airgun auctions?

[Mole trapper]

Hi there, I keep hearing about people picking up various airguns at auction, how do you find out about these please? I never se them advertised.
Regards,
Jamie.

[ashf9999]

Google the local auction houses in your area and check forthcoming sales. Sometimes they have Arms & Militaria sales every few months. These are normally better value than some of the big boys, like Holt's, as percentage charges are often lower. Remember VAT gets charged on the commission, and some imports will have another lump of VAT added. Others like Wallis & Wallis also specialise in gun sales; they handled the Webley museum sale in 2006.

[deejayuu]

http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb
Just put say "air rifle/rifles" into the search.
Very entertaining facility and time consuming dreamworld at times.

[ashf9999]

http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb

If you can attend in person, all the better. You get to see the goods first. I know a few people who have had issues with The Saleroom; they think their bid's won, only to have been outbid, on multiple occasions. I won't use it myself; others may have had no problems. Holt's use their own system for remote bidding. It works, but they are not cheap. That said, during the summer months Wolferton is a lovely place to visit to collect purchases.

[Co2]

I use to bid on few items that came up, but at the end of the day you can expect to pay way over the top.
As mentioned before, you have to pay a buyer premium which can be anything from 15% -25% or more ! if you bid on line then an additional 3% seems to be the norm. £££
Then you have to either travel to get the item or get it posted to you, some auction houses if your lucky have in house postal system so you can expect to pay around £20 p&p for a small item.
However quite a few of the auction houses now only use "Mailboxes" they pick up the item, pack it, and send, I found to be very expensive but having no other option you have to pay! They do well pack things but ouch! £££

And of course the auction houses that wont send out any air gun or other without sending via their in house RFD.
Their RFD doesn't normal charge for running the item through his books but there is a good chance that the RFD you have nominated to receive the item may charge you for running it through his books? £

I would not bother with on line auctions you cannot see exactly what you are getting, more often than not the beautiful photo of an item in reality is anything but!

For minimum expense go yourself to the auction

It used to be reasonable bidding on line now they are far too greedy!

[jassi]

I use to bid on few items that came up, but at the end of the day you can expect to pay way over the top.
As mentioned before, you have to pay a buyer premium which can be anything from 15% -25% or more ! if you bid on line then an additional 3% seems to be the norm. £££
Then you have to either travel to get the item or get it posted to you, some auction houses if your lucky have in house postal system so you can expect to pay around £20 p&p for a small item.
However quite a few of the auction houses now only use "Mailboxes" they pick up the item, pack it, and send, I found to be very expensive but having no other option you have to pay! They do well pack things but ouch! £££

And of course the auction houses that wont send out any air gun or other without sending via their in house RFD.
Their RFD doesn't normal charge for running the item through his books but there is a good chance that the RFD you have nominated to receive the item may charge you for running it through his books? £

I would not bother with on line auctions you cannot see exactly what you are getting, more often than not the beautiful photo of an item in reality is anything but!

For minimum expense go yourself to the auction

It used to be reasonable bidding on line now they are far too greedy!

I would agree with most of that, although I've never experienced any problem with online bidding.
The sting comes in the transportation An RDF will charge about £25 to receive something on your behalf and there will also be a charge for packing it up and sending it in the first place.
Much better to be able to view and collect, though in general that will limit you to more local sales, unless you want a day out

[mel h]

The most important thing to remember if buying from any distance is, find out the expected shipping costs before bidding.
Most of the auction rooms pass on the goods to outside packers. Some of these firms are ruthless and can charge outrageous prices for anything out of the ordinary, guns, knives and swords being prime examples.
Mel.

[Binners]

I personally wont bother with auctions any more, there a very few bargains to be had, as the guns are plastered all over the internet. I also think it is a shame that the auctioneer sometimes make more from the deal than the seller. The last rifle I bought had a hammer price of £90, the seller ended up with £70 and I paid over £112 without post

Nice work if you can get it

[Phil Russell]

I have bought several rifles at auction and as long as you do not get carried away with bidding, you can get a bargain. Note I say 'can'. It is very much 'buyer beware' and if you are considering a particular rifle, get to see it before you bid. Very often the on line picture or catalogue picture is tempting but I have seen several faults that do not show up or are not mentioned in descriptions. Cracked / split stocks are pretty common. Bent barrels, triggers that won't engage are not that uncommon. And even if the rifle looks cosmetically good, it may not be so good inside. So: you can get good rifles but you must be prepared to accept the risks involved. As an example, one purchase I made some time ago looked excellent and I was very pleased but on getting home and testing, output was nil. Pellet would not leave the muzzle. The cause was a duff piston seal. OK, not the end of the world and it only cost me the price of a new seal and a little pleasant time to rectify it; but if you cannot do such repairs (or simply do not want to) then 'beware'. One had a missing piston head. Other buys have had duff / broken springs which are easily rectified if you can do so. Others have been perfect from the start. I wrote a short account of what to look out for in the Collectibles Magazine, available in one of the stickies on here.
PCPs can be a risk as well, particularly older models. If you ask the auctioneer he/she may let you test fire an unloaded pcp somewhere on the premises to see if it has air in it ... or you may find an enthusiastic punter does it for you without asking first! This can show if it holds air and, assuming no-one filled it that day, is a reasonable sign of good seals, but not foolproof. Of course, if your test fire just produces a hammer click then it does not mean the seals are bad, but it might. So do your homework ... seals may be hard to find and exhaust valves even harder.
This is why buying from the BBS can be so advantageous; descriptions will be accurate and you may well get your required rifle cheaper than at auction if you are prepared to wait.
Cheers, Phil
Happy hunting

[ashf9999]

The other problem re distance buying is bits going missing, like mags for airguns, or front sights, for example. Exceptionally annoying, especially if the lot concerned was a prototype or something a bit unusual. All the auction house will normally do is offer a full refund and cancel the sale - not much use if what you were after was something special. Mags and slings from prototype Webleys have gone missing between bidding and collection at Holt's for 3 or 4 of my bids, as did the adjustable diopter off a PH17 sight. I probably wouldn't bother with buying 'standard' guns anymore.

[Muskett]

There is some luck involved. Know your stuff and ensure all costs are reflected in your bids. Pictures and descriptions are no guide at all.

Local auction houses are best as you can see the item.

Its your money, and they are only too happy to take it. Just be happy with your decision. If in doubt let it go as there is always another one that will come along shortly..... or not.
Its a high stakes game and you can win or lose; part of the fun.

[Bumpsfelt]

1. Auctions are a great way of getting rid of krap.
2. Auctions are for sellers. Only sophisticated buyers should bid.
3. The successful buyer has WON nothing - he/she has BOUGHT.
4. The unsuccessful buyer has lost NOTHING - he/she STILL HAS THE CASH in hand.

[Phil Russell]

1. Auctions are a great way of getting rid of krap.
2. Auctions are for sellers. Only sophisticated buyers should bid.
3. The successful buyer has WON nothing - he/she has BOUGHT.
4. The unsuccessful buyer has lost NOTHING - he/she STILL HAS THE CASH in hand.

No. 1: Mostly I agree but I think there are also a good proportion of honest sellers out there

The buyer may get a bargain, in which case the seller loses. The item may go for an exorbitant price in which case the seller is delighted and one must assume the buyer is happy as well ... at least until reality clicks in.
But the only winner no matter what, is the auction house as they will be raking in about 40% of the hammer price made up of 20% commission from the seller and 20% commission from the buyer (varies a bit but not so much these days and I know one auction house that sets a minimum commission. So if you sell for only £2 over that minimum commission, all you get is your £2 with the commission being maybe £8+
Cheers, Phil

[mel h]

1. Auctions are a great way of getting rid of krap.
2. Auctions are for sellers. Only sophisticated buyers should bid.
3. The successful buyer has WON nothing - he/she has BOUGHT.
4. The unsuccessful buyer has lost NOTHING - he/she STILL HAS THE CASH in hand.

I'll go with number 2. I've been a regular auction buyer for more than forty five years and only now realising how sophisticated I really am. Thank you for the vote of confidence
Mel.