Ripoffs On Online Auctions

[Gaucho Gringo]

All the talk of great deals on online auctions got me curious again. Went to Gunsamerica site and found the SOS. $175.00 guns starting at $275.00.
Here is an example GA# 976596295. I could list 1,000's more. Needless to say I will not be wasting my time any more on online gun auction sites. And in all the people saying they got great deals I have yet to see any concrete proof of it such as a link to the "great deal" auction. I would have to say these good deals probably happen maybe 1\2 of 1% of the time, the rest all I can say I hope you got kissed.

 

[SaxonPig]

Well, in the past 2 years I have bought a 4" nickel Model 57 for $325, a holster worn but great shooting Model 14 for $100, a post-war Walther P38 for $199, a reblued but very cool S&W "Triple Lock" for $295 and a 4" Pre-28 Highway Patrolman for $275.

That's just a few. I have bought about 60-65 guns off AuctionArms, GunBroker and GunsAmerica with 2 causing disappointment. One was replaced by the seller and the other was minor and the seller likely never noticed (pitting under the wood) so I kept it anyway.

Sure some sellers live in a dream world. Been to a gun show, lately? But you shop, buy at the prices you like and skip the rest.

That's the free market system, baby.

 

[orionengnr]

Well said

I do a lot of looking (usually for specific models) and very little buying.

However, in the last three years I picked up:

a very nice 4" S&W 66 for $200.
a NNIB S&W 340PD for $450
a NNIB .308 M-700 Remington VLS with Timney trigger for about $500 (unfortunately, I never shot it)

Sold each after about a year. Always looking for something new, and selling "this" to finance "that"...

 

[browningguy]

First, why does anyone need to prove anything to you?

Second, there are more high prices than good deals, I look at gunbroker and auctionarms almost every day. In the past three years I've gotten two reasonable deals, but people aren't gong to givethem away for nothing. For better or worse they are starting to set price levels for a lot of used guns.

 

[jhco50]

You fellas forget to add the shipping and the charges the FFLs charge to recieve them. That will usually negate a good deal.

 

[browningguy]

I'm buying mostly C&R so don't have to worry about FFL fees.

My only two good deals were a H&R .32 Semi automatic pistol and a Browning 1900.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

Occasionally there are some decent deals I'm sure but once you add in shipping and transfer fees the good deals seem to be few and far between. I'd rather patronize the local dealers anyway. If after the fees it's a $20 difference I'm not going to bother. The problem with a global market (internet) is the price levels out to the highest common denominator. Besides you are more likely to have your local dealer throw in a box of ammo or give you a deal on a holster if you buy a gun from him instead of just having one transferred to him. Got my last Glock 23 (sold as used but looked unfired) for a nice price from a local dealer and they threw in an extra standard capacity mag.

 

[STAGE 2]

This always kills me when I read stuff like this. There is no magical site where guns are sold for dirt cheap. Why people seem to think this is beyond me. That said, there are deals to be had. If you are patient you will find a deal. Furthermore, just because a number is posted doesn't mean you can't haggle. I've talked several sellers down past their reserve price. Especially if the gun has been sitting for a long time.

As far as the shipping and stuff go, everything is negotiable. However, figure about 20 bucks for shipping compared with what you would otherwise pay in sales tax and you will either break even or come out ahead just on that alone.

 

[mosttoyswins]

I have got a couple of good deals from GB and AA by being the only bidder on a gun, the reserve price is not met and contacting the seller and negotiating a deal since it did not sell at auction.

This works particularly well if you notice the same gun being listed over and over and not selling.

Just my .02

 

[gezzer]

Look at the penny start auctions How can they be a rip-off? Unless you want to buy at 1o cents on the dollar:banghead:

Don't like them don't go there

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

Auctions might start at 1/2 a cent. What matters is what they end at (it IS an auction after all). There are probably some great deals but usually the more people that watch something and know what it's worth, the closer it gets to market value (and sometimes over, for people that don't do their research or get caught up in the auction). Some people pay more on big auction sites like ebay than you could get it locally for. I guess some people value the convenience, or don't know what things really sell for.

 

[Zen21Tao]

Auction sites are great for sellers wanting to make use of high levels of consumer surplus. While you may not be will to pay $275 for an SKS there are those that are. A seller can price descriminate by listing an item at say $175 in his store while listing it on an online auction for say $250. This is similar to retailers that offer coupons for items. By issuing coupons they make money off of consumers not willing to pay normal retail price but willing to still pay enough to turn a profit.

There is also a documented social psychological phenonenon that occurs where people bidding loose track of how much they are actually willing to pay, or decide conciously to change that amount, just to win the bid battle. Winning the bidding war becomes temporarily more important that obtaining the item itself. The result is an item selling for much more than it is worth and a feeling of dissonance so common it has been labeled "buyers/winners remorse." There are people that make money capitalizing on this phenomenon by listing stuff on aution sites they bought right off the shelfs at retailers like Walmart, Target, Bestbuy, etc.

Another trick used by many to make high dollars on auction sites is to search for items that were mispelled. Being mispelled fewer people see and bid on these items so they can go real cheap (assuming no researve). Then, once you have gotten a really good deal on something you just relist the item (this time spelled properly) and turn a heafty profit.

 

[gego]

On separate occasions I bought identical 6" Stainless Steel Ruger GP100's, one for $295 and one for $325 including shipping. Both were in excellent condition, exactly as represented, and were shipped to my local FFL dealer promptly, without any problems. I had to pay the extra $20 fee to my local FFL which added to the cost, but I still could not have done as well buying locally.

You do need to know what is reasonable for what you are buying and look at the sellers history.

 

[tulsamal]

You fellas forget to add the shipping and the charges the FFLs charge to recieve them. That will usually negate a good deal.

Some auctions are "free shipping." Of course that will be reflected at some level in the price. Either way, a careful shopper DOES figure that in. A lot of the rifles I've bought online have shipped for $10-$15. Then my dealer charges $20 to transfer. Considering that our local sales tax is 9.5%, that shipping and transfer cost on a gun over $500 is pure savings.

I guess you need an example to believe me.

I just bought this Tikka Tactical .223 with muzzle brake. 150 rounds through it. This is a police/military type of weapon so I don't think 150 rounds is going to signifacantly lower the lifetime of the weapon. The factory brake is a $200 option. So the guy had $1500 in it new. I got it for $725 and that was shipped to my dealer. Plus $20 for the dealer. I got a great coyote gun for a TOTAL of $745. I just put a Nikon Monarch 3.3-10x44 on it with Leupold steel rings. Shoots great. I'm now working up a tailored load using the Sierra 77 grain match bullet. Exactly how did I get ripped off? And you could have gone into a local gun store and found that gun for that price?!

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=55507167

Gregg

 

[Mark Whiteman]

I haven't done any firearms, but I did a lot of two-way radios on Epay, and the deals are there if you work at it. The best ones are when there is a lousy description or title leaving the true nature to those who take the trouble to read the description. The next best and less common is when something is misidentified. I've scored some real gems that way, the seller never knowing what they had. (a rare ham rig described as a cb, or a "non-working" sideband radio not tested correctly. the thing was mint in box). Usually I prefer to see firearms in person, but I've done stocks and parts for my milsurps with no hassles.

 

[swingset]

I routinely buy any gun I want off the auction sites for 50% of it's going market rate. How? Well, I know how to access the "special" features, I have the password.

I'd tell you what it is, but the first rule agreed to upon getting the password is that you don't give it out to whiners.

 

[Roccobro]

After shipping and transfer cost ($50 to my FFL), I still make out with saving on tax. If it is a "wash" in savings, and my dealer can get the item (he usually has to order it too), I will buy from him. I only buy from the auctions if I cannot find it elsewhere, or I AM getting a great deal.

Justin

 

[Majic]

It's like any other shopping you have to look carefully and often for bargains. If you just want to window shop then whine at the retail prices.

 

[Mark Whiteman]

just because the guy is asking $100 doesn't mean its a ripoff. If someone wants it bad enough, they'll pay the freight. In that case, that was what it was worth to the buyer. If the seller keeps listing it for that and doesn't get any takers, well, the auction gets fees every time. So who is getting ripped off, or who is a fool? If you really want a particular item, and the seller won't come down, wait a couple auctions and ask again. Most guys will eventually get the hint if they really want to sell it.

 

[Kenneth Lew]

Internet deals/steals are out there. The only problem is that since its on the internet, every single Joe Bob, their brother, cousin, uncle, second cousin, third brother, friend, buddy (plus the the rest of the world). Your not the first in line, tough.

I've spend countless scourinig web sites and local areas looking for deals and find them. It also does not hurt to have friends nationwide and locally.

 

[BullfrogKen]

I have bought:

• a Kimber Custom Classic (series 1)
• a stock Colt LW Commander
• the discontinued Winchester Heavy Varmint in .308
• a 9mm Practical Hi-Power

I've gotten others this way as well. All were for very reasonable prices. More importantly, most were no longer available new, as they were discontinued.

Once you grow tired of spending weekends at retailers and gun shows looking for something you want, but walk away dissappointed time and time again, you might find these markets have value to you as well.

 

[XDKingslayer]

This always kills me when I read stuff like this. There is no magical site where guns are sold for dirt cheap. Why people seem to think this is beyond me.

While you do have a valid point, I have to play the devil's advocate. Somethings are just getting stupid in price. I have now lost 12 consecutive bids on Ebay for 18.5" Mossberg 500 barrels. All 12 USED barrels have sold for more than $80 before shipping.

Kinda stupid when you can get one brand new from Cabelas for $77....

One had visual rust on it the seller flat out refused to clean off because he was "too lazy".

 

[akodo]

remember, auction value is based on one incriment over what the 2nd highest bidder thinks it is worth

10000 people think it is worth $500
2 people think it is worth at least $800
1 person thinks it is worth $1000

the 1 person gets it for $805 or whatever.

now, it may well be that a 2nd nearly identical one will pop up, but because one guy is sated, the next one will go for a lot less.

Remember, the bigger and wider the action, the better your chances of finding some guy who is really willing to pay through the nose for something.


And besides, value varies from person to person. You may see the listed gun as just a gun, a tool, value X. The guy who ends up winning the auction may see a gun, just like the one great grandpa had, the one he taught you how to shoot with, that uncle floyde got when great grandpa died, and lost in a poker game, and now here is one that is nearly identical to it...and your boy is almost of age to start learning to shoot.

Or a collector may pay extra for it, not because by itself it is more collectable, but because for him it completes a series of guns he is interested in, so taken as a whole, as part of his collection, it is more valuable to him than to an equivalent collector with just that single peice

 

[LoadedDrum]

To put things in prospective:
XCR at local dealer $1600
XCR from GunBroker $1350+$25 transfer+$15 shipping = $210 savings via online auction.

 

[SSN Vet]

have to be willing to put in the time.....

the most informative auctions are the ones that close with more than one bid......

to research and learn the value of the gun I'm interested in, I put everything inside a reasonable range inside my watch list and then take note of what actually gets bid up and sells. On Gunsamerica....many auctions that close with only one bid must not actually result in a sale, as you immediately see them relisted. Must be that the sellers place the initial bid themselves......I think people do this on e-bay all the time.....using their spouses account to place the first bid.

After you see a few actual sales and research your favorite discount retailer, you've gotten an education about the real value and can shop in earnest.

It's time consuming....but I learn a lot along the way....

Knowledge is power.....if you know more about the gun being sold than the seller....then you can get a deal.

IMO...good photography is both hard to come by and worth a lot.....as you can compare well photographed guns at distant locations and really study them.

As you can tell, I put WAY to much time into these decisions.....but I don't have a lot of money for my hobby, so each one has to be a winner.