Frequently Asked Questions

Our office is located at 1106 S. Kalamazoo Ave, Marshall, Michigan 49068. Our in-person auctions are held at 262 S. Sprague St, Coldwater, Michigan 49036 (Branch County Fairgrounds’ Dearth Center).

Yes. We have two Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) that allow us to operate at our office location and our auction location. All of the firearms that we take into our possession are fully insured.

For the purposes of the National Firearms Act, the term “Antique Firearms” means any firearm not intended or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898 (including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap or similar type of ignition system or replica thereof, whether actually manufactured before or after the year 1898) and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.

Call our office at 269-781-7100 for an all-inclusive experience. You simply drop off your firearm(s) or sportsman related items, and we do the rest. From secure storage, to photographing and cataloging, to marketing, to selling and FFL compliance - we take care of everything.

We mail your proceeds check two weeks after the date of the auction.

Our auctions fill up months before the actual date of the auction, so the sooner you can get your firearms to us the more likely you are to secure your spot in an upcoming auction.

We request that Sellers transport their firearms to our office. If you have a large quantity of firearms or are not able to come to our office, call us and to make arrangements to pick up your firearms.

We aggressively market your firearms! We advertise our auctions well in advance of the auction date through state-wide publications, national publications, social media along with emails and post cards to our extensive mailing list of gun collectors and enthusiasts.

As a general rule, we do not recommend that sellers place reserves on their firearms and there are many reasons why. However, let’s talk about it! If it’s right for you and/or a particular firearm and it doesn’t meet reserve, we charge full commission of the highest bid and the Buyer's Premium.

You have 30 days to pick up or have shipped to an FFL any item that does not sell. Any item that is not picked up or shipped within 30 days of the auction date will be deemed abandoned and become the property of Two Alpha Auctions, LLC. If you would like to relist your item in the next auction, please call the office to make those arrangements. Please understand that prior to a firearm being returned to you, we must follow state of Michigan and federal laws, which may include a background check.

Antique and black powder firearms can be shipped to your home. Otherwise, the law requires we ship firearms to a licensed FFL in your area.

Yes. We require insurance for all items shipped, which is added to your Shipping & Handling charges. We reserve the right to purchase outside insurance or self-insure at USPS rates.

We take pride in shipping a buyer's purchase just as soon as we've received payment and the proper paperwork.

Most of our auctions are Live Simulcast with both online and in-person bidding at our Coldwater, Michigan, auction location. We also offer Online-Only Timed and Simulcast auctions of curated Sportsman items, so keep an eye out for auctions of all kinds to meet your bidding needs.

For our in-person firearm auctions, we hold an inspection on the Friday before each auction from 12:00-5:00pm at our auction location in Coldwater, Michigan. For our online-only auctions, we offer inspections by appointment only. To make other arrangements, please contact our office at (269) 781-7100. We are always available to answer your questions about any of the firearms and our gun experts are just a phone call or an email away. We are happy to provide additional photographs as well.

If you are not able to bid either in-person or online during the live auction, you can call our office at (269) 781-7100 to place absentee bids. Your absentee bid is the highest amount you’re willing to pay for an item. You may win the item without having to pay your maximum absentee bid amount.

If the live bidding does not reach the highest absentee bid and there are more than one absentee bids at the same highest amount, we award the item to the absentee bidder that placed their absentee bid first with our office.

If your absentee bid was successful, our office will call and email you the day after the auction.

We do not currently accept telephone bids. You are welcome to call ahead of auction day and place an absentee bid, or utilize the online maximum bid feature.

Please know that we follow both State of Michigan and Federal Law.

For our Michigan buyers, your valid CPL or License to Purchase (LTP) is an exemption to the NICS background check, but you will still complete a 4473. If you purchase a handgun and do not have a CPL, you are required to have a License to Purchase (LTP) for each handgun (which is valid for 30 days) and can be obtained from any Michigan local law enforcement agency prior to taking possession of your handgun. If you purchase a long gun and do not have either license, you will be required to pass a NICS background check.

A background check is not required for lots labeled antique or black powder.

Please contact our office at (269) 781-7100 if you have questions.

We offer online bidding right here on our website! Visit our Auctions tab to register and bid in our upcoming auction.

While we ship to nearly all 50 states and have shipped to many foreign countries, there are many items that require specialty shipping consideration which would require additional coordination. Please contact our office prior to bidding.

The Buyer’s Premium is a percentage of the hammer price that is added to your invoice. Our buyer’s premium is 10% for in-person, 13% when bidding through our website, and 18% when bidding through Proxibid.