Buyer Beware?

JoeP.08 · 05-09-2005, 11:44 PM

A big auction company just had a huge firearms auction the first of this month. There were a lot of Lugers put up on the auction block. I did subscribe to the catalog and subsequently submitted a sealed bid. Some of the pieces were exceptable while others were more than questionable, judging by pictures and descriptions.

I was perusing the net yesterday and noticed a new Luger on the dealer's website I often frequent. The Luger looked very familiar and I checked it against the auction catalog. Low and behold, it was a Luger I bid on and lost. It was WWI vintage DWM unit marked to a Barvarian unit. Amazingly, when the piece traveled to the dealer's shop, the original finish went from 75% to 97%. I've been collecting for a little while now (I know a little, but still got a lot to learn!), and it doesn't take a veteran collector to see the "original bottle bluing" dripping out of the regimental markings on the front grip strap. You want to really laugh, compare it to the auction catalog picture of the unit mark. Needless to say the price inflated along with the "original finish".

Today I got a gun list in the mail from a dealer who must have been to the same auction and the Lugers he bought went from "remanufactured" to "rare and restored".

Has it always been like this?

05-09-2005, 11:44 PM	#1
JoeP.08 User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: CT Posts: 159 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Buyer Beware? A big auction company just had a huge firearms auction the first of this month. There were a lot of Lugers put up on the auction block. I did subscribe to the catalog and subsequently submitted a sealed bid. Some of the pieces were exceptable while others were more than questionable, judging by pictures and descriptions. I was perusing the net yesterday and noticed a new Luger on the dealer's website I often frequent. The Luger looked very familiar and I checked it against the auction catalog. Low and behold, it was a Luger I bid on and lost. It was WWI vintage DWM unit marked to a Barvarian unit. Amazingly, when the piece traveled to the dealer's shop, the original finish went from 75% to 97%. I've been collecting for a little while now (I know a little, but still got a lot to learn!), and it doesn't take a veteran collector to see the "original bottle bluing" dripping out of the regimental markings on the front grip strap. You want to really laugh, compare it to the auction catalog picture of the unit mark. Needless to say the price inflated along with the "original finish". Today I got a gun list in the mail from a dealer who must have been to the same auction and the Lugers he bought went from "remanufactured" to "rare and restored". Has it always been like this?