Rock island

[gman]

I have handled some guns bought at the rock island auction in the past that were of good condition at very fair prices. The catalog info and pictures are limited and as with many internet transactions they look risky to me. Overall it seems like a stand up auction house that transaction wise seems reputable. I was wondering if others would share their experience. Thought I might have some fun low balling an item or two. It been a long winter.
Thanks

[Bill Murphy]

The descriptions are usually right out of the Blue Book, like "Parkers were built from 1868 to 1942, with 242,000 built." Sometimes there are paragraphs of this blurb and nothing about the gun being offered. They could learn a lesson from Julia on presentation. I don't think they have a catalog archives, either, but I may be wrong. I have noticed that auction companies usually comform to their own comfort zone and seldom upgrade their facilities or website. Of course, this gives an advantage to those with enough perseverence to actually attend the auction. This weekend, I attended a local auction that offered one shotgun among hundreds of antique items from an estate. The auction ad was presented in a local newspaper, one time that I am aware of. I didn't see more than one person I knew from the shotgun collecting world at the auction. The aged 12 gauge L.C. Smith shotgun sold for $19,800 plus 6% Maryland sales tax. It may have sold for another half again as much if the auctioneer even had a website. With sales tax, the bill was twelve bucks short of $21,000.

[Twoatlow8]

Ok ....I'll bite, What grade was it?

[John Gardner]

I have interacted with Julia's and Rock Island and had very positive experiences with both and would buy from both (plus Josh is a pretty nice guy).
Bill is absolutely correct that the descriptions can be very limited. I have found however that if you request additional information and pictures they are happy to provide not only the pics and raw data but also a one to one opinion like "it's a wall hanger special" Now...it is still just their opinion.

I also judge an outfit on how they deal with a misstep or problem as it is easy to be 'good to deal with' until there is indeed a problem and again, my experience, they bent over backwards with their communication.

I can't say, because I don't know, that RI has a 'Parker guru' on staff but Julia's certainly does.

Short answer I will happily buy from both but I'll ask more details then the catalog description. I definitely would NOT buy from just the catalog descriptions as I ALWAYS learn more from the additional pics and comments.
alone from either house.

[Fishtail]

I bought a D grade 16 from RI. It was not well described; it had been restocked among other things. That said, I kept it as it is near the top of my list of Parkers that are 'deadly'.....it is a gun that seems to not mind if you did your job properly or not. It connects with just about every shot. It was also a good deal, restocked or not. But, RI has a long way to go before they approach Julia's.

[Allen Peterson]

I have bid on a number of guns on the site. The last one I got was an Ithaca Magnum 10. they had it listed as a 4E but I could tell from the pictures that it was not. I got it for a good price. They do not describe the guns well but if you call with specifics they will give you an answer.

[George Lander]

I have bought a number of times from both RIA & Julia's as well as English Auction Houses such as Holt's & Bonham's. I have not been disatisfied with any of them. Sometimes the gun turns out a little better than discribed & sometimes a little less. I normally bid low on 10 to 20 guns and usually get 1 or 2 so they keep sending me those doggone catalogues.

Best Regards, George