Gunspot’s Guide to Gun Auctions

Guide to Gun Auctions

In years past, the mention of the word gun auction conjures up images of what most people normally think of when they hear the word auction. A bunch of people are all in a room, raising placards to place their bid against everyone else in the room in the hopes of being the highest bidder and leaving with their newly bought item. Gun auctions used to run that way as well. But with the advent of the internet, gun auctions have evolved with modern technology. Nowadays, a person can simply log into a website and bid on any number of open auctions on multiple different sites. The rules still remain the same, the highest bidder wins the item.

Auction Sites vs Auction Houses

Bidding on firearms online still provides the user with a few options, namely hosting sites and auction houses. An auction house is essentially what most people understand a traditional auction to be. And most times, auctions houses will have either in-person or online bidding. The upside to an auction house is that if you are looking for higher-end or rare firearms in good condition, an auction house is most likely where those particularly hard-to-find firearms and items are being offered. The downside to this process is that all auction bidding must take place at the set date and time scheduled by the auction house, and advanced bidding is not always allowed.

Auction sites, however, run in a similar manner to what eBay does. The site will host sellers who price their own firearms and other products, and these items are either set for a bidding process or there is the option to buy them at the listed price. You are able to find many more items on an auction site that may be harder to find at your local gun shop, which is the biggest appeal of such a site. The more sellers on the platform, the greater the chance of finding that one unique item you may be searching for. As with anything firearm-related, there are always rules and regulations that must be followed in order to lawfully purchase a firearm from an online auction site. Gunspot outlines all of the rules regarding purchasing from their site in a concise manner so that there can be no confusion as to the process of bidding and purchasing a firearm from their site.

Watch Out for Scammers

The downside to having such a system is that because most auction sites simply host sellers and do not actually sell items themselves, there is always the risk of scammers. To combat the problem, users who create accounts with the auction sites are able to see reviews of sellers from other auction site users to know if they are trustworthy merchants. You can generally find out if the person you are looking to bid for an item is a private seller or holds a federal firearms license or FFL. Many auction sites will show a seller's rating, how long they've been auctioning items on the site, and if that seller has earned any accolades such as being a top seller on the site. Scam one too many people and that seller's account will most assuredly lose future business because checking seller reviews is becoming more commonplace and is always something any potential buyer should do. Gunspot.com offers users the ability to see all the data on the sellers hosted on their site. Ratings and any earned badges are displayed by their seller's information.

Which Auction Model Should You Choose

Depending on your needs and wants, an online auction site can satisfy the demand of pretty much anyone. With so many brick-and-mortar gun dealers moving to an online selling audience, many find that they can sell more items by doing so on auction sites. From handguns, pistols, high-end and budget AR-15 rifles and pistols, to magazines, optics, and firearm accessories, you can find almost anything you are looking for with an auction site such as Gunspot. But if you are in the market for a rare, hard-to-find relic, a more traditional auction house type of site may be better suited for you. You may be in the market for a collector's type of World War I or II machine gun that may be easier found at an auction house, but you never know. You may find that diamond in the rough on an auction site as well. It has been known to happen more often than you might think.