Gun auctions are excellent places to find discounted firearms and unique guns, but you have to know what you're doing in order to get the best guns at an auction. If you plan to attend an upcoming gun auction, use these tips to find great guns there.
Research the Firearms Beforehand
Auction preparation should start well before the day of the firearm auction, for there can be many guns to research. When you have access to the list of guns that will be auctioned off, check this listing to see what interests you. Then, begin checking these listings against common valuations for the firearms. You can find common gun values by looking up past auctions to see what these guns have sold for in the past.
A firearm value guide can also be helpful in gauging how much a firearm is worth. Value guides don't just provide localized data from a particular auction house—they instead offer aggregate data from across the industry and throughout the country.
Ultimately, you may decide that a particular firearm is worth paying more or less than what others have valued the firearm at. Knowing the gun's going price is necessary to determine if a gun that's being auctioned off is a good deal, though.
Know the Terms of Payment
The terms of payment at every firearms auction are clearly stated, but they're sometimes stated in the fine print. Before you begin to bid on a gun at an auction, you need to make sure you can pay for the gun if you have the winning bid. You can know whether to bid by checking two things.
First, you'll need to know how the final price is calculated. Some auction houses charge a buyer's premium on top of the winning bid so that the auction house can make money. Other houses take their fee out of the seller's portion of the winning bid. If there's a buyer's premium, calculate how much you'll need to pay in total before you bid.
Second, you'll also have to have an acceptable form of payment on hand if yours is the winning bid. Every auction house lists the form of payment that they accept, but some won't accept certain types. For example, an auction house might not take credit cards or it might not take checks. Make sure you have a way to pay so that you can take your firearms home.
For more information, contact local companies that are selling firearms at auctions.
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