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February 17, 2022
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Did anyone have trouble with Ward’s yesterday? Seems something went wrong. I had bid on a couple lots of ammo and a rifle there. I watched the count down and hit zero and showed I had won the lots. But then there was a notice they were having difficulty closing the auction. I kept an eye on it for a while last night to see if I had been sniped on my bids but nothing changed after an hour and a half so I figured all was well. I got up this morning to find that at about 100 am my time (est) I received emails telling me I had been out bid on all lots. Just wondering.
March 31, 2009
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From the very beginning yesterday they sent out a notice that they were having trouble with their count down clock, or whatever it is called. The auction ended at 12:02 AM PST. They instituted a new format that has a lot of issues. It goes way beyond just learning the new process. Weeks ago I saw the change of format and hacked at it for a time while making a list of problems. I called and actually had a conversation with the IT guy. He knew of many of my issues. He did make some changes and explained a lot how to navigate through the system.
It is their practice to email you when you are outbid but I don’t know when the ones I got came in and I deleted them this morning. I do as you do, follow it up to my bedtime and look the next morning to see what I lost. I got 3 cartridges and 3 books. There was a notice that said they were going to use the 1 minute rule instead of the 30 second rule they have been using. Not sure which one they used?
I hate the way they run their auction and have told Eric this in person several times. The auction needs to end at a reasonable. The snipers would be eliminated and people on the East coast wouldn’t have to play their game until 3 AM.
September 19, 2014
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Chuck et al. As for me, it was far easier to just ignore what was going on and not bid on anything. My stored shortcut address no longer works, navigating was a pain, and I just don’t HAVE to play the game. Tim
March 31, 2009
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tim tomlinson said
Chuck et al. As for me, it was far easier to just ignore what was going on and not bid on anything. My stored shortcut address no longer works, navigating was a pain, and I just don’t HAVE to play the game. Tim
Yes, they did make you change your Username to your member number. Password did not change. You also have to re enter all your particulars and the credit card info. Most info didn’t get saved during the change over.
Tim, I bet they will get a lot of complaints and loose a bunch of bidders.
February 17, 2022
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Chuck said
From the very beginning yesterday they sent out a notice that they were having trouble with their count down clock, or whatever it is called. The auction ended at 12:02 AM PST. They instituted a new format that has a lot of issues. It goes way beyond just learning the new process. Weeks ago I saw the change of format and hacked at it for a time while making a list of problems. I called and actually had a conversation with the IT guy. He knew of many of my issues. He did make some changes and explained a lot how to navigate through the system.
It is their practice to email you when you are outbid but I don’t know when the ones I got came in and I deleted them this morning. I do as you do, follow it up to my bedtime and look the next morning to see what I lost. I got 3 cartridges and 3 books. There was a notice that said they were going to use the 1 minute rule instead of the 30 second rule they have been using. Not sure which one they used?
I hate the way they run their auction and have told Eric this in person several times. The auction needs to end at a reasonable. The snipers would be eliminated and people on the East coast wouldn’t have to play their game until 3 AM.
Chuck, I think your correct about the complaints, I just won’t bother chasing any thing there again. I know that weird things happen out there in the internet world. I didn’t mind the time as it was only 800 here. But the thing was it said auction closed and I had high bid. Live and learn.
September 22, 2011
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A few comments here…
Uf I was a consigner, and if my items did not bring top dollar because of website issues, I would be highly disappointed. Maybe there are legal ramifications as well.
I know Cowan’s had issues with an auction several years ago, canceled the results, and te ran the entire auction a few days later. I don’t know if that’s even an acceptable solution, as folks who bid in the first auction may have become discouraged and not place bids in the subsequent auction. I know I placed a lowball bid on a revolver in both auctions, the same price, and I win it in the first auction but was outbid in the second auction by one bid so rerunning an auction didn’t benefit me, personally.
If bidders in this past auction fail to come back, I like that as a bidder as there’s less competition. Less bids, lower hammer prices overall.
I think Morphy’s lost a lot of their following recently, unbeknownst to me, meaning the very nice Winchester 1886 I consigned them went well under what I thought was possible.
Admittedly, I didn’t even look to see what Wards had in this auction as they are now charging me 6% sales tax, should I win, which was never the case previously, and I refuse to give an extra 6% on something I didn’t have to previously.
October 20, 2022
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I tried to navigate there new setup and got frustrated, so I didn’t bid on anything. I liked the old setup much better.
My two cents.
June 12, 2013
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My understanding of Wards one minute soft close is not on each item but when anything in the whole group ( ie guns) does not receive a bid during the one minute. Hence final bids sometimes run until midnight on a posted 5 or 6 pm closing. Very confusing
May 14, 2025
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mrcvs said
A few comments here…
Uf I was a consigner, and if my items did not bring top dollar because of website issues, I would be highly disappointed. Maybe there are legal ramifications as well.
I know Cowan’s had issues with an auction several years ago, canceled the results, and te ran the entire auction a few days later. I don’t know if that’s even an acceptable solution, as folks who bid in the first auction may have become discouraged and not place bids in the subsequent auction. I know I placed a lowball bid on a revolver in both auctions, the same price, and I win it in the first auction but was outbid in the second auction by one bid so rerunning an auction didn’t benefit me, personally.
If bidders in this past auction fail to come back, I like that as a bidder as there’s less competition. Less bids, lower hammer prices overall.
I think Morphy’s lost a lot of their following recently, unbeknownst to me, meaning the very nice Winchester 1886 I consigned them went well under what I thought was possible.
Admittedly, I didn’t even look to see what Wards had in this auction as they are now charging me 6% sales tax, should I win, which was never the case previously, and I refuse to give an extra 6% on something I didn’t have to previously.
I haven’t bid with Ward’s yet but had a similar issue recently with Langham on a timed auction. I bid, I watched the clock count down to zero, I won, and I went to bed. Woke up the next morning to find an email sent that said they had a technical issue and restarted the auction overnight and while I wasn’t there someone outbid me. BS, I thought the law was when the hammer comes down the auction is final? Who restarts an auction an hour later?
I don’t care for Morphy’s. I buy from a lot of auctions and they charge the highest BP and have the worst service. They don’t reply to emails and take 30 days to ship most of the time. Contrast that to Richmond or Rock Island who always answer the phone, are polite and friendly and ship within days of the auction ending. Oh, and they both charge a BP of 20% less. Heck when you call Richmond and ask about an item you can literally talk with someone who will go get the item in hand to discuss it with you. Unfortunately if Morphy has the item, I still have to deal with them as a buyer but if I was consigning no way I use them.
November 19, 2006
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I’ve never bid on a Wards auction. At least when I looked into it, the auction on any single item wouldn’t close until there had been a period of no bidding on every single item in the auction?! That’s crazy in so many ways – so – say you have 1000 items and two guys bidding on one item can keep everyone up all night? Maybe I didn’t have this right as that is too crazy for me to believe.
December 9, 2002
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steve004 said
I’ve never bid on a Wards auction. At least when I looked into it, the auction on any single item wouldn’t close until there had been a period of no bidding on every single item in the auction?! That’s crazy in so many ways – so – say you have 1000 items and two guys bidding on one item can keep everyone up all night? Maybe I didn’t have this right as that is too crazy for me to believe.
I think you have it right Steve, as they are a little different in their style of Auction. IMO!
It’s no secret that, Eric Ward is an expert on cartridges, and a great reference source in those regards. As a business, they’ve decided to branch out a few years ago, into the firearms, and have expanded some other areas also. Their descriptions and pictures could use some great improvement in many areas, but some bidders like to use that to they’re benefit. IMO! Buyer Beware!
I also don’t have a lot of patience for the new site, or waiting for it to respond, to my commands, only to find out once again, I hit the wrong button! 
It also appears to me that the younger generation is trying to improve upon the site and possibly the reason for the updated changes that so many of us old timers aren’t happy with. I’ve also heard from many that don’t like it! Times change and changing with the times, are sometimes necessary. IMHO! 
Tony
November 2, 2009
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Personally, I don’t care for their new format at all.
September 22, 2011
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steve004 said
I’ve never bid on a Wards auction. At least when I looked into it, the auction on any single item wouldn’t close until there had been a period of no bidding on every single item in the auction?! That’s crazy in so many ways – so – say you have 1000 items and two guys bidding on one item can keep everyone up all night? Maybe I didn’t have this right as that is too crazy for me to believe.
Oddly, I actually like this, but it works best with only 30 seconds until bidding ceases, instead of a minute. No sniping, as long as you can stay up late, if necessary. Most on this forum are retired —I’m not—and can just sleep on the next morning.
March 31, 2009
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antler1 said
My understanding of Wards one minute soft close is not on each item but when anything in the whole group ( ie guns) does not receive a bid during the one minute. Hence final bids sometimes run until midnight on a posted 5 or 6 pm closing. Very confusing
They had the 30 second rule then I read that they went to the 1 minute rule. Really don’t know which they used? But if any item in the auction gets bid on they start the timer over.
November 5, 2014
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I have participated in Ward’s Auctions for a few years now, principally bidding on ammunition boxes (not firearms). The variety of vintage ammunition boxes offered by Ward’s is attractive to me. In this latest auction I bid on, and won (I think) one box that I needed to complete a display I’m putting together.
I didn’t think that the “new” website was a problem, just different from what I was used to… The former user ID and password transitioned over (no need to create a “new” account). Credit card information was not transitioned, but that’s probably a good thing… It’s still relatively easy to filter categories/lots, more like looking at Proxybid in terms of user interface than their old site was.
I think that they must have anticipated there was going to be a problem with the auction “soft close”, as they sent out an email warning pf potential problems well before the auction close, even stating that they would extend bidding for a DAY if the system didn’t work… What appeared to have happened (???) was that the 1-min timer didn’t kick-in at 5 PM, so anyone who had placed bids and went to check while the system was down saw “auction closed” and concluded that it actually had closed, when in reality it was just “paused”… They did send out a “we’re having technical difficulties – stay tuned” email that could/should have alerted bidders that it wasn’t going to be over until it was over… I think a little better “beta testing” before the new system went live might have helped…
I suppose (???) they went back to the 1-min timer thing for this auction because they anticipated there might be a problem or that long-time users familiar with the old site might fumble around a bit on the new format (???). They’ll probably go back to 30-sec next time, since the soft close keeps them up too!!! With the 1-min timer (once they got it working), the auction ran from 5 PM PST until 12 AM PST… The soft close, in general, has never bothered me, but then again I only bid on small items and I just enter my max bid close to the end and log out. No watching into the wee hours of the morning to see if I’m outbid. I can find out in the morning…
The only (minor) issue I have with the new system was that on the old one it was clearer (to me) on the “my account” page which lots I was winning/won, on which I’d been outbid, etc. Once the auction closed I could indicate my preferred means of payment right there… Now (I think) I have to wait for an invoice before I can convey payment information… Which is why I said that “I think” I won the only lot I bid on… It shows my max bid, it shows that the hammer price was substantially less than my bid, and it shows the auction is now closed. But it doesn’t show (as clearly as the old system) that I “won”… So I guess I’ll wait for the invoice…
Anyway, I’m not going to stop participating in Ward’s auctions as a result of the new website or the “teething issues” they had this time around. Good Luck to them!!! 
Lou
WACA 9519; Studying Pre-64 Model 70 Winchesters
March 31, 2009
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Louis Luttrell said
I have participated in Ward’s Auctions for a few years now, principally bidding on ammunition boxes (not firearms). The variety of vintage ammunition boxes offered by Ward’s is attractive to me. In this latest auction I bid on, and won (I think) one box that I needed to complete a display I’m putting together.
I didn’t think that the “new” website was a problem, just different from what I was used to… The former user ID and password transitioned over (no need to create a “new” account). Credit card information was not transitioned, but that’s probably a good thing… It’s still relatively easy to filter categories/lots, more like looking at Proxybid in terms of user interface than their old site was.
I think that they must have anticipated there was going to be a problem with the auction “soft close”, as they sent out an email warning pf potential problems well before the auction close, even stating that they would extend bidding for a DAY if the system didn’t work… What appeared to have happened (???) was that the 1-min timer didn’t kick-in at 5 PM, so anyone who had placed bids and went to check while the system was down saw “auction closed” and concluded that it actually had closed, when in reality it was just “paused”… They did send out a “we’re having technical difficulties – stay tuned” email that could/should have alerted bidders that it wasn’t going to be over until it was over… I think a little better “beta testing” before the new system went live might have helped…
I suppose (???) they went back to the 1-min timer thing for this auction because they anticipated there might be a problem or that long-time users familiar with the old site might fumble around a bit on the new format (???). They’ll probably go back to 30-sec next time, since the soft close keeps them up too!!! With the 1-min timer (once they got it working), the auction ran from 5 PM PST until 12 AM PST… The soft close, in general, has never bothered me, but then again I only bid on small items and I just enter my max bid close to the end and log out. No watching into the wee hours of the morning to see if I’m outbid. I can find out in the morning…
The only (minor) issue I have with the new system was that on the old one it was clearer (to me) on the “my account” page which lots I was winning/won, on which I’d been outbid, etc. Once the auction closed I could indicate my preferred means of payment right there… Now (I think) I have to wait for an invoice before I can convey payment information… Which is why I said that “I think” I won the only lot I bid on… It shows my max bid, it shows that the hammer price was substantially less than my bid, and it shows the auction is now closed. But it doesn’t show (as clearly as the old system) that I “won”… So I guess I’ll wait for the invoice…
Anyway, I’m not going to stop participating in Ward’s auctions as a result of the new website or the “teething issues” they had this time around. Good Luck to them!!!
Lou
Louis, I don’t care for the new system but I will get used to it. I really don’t like their soft close procedure. Does Gun Broker do one? I don’t normally buy from online auctions but I’ve been buying non gun items from Wards for years and will continue to do so. I did email Eric about an item and he said someone would get back to me but nobody ever contacted me. I think in a way the soft close promotes sniping. That’s why an auction that is supposed to close at 7 PM never closes until at least 11 PM PST. If memory serves me right I believe one auction went on into Saturday morning?
November 7, 2015
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Good thread! I got a call from RIA about their online auction this weekend but I think I’ll pass. Online auctions are an integral part of our hobby these days so this type of discussion is important to the collectors watching from the sidelines. Thanks for taking the time to describe your experiences, knowing how to play the game is vital.
Mike
November 19, 2006
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I’ve been going through the Wards closed auctions this morning. I was quite startled how low many items sold for. I’m primarily referring to decent original, but plain-Jane Winchester levers. Especially the M1894’s. I have some very similar rifles here and if those were my pieces I’d be very disappointed in the winning bids.
If it works out that many of their usual bidders are disenfranchised with their new system – and stay away – Wards may be a better place to buy. I’d think twice about consigning with them.
March 31, 2009
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steve004 said
I’ve been going through the Wards closed auctions this morning. I was quite startled how low many items sold for. I’m primarily referring to decent original, but plain-Jane Winchester levers. Especially the M1894’s. I have some very similar rifles here and if those were my pieces I’d be very disappointed in the winning bids.
If it works out that many of their usual bidders are disenfranchised with their new system – and stay away – Wards may be a better place to buy. I’d think twice about consigning with them.
Steve, I have had good luck buying from them. I’m not sure if they still have the rule about if your gun sells for over a certain price there is no sellers premium? I have bought 3 or 4 guns from them and each one was as good as or better than the description. They are honest but sometimes not up on everything they are selling. They just sold a 45 Thuer cartridge.
November 7, 2015
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steve004 said
I’ve been going through the Wards closed auctions this morning. I was quite startled how low many items sold for. I’m primarily referring to decent original, but plain-Jane Winchester levers. Especially the M1894’s. I have some very similar rifles here and if those were my pieces I’d be very disappointed in the winning bids.
If it works out that many of their usual bidders are disenfranchised with their new system – and stay away – Wards may be a better place to buy. I’d think twice about consigning with them.
I tried peddling a 94 much like you described at Scott’s show in Durant Friday. A decent 70% gun with a few detractors but the market was remarkably soft if the bids I got were any indication. It reinforces the advice we often hear; buy the best you can afford. Those 70% guns are easy to find and fun to shoot or tinker with but they can be hard to sell when it comes time to thin the herd.
Mike
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