Morphy catalogue
 

Just got my Morphy catalogue today it is in book form and will defiantly be collectable for gun information, Never seen one as nice,Have not dealt with them yet but will keep looking Kudos for a nice publication. Gary

Mine came today as well. Since the "merger" if you will they have published an outstanding catalog, very expensive I bet....

Randy, It will defiantly be a keeper, wonder how much they cost to make? Gary

I wouldn't have a clue as to cost but they are first class IMO.

I received one today as well.





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This one and the last one were much easier to follow and understand. The first one that they sent out just after the merger was hard to follow, two pages of pistols, page of English guns, page of American shotguns, Class III gun or to:rotf:. Now it's much easier to follow. but the buyers premium...well not sure about that !

For a 26% buyer’s premium, the catalog should be quite spectacular.

Mine arrived today in a "one day priority" mailer. $7.10 shipping postage!
After the last auction, catalogs were available for the taking, on a table in the front foyer of the auction house.

Why are buyer commissions rising, 20% seems high plus a 20% sellers premium that's a nice margin with little risk and no investment in inventory. I wonder if some of the soft prices at auction are result of high premiums turning off buyers? Are dealers and GB internet type auctions becoming more attractive in this environment?

Bingo!

And those soft prices have a profound effect on the entire gun buying and selling market no matter where these transactions are taking place... even in private sales.




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God knows I’m NOT on the side of the auctioneers . BUT from the quality of the catalog you guys are saying that’s not inexpensive in today’s market . Printing costs can be lessened by quantity , but I would assume they print no more then possibly two or three thousand which in any printing circles I was ever apart of would be considered small and not generally worthy of any discounts . Also it seems they advertise a more then fair amount . To say nothing of paying a semi competent person to take somewhat decent photographs for the net/catalog/advertising. Again I by no means am on the side of the auctioneers but I can see why they charge what they charge and again I don’t like paying 15-30% either .

Most of the folks I know just deduct the juice from their bid price so it's factored in and never really paid by the buyer. I realize there will be exceptions to this but I would suspect this holds true in most cases.

Yes. And unfortunately, the poor begger who ends up taking the real hit is the SELLER!

Is there also a seller's premium?

Yes. They get it from BOTH ends.

To be fair, Morphy’s does a great job assembling an exceptional group of firearms for auction. Would I pay that premium? I haven’t so far and probably not. But if the price is low enough that, including the 26%, the gun is still about 70-80% of retail, I would consider it. Morphy’s and Rock Island also do a very good job describing the gun. Others, not so much. But all those beautiful catalogs and advertising, that you pay for, brings more interested potential buyers, thus bringing a higher hammer price. Good for the seller and good for the auction house, but not good for the buyer. And if they can further offset cost by getting guys to purchase their advertising material, even better. Again, Morphy’s offers some really fantastic guns, but you will pay. Another positive for Morphy’s, they have a relationship with Dewey Vicknair. For a small fee, I think it’s $125, he will inspect the gun for you prior to the auction. If you’re bidding on a higher end gun, it may be worth the cost.

Joe I was not aware of the inspection being offered by DV. Good to know that's available should the right gun present itself, thanks !

26% on the back end, and something on the front end. Wow!
Now, I understand that Morphy's or RIA or anyone else is not running a charity, but it seems like they are giving their customer a rough ride. That being said, who is their customer? The consignor or the purchaser?

That's one reason why I probably will not sell at auction, there are plenty of fine dealers that will advertise and sell your gun for 10 to 15%. If I am a seller at an auction I know the buyers are subtracting 20 to 26% from my price plus what I am paying the auction house :shock: I won't even get close to top dollar for my guns.

The sellers fee is normally on a sliding scale determined by the hammer price. The more an item sells for the lower the sellers fee percentage, which I understand. It takes almost as much effort and resources to catalog a $2k item versus a $20k item.
Maybe the reason the buyers fee is creeping up is the average lot price is declining and the auction still needs to cover fixed expenses???

Auction houses are like stock brokers, you pay at both ends and your broker for doing it.:rotf:

I’m not sure where the 26% number comes from for Buyers premium but it isn’t true. If you pay by cash or check, it is 20%.