RIAC craziness

[gbethu]

While I have paid heavily for a number of very expensive (to me) guns at RIAC in the past, I noticed a few super hyped items didn't sell as their estimates just weren't justified (apparently) by the marketplace in spite of glowing references and letters. I get this information from the RIAC website that shows prices realized (or not).

1.
1575 Rare Exceptional Original Personally Documented Charles Clawson Collection Springfield Armory Model 1911 N.R.A. Marked Semi-Automatic Pistol with Military History and Letter $18,000 $25,000
Didn't Sell

2.
1571 Extremely Rare North American Arms Model 1911 Semi-Automatic Pistol Serial Number 77 with Rare Leather Holster
Didn't sell
3.
1579 Excellent 100 Year Old Pre-World War I 1914 Manufactured Colt U.S. Army Contract Model 1911 Semi-Automatic Pistol
Didn't sell

There were a few 1911s that went far below estimates...as much as half price is some cases.

Then you see a Singer with incorrect grips, barrel and magazine sell for almost $49,000. WFO ??????


I know I'm still learning but you can almost smell the greed of dealers circling the market place trying to take advantage of a growing number of collectors who watch the prices climb daily.

Who first said "buy the gun and not the story" still deserves my thanks.

[Scott Gahimer]

Numbers 1 & 2 belong to me and there was no greed involved when the items were consigned. They were consigned at auction with higher prices than I would normally sell at through my site, but only enough to cover auction seller fees. The auction was looking for some consignments from me, so I gave them some. Some sold; some didn't. All were priced where a buyer would have to pay more to buy it than it would be worth for me to keep. That's just business. If an item is worth $1000 to me, then someone has to be willing to pay more if they wish to buy it. I don't need the money and I didn't lose anything consigning. The auction sets the low and high estimates, which do not always coincide with value or a reserve that might be placed by consignors. Number 3 belongs to someone else and I know the same to be true on it.

Regardless of whether an item sells or not at auction, it does sometimes establish a benchmark as to where the market is on such items. At the least, it reflects where the consignor values the item(s). Nothing cynical about that. That's just the way things work. If you don't have to sell something, why give it away?

I, too, was a little surprised the Singer seems to have brought what it did. That is good to know, as I have one much better to sell for about the same money.

[gbethu]

When selling things you've collected and thought to keep, there is little harm in not selling unless you get what you want. In business, where you acquire inventory with the only goal of reselling at a profit, not selling may cost you money. It certainly reduces the funds you have and may preclude you from acquiring another expensive item at a bargain price....ie lack of working capital.
The problem with most NOT SOLD items is the dealer/seller sets the reserve too high (that's why I used the word greed) ...some guns sold for half the estimate but they did sell as the seller didn't set an above market reserve. Those were probably collectors selling from their collection. The auction house sets (with negotiation with the seller) the estimates. RAIC had put some big number estimates on many mediocre pistols...
I'm glad you don't need the money.

[Scott Gahimer]

Sounds like we're on the same page. I only offered some things in the auction because they were nice, rare or nice and rare...and I already had multiple others of the same thing in the same or better condition. But still, I am a collector, not a dealer. I like all the guns I own or I wouldn't have bought them in the first place. So I had no trouble placing reserves where I value the items.

This was the first time I'd ever consigned anything to an auction house. I would never subject myself to receiving 50% of what something is worth to me. That's why I typically prefer to sell at a fixed price when I have something to offer. So I only agreed to consign with a reserve.

When we buy outright or bid on items with a reserve, it's the same as bidding against the owner. The seller always has a minimum price he will accept. As a consignor, I placed my bid through the reserve. In some cases, I won my own pistols back. In other cases, someone else stepped up and wanted them more than I did. So I'm sure those pieces will go to a good home with a collector who will cherish them at least as much as I did.