620# .45 brass auction

[Luke E.]

I know that this is [by our standards] an old post but, if someone was to win an auction of this kind could he clean up the brass and sell it at gun shows?

As jonathon said, yes but I've run the math on it many times for pistol and rifle brass and it's hard to make sense of it. It takes a lot of time to clean and sort brass plus time spent sitting at gun shows not to mention the expense of gas to get there and table fees and such. Most if not all of the brass on the gov auctions have crimped primer pockets which brings the value down in most folks mind. I can buy mixed brass fired indoors for less than I've ever seen one of these auctions go for and I still haven't been able to fool myself into trying it. I may give it a shot some day but it won't be at gun shows.

[TNMTBik3r]

I should have put that if I bid/win an auction, I will not be selling it at a gun show. Too much involved with travel/gas/time as Luke said.

My plan is to keep as much as I want, and clean the rest (not process, just clean) and sell it on a couple of forums or FaceBook reloading groups. There is a bit of money to be made from some of these auctions but so far no great deals to be found.

[seez52]

The smaller lots, amounts that I could deal with, always seem to get priced too high for making any money for the labor involved. I've been following these for quite some time and can't figure who's buying this stuff for the price they pay and what are they doing with it. Wondering if its getting purchased by ammo remanfacturers?

[Luke E.]

The smaller lots, amounts that I could deal with, always seem to get priced too high for making any money for the labor involved. I've been following these for quite some time and can't figure who's buying this stuff for the price they pay and what are they doing with it. Wondering if its getting purchased by ammo remanfacturers?

 

 The reman companies soak up a fair bit of it as you suspected. When a buddy and myself were looking into buying bulk once fired brass to sort clean and sell we talked to a group out of, I believe, Arizona  will buy all he can get there hands on at just below scrap value which is going to severely limit the number of online auctions you find that bid off below that number because i'm sure there are many others just like him. You might get lucky and find an auction that slips through the cracks but these guys make a living by watching these things like a hawk and paying what it takes to get the win but not so much as to sink them so I suspect there aren't many that slip through the cracks. Now if you can find some lots of brass being sold on private auction sights that don't regularly sell ammunition brass (not worth their time keeping tabs on) you stand a much better chance of coming out with a profitable win. Even though there are many brass sellers and reman facilities your biggest competition isn't these guys but rather it's the brass scrap value. Why would anyone go through the trouble of listing an item or lot for auction when they could just sell it for scrap and get the same or more? That is what is going to limit just how much of a deal you will be able to get. Now if you are used to paying retail "tumbled once fired brass" prices then you could definitelyfind a good enough deal so that you could keep what you wanted out of the lot and sell the rest to reduce the cost of the brass you kept but making good profit is going to be really tuff unless you jump in and start running through literally tons of brass. 

 

I should have put that if I bid/win an auction, I will not be selling it at a gun show. Too much involved with travel/gas/time as Luke said.

My plan is to keep as much as I want, and clean the rest (not process, just clean) and sell it on a couple of forums or FaceBook reloading groups. There is a bit of money to be made from some of these auctions but so far no great deals to be found.

 

 Next time I talk to the guy that I can get brass through i'll see where prices are at going that route right now.