Arms auction review (Oct 2020)

General Gun Chat
1

I attended my first firearms auction today, and bought nothing lmao.

The 7.62x39 Chinese Mosin that I posted about here a while ago ended up going for $1300 lol.

2

When it went, I was like, I bet it @Tempestman and some P14’s too. But very good choice, those fools are foolish.

3

Leski’s let you bid pre auction, it was already on like 1200 a couple days ago.

I was tempted by the P14s. I like the way the rear sight protector looks. There’s a few going up tomorrow, but their bolts are not numbered.

Did you have any luck?

4

I was just observing… Maybe tomorrow.

5

That is absolutely insane. Did you see much go for what you thought were really good prices or was it all way above what was expected?

6

I think a lot of stuff went for their estimated values, especially things that weren’t as desirable, like Portuguese or Spanish Mausers.

More popular things like the P14s and the No.4s were consistently a little over, though there was some extreme ones. Just saw a No.1 Mk.3 go for $2600, and a non matching P14 Winchester go for $2200. They were both in pretty good condition though.

7

Well, you just missed a P14 for $600 hammer price.

1 Like
8

Ahh, darn. Was it 768? I think it was non matching.

Has anyone purchased something that was passed in before? Do you just offer numbers till they say yes pretty much?

9

Yes I have. I just made an offer of what I thought it was worth and it was accepted. Might be different if more people had made offers though.

10

A couple of auctions ago I put in a fair (as in, roughly within their price guide) offer for something that was passed in and got an almost immediate “Lol no” from them.

The thing that stops me from bidding on their stuff is the buyer’s premium (the fees should come out of the seller’s end, not mine IMO) and reports of their really high postage and insurance costs.

11

One day, when COVID is done and I have the time, I intend to save up some money and go in person. Have a bunch of PTAs ready to go and try and snap up some stuff that gets overlooked by hardcore collectors.

One day…

12

This auction, is the same year on year… I estimated that you need to add roughly 25% on top of hammer price and then another $75-100 on top of that.

It’s a joke and people who shop there either snipe at something very, very specific and know exactly what to get and when to stop or absolute idiots (90% of people bidding).

I just witnessed second hand 22LR lever action Henry and a CZ 527 go for near or above brand new price. Jungle carbines, $3k +/- (that’s about $3825 after fees).

And then there’s this little gem:

2020-10-11_12-41-22
(hammer price)

I am convinced that most of these people, not all, there are some very serious guys there, but most, high 90% wouldn’t know first thing about firearms, Internet and Google.

Anyway, If anyone needs a K31, I have one for sale, cheap-cheap, only $6k + 10% of total fee insurance (for my car, not the rifle).

13

Thats a crazy price! You could have almost had the K31 sniper on used guns for that money.
Edit : unless there is something I am missing?

1 Like
15

Well, that’s what I was thinking, what am I missing… But the same gun, with target sites (so drilled, etc) went for 3k, which is like $3825 after fees. So I am not sure we are missing anything, other than - there are some crazy ass clueless people out there.

1 Like
16

Just some random shots of what the prices were like.
Some of the winning bids were way out there.

1
11680Ă—1050 435 KB

2
21680Ă—1050 421 KB

3
31680Ă—1050 357 KB

4
41680Ă—1050 364 KB

5
51680Ă—1050 377 KB

6
61680Ă—1050 373 KB

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17

Then double for milsurp rifles.

18

I just don’t understand this at all.

Are the people there just so wealthy they literally don’t care? Surely that’s the only answer.

I understand someone being willing to pay for something super rare where there isn’t an established price guide and it might be something that you have to jump on now because who knows when it’ll come up again. But that K31 isn’t that and the Type 53 even less so.

2 Likes
19

Problem is, there is really no more K31’s coming in. A very slow trickle at most. Those that have them hold on to them, because they are awesome.
The mythos has built up to legendary status, numbers in Australia are rare, they are the gun to have. Like P14s and M17s.
There is no logic to Milsurp prices, it’s classic supply and demand. I know it’s dumb, but thanks to these clowns my K31 is proving to be a very wise investment.

1 Like
20

Some of the interesting prices paid.

Lot 587

COLONIAL N.S.W. MOUNTED RIFLES L.S.A. CO MARTINI-HENRY SERVICE RIFLE: 450 CAL; ACTION MARKED VR, ROYAL CYPHER L.S.A. CO 1885 III OVER I; SHARP PROFILES; RIFLE RETAINS 90% ORIGINAL BLUE FINISH WITH MOST LOSSES TO BUTT PLATE; EXC STOCK MARKED N.S.W. MR 6011 96; COMPLETE WITH SWIVELS, ROD & WHITE BUFF LEATHER SLING; GWO & EXC COND. #99 N/L

JAPANESE TYPE 38 ARISAKA CARBINE: 6.5 ARISAKA; 5 SHOT BOX MAG; 18.2" BARREL; F. BORE; STD SIGHTS, BAYONET STUD, SLING SWIVELS, JAPANESE CHARACTERS & CHRYSANTHEMUM; VG PROFILES & CLEAR MARKINGS; 85% ORIGINAL MILITARY FINISH REMAINING TO BARREL, RECEIVER & FITTINGS; VG STOCK WITH MINOR BRUISING; ALL COMPLETE INCLUDING BOLT DUST COVER BUT SCREW MISSING FROM BUTT PLATE; NO CLEANING ROD; GWO & VG COND. #612776 MATCHING BOLT L/R

  • Estimate$800 - $900
  • Price Realized$3,000
  • StatusCLOSED!

This one was high but I can understand the reasons, now I want one…

GRANATBUSCHSE 39 GERMAN WWII BN.Z. S/SHOT GRENADE LAUNCHER RIFLE: 7.92MM; 24” BARREL; FITTED WITH CARRY HANDLE & PISTOL GRIP, BI-POD, MUZZLE BREAK, PADDED SHOULDER BUTT; BREECH MARKED BNZ 1940 BRB 39 14013; BLACKED FINISH TO ALL METAL, THINNING IN VARIOUS SECTIONS; ALL COMPLETE. #14013 L/R

  • Estimate$2,000 - $2,600
  • Price Realized$7,500
  • StatusCLOSED!
21

Yes, I believe there are. FIFO workers can earn stupid money so I can absolutely see one of them thinking $2000 for an unremarkable SMLE is worth it so they can have a WWII rifle just like their grandad or great-grandad used.

The problem is that prices everyone else out of the market. There’s at least two well-known Queensland gun dealers (probably not the one you’re thinking of, either) whose prices on old military rifles are just absolutely batshit insane - and yet I see “SOLD!” against enough of them to realise there’s simply too many shooters out there with more money than sense.