I just found Little Johns a about a month ago and have limited experience with them. What I can say is that they always have a large selection of guns that will either be used for auction or consignment in the shop. Nick is one the guys there and you couldn't find a nicer guy. I went there twice with kids and both times he offered them free soda and ice cream sandwiches. Nick is the one who told us about a upcoming auction which is held in Anaheim where the old Hoo-la-bloos party place used to be. So the auction has a day you can "view" the items and you can either follow online, be there in person or have someone call you when your item comes up. You can also submit "sealed" bids before the auction starts also. So, most of the low ratings with this place is regarding to "Proxybid" who runs the auction. They are separate from little johns, they will be the one who handle payment from online transactions. I live local, so I'm able to go there in person to pay right after. My follow up trip to the shop was to start the dros for the gun, and as usual the guys are very helpful. Not you typical grumpy, uninformative gun shop helper. So if you have any interest in consignment guns or collectables, I would give this shop a look. They have some modern guns in there, but if thats all you want, go to riflegear. But anything historic, used and rare, you gotta go here! You can just look at the guns for their historic value in itself. read more

Very knowledgeable staff with some really interesting stuff. Thanks for taking the time to help me out!

We've been doing business with little johns since forever. Our family is close friends with John. Apparently they have been going through bankruptcy and all sorts of money issues and keep hearing how they are ripping people off etc. They randomly charged my credit card months after the auction for $120 unknown fee. The same exact price I paid for buyers premium on my receipt. I came in person and paid cash for everything, paid shipping in full. They took 2 1/2 months to even ship my handgun after loosing it and having to call 10+ times dealing with people are clueless. Called about this random charge and they now claim they charged me $120 for overnight shipping. Which is BS, I paid in full + shipping in person cash, ive never been charged $120 to ship a tiny box, and they claim they did over night which is a lie, it took them months to ship my item. Completely rude people, the business is having money issues from all the gossip going around so I understand why my card was randomly charged several months after I paid for my item. People need to check their bank statements and see if they have scam charges. Will never do business again. Their reviews and customer service speak for themself, along with all the other "close friends" who gossip about them how they have been scamming people and are running into money problems. read more

moved to Anaheim I hear. And new owner changed the name. He already had a good reputation so until i find the new Anaheim location I dont know what it is called. read more

This place looks great now that it's UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP! And it's owned by a very reputable gun dealer to boot!! Jeff T. Owner of Gunslingers Gun Shop and Auctions in Glendora is the new owner! Definitely come and check it out!! Make sure you call the (714) 939-1172 number as the 1170 number isn't in use! read more

I just completed approximately my 10th transaction yesterday at Little Johns. I have been doing business with this company for approximately 4 years. Customer Service has always been over and above excellent. John Gangel on several occasions has gone over and above to meet my needs. Yesterday was a bucket list experience for me that I must share - I go into pick up my gun and brought my 4 year old grandson with me - my grand son loves to watch "Roy Rogers". I told John about this. He told us to wait a moment because he wanted to show my grandson something. He brings out a Roy Rogers Silver engraved Colt SA .45 and let him hold out. THEN--- He hands my grandson a matched pair of Silver Colt .45 SA revolvers to hold. These two revolvers belonged to none other than President Ronald Reagan. And then if that were not enough - we had Popsicles and talked about guns for 30 minutes! I am customer for life with Little John's ! His prices and fees are absolutely fair. Customer service excellent. Product knowledge - John is the go to man for any weapon information. Do not hesitate use this establishment!! read more

Little John's Auction Service - John Gangel at his best! - Auction Houses Near Me - Orange, California

As a long time Banker, I understand the rules of a company filing for BK. This is not what anyone wants. I am giving Little John's a high rating. Despite the poor rating reviews from others, I found that the employees and John have been wonderful to work with. I had an issue with buying Jewelry two years ago. The rating on the diamond was SI. I went to a GI certified jeweler in Tustin who grade the diamond less quality. I took the diamond back to Little John's with the GIS survey. The company immediate took the diamond back without question and credited my credit card for the full amount including the cost of the appraisal. This is what I expected and John did not let me down. The company is not perfect. None of us are. As far as a seller, it is tough to consign product when a company is in BK. The trustees control the cash flow not little John. I am sure that all the negative complaints have been paid in full over time. Despite what John M. is facing in life, my son and I stand behind the company as well as the employees. They have been kind to us and always available by telephone or in person over the past 10 years doing business with them. I wish people would look in the mirror and realize this is only temporary. You will get your money and everything will work out for the best. Seek first the Kindom of God and all will the given to You. Do not let Money become your God. Peace out. Joe and Ryan M read more

What a sad ending for a man with such a good reputation for all these years. As others have said - I too had a collection in the May auction. Are we considered unsecured creditors? Has anyone done the research on this? read more

Have to agree with the Monica T review. I have also suffered the loss of heirlooms from the December Auction. The whole experience has simply been a nightmare. For all you guys who rate a 5 star, try consigning with this company. Its a whole different ball game when you get screwed by a so called honest Auctioneer. I lost nearly $3000.00 dollars and wonder if I'll see any of it. An Auctioneer has a fiduciary responsibility to keep my consignment earnings separate from his personal or business expenditures. This company was supposed to pay us within 30 days of receiving payment for the sale of my property. The bond on my signed contract is outdated as the company sold out in the early 2000's. Everything is fishy about this service. Why would these guys set up with Proxybid to do online bidding services with online accounts to pay for the merchandise, only to fall short and you supposedly will get your consignment check in the snail mail. I called and called and called. Each time I was lied to about my check was in the mail. Finally, no more communication after leaving phone messages and Emailing, I personally visited their store and was lied to again that my check was lost and they would cut a new one and send it to me. I knew then that I was in trouble as a week later, Little John's Antique Arms sends me a letter that I would not receive my Consignment money for another 90 days due to Covid 19 issues and how it has effected their business. I wonder if Little John's has the legal right to use my consignment money to pay their bankruptcy lawyers. Covid 19 never shut us down until March 20, 2020. Apparently, you are similar to Robin Hood. Rob from your consignors and take for your store. read more

Untrustworthy, no communication, stole 30 guns. Filed bankruptcy. I was helping my friend find a place to sale her deceased husbands collection of various valuable guns. In December 2019 they accepted these firearms for auction, contracts signed. She has received no payments for these guns, all communication has ceased. She then was sent notice of a bankruptcy filing case 8:20-bk-11026-ES. This auction house should not be doing business they have stolen 30 guns worth 60k. Do not consign or purchase from these crooks. read more

In response to the comments by Mmd A. Mmd A. was paid in full within 30 business days of our December auction. Business days do not include weekends or holidays which this included both the Christmas and New Years Holidays. One thing this "gentleman" did not include in his review was his abusive nature and threat of violence to the staff handling his account. read more

Most helpful, accommodating, responsible & customer service oriented FFL I have ever worked with. With the volume that services like these are faced with today, this is the only store me & mine give our business to, as they work harder to put the customer first instead of pushing everybody through as quickly as they can like cattle; as you're likely find in other stores. Stop in here as often as you can to find treasures new and old, and largely sold out modern items in their consignments inventory. I could not have acquired much of what I have safely and responsibly without the help of these fine people. If only the people waiting in lines in Los Angeles daily new this gem was just 30 minutes away. read more

While I never consigned anything through Little John's Auction Service before, I have purchased from them before in their shop for my first firearm, an M1 Carbine, 3 years ago and their knowledge and service was top-notch. In every visit to their shop, even if I didn't plan on buying anything, I was always greeted and reminded to take your time when purchasing, in order to prevent buyer's remorse/regret. Despite their prices being a bit higher for military surplus and I understand their primary business is through auctions, their knowledge, expertise, excellent customer service, and willingness to help out new and young gun owners/collectors makes a trip to Little Johns worth it. read more

The following comment is from a 2015 transaction. I've waited this long to post it, believing I could get restitution. At the time I sent them a copy of the following, asking if they felt it was a fair assessment of our transaction, and they refused to respond about it. So... When I wanted to sell my antique guns, I first wrote to Little John to ask about my lot. Before I brought my large inherited collection into the store, I negotiated and managed to receive an email from someone who signed himself as "Little John" that they would auction my things at 20% instead of their usual 25% fee. That, to me, was an agreement. I took the guns in and had a wonderful experience. I very much liked the friendly, experienced inventory guys, who were meticulous about recording every little thing and describing it all properly. The transfer took hours, but I was appreciative about what a business like this has to comply with. I was treated well and offered coffee and donuts and whatever was in the refrigerator. I was given a tour and it was easy to spend the hours gawking at all the relics. Because of this part of the experience, I am giving the business two stars and not one. The disappointment came later when some of my guns sold and I received a check reflecting a 25% deal, shorting me nearly $500. I inquired about this, thinking it was just an oversight. However, the woman who wrote to me defended their position that the agreement for my first batch of guns was 25%. This may not have been bait and switch, but an honest error on the part of clerical staff that nevertheless alienated me by being this petty and not honoring the agreement with whoever represented himself by email as "Little John," ostensibly the owner. The clerical staff standing her ground on the 25% is a position that is difficult to understand a business taking with a customer, when the monetary consequences for them are so small and for me so large. read more

I felt compelled to post a review of this business, after being made to feel like I was an annoyance, not a potential customer. My Mother asked me to contact several auction houses after the loss of my Father, as she had some antique firearms and art work she wanted to sell. Here's how the exchange went: Me - send a cordial email to see if there was any interest. Then - after two days, "send photos"....no greeting, no thanks. Me - send photos that day Them - no response Me - two days later, send follow up email to ask if they received the photos. Them - no response Me - after waiting 15 days, sent another email. Them - no response Me - called to ask if they received the photos. Them - I'll see if I can have someone take a look at them. Them - two hours later, an email "not interested" If you want to experience frustration, and be made to feel like you're an annoyance, go ahead and use this business. If not, go elsewhere! read more

This place sucks sometime back I won an owl painting for $60. The ups. Shipping was $263. When I called and asked why it was so high an employee told me they have a UPS scale to weigh items for postage, this painting was approximately 16 X 24". I called UPS and they said it would cost $41 to ship. Needless to say I was pissed and I still am. I would never recommend to shop here. read more

Shipping is unbelievably slow. Customer service though friendly, is of little help.The Shipping department is woefully understaffed. In addition they are not up to date on current firearms laws. They will not ship a long gun C&R to a California C&R , even with a COE. After several negative experiences with them. After several negative experiences with them-, I'm pretty much done. THis is too bad as my experience with most of the other online auction houses, (including their local competetor), has been uniformly 100% positive. read more

I have to say very nice people, but they will NOT transfer more than one pistol every 30 days. Even though the guns are consignments and they could legally transfer it by PPT like all the other auction houses and ffl dealers they will not. The prices are also sky high, if you are into revolvers and 1911's expect to pay a premium. They purposely value the guns far below fair market value to garner interest then come auction time it sells for 2x the value. In my book that is shady but to each there own. Unless your looking for a one of a kind $50k rifle, spend your money else where. read more

John R Gangel may have been in business for 50 years. He may very well be the for most expert in all things antique firearms. But over the last 5 years this remarkable one of a kind place nestled in an area of orange county has been heading for total destruction. His auctions are ran by a group of individuals that don't know nothing from nothing.. when a customer comes in to consign an item within the gun shop, the process is to automatically downplay the item as if its worth a lot less to the shop in order to get a higher commission from the individual. They can be extremely rude to customers and are known for there lack of compassion for those who are trying to rid themselves of family heirlooms or a deceased members firearms. The auction house is even worse then the gun shop. Once a customer consigned a large amount of some very valuable firearms. The auction took place and the guns were eventually sold. This customer who wont be named waited over 53 days before he was sent a check for his items. Once he received his check, the items that he consigned were at a higher commission that was discussed at the beginning of the dealings with little johns auction service there is zero sense of urgency within this company. The gun shop is so far out of compliance as far as safety, security and storage. They are constantly loosing paperwork and there computer systems seem to be down constantly. When asked why his computers were always down and received a very vague answer from john himself.. I have never seen a company that takes the security of customers personal and financial info so non serious. Little johns gun shop is running customers info through windows XP operating systems. this system is no longer supported by Microsoft and is easily hacked. There are currently no plans internally to update these systems there for at any point from the time of this article this company is at risk of a major data breach and there's nothing that's being done as this isn't considered a serious issue in the eyes of little johns gun shop nor is this a concern of the auction house. Recently john came up with the possibility that another rival auction house "rock island auctions" was hacking his system. He invited a cyber security specialist in to survey his systems to se if this had indeed occurred. No evidence was ever found that a hack had taken place, yet john still believes his business is under threat from outside sources. This very well maybe true. It is the belief of the author of this article that the threat of downfall within this business is that of the people internally running the shop and auction house. The employees of the gun shop are half knowledgeable half not!. There is a gentlemen who wont be named that runs the phones. He is an obnoxious individual who repeatedly attacks customers as there trying to conduct business with little johns gun shop. He has a very strange odor and when asked to be quiet from the very employees of the shop he continues to talk nonsense that has no bearing on the task at had thus far. The gun shop also has a sense of comradeship within its customer ranks. If you have not been around for at least 10 years you are always looked down upon. Unfortunately it's the old boys club style of doing business. But sadly in the 21st century when doing business transactions online in the open this method will soon be the downfall of this magnificent and good idea. Probably one of the last great gun shops on the west coast from an internal source that has avoided posting this warning for way too long . avoid at all costs. you will get the run around read more

John and his staff are top notch. Great service and great knowledge. I have enjoyed doing business with him for over a decade. Big thumbs up to Adan who is really good to work with. read more

I have known John Gangle since I was a kid in 1979. He sold me one of my first Japanese swords for $150.00 fully mounted and signed! Long are those days gone. His father was a true gentleman and was so kind to everyone who came to the shop. We did lots of trades and buying and selling to each other over the years and I was glad to see him well at The Antique Arms Show in Las Vegas. I had not seen him in 26 years since then. The little shop and barrels of swords and guns will always be in my mind. We need more good people like John who takes the time to educate the younger generation on these artifacts of history~ read more

Little John's has always given me an honest deal when I have purchased firearms at their auction. Everything is spelled out. They are impeccable in doing the required paperwork and having everything in oder so you can pick up your purchase when it is ready. Great staff, always busy, but always has time to say hi and ask if you would like something to drink. read more

Very poorly run. Can't even get their act together to provide decent pictures. Tried to do simple phone bidding and no one called me when it was time to bid. All items went for less than what my bids were going to be. Isn't it their job to get the most money possible for their consignors? That's pretty hard to do when you don't even get all the bids in. read more

John Gangel and his team run a 'full-service operation' . . . They were fantastic! John came to my home, catalogued, and appraised the gun collection that I had inherited, then sold it at fair market prices. Their consignment fees were very reasonable . . . I thought that they were a bargain given the incredible service that they provided. John is extremely knowledgeable, fair, honest and conscientious. He and his staff treat customers and clients with the utmost respect. read more

We called Little John's as part of our liquidation of our parents' estate. We had dozens and dozens of guns we knew had some value, but we needed an expert to help us sell them. Little John's owner came to out home, gave us an explanation of how the auction process works. He catalogued the guns in front of us, took the guns, and, within a very reasonable time because of the pandemic, sold every single one. We got great prices on everything....far more than if we had attempted to sell them ourselves. Finding Little Johns was a real stroke of luck for us...we were happy with the service, the sale, and the amount of money we made. We recommend this auction house highly. read more

Very slow to pay plus lots of lies, excuses and a condescending attitude. California law and contractual obligations require both payment and accounting from the auction house no later than 30 business days after the sale, yet even after more than 60 calendar days Little John's will argue that they are still within the required time frame. read more

Really friendly and genuine people here! Had a great experience coming to the store for the first time.

This was my first experience with this company and my WORST experience with any auction company. I purchased 3 guns on 2 different auctions thru proxibid, and nothing could have been worse. First, they didn't send me any invoice, Then after asking for one, they finally sent me an invoice about 2 weeks after the auction. I called them within 48 hours and gave a debit card for payment. They reported me for non-payment and I got black-flagged with proxibid on the day AFTER I paid them nearly $2000. And of course, I was blocked from being able to bid for FIVE DAYS on proxibid, since they refused to answer any of their phones and would not answer emails - period. Once I finally got ahold of them and told some woman who answered the phone about my problem, she LIED to me and said they had nothing to do with the black-flag on proxibid, refused to let me say anything else and then HUNG UP on me! After all the unprofessional handling of my payment, being lied to and then hung up on, I'm afraid that is the end for me. I wouldn't buy anything from them again, even if it was FREE. BUY AT YOUR OWN RISK! read more

I won a shotgun through their auction service and it was obviously defective. It took me just a few seconds to make that determination. The listing didn't mention any problems. They said they were not gun smiths and did not have any capability to inspect the merchandise they list. They offered to glue the stock back together to which I said was not acceptable. In my opinion this repair was dangerous since failure causes both barrels of this 12 gauge shotgun to fire simultaneously. They offered to sell the glued together gun in their next auction and I agreed as long as we would equally share any loss. They sold it to some other unsuspecting bidder without any warning of the known problem while charging him a handling fee and me a $200 consignment fee and sold it for a loss without dividing the loss as we had agreed. So he lied to me, lied to the new owner by omission, and made money selling it twice and I was out around $1,800. I approached the Better Business Bureau to get them to intervene and Little John's simply ignored all requests for information from them. So this case is now documented on their site. You should avoid Little John's Auction Service. They lied to me and have not demonstrated reputable behavior. From now on, I am going to stick with Rock Island Auction since they inspect and describe damage they find and not hide behind not being a gunsmith. Neither was I, but the problem was obvious. read more

Outstanding service, the most knowledgeable fair and honest dealer you will ever have the pleasure of dealing with. Assigned many items and have always been treated fairly and with respect by John and his staff. I've consigned with other dealers and after they rip you off by under describing your items and charge you additional hidden fees you'll wish you used Little John in the first place. read more

This place is great for starters, great service and knowledgeable staff. I will be buying a lot from these guys

Simply the best. Service is top notch, John will drop what he is doing to share history with you and your children, and the staff is tops!! This is the last real gunshop and auction. No conceited and rude service that nearby competitors provide. Reading reviews here shows that folks are not happy with Proxibid or they get cancelled for not paying. Dont complain, simply pay what you owe. Or call on the phone and they will handle your bid. Shipping starts the moment the item sells. Today there were 5 employees wrapping and shipping WHILE the auction was underway. read more

I purchased 2 lots during the December 14-15 Antique firearms Auction totaling over $3300. The main lot I was excited to receive was a rare Frank Wesson watch fob derringer that was auctioned with the original purse holster. This lot alone totaled over $2800. When I received my purchase, the holster, which had probably accompanied that derringer for the past 100 years or more, was nowhere to be found. Little John's had somehow managed to lose it. After numerous phone calls to Little John's, a representative told me they would reimburse me $300 to make up for the holster. That would have been fine if it had been just any old holster, but this was the one that had the wear patterns that only the Frank Wesson derringer could have made over the past century! I was basically told to take the $300 or send the derringer back for a refund. I took the $300 because I had searched for this particular gun for a long time and wasn't about to give it back. I was very disappointed with the way this situation was handled and I feel that I was short-changed. I have seen this particular type of derringer previously sell in the $1200 to $1800 range by itself, with no holster. The reason I bid so high was because I thought it was rare to find the gun and holster together. To add insult to injury, I was also charged $61.39 a second time for shipping, three weeks after I had already received the items. I just happened to be looking at my bank statement and found the second charge, otherwise it would have gone unnoticed. I wonder how many more times they'll try to skim money off my credit card without me knowing about it? I'm sure over a million dollars in firearms were auctioned during the December event.... I wonder if anyone else had a similar, extremely negative experience. read more

My dad is an avid gun collector and he's purchased from Little John's Auctions more times than I care to remember (he's not from OC, so he stays with me) and his experiences have all been very positive. The staff is super helpful, knowledgeable and professional. read more

I had guns sold thru lj, my bad I thought it was guns but he sold jewelry in the days with guns. It was done on a 3 day weekend and sold guns sunday when gun buyers bidding, by Tuesday he was still mixing guns with jewelry and not many buyers, some of my guns brought little be cause not many buyers and John seemed to run out of gas, he should not be the auctioneer. I would warn people to check out other auctions and know when your guns are going to be auctioned. sorry to write this because I was told he was good, after I gave him guns found other unhappy customers. read more

This review is not based on Little John's Auction Service, it is based on how LIttle John handled severe adversity, which speaks directly to his character. My parents hired LJ to sell their antique gun collection. This collection was the result of 40 years of passion for antique Colt firearms. It was very difficult to earn their trust, but Little John did it and they thought very highly of him. A year into the sale of the collection the antique gun market went down hard. The combination of the down market, Covid outbreak, and bad personal situation had John file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Just as the bankruptcy started, both of my parents' health deteriorated severely and they both passed away. My sister and I then got involved with LJ and the bankruptcy proceeding. We participated in a number of court conference calls. Little John consistently stated that he was going to pay every debtor in full; he never waivered. My sister and I had our doubts as our parents were now gone, but we kept coming back to the fact that mom & dad trusted him to sell their collection. We had a number of personal conversations with John, and he offered to buy the collection from our folks' estate. The purchase had to be approved by the court, and as John had multiple creditors to pay the purchase would happen over time with the court approving all money distributions. We are so very happy and grateful to announce that as of last week, our parents collection has been paid-for IN FULL!! We are very grateful, and impressed that John lived up to his word. Thank you John! read more

These folks don't take their own business seriously, and it is their customers that pay the price. There is no sense of rush or customer service. It is near impossible to get anyone on the phone, and when you finally do, its not the person that can help you. Shipping is slow, payment is at a snails pace... I consigned guns there for auction - and was grossly disappointed both in the prices they gave me and the time it took them to pay me - almost 3 months! I gave them spectacular guns which they threw in one of their regional auctions - after promising me they would go in a color catalog auction. Finally, as a buyer, these guys cant describe a gun correctly to save their life. You must go down there and view the item because the descriptions are worthless and youre lucky to get one pictures! Not descriptive at all, and they guess on about half of their items. Come on guys... and you're professionals? read more

Little John's charged me $61.00 to ship an item that would fit in a $7.80 USPS Priority box. NEVER AGAIN will I do business with these FRAUDS!!!!!!! read more

This auction house will sell anything including junk. They have a large assortment of firearms but they auction unsafe and firearms with parts missing and are unsafe to fire. They have a lot of experience and should post these defects but don't. Just a disclaimer that they are not responsible . Buyers should definitely beware. I myself quit doing business with them. read more

Terrible customer service. Bought something on on auction and their invoice sent through email only gives a phone number for payment. Called the number no less than 10 times and left messages with no response. After 3 weeks they had my proxibid account suspended for non-payment. Avoid this company read more