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Morphys Auction Prices


83Baron
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Low prices across the board for the most part. Maremont m60s going for 50-60k before BP. Colt 21s going for under 30k and original mp40s right at 20k or less. Saw a nice 28 go for 19k. The Mg42 they had went for only 35k when last rock islands brought 70k. You just never know who might show up, and even the fg42 only brought 130k.
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The AOW's brought mixed money

The Essex and the Hibbard Handy Guns both brought $2000+ before premium and the 12" H&R Handy with the box (numbered to a different gun) brought $2250.

The model A Auto Burglar with the holster sold for $8500.With the 23% premium it's pushing record pricing.

My business partner bid on the C&R Uzi but dropped out after $40,000

The best deals there were the M16 variants. $22,500 for a 639 or a US Property marked A2 for the same

I ended up with a couple Crescent AOW's

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I was in the running on the C&R Uzi also, but bailed slightly before $40. Prices may have seemed low, but also realize, they tacked on an industry leading buyers premium of 26%. That adds up in a hurry and contributed to me keeping my bids lower than I normally would have gone.

 

26 stinking %

 

just wow, I mean really, why not just go 100% and be done with it.

 

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It still is a crazy added cost, but I believe it was a flat 20% BP and if you pay with CC they add an additional 3%. Still high though.

 

I was in the running on the C&R Uzi also, but bailed slightly before $40. Prices may have seemed low, but also realize, they tacked on an industry leading buyers premium of 26%. That adds up in a hurry and contributed to me keeping my bids lower than I normally would have gone.

 

26 stinking %

 

just wow, I mean really, why not just go 100% and be done with it.

 

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Yes through Proxibid or other sites it was 26% as that site needs their cut (3%) on top of the 23% Morphy with credit card. Seems everyone wins, but the seller. Buyers bid less to adjust for the 20+%commission. Seller gets charged a commission and the bid price is lower due to buyers commission.

 

I wonder how much longer before epay starts to charge a buyers premium....

 

Ron

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There is a point when there is too much and sadly I will not be even looking at Morphy's, James Julia will be missed.

I just figure what the item is worth to me and add in the premium. It's the seller that typically loses with a high premium as they get less money. Morphy will offer 0% sellers commission though on ultra rare/high dollar items that will bring them a lot of press.. Rock Island won't drop below 15% on anything NFA

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  • 3 weeks later...

Morphys Last auction was very poor for the consignors. Auction started on a Tuesday instead of a Friday. high dollar NFA stuff went first with virtually NO ONE at the auction house (well maybe ten of us). In August they originally scheduled the auction to begin on Monday.....well they changed that......the catalogs came out very late......and the buyers premium is the greediest in the business.James Julia RIP

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It seems that both major auction companies are at a stalemate, wont buy from one, but wont sell through the other. Morphys has to change how they do business more so than RIA. It seems RIA is the leader on these types of auctions, but not by much.

Edited by Speeddemon02
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Got to love the Morphy quick bid platform though. It is much simpler with less hoops than bidding through RIA but since there is no confirm bid amount you have to be careful when you tap or you may end up with it. Edited by 83Baron
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Morphys Last auction was very poor for the consignors. Auction started on a Tuesday instead of a Friday. high dollar NFA stuff went first with virtually NO ONE at the auction house (well maybe ten of us). In August they originally scheduled the auction to begin on Monday.....well they changed that......the catalogs came out very late......and the buyers premium is the greediest in the business.James Julia RIP

 

Nobody misses the Joe Devine auctions?

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On consigning, I heard that Morphy did not charge owner seller's premium on guns hammered over $25k, That's quite amount of savings on sellers for expensive items.

Morhpy's MG price was NOT low IMO. For rare ones, there was strong competition. I had some interest in an genuine Uzi (Lot #68), the estimate of 10K-15K was fairly reasonable. But a few other guys wanted it too. The final price was pumped to $52,275, which was obviously very high for it and I had to give it up. Anyway, the pre-1968 Uzi was rare, so, congratulations to the new owner.

 

Other MGs were not cheap either. I won a Grease Gun from them (Lot #96). It cost me about $28,000, way above its estimate of $15K-25K. There were a few other people pumping price there, and I had to suppress them. The situation was not ideal, but that's the way it was.

 

Generally speaking, the price was high, not low.

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Yohuang, 10-15k for a pre 1968 Uzi is not reasonable. Thats easilt 1/2 or 1/3 what they are worth. The only others Ive seen for sale sold in the $40,000s and that was years ago. Congrats on your Grease Gun. I love mine, and the price you paid isnt that much off of current market value. Their estimations were very low.
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I personally would never sell any of my machine guns at those places. They take far too much.

 

Agreed 100% Someone from Julia's ( I think) or RIA called me the other day and I said the same thing. Too high of premiums at both ends. Eventually I would use Gunbroker but that is at least a few years off. Like the Realtors, they don't deserve that % anymore, because the home and NFA prices are so high.

Eric

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I personally would never sell any of my machine guns at those places. They take far too much.

Agreed 100% Someone from Julia's ( I think) or RIA called me the other day and I said the same thing. Too high of premiums at both ends. Eventually I would use Gunbroker but that is at least a few years off. Like the Realtors, they don't deserve that % anymore, because the home and NFA prices are so high.

Eric

Realtors I fully understand. They handle a ton of stuff and get more money to the seller faster. A good seasoned realtor with good education and connections is easily worth the 3%-6% they get every single time.

 

These auctions though, I just dont get. They dont seem to get that much more attention than just gunbroker or anymore money for the sellers? Then they take 10%-15%?! Then similar percentages from the buyer?! Its freaking ridiculous. I see their rates dropping as time goes on.

Edited by michaelkih
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I've been very happy with Julia and now Morphy. I have both bought and sold many high end and medium range items with very reasonable terms as I see it on both ends. The key aspect of this relationship, for me, is John Keene and his knowledge, depth of understanding of the market. There has been some glitches with the transition/sale of the firm and a few on the Morphy staff had some learning to do. But, overall it has worked quite well as I see it. I've just transferred some MG's for the next auction and am looking forward to how it all goes down... The stuff I'm tired of or not really interested with goes down the road. I'm very fortunate to be able to buy something more!

 

Charlie

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I've been very happy with Julia and now Morphy. I have both bought and sold many high end and medium range items with very reasonable terms as I see it on both ends. The key aspect of this relationship, for me, is John Keene and his knowledge, depth of understanding of the market. There has been some glitches with the transition/sale of the firm and a few on the Morphy staff had some learning to do. But, overall it has worked quite well as I see it. I've just transferred some MG's for the next auction and am looking forward to how it all goes down... The stuff I'm tired of or not really interested with goes down the road. I'm very fortunate to be able to buy something more!

 

Charlie

Any reason you don't just throw them up on Sturm or gunbroker, or even here and sell them yourself (or appoint someone else to do the day to day answering of questions)? That can be a lot of money left on the table for the seller? I've bought a fair amount from the major auction houses, but the knowledge of auction house employees doesn't factor in on the buyer end at all so while it may comfort you as a seller, you might want to keep in mind it does nothing for us as buyers? When I bid I don't bid a nickel more because of the auction house, I purely look at the total cost, so I now bid less at morphys factoring in a 5% premium over RIA for example. While I'd say Keene is by far the most knowledgeable guy in that industry, that's not much of a compliment since no one else even hires anyone with any NFA knowledge whatsoever. I just sent back "repaired" forms to RIA since they were not even smart enough to print the front and back on the same page?

 

Just curious is all. Certainly the convenience factor I'm sure is substantial and also the anonymity may play a role or if you have some non functioning guns you're moving out? I recall Mike Free's FG42 that was deemed "unrepairable" moving out at auction. Great wall hanger though!

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I wonder if a person would make out just as well selling to Ruben M or Frank G as they would at Morphys??

Anyone have any idea what these dealers would pay for a $20K gun?? A 30K gun??

Jim C

 

Yes, I spoke to Ruben one time. When he sells the stuff, there is no discount and it's worth a fortune. When you offer to sell anything to him, it's not worth much and no demand. I would buy from him if he had something I wanted, but I would not waste the phone call or the minute of my time to ever offer anything to him again.

BTW fairly happy with my purchases from him. Just stopped buying from him because I spent hundreds of thousands and he was too busy to pick me up or drop me off at the local executive airport (every time) and UBER hates it when you get in their car with an M60. Lol

Eric

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I've been very happy with Julia and now Morphy. I have both bought and sold many high end and medium range items with very reasonable terms as I see it on both ends. The key aspect of this relationship, for me, is John Keene and his knowledge, depth of understanding of the market. There has been some glitches with the transition/sale of the firm and a few on the Morphy staff had some learning to do. But, overall it has worked quite well as I see it. I've just transferred some MG's for the next auction and am looking forward to how it all goes down... The stuff I'm tired of or not really interested with goes down the road. I'm very fortunate to be able to buy something more!

 

Charlie

Any reason you don't just throw them up on Sturm or gunbroker, or even here and sell them yourself (or appoint someone else to do the day to day answering of questions)? That can be a lot of money left on the table for the seller? I've bought a fair amount from the major auction houses, but the knowledge of auction house employees doesn't factor in on the buyer end at all so while it may comfort you as a seller, you might want to keep in mind it does nothing for us as buyers? When I bid I don't bid a nickel more because of the auction house, I purely look at the total cost, so I now bid less at morphys factoring in a 5% premium over RIA for example. While I'd say Keene is by far the most knowledgeable guy in that industry, that's not much of a compliment since no one else even hires anyone with any NFA knowledge whatsoever. I just sent back "repaired" forms to RIA since they were not even smart enough to print the front and back on the same page?

 

Just curious is all. Certainly the convenience factor I'm sure is substantial and also the anonymity may play a role or if you have some non functioning guns you're moving out? I recall Mike Free's FG42 that was deemed "unrepairable" moving out at auction. Great wall hanger though!

Im curious as wel. I see no reason at all to use the auction houses and loose 20% of a $60,000 (or more) gun since buyers are smart enough to factor in their buyers premium when bidding. Not hating. Just curious.

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Interesting I've never lost 20% at any house selling... Clearly this comes down to negotiation skills, position, etc.! And as everyone knows I'm such a easy going kind of guy and I negotiate over a beer and few Knob Creeks. LOL! I've never lost a dollar on a class 3 arm but this isn't the ultimate goal when I buy or sell. I just try to improve the collection or move down the road the items I no longer desire.

As for RIA, I had very good results with the items I've listed and purchased from there. The sale results were good and the technical review, assay was not really bad by the British Gent (I cant remember his name) who was there at the time and may well still be. I think he was a bit pissed as I pointed out some issues with a few items deemed NON GUNS. I have always found their office staff helpful and responsive.

As for the Free MG42 " I recall Mike Free's FG42 that was deemed "unrepairable" moving out at auction. Great wall hanger though! " Which auction was this pray tell... The only Free 42 I sold was the re weld done under the butt stock thimble. Which I had xrayed in my ASME Code Shop. Where and by whom was it deemed un repairable? Maybe your memory is failing?

As for Frank's (Bowers) board I have no desire to post on his board. As for Sturm, I do occasionally list there. I don't even have a GB account.

The vast percentage of what I sell is never seen on the boards or the auction houses. They sell by personal contact with others and word of mouth in a rather close circle of shooters. In the past I have declined to sell a class 3 item to some people for any price. In other cases I have transferred a few weapons to people at no charge. Simply as a gift to those that such an item would forever be out of reach. I've been taught "to be of a charitable nature" This is far from the "Mr. Congeniality" and Hard Nosed attitude I'm know for... Remember the guys that say "He with the most toys wins"...He's the fool, as it is all the same in the end" The Toys" need to continue on! So I hope.

My 2 cents... Low Key Rant Off

Charlie

Edited by PTRS-14.5
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I think the implication is that you lose 20% because buyers will effectively pay full retail for a gun as their total price, then subtract the premium and that's what the seller is left with? In theory it's sort of true and totally true in my case since that is how I write my bids down as actually a discount to retail then subtract the premium and that is what I bid. I've never dealt with any Brits at RIA, but it's rare when I deal with anyone there lately verbally other than email bids, telemarketer calls, and paperwork issues. I've never sold there which is where I'd assume there is a lot of interaction. Most of their descriptions like everyone else is boiler plate book excerpts, rarely do they delve into details such as the mfr of a tube gun or maker of a rewat. I buy the gun, not their story.

 

One of Mike's guns (somewhere I have it written down) is pretty much a turd. I don't know that is was that specific one, but the guy that informed me is a guy that has looked at more of those guns than anyone in the country and worked on it. I've never seen his name in a public forum and so shall remain nameless here too.

 

Glad to hear you offer your stuff out in the circle first, that would be my preference as well at some point when I decide to liquidate some things. That's easy if no one is interested I guess some type of auction would be the next easiest path.

Yes your reputation precedes you, I didn't detect any rants in your post at all....... I guess maybe I am disappointed? I also missed the whole episode at the creek by minutes too, but the story is now somewhat legendary as creek tales go! LOL

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I bought and sold some guns via RIAC. On selling, 1/3 of final price goes to them as service fee. So, unless a gun had come to the collection cheap, the profit (if any) went to RIAC. The reason to consign to them was simple -- it saves effort. Usually collectors try to sell their guns by themselves first, some guns go easily, some do not. The ones stuck do not imply they are bad, but due to certain guns having price/rarity/condition balance concern. Let RIAC handles those is not a bad choice. If a gun had come cheap, previous owner makes 1/3, you earn 1/3, and RIAC earns 1/3. Everyone's happy.

Edited by yohuang
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