RIA: The Finest Antique Firearms And Modern Gun Auction Company in The US.

CONSIGNMENTS

Consign with Rock Island Auction Company and Experience
INTEGRITY EXPERTISE RESULTS

The single greatest tool of any auction house is its catalog The commitment to producing the finest catalog in the industry is the cornerstone of our motto... “We believe in presentation” The goal of our catalog is to inspire confidence in both buyers and sellers.
In order to showcase your items, we routinely feature over 6,000 PHOTOGRAPHS in our catalogs. We feature:more photos, more close-ups, larger image size, more in-depth descriptions, historical information, and an easier to follow format than our competitors' catalogs. Our catalog is designed to showcase our clients’ items, in addition to informing and exciting ourpotential bidders. Each auction with each catalog we continue to raise the standard of catalog production to new levels. More than 2,000 are given complimentary to serious collectors. We routinely continue to sell catalogs after auctions as reference guides for collectors. Last year our catalog was also presented with 2 Pewter Awards at the 20th Annual Gold Ink Awards Competition.The winners were chosen from over 1,500 entries. RIAC won in the Business Catalogs, Sheet-fed category. Pieces were judged on: technical difficulty, overall visual effect, & print quality. Our descriptions are written & reviewed by specialists in their field.

WE EXCEL AT SELLING ALL LEVELS OF COLLECTING
When buying or selling in the collectable field current market price is paramount. Rock Island Auction Company was established in 1993. Many auction houses will boast high sales for a particular auction or individual item and some companies advertise ancient history. In 2004 Rock Island Auction Company had sales exceeding $14 million, in 2005, exceeding $15 million, 2006 exceeding $19 million, in 2007 $28.6 million dollars, in 2008 over $31 million, and we will break the $30 million mark in 2009. No other firearms auction company has ever reached those numbers in a calendar year. Rock Island Auction Company sells over 14,000 firearms a year. We have an average sell-thru rate of over 97% with our September 2009 auction selling over 98% of the items. Rock Island Auction Company SELLS what we offer at auction. The participation in our auctions over the past three years by bidders per auction breaks down as follows: 1100+ registered bidders, 400-500 on-site bidders, 12,000+ absentee bids, 4,000-5,000 telephone bids on our industry leading 25 person telephone bank.
*PLEASE SEE SOME OF OUR CURRENT RESULTS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE
A FEW WORDS FROM PAST CONSIGNORS
“Pat Hogan was knowledgeable about the guns, provided a professional presentation in the catalog (superior in my opinion), and gave honest, straight forward advice. No one else offered that. And finally I wasn’t forgotten. I was offered a book of my collection. Something I reflect on with friends and family quite often.” - Larry Mayle, One of the Finest Collections of Engraved Colts Ever Assembled “Frank and I were very pleased with the results we obtained at Rock Island Auction Company. We knew that they would get the most for our collection over any other auction house”. - Karen Sellers, The Frank & Karen Sellers Collection, The Worlds Finest and Most Complete Sharps Collection “Rock Island Auction Company has always been a pioneer in marketing. We’ll never forget how five records were broken while selling our collection in 2001.” - Dave and Dan Kidd, Kidd Bros. Winchester Collection as featured in the Winchester Slide Action book by Ned Schwing "Harrison always said he enjoyed doing business with Rock Island Auction Company. He was never disappointed or worried. He found his dealings with everyone there to be honest and reputable.” - Pauline Carroll, The Harrison Carroll Collection

NO OTHER AUCTION HOUSE ADVERTISES & MARKETS YOUR COLLECTION BETTER THAN ROCK ISLAND AUCTION COMPANY
The firearms auction business is truly a "niche" market. Attracting the attention of serious buyers is a challenge. We have been aggressive in doing so and are proud of our growing client base and strong marketing efforts. Rock Island Auction Company is the only auction house in the world to advertise with full page ads in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sentinel and dozens of industry publications. We excite the firearms collecting market with personal telemarketing campaigns. We are proud of our 55,000+ client listing. Each Premiere auction a 12 page color brochure is mailed to 55,000+ pre-qualified buyers who live in all 50 states and in 36 countries. Our mailer contains color photos of more than 800 lots to be sold at auction. We attend major gun shows all around the country – promoting items in our upcoming auctions, and taking in consignments for future auctions Our Website is hands-down the most state-of-the-art in the industry, and is constantly improving with technology. Our website is promoted throughout the Internet on dozens of firearms related websites and forums. Email newsletters are sent to over 13,000 potential bidders each month, as well as periodic updates about RIAC, special events, and news. The newsletters are the newest addition to our extensive marketing campaign.

WE BELIEVE IN PRESENTATION
Our motto can be clearly seen in the preparatory steps for each one of our auctions. One major aspect of presentation is the displaying of the items in our facility for auction previews and at promotional shows. Items are on display the day before each auction and also on display two hours before the sale each day as well as during the sale for items not on the auction block that day. We treat your items as if they were our own - Our entire auction facility is centered around protection and proper display of your valuable firearms. Our auction hall layout allows for a proper and safe exhibition of your firearms. Each long gun is stored or displayed in padded racks. Our “waterfall” racks allow potential buyers to view the long arm horizontally with copies of any documentation, while resting in a padded rack. All pistols and small items are kept in glass cabinets under lock and key; of course, auction staff members are readily available to assist customers with the handling of auction items.

STATE OF THE ART AUCTION FACILITY
Our phenomenal growth over the last few years can be seen in our current expansion to a 23,000 square foot state of the art auction facility. All photography, cataloging, auctioning and shipping take place in our facility, decreasing the risk of damage which can be caused by moving guns from place to place. We do not use hotels or rental halls for any of our auctions. “Presentation is important” has been or motto from inception. This is evident in the catalog, our advertising and our pre-auction exhibition. All items are professionally stored and displayed in custom padded racks or in locked display cases. A bank-type vault and state-of-the-art security system keep items safe around the clock.

IDEAL LOCATION ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IN ILLINOIS
Our central location in the heart of the country makes us easily accessible. Our Illinois location benefits the buyer and the seller. There is virtually no sales tax applied to auction items allowing for a larger buying margin to the customer. Gun laws in Illinois are less restrictive than in states such as California. We are less than five minutes from the airport. Interstate 80 and I-74 are the major highway intersections.
WE KEEP IT SIMPLE WHEN YOU CONSIGN WITH ROCK ISLAND AUCTION COMPANY
Consigning is a decision with many concerns. It is our job to make it go smoothly and effortlessly. What you may consider overwhelming we handle as a daily responsibility - its our job. We keep the contract simple. There are no hidden charges for photography, insurance, etc. Our rates are some of the best in the industry. Getting items to Rock Island Auction Company is hassle-free. We are a Federal Firearms Licensed dealer. Items may be shipped directly to us or we can arrange for a pick up. Rest assured we will be with you every step of the way to get your items safely here. Once your items are in our possession and care they are stored securely and fully insured.
ROCK ISLAND AUCTION COMPANY'S FANTASTIC INTERNET PRESENCE
Our website will get your firearms shown to thousands of gun collectors. Many groups search our online catalog; modern gun collectors, antique firearms dealers, sporting gun buyers, antique shops that carry miscellaneous firearms collectible items, firearms dealers, specialized collectors for Henry rifles, German firearms, Civil War firearms, and many more. Also gun clubs and groups, NRA members. sword and knife collectors. All collectors from every genre of firearms comes to our website.

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The Nation's Leading Auction House for Firearms, Edged Weapons, & Military Artifacts