What is it with auctions

[Ballistic Therapy]

I don't get it. Why would someone over pay at an auction when you can buy the same thing cheaper elsewhere.
CDNN has penny auctions all the time and guns sell for more on their auctions than you can buy them from their website.
For instance they have an auction going on right now. There is a Ruger 57 bid up to over $800 with a day left to bid.
Yet you can go to their site and buy the same gun for $750.

 

[knockonit]

auctions used to be fun and profitable, but so many feel the need to WIN, they can't see the cost of the finish line, i pretty much stepped from the auctions a few years ago, waste of time, rare if these days one can win a deal.

bummer too, miss the edge of seat moment when one won it.
Rj

 

[Ballistic Therapy]

I used to go to auctions a lot. Not the online ones , the ones where you actually had to go in person.
They were actually fun and didn't have all the extra fees added on. What you bid is what you payed.
'The auction house got their money from a percentage of the seller. That was years ago. Now they want their money from everyone involved , both buyers and sellers.

 

[Joelgas1]

I rarely see good deals at auctions anymore. Sometimes you can get lucky and find some things undervalued

 

[paulgt2164]

Just like pawn shops. Too greedy.

I look on gunbroker, and see a gun I like. If it is listed by a Pawn shop - skip. Why? Because even if I win it for less than retail - most pawn shops now charge for LOCAL pickup. Since they can't overcharge on shipping or transfer - they just tack on a local pickup fee. Yeah, f*ck you. I will go elsewhere before I pay you for you not to have to deal with packaging, shipping, and logistics and making your life easier.

Look at Collector car auctions.
For example, the p.o.s Craig Jackson (I have had a few run-ins with him personally years ago...) and his shit-show auction :
"Barrett-Jackson earns their money via an 8% seller's premium charged to the seller (consignor) when their car is sold. They also collect a 10% bidder's premium from the buyer once the car sells and 15% on automobilia sales"

Funny, though - if people would stop buying/going then they would have be reasonable again. But for some reason idiots love to overpay and be a part of the "competition" style buying. I have heard the "yeah, I overpaid by a lot but I won!" repeated many a times over the years. Won what?

Buyer Beware!

 

[Vyadmirer]

Yeah when it gets too complicated with fees and registrations and steps I usually get over it real quick.

 

[monkeypaw]

Some people are in it for the thrill of winning. They can get caught up in a bidding war and have to win even if they are overpaying. Sometimes the seller will even have another ID and bid against everyone just to drive up the price.

 

[Howlin Mad]

Things are getting nuts with auctions right now. I'm on the Proxibid mailing list and check out multiple online auctions every week. Bought quite a few things over the years for really good prices too.

An auction that ended yesterday had lots of ammo, factory, surplus, reloads, vintage, just about everything. Cheapest price paid was 30 cents a round, without buyer's fee, and that was 9mm Blazer aluminum case. Brass 9mm was at least 40 cents. Remington Gun Club 12 gauge went for $14 a box, yes $14 a box for a case of 10. Federal .45 ACP red box, $1 a round.

Most of the guns went for over retail like B.T. posted above.

 

[AZ_Five56]

Things are getting nuts with auctions right now. I'm on the Proxibid mailing list and check out multiple online auctions every week. Bought quite a few things over the years for really good prices too.

An auction that ended yesterday had lots of ammo, factory, surplus, reloads, vintage, just about everything. Cheapest price paid was 30 cents a round, without buyer's fee, and that was 9mm Blazer aluminum case. Brass 9mm was at least 40 cents. Remington Gun Club 12 gauge went for $14 a box, yes $14 a box for a case of 10. Federal .45 ACP red box, $1 a round.

Most of the guns went for over retail like B.T. posted above.

That's crazy! Most of the guns in that auction looked rough this go around!

 

[Mossberg]

It’s not just guns. I buy cars occasionally at public auctions and people pay more than u can buy them for on CL or similar. That’s without a test drive or knowing really what problems you might be getting into, not to mention the tax and buyer fees.

 

[Joelafives]

Definitely bizarre behavior

 

[steamer303]

Often wondered that myself (for any online item) - one should always know what the item is worth, factor in the Internet auction "fee", the sales tax if any, the shipping cost or estimate, transfer fee if applicable, and then SET a hard limit that you won't go beyond. Sure, you won't win many auctions this way, but you won't feel like an idiot for overpaying for something.