Big Money Winchesters, AZ Auction|General Discussions & Questions|Forum|Winchester Collector

Spent a bit of time with reps from a couple of auction houses this weekend. Seems there’s more than a few foreign buyers paying stupid money for old guns. Quite often they aren’t too picky about quality. 

Mike

I would like to add a dimension to this thread.  On line auctions are here to stay and are only becoming more common.  In my local area, small town and all, there is an online only auction business that started several years ago, and morphed into a firearms, online only, auction.  He seems to be doing rather well.  Then Sullivan Auctioneers near here has gotten huge selling farms, farm equipment, household items, automobiles, firearms, etc.  Think they got away from firearms when their relative opened the online only, firearms auction.  Anyway, they went to online only during the pandemic, and reached a wider audience and brought in more money than ever before.  Apparently they now have no intentions of going back to any “in person” sales.  They have branch offices in several states to be attractive to get consignments, but are selling quite expensive farm equipment, as well as land, via the new venues of online only.  Many pieces of equipment sell for the quarter to half million mark, well beyond firearms for the most part.  While I don’t like it, it seems to be the way forward.  Generally, not for me though.  Tim

clarence said

tim tomlinson said
I would like to add a dimension to this thread.  On line auctions are here to stay and are only becoming more common. 

Ain’t it the truth. The older I’ve gotten, the more I hate, or rather abhor, driving, so I ought to welcome this development…but I don’t.  Last 3 guns I’ve bought have been on-line, but that doesn’t make me like it any better.  But the Dream Team are boasting they’ll put an end to on-line gun sales.  Have to say, my feelings about that are mixed:  though I oppose everything they’re plotting to do, it would not hurt my feelings at all if the armchair dealers flogging sucker-priced guns on Gun Broker were forced to find a new hobby.  

It’s difficult to predict what’s going to happen.  I used to be perplexed, wondering what were they talking about when they referenced putting an end to on-line gun sales?  With gunbroker or gunauction, gunsamerica, gunsinternational, seller’s are shipping post-1898 to FFL holders only.  However, I suppose what they are referring to is people who find guns on-line but purchase face to face.  For example, Craigslist or Armslist – those typically result in a face to face transaction where no background check or paperwork occur.  I’ve never used sites like that, so that’s why I don’t think of them.  But with gunbroker, et al, the site of the sale is the FFL transfer dealers’ place of business, where a background check occurs.  Basically, identical procedure as if the buyer were purchasing a firearm from that dealer’s inventory.  Is there some dimension to this I am missing?

clarence said

steve004 said
 But with gunbroker, et al, the site of the sale is the FFL transfer dealers’ place of business, where a background check occurs.  Basically, identical procedure as if the buyer were purchasing a firearm from that dealer’s inventory.

Well, that’s true, but what about sales of antiques & C&R guns that aren’t required (presently, though that could also be changed) to go through a FFL?  (Not that most FFL sellers will honor a C&R & some, I know from personal experience, require NICS even for an antique!)   

I think a whole lot of people contemplating this topic are ignorant of the details you mentioned.  Many, just lump all firearms into one group.  This doesn’t play to our benefit.