Auction Madness

[alfsauve]

As some of you know, I stumbled on to some live auctions last year and dropped a bundle.   But they were all good bargains!!! (That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.)   I'm sort of hooked, but am wading carefully.   

So my beef is all the people on GunBroker/AuctonArms/GunsAmerica with unrealistic expectations.    Do these people ever scan the "completed" auctions to see at what price guns are actually "selling"?   

Here's my latest that I've been following.   A S&W 629 ported 6.5".   The gun shop has a reserve probably in the $800 range.  A "buy-it-now" of $899.95.    I, and others, have given clear signals that the $600 range is about tops.   You wonder, I guess, if someone will come along eventually and actually pay $800+.   Is that what they're figuring?    I mean do you really want to sell it?   Then don't keep posting it at the same price.  Change something about your offer.   There are other auctions of this model for sale at much less.   The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  Of course, if you waiting for someone more insane than you to come along, then it might eventually work.

What I like about the real live auctions is there's typically no minimum and no reserve.  It sells for what it sells.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=228929652

[kmitch200]

There is a 629 DX on gunsamerica for $700.
I'd buy it if I didn't already have one!

http://www.gunsamerica.com/985533819/Guns/Pistols/Smith-Wesson-Revolvers/Model-629/S_W_629_Classic_DX_44_Mag.htm

[fightingquaker13]

Thing is Alf, your auctions want an 18% commission+sales price+shipping+transfer fee. At that point, you might as well pay retail unless its a rare item or you just get lucky. On Gunbroker, they ask the sky. BUT, you can email them and say "If you don't get x. I'll offer Y".
FQ13

[alfsauve]

Thing is Alf, your auctions want an 18% commission+sales price+shipping+transfer fee. At that point, you might as well pay retail unless its a rare item or you just get lucky. On Gunbroker, they ask the sky. BUT, you can email them and say "If you don't get x. I'll offer Y".
FQ13

True there are auction fees.  So you have to bid accordingly.  You can get around some of those fees by skipping the on-line sites (proxibid) and going directly to the auction house.  Some of them will let you do pre-bids directly to them and save 2-5% of the auction fee.

And to me that's the part of the excitement of an auction is discovering something unique and different that nobody else seems to want to buy.   My 624 and original model 66 were steals even with all the fees.  Nobody else that day seemed to recognize (or want) those guns.

It's the gun auction site where they keep asking over and over for $900 for a gun that's only selling for $600-700 that get me.

I'll bide my time.  A bargain will come along.