Orr on-line Gun Auction

[Rod]

Registered to bid on several guns listed in Orr Auctioneers (out of Jamestown) large gun/ammo consignment auction currently going on. Bidding ends this Saturday. Clicked to enter the next highest bid on a gun and the system immediately indicated I was outbid. Did that another 3 or 4 times and got the same immediate message, Outbid. Talked to their tech support and a snippy gal at Orr Auctioneers office. Turns out the system Orr had set up is where one can go in and put in your high bid for that gun but that bid is hidden from the other bidders. So the current high bid shown on the website for that particular lot number is not the high bid as the high bid is hidden. so when you bid the next dollar increment, it automatically tells you that you were outbid. She explained that it allows a bidder to put in what they want to spend on that gun, particularly if that person is not available to bid when the auction closes. I said I understand but why in a public auction hide that high bid from other bidders. Without knowing what the high bid is, the only way you can find out is to keep hitting the bid button until the system informs you that you have the high bid. What made this situation even more interesting is the gun I was trying to bid on was a consignment from a gun dealer as the details for this lot indicated ND sales tax was applicable. Was that dealer basically setting his own reserve on that gun by entering a hidden high bid?

 

[NDSportsman]

Pretty much all online auctions are run this way.

As to if the dealer placed his own high bid that's possible. You can set a reserve on most auctions.

 

[Petras]

What NDSportsman said.... Ebay is set up the exact same way.... put in your max bid, but the current bid only goes up whatever the required increment is.... that way you could possibly get the item for less than the max you are willing to spend... No different than going to a live auction looking to buy a shotgun for up to $800... If the bidding opens at $200 you aren't gonna just call out $800 right off the bat... you are gonna try to get it as cheap as you can...

I don't imagine the seller would be going in and placing bids on their own items... if they did and they were the high bidder at the end, they'd likely have to pay a fee to the auctioneer for the sale price of the gun even though their bid was the high bid and they didn't sell the gun... usually when a seller has a minimum price they want for an item they set a reserve....

ETA- what I would find suspicious is if you set a max price, and somehow someone ran your bid up to your max price and stopped... example: your max bid is $800, current bid is at $250, then all of a sudden someone bids you up to the $800 and stops.... to me that would seem a bit suspicious, like maybe if someone in the background could see what your max bid is and push it.... That would be risky though as if it happened too many times people would start to questiont he legitimacy of the auctioneer.... thats not good for business...

 

[Slappy]

I participated in one of their auctions last year and never will again. I have been on ebay since it came into existence and gunbroker for almost 20 years so not a rookie. The site showed me having the high bid after the auction closed, then got an email saying I was outbid.

 

[1lessdog]

I participated in one of their auctions last year and never will again. I have been on ebay since it came into existence and gunbroker for almost 20 years so not a rookie. The site showed me having the high bid after the auction closed, then got an email saying I was outbid.

I have never had a problem with there auctions. Maybe you didn't refresh your page fast enough.

 

[Prairie Doggin']

Prices seem high, but I've realized lately I've become my dad..."I remember when that was a nickel."

 

[SDMF]

Registered to bid on several guns listed in Orr Auctioneers (out of Jamestown) large gun/ammo consignment auction currently going on. Bidding ends this Saturday. Clicked to enter the next highest bid on a gun and the system immediately indicated I was outbid. Did that another 3 or 4 times and got the same immediate message, Outbid. Talked to their tech support and a snippy gal at Orr Auctioneers office. Turns out the system Orr had set up is where one can go in and put in your high bid for that gun but that bid is hidden from the other bidders. So the current high bid shown on the website for that particular lot number is not the high bid as the high bid is hidden. so when you bid the next dollar increment, it automatically tells you that you were outbid. She explained that it allows a bidder to put in what they want to spend on that gun, particularly if that person is not available to bid when the auction closes. I said I understand but why in a public auction hide that high bid from other bidders. Without knowing what the high bid is, the only way you can find out is to keep hitting the bid button until the system informs you that you have the high bid. What made this situation even more interesting is the gun I was trying to bid on was a consignment from a gun dealer as the details for this lot indicated ND sales tax was applicable. Was that dealer basically setting his own reserve on that gun by entering a hidden high bid?

Just like GunBroker or EBay.

 

[Wall-eyes]

I have done many that is the way they are. Had a fun one out of Sidney, Montana gun shop, pawn place I believe. It had clock/timer like ebay I was last high bid it told me and clock ran out and I did not win it called in turns out being there was more people trying to bid higher at last second which is the trick they just let it go and took highest bid from last ones trying to get them in and they accepted it. Told them I will be contacting Sec of State in Montana and passing this on it is illegal, told them off and deleted all my info and said goodbye forever. That was dirty one.