doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Holts Auction In jackson Hole, WY

In the short past in the shooting sportsman magazine July/aug, Holt and Blixt were holding an auction in Jackson Hole, WY. It was a full page ad. I wanted to see what a couple of guns that I had a passing interest in went for.

Today I went back to the prices to check the guns out. Ok, they had about 96 guns that were offered for sale at this auction. How about this! When I checked the prices realized, 64 guns were passed on!! That generally means that they did not sell, more that half!

I have never seen that many guns in any auction that were passed on.

I think they are going to have 1 more auction, as the ad said they had about 200 guns. I wonder if they are going to give it a go then or give it up.

John Boyd

Their biggest failure was to provide adequate photos. On all their lots they had only one or two shots and those were of poor quality and small pictures. If you want to attract online bidders you better have detailed high resolution photos. And as I recall they had no contact information listed to ask questions or request additional pictures. That combination as well as the high prices turned away prospective buyers.
Art

Art

Yes I agree
reminds me of the one time Charlton Hall auction
very poor descriptions and poor photos too
I think there was a English fellow involved in the Charlton Hall auction to help promote it
can not remember who it was but I think that auction went toast

John Boyd

Gentlemen: I had contacted Blixt well before their maiden auction by telephone concerning a particular converted Harkom rifle-to-gun on offer. The gun's description was very limited in scope. Their photographs, as has already been remarked by others, were unclear and too small. When there was no answer to my call, I left a detailed message and contact information on the Blixt representative's voice-mail. Never received a response. This disappointing lack of response does not bode well for future interest or inquiries by me. All auction houses that I contact, whether domestic or abroad, are asked to answer very specific questions and for additional photographs. And because I deal most often with well-known houses that want to protect their reputations with potential buyers, I generally receive fulsome professional responses. At times, however, a response from an auction house is in my opinion inadequate. I then contact them with my requests until I am satisfied. If there is no response, as with Blixt, I do not try to contact them again, or will I bid at time of auction. I am surprised that Holt's Auctioneers, a very good and established house that I have personally dealt with for years, would be associated with what seems to be an amateurish and unserious operation stateside.

Regards,

Edwardian

Diggory Hadoke. He came and gave a presentation, on English engraving as I recall, at the first Charlton Hall auction. I attended.

SRH

Charlton Hall is probably a good place to sell grandmas silver set but not guns. Like most antique auction houses they had no experience like the big players and it showed immediately.
There was a gun dealer on here-George Lander who was pushing that auction and we told him then it would not work.

The Blixt auction was a bust because it was a bogus auction. Reserve prices were in the stratosphere, pictures and information were less than poor. I find it hard to believe that anything sold. Never again.

Yes
when I saw so many guns that did not sell I figured the reserves were high

John