duplicate post that I'll attribute to fat fingers:)

I have never bought anything at auction other than eBay. I know for certain that local auctioneers have "friends" in the audience "bidding up" prices. I have seen it happen at land sales, livestock sales and vehicle sales. My dad always referred to them as by-bidders. I wonder if this is commonplace at firearm auctions?

I live a little over three hours away from the a big auction house. I've driven up to many of their viewing days and attended 6 or 7 of their auctions, both the Regional and Premiere versions. They have a great set-up for live streaming so you can follow the bidding off-site on any item for which you've submitted an absentee bid. I've won items with absentee bids for under my highest bid. It's been very clear to me, and the folks there always tell you, that the descriptions, especially for the Regional auctions, may not be perfectly accurate. I would never buy a gun without having it in hand first. The auction house will answer questions about guns to help you if you can't be in attendance. I bought a 20 gauge hammer gun (English make) from them that they had listed as a 16 gauge. I had a friend who sold a nice antique pistol through them. They told him that they would buy it from him when he brought it up for examination. They offered him a fair price, but he chose to go the auction route. If he had sold the gun to them, it would still have gone to auction. They have a large operation. If you have never been to one of these large auctions, it's a great learning experience. BUT, again, I would never buy a gun without holding it in my hands. I'm sure I'll change my tune when that higher grade Parker 16 gauge hammer gun (with the sculpted fences!) come up for sale. ;-)

A four part article on the ins and outs of the auction business. It must be a big article as it will take a year for all the information to trickle down:eek: