First Gun Broker auction- Question

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Fish Miner

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Hey THR- I have taken the advice of the forum and am trying my first GB auction. I noticed that right after I bid- (1st bidder) some one bumped it up 5$- No prob just another interested buyer right? Well they have bid like 5 times this auction, even 3 in a row with no other bidders. it now $100 more!!!!

So does he really want this gun to the point he is outbidding himself?

Or is this a result of me contacting the seller and asking if they would sell it outright before the auction? They know I really want it and are trying to drive up the cost?

I have one day left in the auction and am not sure if I should trust this seller. its $80 past what he said he sold it for in the shop.
 
Someone set their highest bid to be higher than what the other person bid

Example:

Current bid is $100
Buyer A submits a 'highest bid' of $150, however, the actual auction only goes up by a fraction of that, maybe to $105

Buyer B submits a bid of $110, which is more than $105. However, since buyer A submitted a higher 'highest bid', it will 'auto-bid' for them to their highest amount.

If you don't think the gun is going for a fair price, don't bid. There will surely be another gun of the same kind available...unless you're looking for something uber rare
 
I'm not sure that you can 'out-bid yourself', but rather, you can increase your maximum bid. If his maximum bid is higher than yours, the auction will automatically proxy bid above you and anyone else, until someone's bid exceeds his maximum bid.


edit: Joe beat me to it.

ps
Also try out Auction Arms. I always search both GB and AA for things I'm looking for.
 
It could be someone trying to drive up the price, more likely someone trying to edge you out -- trying to bid just a few dollars more than you, but they don't know how much you bid so they keep raising their bid by a few each time. I see that happen on ebay a lot.

Lesson learned: don't bid a dollar more than you're willing to pay in the first place. Figure out the most you're comfortable paying enter that bid and be done.
 
Whenever I bid anything on Gun Broker.... I decide what I'm willing to pay for it... and then I don't bid at all untill the last min. Even thought they have the 15 min. rule, so true sniping doens't work, by bidding days before the auction is up, you attract the attention of other interesting parties, essentially telling them, this item is not going to be re-listed and they need to act if they want it.

That said, I'm very convinced that I've seen schill bidding on GB.

Generally speaking, I won't bid an auction that has another bidder. And if bids pop up there in the last minute of the auction (after sitting dormant for 10 days), I will not increase my max bid.

Then again, I can't afford rare guns, so I let time work on my side, as another one will always come up.
 
You are seeing the autobid working.

I bid $1,000 on an item with a $100 starting price. Mine is the first bid. The high bidder is me with $100 showing since that's all it takes at this point.

Someone else comes along and bids $105. But I have a $1,000 bid in place, so I remain high bidder but now it shows the high bid as $110. New guy comes back with a bid of $250. Now it shows me as high bidder with a $255 bid.

See how it works? This will continue until the auction ends and I am the winner or someone exceeds my $1,000 bid.

When I bid I decide how much I am willing to pay. Absolute top price I will go (including shipping and FFL transfer fees) and I bid that much. Then I sit back and wait to see if I bought it. Either I get it at my price or someone wants to pay more than I do and I walk away.

I like to be first bidder. I think sometimes other bidders get discouraged when autobid keeps topping their offers and they may drop out assuming I have bid real high. Usually I have not, but they don't stay long enough to find out.

And sometimes nobody else seems interested. Can't tell you how many guns I have bought with one bid for the starting price. Got this that way for $100. For a C note I can live with the holster wear.

standard.jpg
 
Good advice- the auto bidding looks like the answer. I might try a different tactic on the next auction. There are a ton of fun guns on there. I just never would have thought this particular gun would be so difficult to get.

Thanks again THR always sets me straight. I hope I will report back with pics of a new 1911!
 
If you are passing up this gun, you really ought to post a link so that we can all make smart remarks about the way the auction is going.:evil:
 
Some sellers also use ghost bidders (sometimes themselves, and sometimes friends) who have no interest in the item - they are merely trying to boost the price. Unless a seller has a stellar rating with 99.5% or better positive feedback, I am always just a little leery.
 
Fish Miner: FYI, the seller can not bid on his own item. My son tried doing that on a shotgun stock he was selling on GB. The system blocked him from bidding.
 
Gunbroker auctions drive me nuts because the bidders are usualy not as sophisticated as you get on ebay. They just keep bidding on it when the auction has 5 days to run and drive the price up for no reason.

Serious bidders don't come in to the very end, unless the auction is ending in 10 minutes its to soon to bid.
 
I would use GunsAmerica personally, but I'm a partisan ;) None of the problems you guys speak about happen there. It is just buying and selling guns. No games, no wondering about shill bidders, contact the seller and buy the gun or don't.
 
mgkdrgn said:
Yes, but don't try them at -the same time- for listing an item. Auction Arms just sent me a very little note about that.
Click to expand...
And for good reason. What were you planning to do if you had winning bidders on BOTH sites?
 
I use gunbroker all the time and you can not just raise your bid, it will only increase your max bid. It will automatically raise the bid anytime someone else bids. You need to decide if the gun is worth it or not and bid, it is an auction.
 
Lets say the starting Bid is $100.00, and I bid $500.00


The Bid will then show as being like $105.00


Someone else comes along, and bids $110.00

Instantly, the system raises my already placed Bid up to $115.00, as if I had bid again, which in effect I did, but it is automatic, since my only Bid was in fact $500.00.


etc.

Until someone else bids more than $500.00, any bids by others will automatically be trumped by the room my original Bid has left.
 
GunsAmerica Fan I would use GunsAmerica personally, but I'm a partisan None of the problems you guys speak about happen there. It is just buying and selling guns. No games, no wondering about shill bidders, contact the seller and buy the gun or don't.
Click to expand...

Problems? Being outbid is not a problem, it's expected because that's how AUCTIONS work.

But you want to know about problems with GA? Less than 1% of my transfers are from GunsAmerica. Want to know why?

10. The gun posted for sale has already sold.
9. The price has changed, but the ad didn't.
8. Rarely are there bargains- auctions have PLENTY of bargains.
7. Same overpriced guns for years.
6. 99% of the "GunsAmerica is great" postings come from you. If GA were truly the best, cheapest place to find guns online you would hear about them often- from buyers and sellers. But you don't.
5. Although slightly better now, the GA search engine was so bad it drove many off the site forever. It is still a mess of a site to look at.
4. Shill bidders on GunBroker? Just as many scammers on GA.
3. GA offers EXACTLY what that GB doesn't? GB has classified "for sale" listings exactly like GA.
2. GunBroker gets MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more buyers and sellers than does GunsAmerica. It's not even close.
1. The number one reason to love Gunbroker? I get to decide the selling price. On GA the seller offers it "buy it or leave it" (if actually he has it at all). On Gunbroker the market determines the price via auction.
 
Is GA still in business?

I know when I was trying to find another Guerini shotgun it took hours to manually sift throught GA looking for them. Going straight to Guerini only showed 3 guns. I eventually found 14, but decided that I would take my money elsewhere and I haven't been back.

It still looks funny at GB to see the list of bids and see six or seven bids in a row by the same person. Even if you know the why of it, it just looks wrong and is bound to drive newcomers away.

John
 
8. Rarely are there bargains- auctions have PLENTY of bargains.
Click to expand...
This is really the #1 reason I choose auctions over a 'classified ad' site. Pretty much the same as your #1 IMO. Buyer gets to determine the value.
 
Look out for "sniping."

They guy who will throw a huge bid at the last 10-15 seconds to win.

I prefer to use "Buy it Now" options.

Gunbroker is a good place. Everything I have bought and/or sold has gone well there.
 
I guess you haven't been there since about feb of 2007 when we had a bad application launch that was a nightmare.

I just plugged Guerini into the search on the homepage and the guns you were looking for came up just fine. The search is very powerful now and those problems were fixed years ago.
 
Or is this a result of me contacting the seller and asking if they would sell it outright before the auction? They know I really want it and are trying to drive up the cost?
Click to expand...

That is a nono on any auction site. An honest seller might report you and then you may be locked out.
 
"I guess you haven't been there since about feb of 2007 when we had a bad application launch that was a nightmare. "

Sounds about right. I wonder if those are still the same guns that are for sale. :)
 
Some could be you never know. That's the nice thing about classified ads you can leave it there until the right seat comes along for your saddle.
 
Fish Miner: FYI, the seller can not bid on his own item. My son tried doing that on a shotgun stock he was selling on GB. The system blocked him from bidding.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but most sellers are gun stores, so an employee could raise the bid.
I think this happens a bit with E-bay also so have a maximum price in mind and don't go a penny over. I remember once when a shoulder strap for a Hartman bag sold for $259 on E-Bay. (I bought the whole bag for $200) I wanted it but I bid $20 and a frenzy started. People get caught up in the idea that they will LOSE if they don't bid higher.
The advantage of Gunbroker is that you can't snipe. (bid at the last second, an E-Bay strategy).
Any bid allows an extra 15 minutes for others to bid again.
 
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