed poorly (seriously, who designs an auction to end during the work day on a Tuesday?). If you're careful you can come out ahead as a buyer at auction.
 
I recently got a HK P7M8 in good condition for $900 (average going rate was about $1200) simply because I was the only bidder, knew what I was looking for, and the auction was designed poorly (seriously, who designs an auction to end during the work day on a Tuesday?). If you're careful you can come out ahead as a buyer at auction.
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Ive actually won quite a few guns that way.. Typo'd the description or used some sort of Inventory code and I walked away being the only bidder.
 
seen a used henry lever action 22LR go for $650... you can buy one brand new for $350
 
I went to a police gun auction years ago. The only gun I had any interest in was a Remington Nylon 66. Luckily, it turned out it was the first item up for bid. There were two bidders, myself and another guy. I got it for $21!

Then, when the others attending woke up, the bidding went crazy. I just watched in amazement...then left.
 
Don't forget that of these sites don't ask the buyer for ID, and that is why a gun can go for a 30% markup, like on FL gun trader, it's up to the individual, some ask for a license some a bill of sale and many, "nothing". I have brought this up on the site many times but that just say it's not required, but it is required to know that the person is not buying a gun illegally, or that the gun was used in a crime, or stolen from someone's collection. A convicted felon will pay over list for a gun, especially if it's a one two three transaction in some parking lot.
 
As other people have said, the dynamics of auctions are different than for other types of sales. They bring out the competitiveness in people. Much like gambling.

My opinion is that people need to set their limits BEFORE entering into an auction and then stick to them.
 
With 20 hours to go it has been bid up to $675. Do these people not understand that Bud's also sells new guns? I know people are dumb, but I had hope there weren't so many that are THIS dumb.

Why would I pay more for a used gun that I could buy a new one for?
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You probably wouldn't, but there is a line of thinking that permeates the online classifieds and some gun show tables that you should pay a buyer's premium for having a gun with no 4473 form in your name. I can sort of accept the logic of that if you are buying one or two SHTF guns to bury in a bunker somewhere, but as a collection strategy it leaves a lot to be desired.
 
I don't know who Victor M. is, other than he is apparently very stupid. Buds has the same Glock 30 listed on their website for $545, and they can ship immediately, not when an auction is. If I ever meet Victor, I am gonna try and sell him the Brooklyn Bridge. I wonder if he realized what a chump he is.
 
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