Bidding Frenzy

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Arthur Shaffer

I find this amazing. For one thing, if you read the OP, I was one of the first bidders, and I posted.

Respectfully, Art, you made your post two and a half days after it was obvious that PGCA members were already bidding.

[Mills]

This is one of those things that seems like you are helping people out by pointing out a good gun / good deal, but you are not.

[nid-28]

In todays market, people get a little bit crazy over smaller bore guns with longer barrels—32 inches in particular. This gun is going to need a lot of work to make it right and those barrels look pretty beat up to me. Think hard on this one before bidding crazy money.

[todd allen]

It's all about whose ox gets gored.

[Craig Larter]

I posted that a 8 gauge shotgun was for sale at the small auction and received a few PM's calling me out. I never realized how sensitive others were to my attempt to be a nice guy. I find it hard to believe it is possible to keep a desirable gun quiet in this internet auction era, but I keep my mouth shut.

[Tenth Legion]

I see value in sharing the listings as more knowledgeable members often point out obscure defects that assist fellow members in their decisions. Folks have been able to dodge an overpriced and/or abused gun. Naturally the sharing also could put more horses in the race and drive the price up. I confess I’m not a collector and if I truly value a particular gun I reach out to trusted members for their insight.

[David C Porter]

Personally, I appreciate it when a member shares a listing that may be of interest to me and/or other members. The gun will go for what ever the bidders feel the gun is worth. So, if the bidding is more than it's worth, or more than you want to pay, stop bidding.

[tom tutwiler]

LSB does get some really nice guns and I like their method of selling vice some of the big auction houses that literally hammer you with their Buyers Premium.

[Jay Oliver]

I think for the most part the sharing is always done with good intentions, like this thread. We all get excited about Parkers. There is still that “thrill of the hunt” aspect of finding a unique gun that many of us enjoy and that is why there may be some resistance to this practice. Many of us have years in building relationships in the vintage gun market, which include transactions with various dealers/individuals. The internet has created an efficient market where everyone basically has access so that a first-time buyer(who may or may not be obsessed with Parkers) can bid on a gun we may have been searching for over several years. I guess that could have happen anyway in a traditional auction setting.

I am guilty of doing this myself here on the forum(with good intentions). I have posted links to auctions about certain guns, usually around condition. The “professionally restored” Parker that makes us all cringe, laugh or cry. Or sometimes a gun grade with a unique barrel steel. I have posted a link once to a late hammer gun and said something like “Someone please buy this before I do”.

I once posted a link to a Parker as a warning. It was a gun I had bought previously and returned because it had cracks in the barrels. My post was a genuine warning, then the more I thought about it I wanted to save the gun so I bid and won(and brought it back to working condition). I felt a little guilty about that since I ended up buying the gun. Though it was a process to get it right, which would make a great Parker Pages article.

I think at the end of the day we have a great community here with a lot of passion for the guns we collect. When you see something cool I understand that it may be hard to keep it to yourself and you can’t help but share it…

[6pt-Sika]

Something was mentioned earlier about bidding against other folks on here , while that’s a very nice I don’t always agree with that . There are four or five folks on here I’ll contact if I’m intrested in something to see if they’re planning on bidding , my thinking being they can all afford a larger bid than I and no need in running each other up . HOWEVER I don’t avail the same courtesy to everyone , it’s quite simple friends are friends people you know are just that “just people you know” . The idea of buying for less then reselling for more should not be lost here , which when I read Russ’s post was my initial thought . Sorry if I’m incorrect but that’s the way I took it .