What are your experiences with "auction houses" online or otherwise? buying from afar..
Is it worth the bother for a non-ffl??
JC Devine,Greg Martin,etc.

thanks

B

Lots of folks knock them but I have tried to be careful and have had good luck with one exception. Regards, Jake

I think they're fine for the more everyday stuff. The troubles I've seen and heard fo are usually in the more clollectible guns where the finer details can mean a lot in terms of value. Many many sellers don't really know what they're looking at or don't understand guns from the collector's standpoint. I've bought a couple NIB handguns, and a few long guns that werre really good deals. But at the prices I was paying I didn't really care if they weren't exactly as advertised. Having said that you're really taking a gamble if you're talking about guns in the thousands of dollars.

As for the FFL issue, I think that as long as you're not getting robbed on the transfer it's not too much of a pain. Depends on how much you're saving on the gun itself. Paying for an FFL and keeping up with all the paperwork equals quite a few transfer fees.

Best

Nick

I have had nearly all good experiences, both buying and selling, on the Internet.(Thank you, AlGore, for inventing it) I've had worse disappointments buying at gun shows. You have to know what you're doing, either place. After you know what you're doing, pick up the pnone, talk to the seller, ask the important questions, spend a dime. Don't reply on a couple of quicky e-mails and assume that everything is the way you want it to be. Look at the seller's feedback. If he has 457 feedbacks, all positive, you're likely in good hands. If he has 10 positive and 3 negative, run, don't walk, away. The wonderful thing about Internet shopping is that you can find specific guns by proper searching, that you wouldn't run across in a lifetime of going to local, or even major gunshows. My experience suggests to me that there are more sharks and misrepresenters(liars) at gunshows than on the Internet. The only two guns that I remember sending back came from "reputable", well-known dealers.

If you stick with the most reputable houses such as: Greg Martin, Bonham & Butterfields, Rock Island Auction, J.C. Devine & James Julia on this side of the pond you will normally get good service. I have bought many guns from each and have never had to return one. Only two were grossly misrepresented and a price concession was made both times. as was stated earlier you do need to be careful. Read the entire description & then do your homework.

As to buying on the other side of the pond, with the exchange rate the way that it is and with the customs hassle, it is almost not worth the trouble in most cases. There are, however, some guns that you never see on this side. Be doubley careful if you buy over there. You would be well advised to get someone like Diggory Haddoke or John Farugia who will be attending in person to bid for you. Holt's, Bonhams, Christie's do the big gun auctions with Holt's being the biggest.

I don't carry an FFL anymore since the paperwork became so burdensome. I have a local FFL receive those for me to whom I pay $15.00 per gun. It's worth every bit of that.

Best Regards, George