I just don't understand people (rant)

[Ruger45]

So this guy on GB has a reserve auction starting at 1 dollar. I watch as the item goes up and the reserve is still not met. Hours before the auction ends I email the guy and ask how much he wants for the gun. He responds the next day after the auction closed with the reserve not met. He tells me how rare the gun is and says "I have the reserve set pretty high and am open to offers" What in the hell kind of answer is that?? So I tell him that without proof that the gun was made that way it was just a gun with a bunch of extras on it and I will give him X amount for it. He responds with oh I couldn't take that for it. No counter offer or what he is asking for the gun does this jackalope want to sell this thing or not? :roll: :roll:
Ok I'm done :wink:

 

[contender]

It's quite common for a seller to believe their item is worth a lot more than it is. Without proof of what it is, or a willingness to provide proof, it will not sell.

Remember an item is worth only as much as a buyer is willing to spend, and the seller is willing to take.

 

[gramps]

Case in point. I bought a New Model Black Hawk in .357 mag with a 6.5 inch barrel. I got it for a decent price ($350) at a pawnshop. Since it was my find, it was of course priceless! The Ruger gurus here finally convinced me all I had was a good shooter. :shock: Sigh :( it does shoot good! 8) I will bet Ya the gentleman doesn't frequent our forum.
gramps

 

[6gun]

From what I understand GB don't charge to relist items that didn't sell, so with no relisting fee's to risk these guys don't mind asking price's most will not pay and don't care if it takes months to sell to just the right buyer, one reason I stopped going on GB same guns over and over nothing ever selling due to price, it's not even a real auction ran like that.

At a real auction a serious seller wouldn't start bidding at a dollar if they had a reserve, they would start with the rock bottom price they would accept for the item, why waste people's time trying to get up to a reserve?

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

Personal thought on "reserves" with online auctions is the seller's just fishing for a price to see what his item might be worth and has little intent of selling it on that auction cycle. I hate those where there's a reserve, often 100s of dollars, with an opening bid of $0.01... and no longer bid on something with an especially low price once a "Reserve not met" note pops up. Open at the reserve or shut it down...

Rick C

 

[wolfsong]

If I wanted to play games I'd get out the Chinese checkers or the Parcheesi board.

Do you want to sell the gun? State your price. Otherwise, see ya.

 

[Ruger45]

If I wanted to play games I'd get out the Chinese checkers or the Parcheesi board.

Do you want to sell the gun? State your price. Otherwise, see ya.

Exactly

 

[Fox Mike]

I NEVER even look at anything with a 'reserve' price. Some seem to set a price and won't get off it no mater what. There was, and still is, one revolver on Gunbroker that has been there forever it seems. The gun wasn't in the best condition so after it had not sold, or even had one bid, I contacted the seller and made them an offer. It was not too politely tuned down. It is still listed and has been re-listed numerous times...at the same 'starting price'. It has yet to get even one bid. I have it 'bookmarked' and check on it, just to see if anyone ever makes a bid.

 

[Mobuck]

On the other hand, I've seen some surprisingly low reserves. Some folks have no idea how true auctions should work. Some think a reserve is better than starting the bidding where their minimum acceptable price would be. Then there are the sellers who have the start bid just below the BIN price. Not really an auction but more of an internet catalog.
I much prefer the GB policy of extending the time frame by 15 minutes if a bid is made in the final minutes of the auction. I REALLY HATE BID SNIPERS.

 

[Mega Twin]

Kinda like the ones with "no reserve",but the starting bid is $100.00 too high.

 

[Mobuck]

Kinda like the ones with "no reserve",but the starting bid is $100.00 too high.

Yeah that too. BUT you only gotta find ONE sucker.

 

[427mach1]

I prefer to purchase items with a "buy it now" price, provided, of course, that the price is reasonable. I bought my S&W 4013TSW that way; it had been listed for less than 20 minutes when I bought it. I bought my 41 Redhawk from a GB seller after it had been listed many times with no bids. Starting price was 700 or 750, I e-mailed him and asked if they had a storefront where I could inspect the gun. He gave me their location and told me they would "entertain offers". I drove up, inspected it, and politely told them I had seen it listed several times with no bids and that I thought it was slightly overpriced and offered them 650, which they accepted.

 

[contender]

Due to the internet, and how the sites allow different things to be done to attract sales, a lot of what goes on isn't quite like a real auction.
But again,,,,,,,,,,,,,,!
Many is the real auction where the auctioneer has a reserve price on an item, yet, does not advertise it. He just has a "plant" in the audience who opens at a certain point & tries to go from there.
At a real auction, the bidding continues until nobody else is willing to bid, so nobody has "auction snipers."

The best auctions are "absolute" auctions where there isn't any reserve pricing, and whatever it brings is what it sells for.

If you watch GB or other sites, a GOOD seller will start the item at a very fair opening price, or even $1, and let the buyers decide the final sale. One of our members here does that quite often. He will offer a gun here for XXX and if it doesn't sell, he moves it to GB, and allows the market buyers decide the final sale price. He's stated more than once he's had good responses that way, but that occasionally he loses a little.

I knew of 2 local auctions last weekend I wanted to attend. I wasn't able, so I put in absentee bids on a few things. At one of the auctions, I knew the auctioneer very well, and he took my bid card, and looked up his internet proxy bids, and let me know I wouldn't win, as he already had higher bids online. I appreciated that, and didn't feel bad at all. I told him the amount I bid, after premium was about dealer cost on the items. He was well ahead of retail on one gun, after premium, and told him he was going to do quite well on that one!

The internet auction sites allow for all kinds of sellers & buyers.

It all comes down to what is accepted as a fair deal. The seller gets an acceptable amount, and the buyer pays what he feels it is worth to him.

It's just that the internet allows us to see how some folks feel & look at what they have for sale.

 

[6gun]

If GB would charge these kind of sellers a relisting fee every time they relist a item that didn't sale I think things would change for the good of all.

 

[speedsixman]

6gun,
I also wish GB would charge a re-listing fee for sellers who put ridiculous reserve prices on guns and re-list the same item for months or even years at a time. I have watched an item or two advertised for well over a year with no bids.
They are just trolling for some sucker that doesn't know how to shop or who has more money than brains.
As long as the listings are free, it won't change.

That practice also makes GB look like a much larger venue than it really is.

Myron

 

[Selena]

scenario:

An ancient goes to his reward stipulating in his will all his possession are to be sold and the proceeds to go to his heirs.
One child wants to buy his ancestor's rifle or pistol from the estate before the auction. He claims weapon is worth X dollars, sibling claims it's worth 1,000 X dollars more to keep the first from getting it than wanting it or the money.
Executor of the will sits down with siblings and gets an agreement to put it up for private auction for the reserve stated by the 2nd sibling and 1st agrees to pay the highest bid on the auction.

(Don't laugh, it's what my cousin did with a set of drawknives when my uncle died.)

2nd scenario- how do you determine the worth of an item for insurance purposes if you cannot afford an appraiser?

Item last- coffee shop oneupmanship--- "I had a feller offer me X dollars for this old gun but didn't take it. "

 

[picketpin]

ALL internet auction sites including GB, E-bay etc have simply become a HUGE mail order catalog without the catalog to take to the reading room with you.

I buy the occasional #1. I KNOW pretty closely what any #1 is worth, TO ME. Would I like it for less money ? Certainly. On the other hand if I WANT it my final offer is what I think it's wort and if outbid or it doesn't meet reserve etc I simply walk away. There have been a few I have bid significantly more than originally intended. BUT only if I've garnered information that increases it value TO ME.

Last I looked there are about 300 #1s on GB. Out of that maybe 35-40 at tops have any bids at all. Starting bid/reserve is simply more than the value of the rifle to nearly anybody. Relisting at the same price is not going to attract any more knowledgeable people willing to pay your price.

BUT the cost to the seller essentially free. Yes you have a listing charge, but that's a business cost that can be deducted on your taxes. So they stick it on there and it runs forever and just maybe a buyer" that has to have X. regardless of logic, pays the price and everybody goes away happy except the guy that figured some day it's going to drop. Probably not.

I haven't sold or auctioned many but when I do I set a price I'm willing to take,that I think the gun will actually sell at and that's where we start.

Certainly on E-bay I only click AUCTIONS as opposed to listings. Might be 5000 Leupolds listed at MSRP. Click auction and it drops to 63. Some of which are still grossly overpriced or the opening is MSRP. If I actually have something to scope and have a specific scope in mind I might bid close to that. But I always ask my guy in town and buy there is he can even come close on new. Otherwise I'mlooking for WANTS not needs and frankly am searching for bargains. Darned little left tat I hoestly NEED.

Business has spent BILLIONS convincing people over the last 20 years that their WANTS are NEEDS. Darned few people today that actually NEED to newest "I anything that has made Apple the company with the single highest profits in a 1/4 in the history of Business. I don't NEED an Apple anything so I don't have any. I don't NEED any more #1s but there are some I want. How bad I actually want it determines my bid/offer.

Really pretty straight forward. You may be angry or disapointed but the seller did not NEED to sell at your WANT price.

RWT

 

[Ruger45]

It's quite common for a seller to believe their item is worth a lot more than it is. Without proof of what it is, or a willingness to provide proof, it will not sell.

Remember an item is worth only as much as a buyer is willing to spend, and the seller is willing to take.

Exactly right, but there's nothing wrong in a seller deciding to get his price, or keep it for the value it represents to him.
Nobody is required to sell you something at a discount. I find most buyers on ebay, and other re-sale type sites want to make a killing, and think the seller is a jerk if he sets a reserve or otherwise decides not to sell.

But this is not the problem with this seller. I flat out asked what it was gonna take to buy said gun and for an answer got I have the reserve set really high make me an offer. That is just plain douchebaggery in my book. If you're selling set your price I prefer that you put it right out for all to see with a buy it now. Or opening bid of X dollars and no reserve says right there this is my bottom line. But if you want to play hide your cards you should at least be ready to name it when flat out asked.

 

[BlackEye]

I'm a sniper. Sort of. I still work and seldom happen to be able to participate in the 15 minute game. Put your proxy bid in and a lot of the time others will peck away at it. If they can't steal the item, they just push your bid as far as their instinct allows and then back off. Since I'm not really present, the situation is different than a live auction.

My view is that an Internet auction is more like a football game. There's a game clock where time runs out and the final score tells the story. Do what you have to do and you don't get another try just because the other team kicked a field goal. The rules are the same for both teams, so don't whine if you didn't give it your best shot and the price was lower than what you would have paid.

 

[FastEd]

I hate these guys that think every gun they have is a collectors item.

 

[ChiefMuzz]

And somewhere, some guy is complaining to his buddies, over some coffee at McDonalds, about this jerk who tried to lowball him out of his ultra rare gun.

I know sometimes you need to rant and vent to get it out. Hopefully you don't hang on to that anger any longer and can move on. Gunbroker is imperfect but it gives a lot of guys access to guns they may never have seen or had a chance to bid on.

 

[blume357]

If someone won't at least give a minimum price (even if it is too high) why waste your time>?