Gold Supporter
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Do they still charge a 15% buyer's fee? Buy a $500,000 firearm and pay them $75,000 in commission. I guess that's fine if made of money. Not sure they do $75000 worth of work though. On $21million they made $3.1million in commission fees....for running an auction house... Plus what ever they charge for consignment.
I signed up once to bid and decided not to when I saw their fees and then the proceeded to call me more than the NRA to try and tell me about every auction they had everywhere in the US.
Bolus, seriously? Other than eBay, I can not think of any other auction house (and eBay is not an auction house, by any stretch) that does not charge a 10 - 25% buyers premium. EBay gets the seller (as do the other auction houses) who make it off of both ends - buyer and seller. They put out an amazing full set of color catalogs with the best photography. They do an amazing amount of background research on each individual piece. They produce very professional videos, they advertise in very high end venues/magazines. They get the word out to the people and clientele that count, who will pay the high bucks. They actively seek out nothing but the best pieces to come up for auction. Therefore people seek them out to sell their items because they can command the high end and highest prices in the industry! As a seller, are you going to place your half million dollar item on Craigs List? Maybe eBay, or the local rag? I don't think so. You go to RIA. Christies, Sothebys, etc. to obtain the highest price possible for that item. Usually a small price to pay in order to obtain the highest price possible for your particular item. All of this and they have a reputation built on these things to get the seller the maximum value possible out of their particular item.
Now, me as a buyer understand that if I am looking for the best, some of the most rare, they are the exact houses that I seek out, they have the best pieces in the best available condition with best possible provenance. Yes, both ends (Seller and Buyer) are going to take a hit and it really is a relatively low amount to pay for what is a good item in the best possible condition, fully authenticated, etc. I suppose, if you can't play with the big boys, you shouldn't be in the game.
After it is all said and done, I figure, I will have to pay about 30% above the hammer price (the high bid) for Buyer's Premium, taxes, shipping and a transfer fee! I figure this into the highest price I am willing to pay for the item and that is my high bid. I usually figure it has to be on par with what I have seen a current item in like condition is going for, or that I could pick up. RIA is no different than any other auction house and they simply offer the best and believe it or not... at what I feel is, generally the best price. Again, after all is said and done, I figure I paid about $1k less than what it should have sold for... I'm a happy camper and know that I am dealing with a professional, reputable firm with the best possible service.
Put a fork in me... I'm done.
Here's a couple of High Standard model 102 trophy's in the blond presentation boxes. Interesting about the 10" model, it was sold directly to an individual from HS which normally never happened speculation he must have been an employee.
View attachment 709929 View attachment 709930
They upset me with the non-stop telemarketer calls so I'm not their fan.
I sold an Ariel Atom, very rare track car which was titled and registered (even more rare) and had 100 extra horse power and the mechanic was the guy that literally built the car at the factory (extra extremely rare) and the listing fee on the auction site was $99 and the buyers commission fee was 5% with a max of $5000 at a collector car auction site (they dont even want to auction your car if it isnt interesting or a collector)
Perhaps Rock Island can justify those extra fees with appraisals or something extra spiffy (all the white gloves they have to buy) but 30% for the honor of buying something on an auction site seems high. But then again Im not a gazzilionaire. Perhaps maybe if they have a gunsmith completely disassemble, clean and inspect and test fire the firearm. They dont really say what they do for that 30% fee. At least I cant find it
"value" is subjective...
To back up a few posts...
Flydipper, I didn't mean to ask if the HS in the catalog was one you owned (merely, showing a reference to an older auction). I was asking about your post of the ones in the blonde boxes! The short barreled one with sites mounted on the extra slide, is this possibly for a .22 Short, or something? I have to congratulate you on your knowledge and an awesome collection! Thanks for your contribution! If I should have any questions on HS in the future... I know who to contact!