Any thoughts and/or experience with iCollector.com?|General Discussions & Questions|Forum|Winchester Collector

[email protected] said
I keep encountering references to icollector.com, as both images/links and in written descriptions.  icollector.com is an interesting “gateway” to other auction sites.

Distancing myself from Gunbroker, I’ve been leaning towards Guns International at the suggestion of others here.  So far, icollector.com and the sites accessed through it seem to be another source.

Any personal experience to share?

Thanks for your opinions,

Dorsey  

To save money deal directly with the company or person that actually is selling the gun.  Icollector like Proxybid helps facilitate online sales for the sellers.  

There is a premium for buying through Icollector or Proxybid on top of all the rest.  You pay extra for using a credit card too.  So you pay the buyers premium plus the credit card fee plus the Icollector fee and then sales tax on top of it all.  You can save some money by paying with a check.

TR said

 Well said and good advice! 

 When it comes to rare guns,  I’ll deal with anyone and play by their rules. Rare is rare! Like Chuck said. “Self restraint is something I don’t want to exercise.” T/R  

There’s a lot of individual circumstances that come into play.  A big one is how much discretionary money you have available.  As an example, I’m thinking about the people who have made crazy money in the stock market the last several five or six years.  If spending a fraction of that money impulsively on collectible firearms – so what?  

Another line of thought – gun collecting can be addictive.  Sometimes this happens because those doing the collecting are addiction-prone.  Impulsive spending your money on prostitutes and cocaine, the casino and so on, is hardly a better alternative.  Aside from such dramatic examples, item such as expensive clothes, luxury vehicles etc. can eat up a lot of money. The expensive clothes topic really gets to me.  I’ve seen people spend more money on clothes than what I could have purchased a very nice lever rifle for.  And talk about an example of something that is worth almost nothing after you leave the store with it.  I’ve also seen where expensive clothes can be purchased very impulsively (more-so by women).

Another line of thought – you save your entire life, take a pass on the nice rifles you’d really enjoy having, and in the end, your heirs blow all your money.  

Another line of thought has to do with thinking downrange.  That is, what is ultimately going to happen to your collection.  We’ve talked about this in other threads.  Again, there is tremendous variability among individual situations.  On one side, you don’t want to leave a mess for your spouse to deal with.  Far at the other end, some of you had father’s who were collectors and you inherited their rifles.  That’s a wonderful scenario.  As a father, you can add to your collection and know they will be passed on and appreciated.  As a son… well, it works out well… your glad your Dad didn’t spend all that money on expensive clothes.  Some here have mentioned they are confirmed bachelors.  For them, as long as you don’t spend so much you don’t have money to live on, “impulsive spending” – why not buy what you want?

The final topic I’ll bring up is spending, “too much” money for a piece.  My thought is if it is something that you have really wanted, something you have maybe looked for, for decades, I can understand.  Maybe fellow collectors suggest you paid too much – they would not have paid that much.  Well, did they want it as bad?  Would you have been better off buying two rifles that you didn’t want as much, but everyone else agree were good deals?  We often talk about crazy auction hammer prices.  Some of these guys bid that high because they really want that gun.  Or, sometimes, the high bidding has little to do with the gun and everything to do with some big egos slugging it out.  I don’t relate to that scenario, but hey, if the ego burst you receive from beating the other guy is such a satisfying blast for you – it’s your money and your choice how to spend it.  What I do understand is each of us wants to make our life interesting and enjoyable.  We are all different people with different personalities, circumstances, perspectives, values, philosophies, interests and on and on.  Large variabilities in what we see others doing is to be expected.  When we see a snapshot of something, we typically don’t know what the variables are.  If I see someone pay what I consider a crazy hammer price for a gun, I don’t know if they had been looking for that piece for 30 years, or if they have more money than they’ll ever spend and they just don’t care, etc.   Or, maybe they’re a dealer/speculator and they have a customer that they know will pay even more for the piece!

George Madis told me, “You never pay too much for a Winchester, you just bought it to soon”.  I have always been drawn to the unusual configured pieces and rare calibers that some buyers pass up due to lack of provenance.  So I pay more than what someone else is willing to pay, but I got what I wanted.  Mostly I have had more “sellers remorse” than “buyers remorse”.  Just my view.  RDB

Nice pieces sure seem on the move – and not down!  My interest in lever rifles extends beyond Winchester and Bullards are objects of my desire.  Last month, Morphy auctions had one listed.  Even though it is described in “very good” condition, it looked plenty nice to me.  The auction estimate is $12-$15,000 with a minimum bid of $6,000.  The fantasy that it might hammer on the low side formed in my head.  Wow, was I wrong.  It hammered for $36,900.  Even though that includes, “buyer’s premium,” still, with sales tax, etc., I suspect nearly $40,000 was shelled out for this piece.  That was a reality check for me!

https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/_A__SCARCE_BULLARD_LAR__40_60_CALIBER_LEVER_ACTION-LOT515430.aspx

RickC said

Thanks for sharing Steve. Beautiful rifle. A little out of my comfort zone on price. Actually about 4 times higher than my comfort zone but one can look & dream for free. Really like this Bullard.  

Rick – I’m with you on that!  Way out of my comfort zone for price.  I had the fantasy it would sell for about a quarter of what it hammered for.   I have noticed a lot of fantasies don’t come true.

mrcvs said

Ideally, you should handle everything before bidding on it.  Often, it’s not possible.

Why avoid auction houses if you can find what you want and it hammers at a good price, even including any and all fluff?

Of course, most lots hammer at much more than desired, especially when it comes to a big name firearms auction house in the Midwest.  

The auction houses are often able to attract very desirable items.  Many long-term collections get disposed of through the auction houses.  Some of that stuff hasn’t seen the light of day in 50 years.  I agree that handling something before bidding/purchasing is very desirable.  I also think buying at shows is preferable to auction houses as you’re not bidding with others.  For some, traveling to shows or the auction house viewings is much more feasible than it is for others.  I always wished I had been able to travel to more shows.