guitar-auctions.co.uk - are they ok?

Jimbro66

Has anyone here bought from this auction site? http://guitar-auctions.co.uk/catalogue-preview-thursday-10th-december-2015/ What sort of experience was it? Good? Bad? Just curious........

Jookyjr

OldPapaJook bought a Jazzmaster from them ages ago and all was fine. Just watch the 20% buyers premium, and the vat on the combined total (ouch)

Jookyjr

Some nice things..

http://guitar-auctions.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/lot0153.jpg

Moss

The estimates are rather low...

63 Epi Caballero - 150-300

Jerry Jones Baritone - 450-650

55 LP Custom - 3000-5000

Jookyjr

@Moss said:

The estimates are rather low...

63 Epi Caballero - 150-300

Jerry Jones Baritone - 450-650

55 LP Custom - 3000-5000

Even with 44% on top

Nitefly

Hmm - some nice looking pieces there, although there's some dross as well...

Stevepage

Might as well stick with eBay, you won't have to cough up nearly half as much of the final price at the end of the auction.

Chalky

@jookyjr says they charge you the buyer 20% VAT so that should be enough to tell you they're going to be more expensive than ebay. Also the 20% buyers premium. And finally, no transparency - who are you bidding against? What's to stop them ghost-bidding to push the price up?

ElectroDan

Might be a few bargains there for someone. I imagine most of it will find a fairly normal price though. The previous auction results are there, so you can get an idea.

Winny_Pooh

True about the ghost bidding, I called re an obscure acoustic some time ago and asked them to bid for me up to a price. I received an email saying that I won the item, for the Exact Maximum I gave them. I reckon they could at least have been less lazy in their deception so I never responded and never paid as it seemed fishy.

blobb

I've used them a few times in the past. They used to have some unusual stuff listed (not so much in the last auctions) that would have no interest and would be relisted for the next auction with a lower estimate. The Xmas auction, i.e. the next one, will attract the highest bids. The hammer price may be tempting but the premium soon takes it up to another level, so be careful with the ebay snipe approach - easy to place just one last bid, on which there is a percentage added. You also have to think about delivery, unless you can be there in person. You have to use one of their approved couriers who go in and take a look at your haul, they then quote you for a complete delivery service. It was a bit of additional hassle so I hired a van and drove down myself to collect. Saying that though, if you spot something you really want, can't find it elsewhere and are happy to buy unseen (their descriptions are not all that comprehensive) and maybe bundle in some other stuff to make the delivery worthwhile then yes, I have picked up 2 decent, rare guitars from them for reasonable cost. I can't see myself bidding on any more stuff from them as the 'grab a bargain' days are over.

Saying that though, there is a nice MATAMP 1224 & cab on there for £5-800 estimate. Amps are usually a good bet as a) they are later on in the auction so most of the online bidders (opportunists) have left b) the auctioneer want's to get a move on so won't hold out for higher bids if little interest c). at that estimate they really don't know the value of the amp, not many sell so checking ebay sold listing won't really help them, they have estimated it low to attract some attention but £5-800 is still a high cash value and unless you really know your stuff then you won't bother waiting for it to come around. If you got that whole package for £800 including the mark up you wouldn't be disappointed. The only risk is that someone who 'knows what it is' is waiting and hoping no one else has bothered to hang on for it. Then you are head to head and you can tell in 5 minutes if someone else has eyes on it. It will then either go cheap as one party decides not to fight for it or expensive as they both battle it out. So there you go, that was the only lot to grab my attention for those reasons. I may watch the auction to see if anyone else has eyes on it. Fantastic amp and worth every penny over a grand. That's how it works for me, see something you know about and like then assess the chances of getting a bargain. If it doesn't sell, it may be relisted next time so I may wait for that auction to see if my chances increase.

Bygone_Tones

I picked up a nice vintage Elgen amp from there last year. They are just a normal auction house (http://www.gardinerhoulgate.co.uk) that has an instrument sale every few months. So you can go and view the items and bid in the room on the day. I guess the guitar-auction.co.uk website gives them better google rankings than their standard page.

its normal for auction houses to give a low estimate as it gives punters the impression they are going to get it cheap.

yeah if your buying keep in mind the added commission, its not ebay.

DrJazzTap

I went to one of the auctions last year. I would say go early If you are thinking about it, as the parking was pretty crap.
I went with a mate of mine who worked out exactly what he was interested in and how much he was prepared to pay. He then calculated how much the final price would be with the premium etc.
 Some stuff went way over which was comical to an extent, people get sucked into a buying frenzy/bidding war and fail to see the bigger picture.
IE what you have to pay to take something home. Still they have some nice bits of gear from time to time.

djspecialist

Has anyone bought remotely (i.e. not being there in person) from guitar-auctions.co.uk?

How does bidding work in that case?  There seem to be a few different options (commission bid ahead of time; auction house phones you just before the lot; e-bidding).  Any thoughts on which is the best choice?

And what about packing and shipping - how does that work out?

Neil

djspecialist said:

Has anyone bought remotely (i.e. not being there in person) from guitar-auctions.co.uk?

How does bidding work in that case?  There seem to be a few different options (commission bid ahead of time; auction house phones you just before the lot; e-bidding).  Any thoughts on which is the best choice?

And what about packing and shipping - how does that work out?

Auction houses usually have a company who does all of their packing and shipping for them.

Usually quite expensive though and worth checking before bidding remotely.

TonyR

I'd had my eye on a Gretsch G6120AM they had in their June 2015 sale as I fancied treating myself to a present for my 50th the next month. In the end I decided to go for it and bid.

I emailed the auction house for additional photos of the guitar and asked some questions. They replied very quickly and sent me hi-res photos. I also rang them to find out how to bid. A very helpful lady said all I needed to do was to ring on the morning of the auction and leave my maximum bid, then I'd have to arrange collection of the guitar (which I used their recommended carrier for).

It would have been possible to use online auction bidding but be aware of this as you'll be charged an extra 3% for the privilege of using this method! 

I calculated the maximum I'd be prepared to pay for the guitar, factoring in the buyer's premium (20% + VAT) and delivery (I contacted their delivery company to get a quote before placing my bid). I then called the action house on the morning of the auction and left my maximum bid.

I rang up later to find out how I'd got on. The guitar sold for £50 over their maximum estimate which was quite a bit less than my maximum bid so I won it.

Their recommended company is Mailboxes etc. based in Chippenham. The cost of shipping was dependent on the value of the guitar and it cost me around £70.

It took a while for the delivery company to pick up the guitar and deliver it to me, but it arrived very well packaged and shipped via UPS.

The guitar was in absolutely mint condition, just a bit dusty - even the gold hardware wasn't tarnished! It looked as if somebody had bought it, went to the trouble of putting TV Jones pickups in it and then never using it. One bonus - the original filtertron pickups were included in the case.

Here she is:

Overall I made a nice saving on the G6120AM so it worked out okay for me.

In their December sale they had a Roland Jazz Chorus amp which I fancied, however the shipping company were too slow in getting back to me with a quote for delivery so I didn't place a bid. It sold for considerably more than I was willing to pay anyhow!

I always look at their catalogues and in future if there's anything that catches my eye I'll gladly purchase from them again.

It's interesting to look back through their previous sales to see how much things have sold for and how far out their estimates are. On the whole I think they are fairly accurate, with one or too being out.

When I set my maximum bid I did wonder what sort of bidder I'd be up against - would it be collectors or dealers? I suppose it just depends on the guitar, if somebody wants it then they'll be prepared to pay more than a dealer who'll need to make a profit at the end of the day. 

Good luck if you decide to go for it.

DrJazzTap

I've been to a few of the auctions. By the time I'd calculated commission and all that, anything I was interested in worked out being not that great a saving.

carlos

The end prices are quite disappointing. Not sure who's bidding up some of this stuff! I did get a very good squier for £60 using real time internet bidding.

djspecialist

Thanks for all the replies - very helpful.

fretfinder

blobb said:

There is a nice MATAMP 1224 & cab on there for £5-800 estimate.

That's a rather wide-ranging estimate - suggesting the Matamp could sell for anything from £5 to £800! 

StanleyAccrington

Try the-saleroom.com