Why not try auctions as a good source for acquiring used guns?

Shooting Industry, Feb, 1989 by Chuck Karwan

* Some auctions are strictly a cash-and-carry operation, while others take credit cards. Some will accept local checks, others will require a "line of credit" letter from a bank before they will accept a check. I have attended auctions where a 10 percent cash deposit would hold an item until full payment could be made. Regardless, you must know in advance of the auction the requirements for payment or you may find yourself unable to buy anything.

* I am aware of some auctions, particularly police auctions, that only allow sales of firearms to state residents. If you attend such an auction in a state other than your own, you will have to arrange for a local resident or dealer to operate as your agent.

* If you get to an auction and find that you have friends in attendance, it is best to compare notes--especially on guns that both parties are interested in. Discuss and establish who is willing to bid higher. Then, let that person bid on the piece without competition from the other. Many times friends can save each other a lot of money in this way.

* Some auctions have what is known as a "reserve bid". What this means is that if the bidding does not reach a certain level then the piece is not sold. As a rule, I would avoid auctions that have many items with reserve bids.

* Often auctions will have bidders register for a bidding number. This enables the auctioneer to keep an account of the items you have won the bid on, so that you can pay all at once, at the end of the auction. Others will require payment after each bid is won. It is hard to generalize since each auction is different. Some make it easy for the buyer and others make it awkward.

If you have never attended a firearms auction you are missing a lot of fun and a grand opportunity to buy guns and other items for your business. Auctions can be located through advertisements in national firearms trade papers and journals, advertisements in local papers, and by contacting auctioneers, police agencies, and the other agencies that I have mentioned who auction off firearms.

I predict that once you have attended an auction or two, you will make auctions a regular part of the way you acquire used guns for your business. Properly employed auctions can be an important factor in increasing your volume of used gun business and profits.

PHOTO ; Inspection period at a major firearms auction. It is imperative that you check out the guns that interest you or you may end up with something you wished you had not bid on.