dplotkin

Real estate brokers do the same work whether or not their is a closing. Lawyers get to collect regardless of outcome. Big difference.

Dan

Frankie the Fink

Depends on the venue - the lawyers on my car accident collected 40% of $0.00 after a couple of months of work.

Real Estate agents have it easier than anytime in history if they are internet-saavy....and they expend the same effort in selling a $150,000 house as in selling a $450,000 house but put wildly varying differences in cash in their product. Many (most) don't even do open houses anymore - counting on 3-D live videos on a web site to draw customers. When you get into "executive" level houses the business model changes somewhat...

Anyway - I think some have glossed over the circus atmosphere at an auction. Some auctions "chandelier" bidding; Dana or some other dillweed 4" from your face trying to get you to drop your reserve. The pressure to get that SOLD sign slapped on the windshield.

And the little guy has been crowded out -- I have a good friend that used to 'flip' 3-4 cars each year at Mecum - stuff in the $15K-$25K range and when the fees went up it no longer made any sense to continue.

If you like Cirque De Soleil you'll love Mecum...

As far as tire-kickers and lookey-loos in other venues (eBay, CL, what-have-you), I've sold about 4 cars in the last couple of years in one or the other of these avenues and dealt with VERY little of that. If you know how to frame an ad properly you can nearly eliminate those clowns and the few that persist can be shut down cold.... 1 or 2 low-ballers via messages that I straightened out quick, not a single person showed up to look at the cars except the sellers that bought them...

Very little hassle to sell a car for a fee of a hundred or so dollars vs 10%...

AZDoug

I am curious how they come up with a '65 GTO being worth $133K? I would think the old bat netting $75K for a $75K car was a pretty good deal.

Doug

Davids02

I've sold a few mid-years at Mecum Kissimmee and have only positive results, been treated with honesty and respect.

They make it very clear what their terms are. I think this woman was happy (although emotional) with her end result. She brought this beautifull car to Kissimmee for the same reason I did.....

THE BUYERS WE'RE THERE

There is NO way in hell this clown with a blog could have netted her anywhere near the $81,900.00 (Guy's with Rides establighed October 2018)


Why is it: That some people have to cut others down in order to do business?

jimmies63

I’m an auction vet. I can say that it is a good reliable process in general. Mecum, RM, Carlisle, BJ. CCP. All have there audience. Sold on fleabay, Criagslist and car corrals. Hmm. Haven’t tried Hemmings or AACA yet, but i’l get there. Hemmings usually picks up the auction listings.

As a vette owner, I will one day part with my 63. Well, not really mine. I just bought it from my sister and restored it upon the untimely departure of her husband. I said I will keep it until my niece is married so I can give her away in it. On the one hand, it i an easy sell here or online in a pile of venues. But my BIL religiously watched BJ and was always saying ‘that’s my car!’ Will probably go there just because.

As far as the elderly lady going to Mecum... She got quite a show and the car got quite a send off. A 2001 restoration can’t be a Hagerty concours. Likely well bought and well sold.

And to the person who said ‘soon they will be ‘charging for the Saturday TV time’... they are now. You pay for placement on the docket. I can get favors at one house, but not all. You pay for airtime.

rsinor

In my world its real simple. At the right venue I specifically mean a no reserve auction, there is money in the audience, many came to buy, I think it establishes the true market on that day at that time. Taking a car to a predominately reserve auction is a crap shoot, buyer and in most cases seller have no idea where the real money is because of the hocus pocus. At a no reserve auction or even a no reserve sale there should be no hocus pocus, simply because the auction house gets paid a percentage they would be absolutely stupid to take a car of real money trying to shill it up to a higher number, ultimately they could go from making 18% to spending 90%, auction houses do not do that and at a no reserve auction it is against the law for the auction house to advance the bid, that may be why some auction houses can no longer do business in certain jurisdictions.

Today there a sixty five live streamed classic car auctions a year, with an average car count of 500 cars per auction. Sure some are 150 or 200, but for the short in car count for each of those there are many 1700 to 3000 car count auctions in a year. A guy can drive or fly in look at a car that is exactly as described and a true collector grade car, fly or drive home to think about it for a week or two or three and in the time he thinks about it he can find three or four on line auctions that have a car described the exact same way as my car when in reality their car wouldn't make a pimple on a real cars ***, then it sells for half of what I am asking and they buy it. The outcome of that scenario is usually not positive, most auction houses do not do their due diligence, a few do but most don't.

65 live streamed auctions a year at 500 car per event, means that 32,500 classic cars are on the block per year, are there that many buyers? Wonder why the market seems soft?

vettebuyer6369

Im the one who said that... go back and read my post again and recalibrate your sarcasm detector. I’m well aware they charge for TV time on Saturday. That was the point.

jrm5657

I have sold cars at a couple of the major auctions over the past 10 years, all where painless and resulted in nice net sale prices after commissions. I just recently sold a car on Bring a Trailer, and netted a fantastic result, with only $99 commission. This particular car was offered for sale locally, and I had lots of lookers and lowballers, but nobody stepped up with any real money. The car could have been bought for quite a bit less than the winning bid on BaT.
That is why I sell at auctions and hate trying to complete a private party sale. It just isn't worth my time and aggravation to deal with all of the lunatics and people that don't have 2 nickels to rub together, but talk a good line.