Is "Not-Buyer's Remorse" a Thing?

[Green Frog]

Well, today I went to a little gun auction here in Central VA. Even dressed up at their best, the pickings looked to be slim there, but it looked like there was going to be a nice little Baby Chief, I hadn't been to an auction in a while, and I figured, "What the heck, why not?"

I got there and as usual the guns were all jumbled up on tables in a poorly lit room with lots of buyers and gawkers looking them over. It turned out that the Chief Special was a later vintage and looked like somebody had carried it their tackle box for a couple of years or more. The gun from the picture was an early post-War Terrier, still in a red (the original??) box. I had to hang around most of the day to bid on it and was getting good vibes with how the bidding on it was going in my favor when somebody else started enthusiastically bidding against me. I think they were turned on by the high condition and presence of the box. GRRRR. Anyway, I hung back at a lower level than I probably should have, and just as I tried to jump back in, the gavel fell, giving the buyer a bargain at less than $350 including buyer's premium.

So, has anybody else experienced "not-buyer's remorse" or did I just invent it?

Froggie

 

[Alk8944]

You didn't invent it! I have guns I didn't buy going back 30 years or so that still irritate me that I passed on them! I can guarantee we are nt alone!

Not to mention the ones I owned and sold even longer ago than that, but that is a different thing!

 

[Göring's S&W]

I can relate, but we all probably call this something different. I simply call it a "mistake" I guess. We've all missed something that we knew was good...

Here is one that sticks out in my mind:

A few months ago I missed out on a really nice and original S&W 357...

Not a 5 screw pre 27

Not a model marked 27

Not a K or L or J 357

Not a Registered Magnum

Not a Non-Registered Magnum....

What is left????

I actually missed an example of the unicorn of the group - the rarely seen post war transitional 357. I had a chance to buy it, but I decided to make an offer instead. The ask was several thousand dollars, but a fair deal for what it was. I could have just paid but now instead I have to accept that trying to save a buck ruined my opportunity to have a really special revolver.

The time to buy it is when you see it. Don't expect the gun to wait for you to be ready...

 

[Hondo44]

You're not the only with "should have bought it remorse".

 

[Tom K]

It's called "would'a, could'a, should'a".

 

[Warren Sear]

^^^ Been there, done that.

But it's like women or buses. If you missed one, don't worry; there'll be another coming by shortly.

 

[Alk8944]

But it's like women or buses. If you missed one, don't worry; there'll be another coming by shortly.

Unfortunately, not likely! Four were all about 25 years ago.

1) A 1912 Steyr Hahn that had not been converted to 9mm Parabellum or otherwise molested!

2) A 9x57 Mannlicher-Schoenauer!

3) A Colt Officer's Model Match in .32 New Police (.32 S&W Long)! Do you have any idea how rare this gun is? Look it up! The price was ridiculous too, something like $200.

4) A Winchester Model 70 African .375 H&H NIB for $350 as I recall. The gun retailed for about $750 at the time.

All in the same gun shop, the first three the same day! I have never seen any of these since for sale except for auction sites and sold for several times what they were priced then!

 

[les.b]

Froggie,

As a fellow "I" frame lover, I can really imagine your chagrin. I feel bad seeing that red box and high condition Terrier going for $350 to someone else, and I wasn't even there!! Sorry you didn't get it. The sad part is, the winner of the auction may not even know what they have!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[Green Frog]

Unfortunately, not likely! Four were all about 25 years ago.

1) A 1912 Steyr Hahn that had not been converted to 9mm Parabellum or otherwise molested!

2) A 9x57 Mannlicher-Schoenauer!

3) A Colt Officer's Model Match in .32 New Police (.32 S&W Long)! Do you have any idea how rare this gun is? Look it up! The price was ridiculous too, something like $200.

4) A Winchester Model 70 African .375 H&H NIB for $350 as I recall. The gun retailed for about $750 at the time.

All in the same gun shop, the first three the same day! I have never seen any of these since for sale except for auction sites and sold for several times what they were priced then!

Heck,, if you're talking about that kind of regret for things that don't come around again, there's the girl that got away in 1978... I still have regrets about losing her. Oh yeah, that's right, we're talking gun regrets, so I'll quit wallowing in my self pity now...

I'm still bummed about that Terrier though... I paid more for the pre-War example I got a couple of years ago and it's nowhere near as nice.

Froggie

PS Except when vacationing in foreign countries when rules about missing something are slightly different. I seldom ride buses, so I don't really have the experience to comment on those, except I hate to get thrown under one!

 

[merl67]

I have missed several...

 

[RobertJ.]

I've had it plenty of times!

The latest (well, not the latest, but the one that bugs me the most) was in 2005. I was living in the Seattle area, and there was a well-known pawn shop that would let you put 20% down, and take 5 months to pay it off. They had a beautiful Colt Python, blued, w/ 2.5" barrel, for 700 bucks! I bought a 36-1 instead, for $240. I'm still kicking myself for not putting that money down on the Colt instead.

Lately, in the last dozen years or so, I've come up with the following: I ask myself, "If I don't buy this now, will I be upset with myself later?" If the answer is yes, I'm buying it. If it's no, then I pass and don't think twice. And that goes for just about anything, not just guns.

 

[stu1ritter]

Froggie, but the thing you don't know is how high your adversary would have gone money wise. He may have been willing to bid you right on up to much more than the gun was worth. I would just put it in the education department, no regrets.

Stu

 

[TTSH]

So, has anybody else experienced "not-buyer's remorse" or did I just invent it?

Just invented it? Dear God no!!! I've got plenty of "not-buyer's remorse" going back over 40 years and some as recent as this past week!

I've mentioned before that I keep a detailed spreadsheet list of all the guns I've lost out on acquiring just since late-2013... and it is roughly twice as long as the list of guns I bought in the same timeframe.

Put another way, for every 3 guns I find and desperately want to add to the collection, on average I end up with just 1.

That's a whole lot of "not-buyer's remorse" pain and disappointment.

 

[SPEEDGUNNER]

Auctions are tough. Not like a straight sale where you know the price so it is a simple yes, no or make an offer. With an auction you set your limit, then you have to decide (usually quickly) when the item bids past it. You can dangerously get caught up in the excitement and suddenly find yourself with "what did I just buy" remorse, as opposed to what you are feeling. Don't worry, now you have money for the next one...

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Nothing new and I am probably the king of " Not Buyers Remorse " . I have always wanted a Triple Lock .44 special or any TL for that matter but passed on them in the $600-$700 range in the 90's trying to get one for the $500 that I could actually afford . Now I can't afford one at all and will most likely never own one . Should of paid up and bought all of them I could before they went sky high . Same with Colt SAA's could have bought them new in the late 70's from $275 - $375 with the $375 wearing one piece Ivory in .44 Special . Worst part was , in the 70's I was single and my living expenses were just about 0 . I could have bought one every other week with no problem . I can be an Idiot sometime . Passed on an all blue 4 3/4 SAA .45 Colt priced at $500 in the mid 90's cause I'd never seen an SAA without a CCH frame and thought it was a refinish . Later found out they did make some all blue but I had never seen one . Next time I saw one it was priced at $1300 . Idiot , Crown Me !!

Eddie

 

[arjay]

There was a late 60s 4" nickel Python NIB about 11 years ago for $900 That I passed on at a tiny gun show.Two months earlier I had bought the same gun in blue for a bit more and hadn't told the mrs yet ;-)

 

[JSR III]

Back in the 70's or early 80's I was at the Augusta, Maine gun show with my S&W mentor. As I was cruising the tables I came across a seller that had a couple of Ladysmiths on his table. Being new to the S&W game I wasn't real familiar with the model but loved the look and I think the price was $100.

I retreated from the table and went looking for my mentor and to see if I could find a table with a Bluebook so I could check the value and perhaps learn a bit more about this model. My mentor suggested that the price was good and that they were cool guns.

I returned to the table just in time to see another person laying down cash on the table and purchasing the two Ladysmiths.

So I learned early on a very valuable lesson. Thereafter, if I ever found something interesting at a sellers table, I would ask him if he would hold the guns aside for 30 minutes while I went and found my friend to look them over. Most times, sellers looking to make a sale will accommodate you as long as your not asking them to hold the guns for hours.

 

[red9]

Last week, I drove 300 miles to bid on one gun in Pennsylvania. The posted photo did not do the gun justice. The auction house did not ship, and I hoped that my potential onsite competition would be at the Ohio or PA regional meetings. I was wrong. Someone got a 98-99% .22 Outdoorsman, in the box with SAT, wearing what I think are Ropers + the original stocks. Unfortunately, it wasn't me. I at least hope to see it on the forum.

Bob

 

[Loyaljeeper]

WELL, I have not-buyers remorse, but sellers remorse haunts me more.

 

[lkabug]

Been there, done that also