Online Gun Auctions?????

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.410
Posts: 53
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2012 2:31 am
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 4:31 pm
Ok. Let me start by saying I am NOT. the saviest at auctions, computers, heck even gun buying; but Ive been directed by several folks and friends to peruse places like gun broker or GunsAmerica for finding what I want. Heck I even was told by a local pawn shop "we sell all of our fine guns on gun broker" (not sure when Ithaca field grades, Lefever Nitros & Fox model B's became "fine guns", but wgatever floats your boat). So heres my question, how do you avoid getting scammed? how do these things work? i have seen where several state they can end the auction at anytime for any reason and not sell even without a reserve which defys my logic, so can someone please help me understand? I cannot afford to be ripped off as Im sure none of us can and it seems like these places are equivocal to going to a cheasy used car lot except youre buying based solely on what the salesman says lol.

Thanks in advance. In the meantime, will someone with realistic expectations please sell me their nitro special or nid. When I say realistic i mean atleast close to book value? and not considered in very good 90% cc and bluing when theres about as much bluing on the barrels as is total on the triggerguard and the frame appears to have been buffed with a ax grinder. Oh, and a huge piece of wood missing from the wrist with numerous other cracks probly means you cant say "most likely do good with huntin shells, but i aint liable".

Thanks! and sorry for the rant, just aggravated.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:52 pm
Simpleman, I understand your frustration. I do alot of selling on gunbroker, so maybe i can help.
First and foremost, look at feedback. we live and die on it. if a guy has 500 glowing transactions and one bad one, don't let it dissuade you. I have buyers who were totally unreasonable and despite my best efforts to rectify the situation, they would hear it. Anyway, feedback is important. Next if you see something you like check to see what other similar items are out there and what they are selling for. It'll give you a good idea what the going rate is. Forget book value, use it as a guide, but market value rules the day. if somebody is putting up a used deerslayer for $500 and the rest of the world is selling them for $300, the $500 is pretty irrelevant. So do your research. Next, check out the photos. If you think it looks good from a cursory perspective, read the description. then. write the seller and ask questions Anything you want to know. my favorite is asking them to thump the barrels. Mot have no idea why, so they give an honest answer. lastly, but most importantly, check the return policy. Unless there is a specific reason, I always grant a three day no shoot return, no questions asked from the day it is delivered. I get an email from UPs when it is signed for so I know. I do this so I don't get a call three months from date of delivery. I don't refund shipping and I do this because I want you to be sure you really want to return it. If you have a problem, call immediately, do not wait. I can only speak for myself, but the longer you wait, the less I will be willing to negotiable. Most of the time, like if I miss something, I will negotiate with a buyer, take money off, pay for repairs do what I have to do to satisfy the buyer. Most sellers will do this. Now I only will sell certain things as-is. Brass, factory sealed goods, like reloaders and firearms and guns that are in sorry shape that I will price to sell just to be rid of it. I explain that it is "this this and this wrong" So if you want it and buy it, it isn't coming back". Brass is never returnable as I have heard of people buying nice once fired brass and returning crap, so, you buy it, you own it.

So check the seller, get informed and ask questions. Those are your best tools to buy successfully.
Oh and one more thing. Watch the shipping charges. You can send a long gun UPS coast to coast, fully insured using regular rates for under $50 Most have daily rates, so if you see very high shipping, that is how he is making his margins since gunbroker doesn't base their fee on shipping, just the selling price.

OK, now for the auctions themselves. There are four kinds. regular, reserve, dutch and buy it now.
Buy it now is exactly that. If the starting price and the buy it now price are the same, you bid you win.
A dutch auction is where you have multiples of the same item to sell. You can bid, and win multiple items, or multiple people can bid and win. A regular auction is that. the seller sets a minimum price and whoever bids the highest, wins. Now a reserve auction means that the bid must meet a certain minimum price or the auction is null and void. so if I have say a set of winchester reloading pliers in .44-40 and I set the starting price for 1.00 and set a reserve of $100 and the highest bid for that auction is $90, then the reserve was not met and the auction is closed. the seller can relist if he chooses. Sometimes the seller will contact the buyer and offer to sell it at the reserve price, but sometimes not.

Now, sometimes you can negotiate a lower price if you are reasonable and the seller wants to sell.
if you do this, BE REASONABLE and fair. Nothing pisses me off more than a ridiculous offer. I had one guy actually offer me $650 for a factory new PW reloader and wanted free shipping. I replied to the guy if he was going to pay me in cash or Kellogg's boxtops. Most sellers are happy to bargain most of the time, but you cannot be a putz.

And the reason why a seller would say he can end the auction at any time is because the gun is probably in a shop and somebody can buy it. But if you bid on it, he is bound to supply you with the goods. I know I have done this. Put something up, got a call and sold it two days later. Anyone who says this probably has a busy shop.

And remember, a bid is a legally binding contract in the eyes of Gunbroker. When you bid you agree to the seller's terms and therefore only bid if you are serious. But talk to the seller, most are willing to be flexible if you deal with them squarely. I have had layways and installment payments with people I knew were serious. but again, that is up to the seller. reneging on a bid will get you a bad rep and possibly booted off and we don't want that. especially me since I would like you to bid on my gear early and often.
One last bit of advice. Never NEVER EVER fall in love with anything. That can result in bidding wars. and while sellers love them (I sure do) you will end up paying way more than something is ever worth. I sold a Dan Wesson, complete gun and accessories for $1800 and it was not worth much more than $1000 at the time. you see a war start, back out and move on.

I wish I knew you last year. I had a 95% grade 2 flues here. it had a new stock and forend but whoever did it was an expert. It looked factory. the only clue I had that it wasn't original was no serial numbers in the wood. If I come across another one, you'll be number one on my list.
--Jim
PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:40 pm
Good post guys...alot of people are eaten alive on those sites !!

.270 WIN
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:05 pm
I have used auction sites to good effect. Have yet to be burned. I use them to find items I am having trouble finding. A model 37 S or custom engraving, ect. I do not use them for run of the mill guns to rabbit hunt with because it is to much trouble. After winning an auction you have to get a copy of your local gun store FFL license and mail it to the seller usually with the payment. The gun then gets shipped to your local gun shop. They call you then you go back, fill out the paperwork, they call it in and then you pay them a fee for their trouble. For an average every day gun you are better off going to a gun show. Works out great for the harder to find items like the side by side you are looking for.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:55 pm
1977cutcher wrote:I have used auction sites to good effect. Have yet to be burned. I use them to find items I am having trouble finding. A model 37 S or custom engraving, ect. I do not use them for run of the mill guns to rabbit hunt with because it is to much trouble. After winning an auction you have to get a copy of your local gun store FFL license and mail it to the seller usually with the payment. The gun then gets shipped to your local gun shop. They call you then you go back, fill out the paperwork, they call it in and then you pay them a fee for their trouble. For an average every day gun you are better off going to a gun show. Works out great for the harder to find items like the side by side you are looking for.



Very good advice. The bottom line is that you need to work with your seller. I can't speak for everyone but I can tell you that I will do what I can to work with you if you make an effort to work with me.
--Jim

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