Why Consign Collector Firearms with RIAC
Why should you consign collector firearms, modern guns, rare guns, antique guns or class III NFA guns with Rock Island Auction Company? The reasons are many, but we’ve conveniently boiled them down into 5 basic areas: results, expertise, marketing, our catalog, and our facility. Simply put, no other competitor comes close in these areas, and that gives us a unique advantage which we have used to great success for our consignors. We call these five areas “The RIAC Advantage”
Results
The proof is in our results. If you’ve gotten to this page, we’ve already told you that we’ve been the #1 firearms auction house for antique and collector firearms in the world since 2003. What you may not know is that we’ve been setting world records in sales since 2010, and continue to shatter our own records as we set the bar continually higher.
Collector Firearms Expertise
Rock Island Auction Company specializes in selling firearms. We know the business inside and out and keep our finger held tightly against the pulse of the industry. We sell over 23,000 firearms annually, giving us an unmatched perspective on the market.
Our Facility
From our humble beginnings in a garage that once housed founder Pat Hogan’s other business ventures, Rock Island Auction Company has moved twice to larger facilities to accommodate its burgeoning business. The most recent of which was in the spring of 2011 to its current state of the art, 150,000 square foot campus. The move demonstrates our investment in the industry and belief in the industry for many more years to come. We do not hesitate to consider it one of the most state of the art and comfortable brick and mortar auction facilities in the world. We have extensively renovated the space in every possible way to more closely demonstrate our motto: “We Believe in Presentation.”
Catalog
Catalogs are an auction company’s single most effective tool to present and market your collector firearms. In an auction world that is increasingly becoming dominated by off-site bidders, we use our catalogs to nearly put the guns into the hands of people around the world who are confident in bidding on your items without ever inspecting them in person. They have even received two Pewter Prizes in the Business Catalog category at the Gold Ink Awards, the industry’s most prestigious print competition.
Marketing
We’ve already mentioned our award-winning catalogs, but they are only the impressive beginning to our expansive and aggressive marketing campaigns. The most fundamental obligation any auction house has is to maximize their items’ exposure to as many potential buyers as possible. While other auction houses will taut the strongest marketing efforts, we can assure you that Rock Island Auction Company unequivocally has the strongest, most aggressive, and most effective marketing platform in the industry. Don’t just listen to rhetoric; ask for physical examples. Our marketing and advertising are second-to-none in the industry and are one of the reasons that RIAC sells 2-3 times more guns than our closest competitor. Here’s what RIAC can do for you.
What amount does the bidding start at?
Bidding generally starts no less than of the low estimate. If there are a lot of absentee bids placed on an item, the item may start at the low estimate or even above the low estimate. The discretion of the starting bid is determined by the auctioneers.
