Rock Island Auction Company

[50 BMG]

I'm sure most of you know of the Auction company Rock Island Auction Co. Before you burn up your keyboards trashing them due to fees and commissions etc. please hear me out. I recently bid and won two rifles. Both were rated in very good condition. The biggest plus are the photographs showcasing the rifles and their condition rating. The items were photographed by a professional photographer. Not from someones basement on a cell phone LOL. Also I found the items were priced FAR less than ANY classified of the same model listed on NES, Gunboards, Gunbroker etc.. There is another auction in October. Check them out .....or not.. If not that's OK with me . That means fewer people bidding on items . I'm sure this post will cause a firestorm of comments. That is OK I am used to it . However if you are a serious collector I highly recommend you check out the up coming Auction. For all you folks living in Mass. I have no idea of the limitations you now have with your "progressive Governor" . To all Happy collecting and if you do bid on an item I wish you good luck I hope you win that one collectable firearm you have been searching for . I am not going to post the link because I have not been on NES all that much and I may have just violated some rule . I am sure the " moderators will let me know. " Live Free or Die"

 

[Marty McFly]

I'm in on the cannon in October. Got the helmets in September. Calculate the fees ahead and if it's worth it, great. I find the shipping is reasonable

 

[DW357]

I'm sure most of you know of the Auction company Rock Island Auction Co. Before you burn up your keyboards trashing them due to fees and commissions etc. please hear me out. I recently bid and won two rifles. Both were rated in very good condition. The biggest plus are the photographs showcasing the rifles and their condition rating. The items were photographed by a professional photographer. Not from someones basement on a cell phone LOL. Also I found the items were priced FAR less than ANY classified of the same model listed on NES, Gunboards, Gunbroker etc.. There is another auction in October. Check them out .....or not.. If not that's OK with me . That means fewer people bidding on items . I'm sure this post will cause a firestorm of comments. That is OK I am used to it . However if you are a serious collector I highly recommend you check out the up coming Auction. For all you folks living in Mass. I have no idea of the limitations you now have with your "progressive Governor" . To all Happy collecting and if you do bid on an item I wish you good luck I hope you win that one collectable firearm you have been searching for . I am not going to post the link because I have not been on NES all that much and I may have just violated some rule . I am sure the " moderators will let me know. " Live Free or Die"

I won an unfired desert eagle collector set auction last summer for a fair amount below market value from Rock Island. Even after the fees.
I got a call from them this morning letting me know about their upcoming firearm auction.

 

[42!]

It's gotten to the point where RI calls me if there is an auction coming up and I haven't placed any bids
Results have varied from just OK to great deals. Best so far was a lot with 63 Walther P-38 and a PPK, in better shape than I thought from the pics. Basically new old stock, in their original boxes with all the paperwork and cleaning rod, even the factory test targets. I'd sware those were the ony rounds ever fired. Oh, and no import stamps. Even with their fees I was all in for about 900.00. More recently I got an AR180, fair deal, nothing special, I just wanted one.
The key is the same with any auction, do your research, set your limits, know the fees, and stick to you limit. Don't get emotional. And it helps to know what the bidding increments are and how they changed as the bids get higher, and what a +1 or +2 does on a sealed bid.

 

[42!]

I won an unfired desert eagle collector set auction last summer for a fair amount below market value from Rock Island. Even after the fees.
I got a call from them this morning letting me know about their upcoming firearm auction.

I have a feeling Oct is going to be an expensive month for me

 

[Maninblue1861]

I won't knock them, got 2 mint 1903a4 sniper rifle through them years ago for less than usually found on forums ect.

 

[DW357]

I won't knock them, got 2 mint 1903a4 sniper rifle through them years ago for less than usually found on forums ect.

Ya you’ll get no complaints from me.
They also didn’t pull any oh you’re from MA we can’t ship this or it’s not MA compliant (Desert Eagle isn’t obviously)

 

[67ray]

The only complaint is that it is too easy to buy. Just add 20-23% to your bid to get an estimate of the final price. Also annoyed me that they would not combine shipping costs and charged me exorbitantly even though they shipped multiple lots together.

And one legitimate gripe: all bidders are not on even ground. The bidders on the floor and those on the phone live with their proxy get faster acceptance than those online. There are one or two staff taking bids submitted online v. 30-40 on the phones with live bidders, according to what they told me, each dedicated to the caller. Have lost auctions in this way even though my bid was higher/earlier than others.

I noticed toward the end of the auction there are less people and more realistic prices.

 

[42!]

The only complaint is that it is too easy to buy. Just add 20-23% to your bid to get an estimate of the final price. Also annoyed me that they would not combine shipping costs and charged me exorbitantly even though they shipped multiple lots together.

And one legitimate gripe: all bidders are not on even ground. The bidders on the floor and those on the phone live with their proxy get faster acceptance than those online. There are one or two staff taking bids submitted online v. 30-40 on the phones with live bidders, according to what they told me, each dedicated to the caller. Have lost auctions in this way even though my bid was higher/earlier than others.

I noticed toward the end of the auction there are less people and more realistic prices.

I haven't noticed any issue with the live internet bidding, maybe they've improved it. But mostly I do sealed bids, keeps me from making mistakes. I did impulse bid on a couple revolvers, they were way under value. This was later in the day and @67ray is right, the number of bidders drops off later as most of the country is out eating dinner or gone home. If you're open to variety and are comfortable with the impulse buy, that's the time to jump on line.

 

[42!]

I've been thinking about using their conditional bidding. You can set up bids in advance based on what other lots you won or didn't and for how much. It lets you use sealed bids of a lot of items with a preset cut off that says after I win X STOP all further bidding.

 

[rep308]

We had a club member pass away with a number of valuable Winchester lever action rifles. The rifles were on the order of $5k-$8K each and I reccomended the family contact Rock Island Auction. They treated them fairly, held an auction, collected their fees and gave the happy family a lot of money.

 

[Marty McFly]

Ya you’ll get no complaints from me.
They also didn’t pull any oh you’re from MA we can’t ship this or it’s not MA compliant (Desert Eagle isn’t obviously)

Yeah it seems they take the "your ffl will sort it out" approach. I like that

 

[42!]

Yeah it seems they take the "your ffl will sort it out" approach. I like that

Auction houses have simple rules. You buy it you own it, the rest is your problem. Can't possess what you bought, don't like it, tough shit, you own it.

 

[Marty McFly]

Auction houses have simple rules. You buy it you own it, the rest is your problem. Can't possess what you bought, don't like it, tough shit, you own it.

Absolutely. Exactly how it should be. The problem is when people start making rules of their own.

 

[Fixxah]

Welcome back Fred. Now where is Flotter?

 

[DW357]

Auction houses have simple rules. You buy it you own it, the rest is your problem. Can't possess what you bought, don't like it, tough shit, you own it.

Except for Poulin Auctions in Maine - f*** them. After charging my credit card, they decided that they couldn’t ship a Dan Wesson revolver, even though I had a dealer lined up. Then they contacted the firearms records bureau to inquire about the legality. That’s when I decided to cut my losses and move on.
I even had Kittery trading post say they would be willing to inbound it, and then ship it to my dealer.

Long story short, they auctioned it off again, took their 20% cut (or whatever it was) and gave me the remainder.
f*** Poulin Auctions

 

[JuergenG]

Welcome back Fred. Now where is Flotter?

Living happily in the Carolinas

 

[mac1911]

Cant bash them , 2 bids and 2 wins over the years. All in all the cost was about what it would have cost anywhere else.
Auctions are driven by want and need

 

[42!]

I think the few gripe about auctions either confuse real auctions with proxy sales like Gun Broker, or they just didn't bother to know the rules. Or, they just can't control themselves and over bid. And they would rather blame the auction than accept personal responsibility.