auctions experiences ?
 

I watched the greg martin auction sunday - first time Ive looked into this as a venue to actual purchases

seemed like auction pace was a bit too fast and that the catalog info was inaccessible during the auction from the GM site - but lower quality catalog access was available via the proxibid site

anybody have any tips for methods of accessing the various auction sites that tend to have lugers / similiar items ?

anyone have suggestions on which sites have been positive experiences ?

my experience this one time was that it seemed a better use of time than gunbroker or gun show venue for locating decent offerings - and seemed to reduce the risk of lost $ - but might be offset by higher prices on the choice items - but maybe less choice items were actually reasonable versus the other venues

Bill

REAL LIFE AUCTIONS


if you can be there, and also AHEAD of time, mark those items you're interested in; PLUS marked your MAX you want to pay, you'll be happier. I have only bought one item from Rock Island and with fees, not seeing it ahead of time, etc, I paid too much...

Ed

Ed is right.

The best is to be at the auction and inspect the items before hand. If you cannot be there, have someone you know and trust go for you. There is at least one person who will do so for a fee - if he happens to be attending the auction. I used him once at a Rock Island auction. (I have been burned a couple of time by RIA - and not just on price.)

I've only participated in one GM auction. Didn't get anything, but they are very fast. Know your upper limit and stick with it. I don't like the fact that you're relying solely on the auction house description of the piece. I've found they can make errors. The bidders premium of 15% is ...... well.....


FN

The buyers premium in the GM auction this last weekend was 17.5%. Ouch!

I spent a little time on the Greg Martin auction last weekend, and gave up, for that auction anyway.

Registered with GMA, tried to place bids before the live auction, but found you'd have to keep bidding on an item to try to find where the current bid or reserve was located. Kind of ticked me off that they would not just put the current bid visible, so you could place a higher bid, if you wanted to bid. I'm not auction savvy. Also, didn't want to spend all day checking the live auction for things I'd like.

Also, the catalog descriptions for the Lugers said the outside numbers match. Seems that a nice all matching (inside & out) WW2 Luger might be worth $1500 to $3000, but if inside number(s) don't match a nice Luger might be a shooter worth $700 to $1000. Sort of don't want to buy a nice Luger for $1500 to $3000, thinking it's all matching, then get it and find it's non-matching because of inside numbered parts. I can understand them not wanting to disassemble Lugers to determine if all matching numbers, but it seems to be a big deal for what something is worth.

Sigh. One of these years I'll stumble across a nice WW2 Luger at a reasonable price, when the cash is in my pocket, right here in river city.:D

They have found that buyers will pay it, so they charge it.

Too busy these days to track it. BP goes 17.5% ? I guess that's paying by credit card? Cash BP should be 15%.

One way to play is: gun X, Y, and Z must be sold before acquiring gun A, B, and C. In this way, it's equivalent of trade-in, but has good cash flow. And, never use credit card to pay. 2.5% for expensive item is something. Avoiding credit card is equivalent of securing flank in military action. No debt, no over draft.

I've always been pleased with Greg Martin Auctions. They seem to get great stuff, and while their catalog descriptions are not very detailed, I've found them to be more than helpful. If asked, they will take and email you pictures of any part you're interested in, and answer any questions you might have. As to that hefty buyer's premium, I figure it into the price I'm willing to pay before bidding, so there are no unpleasant surprises. Regards, Norm

Rock Island Auction sends me their regional auction books (I had bid on a Borchardt they had some time back) with pics & descriptions...but the pics are matchbook-sized and B&W, one side only, and poor quality...and they group 2 to 4 or more pistols together; you're bidding on the group, not just one...

Don't forget additional fees, such as state and local sales tax, and an FFL transfer fee. Sort of like a phone bill, it adds up pretty quickly.
dju

State and local taxes would not apply to shipments out of the state.

The other expenses would be incurred in any transaction that is not FTF. So they are not unusual charges.