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I have seen a nice English shotgun ( guide price £1500 - £2000 ), that I rather like, which comes up for sale at Holts Auctioneers soon.

Due to Covid they are not allowing "attendance in person ".

I find myself asking myself if I should bid on an item that I have not seen.

Has anyone had this scenario before, and if so what was the outcome.

Thanks.

Tony

What no viewings at all!
Surely that can't be right. No one in their right mind would purchase something in an auction unseen unless there was some sort of guarantee or third party appraisal at the very least.

I feel your pain, I saw a few interesting things last year while I didn’t have a certificate, now I have one I haven’t seen anything I’m interested in.

I bid on 3 Historic 7.3 Pistols from Holt's in 2019 did my research in the serial number to confirm the date of manufacture looked closely at the pictures to confirm condition, and took a punt. they did not sell not reaching their reserve.
So I asked a section 5 dealer to enquire if Holt's would take an offer they did and seller did not want to have to pay to resell at the next auction the following year, so all three now in our collection in super condition and we are saving history .

Auctions can be very hit and miss and normally i would say never buy unseen, but due to recent events i had to break my own rules last year. It wasn't Holts but another auction house that had a early Parker-Hale .451 Volunteer up for sale late last year. I looked closely at the pictures provided and they all looked good. I took a gamble won it for about £420 inc fees and it came with a sling and a leather bag. The mould and sizer were in another lot and i won those as well. I really want to get out and do some shooting but our club currently has a one hour time limit per shooter and setting these rifles up requires plenty of time.

Holts are allowing viewings you just need to book (excerpt from their latest newsletter below).

I regularly bid on (and occasionally win) lots with holts without seeing the guns other than the photos they post. As such I always take a view of the risk/reward on a given lot and consider what the likely issues with a gun might be that I might need to fix. because of this whenever I win something I generally feel I have had a good deal. out of the 10+ guns purchased from them over the years I have had 1 broken firing pin (split so it would still fire most of the time but cost me about £25 to replace). However I did bid on a 7.62x54R Winchester which I thankfully didn't win as it turned out to have been proofed as the wrong calibre (9.3x53r was the actual calibre). Holts do a basic external check for condition and to make sure there is a "valid" proof mark but that is all.

Next Auction of Fine Modern & Antique Guns
Viewing Times:
Monday to Friday: 10:00am - 5:00pm
Weekend Viewing:
19th & 20th June 10:00am – 3:00pm
Pre-Auction viewing now available by pre-booked appointment only, on view at:
Church Farm Barns
Wolferton
Norfolk PE31 6HA
______
Sealed Bid Auction Viewing Times:
(From Thursday 10th June)
Monday to Friday 10:00am - 5:00pm
Weekend Viewing
19th & 20th June 10:00am – 3:00pm
For further information and to book a viewing appointment please contact:
Tel: 01485 542 822
info@holtsauctioneers.com

Speak to Scott Wilson who is their resident gunsmith. I bought a very cheap English side-lock which was wasn't described as "stock, action and forend only" so i assumed it would be within proof and safe to shoot. The thing was so far off the face that I've never dared shoot it. It'll cost more than the gun is worth to have it sorted properly. I spoke to Scott about it and he said their only check is barrel wall thickness but I've spoken to him first he would have been happy to give a verbal report on its condition before I bid.

We put a huge amount of guns through Holts. A couple of things, they will keep listing and trying to sell until they do sell or are withdrawn at no extra charge. (I guess some could look on it as cheap storage!) Guns are usually in the auction for a reason and mostly you get what you pay for, there are seldom bargains to be had. Oh, one final thing, Holts pay at around 30 days after the auction and only of they have been paid themselves.

We like Holts.

i would never put a target rifle thru Holts i have seen some shockingly bad valuations (bargains!) where the gun is valued less than the bit of wood its in. They dont have a clue about TRs.

hitchphil wrote:i would never put a target rifle thru Holts i have seen some shockingly bad valuations (bargains!) where the gun is valued less than the bit of wood its in. They dont have a clue about TRs.

I find the same applies to a lot of milsurp rifles. Estimates might be £300-£400 yet the guns go for over £1000.

However this has allowed me to pick up a couple of niche guns far below typical market value.