I have some military arms that are gather dust and was thinking about sending to Rock Island Auction to see what they can fetch? Anyone here ever done that and, if so, how did it work out for ya?
You may do much better financially advertising them yourself. Search for available web sites and look to get a picture of what is happening out there. This will help you determine the value of what you are trying to sell. If you do it yourself there is more you may have to spend a little more time with paperwork, etc., but you will likely still spend less than auction commission fees. Almost every type of military arm has a following, so just search the web as though you were looking for what you are trying to sell. Check also for local gun shows - cost for renting a booth not that bad (again, compared to auction fees). You may also find gun stores in your area that welcome consignments - make sure you understand their fee structure, as there is a wide range. Good luck.
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BassPro/Cabelas will buy many firearms. It will not be the absolute maximum profit for you, but it cuts out shipping, FFL fees, etc. You don’t have to take their first offer either, they will negotiate
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Thats what scares me off of using the auction. If the gun dont sell, they have a storage fee of 50 bucks a month. And since I dont have a C&R they cant ship it back to me and they are in Iowa and no way in Gods green Earth would I drive to pick it up.
I use Gunbroker.
I also use a local forum that people use to find one another for face to face transactions that completely cuts out middle man expenses. No FFL fee, no sales tax, no advertising, no % cut, etc.
I mostly use Gunbroker though because of the wider audience, and I know when I auction it for 7 days, when that 7th day hits, somebody will buy it. And I don’t ship it until they pay and it clears, there’s no showing up to the Costco parking lot only to have them not show, or start to leave and they text oh sorry can’t make it…you lose more money for most stuff on Gunbroker but I find it a lot simpler.
Take the gun to an FFL and have them ship it, or just go to FedEx it’s not hard to FedEx a Title 1 firearm to an FFL recipient, buyer then goes to that FFL to pick it up
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We have a local auctioneer that does allot of consignment autions. They bring stupid money most times. Some cases better than new. Might be a place to check.
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My preferred shop does consignment but can also list on GunBroker for people.
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I know some folks who join multiple gun forums to use their classified section for free.
I know the price of old military arms has hit record highs. Even that beater K98 can fetch mega bucks. I have a SMLE which was bought for 99 bucks in 1996 and now it could get almost 600 bucks.
Whatever you decide to do, make sure you are compliant to your State’s law(s). In most/many States, just because the firearm is used, or the transaction is between two private parties, State law must still be observed.
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Thanks. Its easy to run afoul of gun laws. Sometimes they can be so strange you can overlook one.
Near me there are a few gun shops that do consignment. Never got a bad deal. Some guns were sold in hours, some longer. One time I got 50% more than I was looking for. Most are pretty honest. As to auctions, got a few at a good price, sold a few, good money, no work. Hey, they gotta do the work, advertise and all, so they should make a few bucks for that work.
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A couple years ago I decided to sell most of my collection of some 300 guns, which included stuff from flintlocks to reasonably current stuff. We have a nearby auction house that has a couple of special gun only auctions a year. I thought they did an excellent job of advertising, their descriptions were accurate and I felt they got pretty good prices. They did charge a sliding scale for their percentage which I thought was reasonable. They also are responsible for completing the federal-state transfer forms. My two complaints are that I paid capital gains taxes that are not indexed to inflation and the next year had my SS income reduced because of my increased income. The auction and sales was professionally accomplished.
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