To me auction houses have become a slimy rip-off. I wasn't that long ago the hammer fall was the price you paid plus tax and perhaps shipping. The take from the auction house was between 25-40%. That percentage hasn't changed. But now there is a buyer's premium. That will run the buyer somewhere between 15 and 30%. Then pay the tax on that. You may also be charged over phone fees, absentee buyer fees, internet auction fees, etc. Seems to me the internet should make it cheaper with reduced overhead (ie. no in house auction, less rent and on and on). AND when I've challenged the auctioneers they jump up and down claiming no one is getting rich!
REALLY!! What this is really doing is creating an artificial inflation on the price of each gun sold in an auction.

Well I haven't done it yet but sit down with a gun you would like to sell figure out a price you get from the auction and figure out what the auctioneer gets. 50-50, 50-60, 55-65?

There has to be better ways to keep the money in the hands of the seller instead of the middle man.