doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Auctions That Aren't

Two out of a thousand is about the right ratio of selling items to listed items for both major auction sites. Seems like many sellers just list and forget the item. I just look at basic auctions, no reserves, penny auction starting bids and forget the rest. I might miss a buy now and then but I do not care. This gets past the list forever crap that never sells. And if the title is all CAPS I do not bother. These are the Torchmans crappy guns which is both overpriced and torched to look like a spotted piece of crap.


The seller shown above is one I have bought eight or nine guns from. Straight dealer and each gun has been as good as or better than described or expected.

I have bought a couple guns via the "auction" sites, but wonder if it was worth it considering the many hours I have spent clicking on way over-priced crap relisted over and over by sucker fishermen. For instance, there is one listed on Gunbroker as simply Lefever Double Barrel Shotgun. It has an opening bid of $1100.00 which may lead one to think it is high condition, or higher grade, or both. Click on it and you are treated to a very average Nitro Special with a cracked buttstock. This thing would not sell for more than $200.00 at most shops or gun shows. It must be very easy to relist guns because this guy, and many others, do so over and over for years. I can't figure out why he would waste his time even if it only took a couple minutes per week per gun to relist. This guy has a better chance of hitting the Megamillions Jackpot than ever getting $1100.00 out of this piece of crap. I wish the "auction" sites would do something to change this situation, but we do see the same thing at gun shows as well.

I went on GB not long ago and asked the seller a question about his LC Smith that he had listed. Not only did he answer my question but he immediately come down $100.00 on the price. But your right, it is not an auction.

This is why we miss Roy Eckrose! His monthly auction reports were real gems of information.

Pete

I've found lots of good deals on auctionarms and gunbroker, but I probably spend about 10 hours a week checking the sites for various things. Primarily, I am interested in bolt action sporting rifles, but occasionally I pick up a decent double for myself. I am learning how to make minor repairs, and Dale Edmonds
is teaching me to refinish Damascus barrels. Here is one such item
I picked up about a year ago, the stock cleaned up nice, as did the
metal, and the barrels should be done soon.

http://www.auctionarms.com/Search/DisplayItem.cfm?ItemNum=8833613.0

I don't really like it when sellers start their guns at prices far higher than what I think they are worth, but I see that all the time at gun shows.

On Gunbroker you can search for no reserve price auctions using smart search.

The guns I have sold I put a minimum bid that was about 25% less than what I wanted and a Buy it now for what would make me happy.

All three sold for the buy it now after a few bids at or above the minimum.

I have also had guns that got no bites at my minimum.
Still have those guns.

I have bought very few guns recently on auction, but I have sold hundreds. My starting point for price depends on how much demand their is for a model and the value of the gun. If I have a gun that has had a strong following in the past and I guess will sell for under $1500 I will often list it for a penny on a two week auction. Some guns have a much smaller following and then I will have to set a opening price at the bottom of what I would be happy with. Also some guns require a special buyer and may take several cycles thru the auctions before it is sold does not necessarly mean that the opening price was high just that the right buyer has not found it yet.

The time of year also plays into this, as soon as it gets cold and dark there seems to be much more activity on the auctions, so that a gun I might have listed for a penny in Jan gets listed for a opening bid of $750 in July.

For every dumb seller there is a equally dumb buyer....I should start keeping a list of the really dumb questions, but the one that has stuck with me the longest is the fellow that asked what choke a 22 rifle had. Also read the description, half the questions I get are already answered in the description. I also get a number of questions where I am at a loss as to what they are asking or even what gun they are asking about.

I would also recommend that if you are serious about a gun and it is not NIB I would call the seller with any questions. I would never buy a gun without first talking the the seller as it gives me a chance to hear if the fellow sounds on the up and up or if he sounds stupid or has any questionable ethics.

I have no problem when the auction is not an auction. If the price started is too high I keep looking. My assumption is if a gun is started at $25 and has a reserve of $2500 all those bids from $30 to $2300 are a waste of time and if I don't want to pay any where close to the reserve I move on. The only grief I have is when I want something and can't be at the computer to bid and it goes for less than I would have paid. This happens because I think I might get a better deal and hold off bidding and things don't work out. The rest, as I see it, is comedy. The greatest example is a listing of a common firearm with a starting price way above the "buy now" price of 10 guns of the same model and condition? I have met people that I would expect to do this with anything they own that they were selling.

Ken does raise several good points from the sellers viewpoint. More than a few buyers are clueless. He knows his market and list accordingly. Most important he wants to sell his items and tries to be realistic in both his starting price and what he hopes to get as a final price. He knows a Lefever Nitro Special 12, in beat up condition, is not a $1,200.00 gun. He knows the difference between a Fox A grade and the later Savage lower quality look alike.

Most of the problem that I think people are having with non selling items is that they will stay on the auction for months or years. It is just so much crap you have to ignore to see what is really listed to sell. I think that a listing fee for any gun that has not sold when listed three times in a year is a reasonable thing. Sellers get three free listings of a gun then have to pay to keep it listed after that. This would get rid of most of these dead listings and motivate the seller to set the selling price at a more realistic price if they want to sell. A seller could not list a hundred guns for months on end at prices which will never be reached. If you want to sell a gun then do it or get off the site. Do not list the same over priced klunkers for years hoping for a sucker.

Ky John:
I couldn't agree with you more. Why don't you send these ideas to Auction Arms,Gunbroker etc.
Jim