Holts

[The Heron]

Are Holts auction worth bothering with 25%+vat  charges seems rather a lot for an old gun with a cracked stock. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by The Heron
Missed word

[Dave at kelton]

I used to attend regularly but stopped going a long time ago due to:

estimates were often come and get me so prices went way over

internet bidding removed the advantage of being on the ground and opened up the auction to all and sundry.

buyers premium.

last gun I bought was about ten years ago, a Charles Lancaster percussion 14 bore that I still use. I have though bought some tube flies in the online auction after they failed to sell first time around.

as with all things it depends what you after.

[Weihrauch17]

I have bought various things from them and found them fine to deal with.  I fully understand the sellers premium but the buyers premium is a total and utter rip off, without buyers they have no business.  Agree their estimates are often grossly understated.  

[Keith 66]

Look at any sucessful auction house, they will all be charging similar amounts of fees, Its a lot of marketing & paying your staff every month with just a few weeks earning a year. I have bought a few things off them & am so far happy with what i got. Several i regard as bargains.

Look at the prices dealers are wanting for antique firearms then look again at prices realised & some dont look so bad then!

[tonyshooter]

Bought from them on 5 previous occasions and I am  currently bidding on a gun in tomorrows auction.

 

I understand and accept their fees, I put a bid in on line ( my maximum )  and I deliberately don't watch the auction.

 

 

[Gunman]

Auctioneers are not your friends .They are anything but .

They are a business set up to sell things .

A business is set up to make money .That is their be all and end all. 

They make money from fees taken from both the seller and purchaser .

The trade often uses the auction houses  shift stuff they cant sell or wont sell .

 

 

[Keith 66]

^^^^ This is very true. But for many sellers there is no alternative, a friend of mine passed away recently, he had a huge collection of airguns, where the hell do you shift the best part of a thousand pieces? The relatives only realistic option is an auction house. Try & sell to a dealer, you will get 30% of its value at best, Its the same with anything not just guns, Its all about shifting stuff.

[Fil]

I used to go to buy for selling on in the 90's but now popular guns are almost, if not retail money. (with the taxes) I assume because of the internet exposure perhaps. So no, not from a dealers point of view. And privately as a punter, unless you really know what you're looking at, better to stick to a shop where you get warranties, etc. for nearly the same price. If you're a seller you benefit from all those foreign buyers if it's something a bit rare.

Saying that, my son purchased a lovely Hardy Bros, 12b BLE in the last sealed bid sale. (made by Holloway if you know gun making) An absolute steal for £250 inc taxes.