Frequently Asked Questions

We have two locations. 3600 Harwood Road, Bedford, TX 76021 and 7819 42nd Street West, Rock Island, IL 61201. Information on where our auctions are to be held can be found on our Gun Auctions page.

Yes. If you are attending the auction to preview only there is a $10 daily admission fee, payable by cash or credit card (debit cards not accepted). Children under 12 are free.

Yes, only if you attend in person and have not pre-registered. If you attend in person and are not pre-registered the fee is $50, payable by credit card only. This fee will be deducted from your invoice if successful. If you are not successful it will be donated to a local charity. Registered bidders are allowed one free guest. Children under 12 are free. For those who PRE-REGISTER the $50 registration fee will not apply. Pre-registration can be done easily through your RIAC website account. For assistance please call our customer service department at 800.238.8022.

There are numerous ways to bid in gun auctions. Placing bids on our website is the most popular, watch a how to video. – Live bidding in person: Come to our facility, register to bid, and wave that bidder’s paddle! – Live bidding via phone: Contact us in advance of the auction to tell us you’d like to be a phone bidder. Before the items you’d like to win come up for bid, a RIAC employee sitting in the auction hall will call you and bid for you based on your instructions over the phone. It’s as close to being in the auction hall as it gets. Telephone bidding can also be set up via the RIAC web page. When searching on our Online Catalog, simply locate the item, enter into the Item Listing, and click the yellow box that reads “Phone Bid.” – Live bidding online: You can bid live right from our webpage using RIAC Live! We use stream live audio and you can place your bids in real time with a simple click. As with all forms of bidding, you must be registered to bid prior to auction. You may also bid via third-party websites that host our auction (such as Proxibid). Keep in mind that there is an extra 6% live bidding fee charged for using the third-party services. – Absentee Bidding: Absentee bids are also referred to as sealed bids. These bids can be submitted to RIAC via any number of means: our website, email, fax, phone, or by mailing in an Absentee Bid Form.

Yes. We are excited to have a number of bidders in the international community. Please make sure that you contact your local government to discuss regulations regarding firearm ownership and discuss shipping with customs in regards to getting firearms into the country.

An absentee bid is used when you choose not to bid live. You tell us a maximum figure you would like to bid, and we execute bids on your behalf up to that number and no higher. You do not have to reach your maximum amount to win an item. The easiest way to browse and submit absentee bids is via the RIAC web page at www.RockIslandAuction.com.

A buyer’s premium is a percentage added to your winning bid. It’s how auction houses pay the bills. At Rock Island Auction Company, the buyer’s premium is 17.5% for our Premier, Sporting and Collectors, and Arms and Accessories auctions, and 18.5% for our RIAC on Time auctions. All purchases made by credit card are subject to an additional 3.5% service fee. If the purchaser utilizes RIAC’s live bidding platform ‘RIAC Live’, there will be a fee charged, calculated as an additional 1% of the hammer price.

They are set numbers that our auctioneers must adhere to as bids go higher and higher. See the table below to know when the amounts change. Rock Island Auction Company has established the following bidding increments in this table. Auction bids are designed to adhere to approximately 10% of bid price. Auctioneers at their discretion may or may not cut a bid increment, in most cases the auctioneers will adhere to the following bid increments.

Rock Island Auction Company has established the following bidding increments in this table. Auction bids are designed to adhere to approximately 10% of bid price. Auctioneers at their discretion may or may not cut a bid increment, in most cases the auctioneers will adhere to the following bid increments.

A conditional bid is one that we execute based on whether or not previous events have taken place. Because of their complexity, they must be placed by calling RIAC. Here are some examples of common conditional bids. “When I hit $20,000, please cancel my remaining bids.” “I’m bidding on two pistols, so if I win the first one please cancel my bids on the second.” “I’m bidding on two pistols, so if I don’t win the first, please make my bid on the second $______.” “If I don’t win lot X, please increase my bid on lot Y.”

Premier Gun Auction Our Premier Auctions take place three times a year, each over a three-day period. A Preview Day is held all day on the preceding Thursday and the items are sold Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. A Premier Auction consists of 2000 plus antique and collectible lots. Each of these auctions is made up of rare, unusual, mint, and highly collectible pieces. The full color, 3-volume catalog set features each lot with in-depth descriptions, a high and low estimate, and multiple high resolution photos. Each volume of the catalog corresponds to a day of the auction. The three Premier Auctions are typically held in April, August, and December. Our Premier Firearms Auctions have made international press and are renowned for offering the most significant, historic and important firearms. It is not uncommon for us to set a world record in any given Premier Auction. Each auction routinely covers the main genres of collecting from antique to modern Winchesters, Colts, U.S. and European Military, Sporting, etc. Our Premier Auctions also offer swords, bayonets, military artifacts, and other related material. Our website features the entire auction catalog online and is searchable by model, serial number, manufacturer, lot number, keyword, and more.

Sporting & Collector Firearms Auction Our Sporting & Collector Firearms Auctions are made up of affordable antiques, beginning collector’s items, usable sporting arms, modern firearms, and many non-firearm lots. A majority of the lots have multiple firearms. We hold two to three Sporting & Collector Firearms Auctions per year. The concept of the Sporting & Collector Firearms Sale was initiated by the demand that our customers developed for the “everyday collector” type guns. Were these guns placed in a Premier Auction, they would simply be overshadowed. We recommend these guns be seen in person as we keep the description to a minimum. These auctions are comprised of sporting and hunting firearms from manufacturers such Browning, Winchester, Ruger, Colt, Remington, and Smith & Wesson. They also contain a strong number of military firearms from the U.S. and Germany, but also house Japanese and European military firearms. Each item is listed with a headline, low and high estimates, condition, and photo. As with our Premier Auctions, our website features the entire Sporting & Collector Firearms Auction catalog of items and is searchable by model, serial number, manufacturer, lot number, keyword, and more. All items are viewable in color online and all guns have many more photos shown.

Arms & Accessories Day Auction Rock Island Auction Company continues to be an innovator within the firearms industry and is proud to offer an additional platform to sell your items. Guns listed here for auction will be sold in the same way as our other auctions except there is no live preview or bidding audience in our facility during the auction. Bids are accepted absentee, telephone and live on the Internet during the day of the auction. These auctions are held monthly and are comprised of a myriad of firearms and related material. Typically, items in our Arms & Accessories Day Auctions are placed there as they do not meet our minimum lot value to earn a spot in a Premier or Sporting & Collector Firearms sale. Again, as with our Premier Auctions, our website features the entire auction catalog of items and is searchable by model, serial number, manufacturer, lot number, keyword, and more.

Auction open and close times will be announced in our emails, social media channels, and seen on our homepage.

All items will display a “Starting Bid” or “Current Bid.” This is the current high bid for that lot.
To place a bid on an item, you may select “Next Bid” or “Max Bid”

Next Bid: Clicking next bid will place a bid one bid increment higher than the current bid.

Max Bid: Click and enter your maximum bid for the lot. Max bid will bid on your behalf the minimum amount required for you to win the lot, up to your maximum bid. It is possible to win a lot for less than your “Max Bid.”

After placing your bid, you will immediately see a notification indicating if you have been outbid, or if you are the high bidder. If you are the high bidder, you will also see your maximum bid.

No. If your Max Bid is placed first, then you will remain the winning bidder until your Max Bid is surpassed.

Example:

Your Max Bid is $1,000. You are winning with a Current Bid of $750.

• If a new bidder bids $800, your bid will be increased to $850 (this is the next bid increment and the minimum required to surpass their bid), and the new bidder will be asked to bid again.
• If the new bidder were to place a bid of $1,000, you would still be winning the lot for $1,000 since your bid came first.
• If the new bidder were to place a bid of $1,100 (the next bid increment over your $1,000 Max Bid), then they would become the new high bidder.

This is different from our existing auction formats and places a new, strategic priority on placing your Max Bid first. Bid early and bid often!

No. At the stated closing time, a lot will close every at the frequency posted on the catalog page(usally 15 or 30 seconds apart), so long as there are no “last minute bids.”

Any bid placed in the last five minutes of an item's bidding time.

Any “last second bid” placed will extended the bidding window by adding the posted amount of minutes(usually 5) to the closing time.

Example: The auctions extend time is 5 minutes and a lot is slated to close at 6:00 pm. If a bidder places a bid at 5:57 pm, the new end time will be 6:05 pm.

Yes. You can sign up to receive text messages, emails, both, or none at all. This is available as a setting on the catalog page.

Yes.

After the close of the auction, notifications will go out to any winners that they have won items. Those items will also be reflected on your account page in the "Won Items" section.

Yes, self-checkout will be available for all Modern, Curio & Relic, and Antique firearms. Self-checkout will be available after the close of the auction on your account page. Currently, self-checkout only permits payment via credit card. For other payment methods, please contact our Customer Service staff during regular business hours and we will be happy to assist you.

Please bear with us as after an auction there can be over 9,000 firearms to securely pack and ship. Firearms will be shipped in the order their paperwork and payments are completed, and after any applicable waiting periods. You can expedite this process by filling out the winner’s form located in your RIAC web account. This form is available the day after an auction if you were a successful bidder.

Prices realized are the final prices for items that have been sold at auction. This usually includes the price the item hammer for during the auction, plus the buyer’s premium. Prices Realized are often the figures distributed after an auction because they accurately reflect what someone was willing to pay to own the item.

Attending the auction is the best way to participate. It’s fun, you get to see all the items, hold them in your hands, and meet other collectors to talk guns! If you cannot attend the following options are available for you to bid. Generally over 60% of an auction’s items sell using the following bidding options.

Live bidding using the internet is also an option. We are proud to offer RIAC Live, our own real-time bidding service. It offers live streaming video, a highly customizable experience, and is as close to attending a live auction as it gets! Click here to learn more or here for a quick “How To.” There is a 1% fee for using this service. RIAC also uses the services of other companies that list our auction catalog on their websites. Currently we use the services of Proxibid. Please keep in mind that any third party sites that host our auctions currently assess an additional 6% charge for using their live services. If you simply want to place absentee bids we recommend you place those bids using the RIAC website to avoid the additional 6% added charge. NOTE: If you experience any problems while using the Proxibid services please call 1-877-505-7770. Non-urgent questions can be emailed to info@proxibid.com. This includes changes or cancellations to your bids. Rock Island Auction Company cannot fix web site problems with any of the live service companies. contact them directly.

Almost every firearms auction has a buyer’s premium that is charged to winning bidders. A Buyer’s Premium is the amount added to the winning bid amount (hammer price). The BP is used by the auction company to promote the auction and to help defray the auction expense costs. The BP at RIAC is 17.5% for our Premier, Sporting and Collectors, and Arms and Accessories auctions, and 18.5% for our RIAC On Time auction. For example, if the Winning Bid Amount is $1,000 and you pay by check, the Buyer’s Premium would be $175 (17.5% of $1,000). The Total Purchase Price is then calculated as the Winning Bid Amount + the Buyer’s Premium, or $1,000 + $175 = Total Purchase Price of $1,175. All purchases made by credit card are subject to an additional 3.5% service fee. If the purchaser utilizes RIAC’s live bidding platform ‘RIAC Live’, there will be a fee charged, calculated as an additional 1% of the hammer price.

Bidding generally starts no less than 1/2 to 3/4 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.

All bids must follow the RIAC bid increment table. 

Rock Island Auction Company has established the following bidding increments in this table. Auction bids are designed to adhere to approximately 10% of bid price. Auctioneers at their discretion may or may not cut a bid increment, in most cases the auctioneers will adhere to the following bid increments.

If you prefer to fax in your bids you can download a bid form. A current bid form can be found by clicking the link 'Bid Form' of the auction in which you wish to bid. Or email us: info@rockislandauction.com and we can email you one. Once you complete the form you can fax it or mail it to us at: Fax: 309-797-1655 US Mail: Rock Island Auction Company 7819 42nd Street West, Rock Island, IL 61201 Need further assistance or have questions about the form? Or if you just want to give your bids over the phone, please call us at 1-800-238-8022.

We are proud to offer RIAC Live, our own real-time bidding service. It offers live streaming video, a highly customizable experience, and is as close to attending a live auction as it gets! Click here to learn more or here for a quick “How To.” There is a 1% fee to use this service. You may also use a third party site that hosts our auctions for us, but please be aware that they will add an additional 6% fee. You will need to create an account in advance of the auction with the site you choose to use. Our auctions may be be found on Proxibid by clicking here.

N is Newer Rating – 1930s or Newer O is Older Rating – 1930s or Older

• NA - NEW- all original parts; 99% or more original finish.
• NB - EXCELLENT- near new condition 95% - 98%, used but little, no noticeable marring of wood or metal, bluing near perfect (some wear at muzzle or sharp edges can be expected).
• NC - FINE- All original finish 90% - 94% or better, some dings in wood wear commensurable with percent of finish. In working order.
• ND - VERY GOOD- in working condition, 80% finish or better, appreciable wear on working surfaces 80% - 89%, no corrosion or pitting, minor surface dents or scratches. Wood condition commensurable with percent of finish with dings and dents associated with 80% - 89% gun.
• NE - GOOD- in working condition, wear on working surfaces, finish 40% - 79%, no broken parts, no corrosion or pitting that will interfere with proper functioning, but may have some minor surface pitting. Wood condition commensurable with percent of finish with dings and dents associated with 40% - 79% gun.
• NF - FAIR- 0% - 40% with generally smooth finish, may have mild cleaning yet not deeply pitted, but well worn, replacement of minor parts may need mechanical adjustments, may have rust and may have corrosion pits which do not render article unsafe or inoperable. In working condition. Wood condition commensurable with percent of finish with dings and dents associated with 0% - 40% gun.
• NG - POOR- major or minor parts replaced; major replacement parts required and extensive restoration needed; metal deeply pitted; principal lettering, numerals and design obliterated, wood badly scratched, bruised, cracked or broken; mechanically inoperative; generally undesirable as a collectors firearm in its present state. Finish obscured by heavy cleaning, rust or corrosion.

Older Condition Rating (1930s or older)

• OA - FACTORY NEW- all original parts; 100% original finish; in perfect condition in every respect.
• OB - EXCELLENT- all original parts; over 80% original finish; sharp lettering, numerals and design on metal; unmarred wood.
• OC - FINE- all original parts; over 30% original finish, sharp lettering, numerals and design on metal and wood; minor marks in wood.
• OD - VERY GOOD- all original parts; none to 30% original finish; original metal surfaces smooth with all edges sharp; clear lettering, numerals and design on metal; wood slightly scratched or bruised.
• OE - GOOD - some minor replacement parts; metal smoothly rusted or lightly pitted in places, cleaned; principal lettering, numerals and design on metal legible; lightly scratched, bruised or minor cracks repaired; in good working order.
• OF - FAIR- some major parts replaced; minor replacement parts may be required; metal rusted, may be lightly pitted all over, vigorously cleaned; rounded edges of metal and wood; principal lettering, numerals and design on metal partly obliterated; wood scratched, bruised, cracked or repaired where broken; in fair working order or can be easily repaired and placed in working order.
• OG - POOR- major or minor parts replaced; major replacement parts required and extensive restoration needed; metal deeply pitted; principal lettering, numerals and design obliterated, wood badly scratched, bruised, cracked or broken; mechanically inoperative; generally undesirable as a collectors firearm in its present state.
• PRF - PROFESSIONALLY REFINISHED OR RESTORED
• NPRF - NON-PROFESSIONALLY REFINISHED/COLD BLUE, ETC.
• WB - WOOD IS BETTER FOR THE PERCENT OF FINISH RATING GIVEN
• WW - WOOD IS WORSE FOR THE PERCENT FINISH RATING GIVEN

Some items may have “dual” codes. For example 90% professional reblue (newer) would be the code NC-PRF.

Sales Tax:

RIAC is a Marketplace Facilitator (as defined in the applicable regulations for each state) for purposes of collecting and submitting sales tax for each applicable state. A Marketplace Facilitator is a business that contracts with sellers to facilitate the sale of tangible goods and administers all aspects of the transaction. A Marketplace Facilitator is required to collect sales tax from the buyer and remit such sales tax to the state to which the items are shipped. The sale tax is based on the ship to address. If auction is held and the purchase is picked-up from our Bedford, TX facility, or shipped to a Texas address, the Texas sales tax of 8.25% will be collected. If auction is held and purchase is picked-up from our Rock Island, IL facility, or shipped to an Illinois address, sales tax of 8.5% will be collected. Generally, all items included on the invoice are taxable. 

To establish a tax free sale, a copy of a valid reseller’s permit or other instrument or information establishing a sales tax exemption, as required by the applicable state, must be provided to RIAC’s satisfaction. Please refer to our website, rockislandauction.com, for additional information regarding resale certificates. Any purchaser claiming a sales tax exemption yet unable to provide satisfactory proof to RIAC at the time of payment will be required to pay the applicable tax to RIAC and thereafter seek a refund from the applicable state. Buyer agrees to pay RIAC the actual amount of tax due if the incorrect amount of sales tax was collected at the time of purchase for any reason.

Sales tax is required to be collected and remitted in all states except the following:

States with no sales tax: Alaska (certain cities, counties and boroughs require RIAC to collect sales tax), Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon.

Other: District of Columbia (DC)-RIAC does not meet the thresholds to require the collection of sales tax.

If you bid on items that are antique, we can release the firearms to you or ship directly to you. If you are bidding on an item that is manufactured after 1898 and do not hold an FFL, we would have you fill out the standard ATF form 4473 if you live within Texas. If you live outside this area, or do not fill out the ATF form 4473, we will ship to an FFL licensed dealer of your choice and they will transfer the gun to you. Be sure to check your state requirements on firearm ownership before placing a bid. If you have any questions about the ATF form 4473 or regulations on transferring firearms please contact us. While searching our website catalog, please note that above the description there is a field labeled ‘Class’ that will tell you if the firearm is antique, curio & relic, modern, or NFA Class III.

With so many great items in our auctions, we are pleased to offer conditional bids. For example , some customers have a maximum they can spend at the auction, say that maximum is $10,000. If that amount is reached at any point in the auction we cancel your remaining bids. Another scenario would be: If I win lot number xxx cancel my bid on lot yyy (assuming that lot has not come up for auction). To set up conditional bids you must contact us at 1-800-238-8022 and we will be happy to set up all reasonable conditions.

Absentee bids are also accepted on the third party bidding sites with whom we list our auctions. These sites accept absentee bids, however, an additional 6% fee is is added for using their service. You can place the same bids on our site without the additional 6% charge.

There are three ways to bid live without attending the auction in person. RIAC Live: is our own real-time bidding service. It offers live, streaming video, a highly customizable experience, and is as close to attending a live auction as it gets! Click here to learn more or here for a quick “How To.” There is a 1% fee to use this service. By telephone: Live phone bidding must be arranged in advance of the auction and can be done in one of two ways.You can use our website to find the items you want to bid on just as you would an absentee bid. Once you have located the item, click it to enter its listing. In the listing, to the right of the item’s large headline will be two yellow buttons. To bid live via telephone, please click the top button labeled “Phone Bid.” When you submit your bids you will enter a phone number we can reach you with on each day of the auction. One of our telephone bidding representatives will call you a few minutes prior to the item coming up for auction (approximately 8 – 10 lots). You may also call us at 1-800-238-8022 to set up a live phone bidding session. We recommend using our Text Message Alerts when bidding live via telephone to ensure you never miss a call from a RIAC representative. Via Third Party Website: The other way to live bid is to use one of the third party companies with whom RIAC lists its catalog. You will need to create an account with one of these companies prior to the start of the auction. There is also an additional 6% live bidding fee for using this service. Note to users of one of the Live bidding services: the auction moves very fast, with most lots only appearing for about 30 seconds. Be prepared to bid your maximum amount. If there is any delay in getting the bid the auctioneers will sell the lot and move on.

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