I am toying with the idea of sell my 1972 Convertible SB at Mecum in Anaheim Nov 21-23.

Has anybody had any luck selling their car at Mecum or any other auctions?

 

Selling at an auction can sometimes yield a higher price for the car but not always. You have to consider the commission of the auction and build that into your price than put a reserve on the cars value so you do not lose money. The reserve makes sure the car sells no less than you want for it plus the commission/consignment value the auctioneer takes on the sale. If the reseve is not met during the bidding the car does not sell and the auctioneer may still have in the contract a price for not selling the car but offering it up for sale. Time is money to them and they may want some money or may not if the car does not sell at the auction. Read the contract before signing it.

A 1972 Convertible can be considered a collectible if it were a Big Block. Small Blocks might not really be considered collectables since more were made. So it will be a choice you make haggle with a buyer or set a reserve so you do not take a loss.

Mecums Rules they want money up front and if the car does not sell I am thinking they still want money for offering the car for an entry fee which they will tell you later.

Consignment Process Summary
1.Complete an online auction Position Request form (available here) for each vehicle you want to sell. You can also print the form and return via fax or mail..
2.Provide payment information (credit card) for each vehicle. Entry fee(s) is based on the actual assigned position and will be charged when vehicle position is determined.
3.Upon review of your request for position(s), Mecum will assign lot number(s). A Consignment Package containing auction contracts and other important information will be emailed to you.
4.Upon receipt, thoroughly review your consignment package documents. Sign, initial and return the completed forms via email or fax. Regarding vehicle title(s), UPS will email a return label to you. Simply bring your title & this label to your local UPS store.
5.Vehicle photos should be emailed to photos@mecum.com once your lot number has been assigned. Include the auction and lot number in the email subject line. Mecum can advertise up to eight quality photos on our website. Consult the Vehicle Photography Guidelines document in your consignment package for more details.
6.If we receive the completed Auction Listing Contract, Auction Selling Contract and actual vehicle title by the deadline; you will qualify for Express Check-In at the auction.

 

Of course Mecum wants the auction fee up front for the auction spot... they are in business. They are not in place to offer auctions for people for free, even if their car does not sell. Spot prices vary by time and day. There's also a selling premium.

I was very happy with how Mecum has treated me bringing a Corvette there for auction. Very smooth and professional.

When you set your reserve, try to calculate your drop dead number you might consider taking to take the reserve of when you are on stage, because they will ask you to pull it and its hard to think on stage.

 

You can log on to Mecum's website and research past auctions to see how much 72 vette's have or have not sold for.

 

consider that the most exotic cars are sold during the weekend.. and the less desireable cars are relegated to Wednesday and Thursday where your buyers won't even be there yet..

you get around this by paying more for a Saturday spot. for example, you pay about 250 for a Thursday auction, and 750 for a Saturday auction.

They will guarantee that your car gets X minutes in the podium but may try to hurry things along when there is not much interest, or bidding does not even get close to reserve.

you and your buyer will both pay a commission and fees that varies depending on the venue..
it will total around 15-25% where usually the seller will pay more than the buyer.. the buyer will pay sales tax. they do provide booze to lighten up some buyers inhibitions.

if it does not sell then it goes to a 'bid goes on' lot where they will continue to show it and hope that you will drop your price so they can get their commission.

it will get your car exposure, but my take is that if I am a buyer looking for a corvette, then I am constantly looking at ebay and the national ads so that I can buy it for less and can avoid that 15-25% that the auction houses get. and also so my state can get the sales tax when I title my new car. the buyer will pay less and the seller will get more.

I expect that deep in the contract it will state that if you sell the car to a buyer that saw it at the auction, then the auction house is due their commission, so don't try a handshake sale after the auction.. although I don't know how well they police that. I think it is 21 days.

Do the math... the auction house gets 5000-7500$ for a 30000$ car

I go to Indy Mecum every year.. there were not many C3's for sale, but there were about 70 total 69 Camaros...

 

Auctions can be unpredictable. I've been to a few of the Mecum auctions and seen cars bring more than I thought they should and at other times it seemed like no one was paying attention and cars didn't sell or brought way less than I thought they would.

In fairness to Mecum, they worked the sales pretty hard even on low dollar, not so great cars. In other words, they were doing their job as best they could IMHO.

Of course cars I was interested in always seemed to bring way more than I could or would spend!

 

I would argue that a 72 convertible is collectible if it's a small block.

 

argue which way??? (is a collectible or not)

 

I would say any chrome bumper convertible is a "collector" . the more options the better

 

Collectible.

 

Never sold one.....but

I bought a car and paid way to much ...was a nice car though

So ...there.......you might find a sucker like me and make a haul on your car ....

 

I was always interested in the behind the scenes details on this stuff.