Highs and lows of collecting

[Huttles94]

I have bought quite a few guns at auction. And I would say only two were "bad" experiences. The first was my very first auction. I saw this nice looking Original Mod 45 in .177. Not many bidders and with only one picture of the area around the rear of the action, so I thought I would give it a shot. I won it for around £80 so with auction fees I had paid around £110 for what I thought would be a great rifle. So I go to collect and quickly found that it was missing all sights and had what looked like a okish attempt at threading the end of the barrel for a silencer. Now with this being my first auction experience I was a bit naive and did not question it. Whilst the gun was in perfect condition (apart from the aforementioned problems) I was still a bit miffed since there was nothing mentioning this in the item description. But oh well. I sold the gun to my brother a few weeks later for a £10 loss....

My second would was when I say a BSA Standard .22. While the condition was ok the main thing I wanted was the BSA No 22 rear sight it had. So I threw a bid and I won. Got it shipped to my address. The rear sight was there and thats all I really wanted. I then found that the serial number had been ground off! Again no mention of this in the description or images.

Apart from that, all my auction experiences have been ok. I mainly buy private now though. Auction fees can be expensive!

My one regret is that in a Wallis and Wallis auction back in February there was an old BSA/Lincoln Jeffries, Serial number 300. Oh how I wanted that gun. I placed my bid long in advance. Alas on the day of the auction I was violently ill, could not move. And in the end the rifle went for £30 more than I bid, I would of been more than happy to have kept on bidding live if I was well. I was a bit upset but oh well, some things are not meant to be.

[piggy589]

The images provided by auction houses in their online catalogues vary wildly, as does the level of commission charged.

Some provide useful close ups, others single out of focus pictures with the photographer's toes included.

Either way buying sight unseen will always be a punt.

[micky2]

Yes l can relate to the highs and lows of the auction houses. l think most of us have had them at some stage, l have asked some auctions for a condition report, is it in working order ect and have been told we don't give out reports. they are the ones l try to avoid.

[piggy589]

The statement A.F. was included in the description of my latest auction purchase,no detail.

Until I get to pick it up the true extent of the problems will remain a mystery.

Although the auction house is a R.F.D. I can understand their reticence.