something i hate about gunbroker

HardcoreHehaw · May 19, 2007, 03:16 PM

Yea.. I hate when I'm browsing on gunbroker.com and I come to something I like that has like 2 hours left, no reserve and no bids and the current price says $0.00 but the starting bid is $20 less than the buy it now price.

Why can't they just be like ebay, if there are no bids on the gun don't say the current price is $0.00 list it as whatever the starting price is so I don't think I'm about to get a sweat deal until I actually look over and see the starting price.

So after that I usually go to auctionarms.com to browse the penny auctions but there are never any good deals on modern firearms and the rest are antiques or junkers.

srtrax · May 19, 2007, 05:02 PM

I hear ya , dont know why they think that'll work.
I've seen on hunterbid.com where they have a flash buy at say 300.00, and a guy may have a bid of 280.00 in and reserve is still not met.

Flash buy free shipping,boy howdy,20.00 bucks more and free shiping, but should you get the reserve under flash buy, shipping is 20.00. WHAT!
Just to be fair , i have got a couple blanks at reasonable prices and under flash buy, but i have seen people not get a bank because they bulled up over 20.00. If you want 300.00 than dang it say its 300.00. Wheeeeooo, Thanks i feel better!

Majic · May 19, 2007, 10:20 PM

It says current BID not current price. So if there haven't been any bidding then the current bid is $0.00.

FirstFreedom · May 20, 2007, 02:02 PM

It is a bit misleading, but it's a flaw that you can pretty easily recognize & overcome by just ignoring the 0.00 bid when there is a de facto reserve.

Boats · May 21, 2007, 03:38 PM

I have the impression that many "auctions" are in fact rigged.

I saw a "LNIB" Beretta 8000 9mm with no reserve and a $200.00 minimum bid on a three day auction.

So I think, well, I am not in the market for this weapon, but if I can get it around $300, then even after shipping and transfer it's a good deal.

I bid $200.00 No problem. Eight hours later, some other guy bids $205.00, the minimum upbid. No problem, I bid $210.00. The other guy $215. I let it hang there. By the end of the second day, the next bid off of $215 had come in from a third bidder who bid $280.00

Big problem. Not that I couldn't or wouldn't match it if I really wanted a 9mm Cougar , but that the bid smelled. I can see a bidder coming in and staking a claim to drive off other bidders, but at $65.00 above the current high bid? That's a little off plumb. The item wound up being "bought" at the "buy it now" price of $380.00 by a NR buyer.

That some decent jack for a discontinued pistol that was never too popular to begin with. It was still a deal to "someone" apparently, but after shipping and a transfer fee, not much of a deal at all for a used gun.

That was just the latest example. I see this kind of thing happen regularly on items close to the end of their auction cycle the minute a reasonably priced item draws its first minimal bid.

So between a crappy reserve price/buy it now spread, to fake feeling no reserve auctions, I have little respect for the GB auction site.

texas bulldog · May 21, 2007, 05:27 PM

i too have noticed that the but-it-now price is usually a de facto reserve. i've taken to just looking at the buy-it-now and deciding if i'm willing to pay that. if i'm not [as usual], i just pass on it.

after shipping and transfer, it doesn't seem you get too many deals on GB unless the seller doesn't know what he has. besides...if it ain't NIB, i'd typically want to look at it in person first.

divemedic · May 21, 2007, 05:34 PM

Like going to the gun shows- lately the prices are too high for what you get.

Smokey Joe · May 21, 2007, 05:43 PM

GB and also Auction Arms, earlier today, after not having entered either site for some months. What I found was that both seem to have largely degenerated from private party auction sites to simply sales departments for dealers.

A private party will post an auction, willing to find out "what the traffic will bear," for a given item, and sell it accordingly. That's how an "ordinary guy" gets rid of unwanted "stuff."

These dealers seem to be saying, "This is what I'm selling, this is what you pay, or no deal." Just like in a bricks-and-mortar store!

Gee Whiz! If I want to buy a (shooting related) item and pay a listed price, I'll go to Gander Mt. or Cabela's or Sportsmans Warehouse, or go online to Midway or Graf's or Numrich Arms and just order it and pay up. I don't need to go to some dealer a thousand miles away of whom I never heard before, to get that!

Anyhow, that was my impression. I'd be very happy to be proven wrong.

BM59 · May 21, 2007, 08:00 PM

Yeh, I hate gunbroker for the same reasons. It use to be a site worth visiting. It is just a fungerhut catelog now days. Real auctions are almost non-existant, I'd rather visit a local gun auction or gunshow than mess with everything going on there.

May 19, 2007, 03:16 PM	#1
HardcoreHehaw Senior Member Join Date: January 23, 2007 Location: Orlando Posts: 130	something i hate about gunbroker Yea.. I hate when I'm browsing on gunbroker.com and I come to something I like that has like 2 hours left, no reserve and no bids and the current price says $0.00 but the starting bid is $20 less than the buy it now price. Why can't they just be like ebay, if there are no bids on the gun don't say the current price is $0.00 list it as whatever the starting price is so I don't think I'm about to get a sweat deal until I actually look over and see the starting price. So after that I usually go to auctionarms.com to browse the penny auctions but there are never any good deals on modern firearms and the rest are antiques or junkers. __________________ Live in Florida and looking for a local gun forum? Check out http://flaguns.com/phpBB3/index.php

May 19, 2007, 05:02 PM	#2
srtrax Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2007 Location: GREEN COUNTRY,OKLAHOMA Posts: 517	I hear ya , dont know why they think that'll work. I've seen on hunterbid.com where they have a flash buy at say 300.00, and a guy may have a bid of 280.00 in and reserve is still not met. Flash buy free shipping,boy howdy,20.00 bucks more and free shiping, but should you get the reserve under flash buy, shipping is 20.00. WHAT! Just to be fair , i have got a couple blanks at reasonable prices and under flash buy, but i have seen people not get a bank because they bulled up over 20.00. If you want 300.00 than dang it say its 300.00. Wheeeeooo, Thanks i feel better! __________________ Pro Gun = Vote

May 21, 2007, 05:43 PM	#8
Smokey Joe Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 2001 Location: State of Confusion Posts: 2,106	Just was browsing... GB and also Auction Arms, earlier today, after not having entered either site for some months. What I found was that both seem to have largely degenerated from private party auction sites to simply sales departments for dealers. A private party will post an auction, willing to find out "what the traffic will bear," for a given item, and sell it accordingly. That's how an "ordinary guy" gets rid of unwanted "stuff." These dealers seem to be saying, "This is what I'm selling, this is what you pay, or no deal." Just like in a bricks-and-mortar store! Gee Whiz! If I want to buy a (shooting related) item and pay a listed price, I'll go to Gander Mt. or Cabela's or Sportsmans Warehouse, or go online to Midway or Graf's or Numrich Arms and just order it and pay up. I don't need to go to some dealer a thousand miles away of whom I never heard before, to get that! Anyhow, that was my impression. I'd be very happy to be proven wrong. __________________ God Bless America --Smokey Joe

May 19, 2007, 10:20 PM	#3
Majic Senior Member Join Date: May 24, 2004 Posts: 3,888	It says current BID not current price. So if there haven't been any bidding then the current bid is $0.00.

May 20, 2007, 02:02 PM	#4
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	It is a bit misleading, but it's a flaw that you can pretty easily recognize & overcome by just ignoring the 0.00 bid when there is a de facto reserve.

May 21, 2007, 03:38 PM	#5
Boats Junior member Join Date: September 15, 2002 Location: Oregon Posts: 964	I have the impression that many "auctions" are in fact rigged. I saw a "LNIB" Beretta 8000 9mm with no reserve and a $200.00 minimum bid on a three day auction. So I think, well, I am not in the market for this weapon, but if I can get it around $300, then even after shipping and transfer it's a good deal. I bid $200.00 No problem. Eight hours later, some other guy bids $205.00, the minimum upbid. No problem, I bid $210.00. The other guy $215. I let it hang there. By the end of the second day, the next bid off of $215 had come in from a third bidder who bid $280.00 Big problem. Not that I couldn't or wouldn't match it if I really wanted a 9mm Cougar , but that the bid smelled. I can see a bidder coming in and staking a claim to drive off other bidders, but at $65.00 above the current high bid? That's a little off plumb. The item wound up being "bought" at the "buy it now" price of $380.00 by a NR buyer. That some decent jack for a discontinued pistol that was never too popular to begin with. It was still a deal to "someone" apparently, but after shipping and a transfer fee, not much of a deal at all for a used gun. That was just the latest example. I see this kind of thing happen regularly on items close to the end of their auction cycle the minute a reasonably priced item draws its first minimal bid. So between a crappy reserve price/buy it now spread, to fake feeling no reserve auctions, I have little respect for the GB auction site.

May 21, 2007, 05:27 PM	#6
texas bulldog Junior Member Join Date: May 21, 2007 Posts: 9	i too have noticed that the but-it-now price is usually a de facto reserve. i've taken to just looking at the buy-it-now and deciding if i'm willing to pay that. if i'm not [as usual], i just pass on it. after shipping and transfer, it doesn't seem you get too many deals on GB unless the seller doesn't know what he has. besides...if it ain't NIB, i'd typically want to look at it in person first.

May 21, 2007, 05:34 PM	#7
divemedic Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2006 Posts: 1,310	Like going to the gun shows- lately the prices are too high for what you get.

May 21, 2007, 08:00 PM	#9
BM59 Junior Member Join Date: May 21, 2007 Posts: 1	Yeh, I hate gunbroker for the same reasons. It use to be a site worth visiting. It is just a fungerhut catelog now days. Real auctions are almost non-existant, I'd rather visit a local gun auction or gunshow than mess with everything going on there.