[MultiMopars]

I don't know how many of you guys have ever attended B-J or really know how it works so I will tell you what I know.

I have attended the B-J auction for 27 out of the last 28 years. Beginning about 2002 I started taking a motorhome staying for the entire week and purchasing a bidders paddle. I have never bought or sold a car through there auction or any other for that matter. Over these years I got to know a lot of the big players there.

First of all B-J gained a reputation as "THE AUCTION" for a large number of quality cars for sale in one place in the middle of the winter with perfect weather. As their attendance grew for both buyers and sellers, they took the gamble that they could run a no reserve auction and still maintain their standing. To some degree they have. They have set record numbers each year since they began the no reserve. However they have had to get creative to do it, such as all the GM "special collection" cars sold last year. Many of those cars held absolutely NO desirability to me as anything special. B-J has lost a lot of their old customers that were big dealers that brought multiple transport loads of quality cars in the past. These same dealers also BOUGHT a lot of cars. These people are not willing to chance on a reserve auction. Many of them have moved on to other auctions held at the same time in AZ. such as the Russo & Steele.

The big money is NOT at the start of the auction but rather on Sat. and Sun. with prime times of those days bringing premium prices for the seller to get one of those spots. You can't just BUY those spots, B-J hand picks the cars THEY want for those days and times. They have more sellers every year than they can handle and turn many away. They try to have a good mix of cars and prices throughout the auction to draw and satisfy all. However the lower priced less desireable cars run early in the first days and late at night in the early days and late the last day.

In my opinion the overall quality of the cars there has dropped considerably in the last few years simply because of the no reserve policy. However they still turn cars away every year.

The sellers fee is 8% plus and extra fee for special run time, 8% buyers fee, close to 10% sales tax. If you buy your own car back (which has to be done by a straw buyer) you have to pay ALL of the above fees unless you are a dealer in which case there is no sales tax.

As you can see from other auction reports around the country there are STILL alot of cars selling for big money. You can BET that a lot of people wait each year for the big Scottsdale auctions as they have traditionally drawn the best cars in the hobby.

Many of these buyers and sellers are sucessful, busy, business people that don't have the time to dedicate to selling or buying a car personally and also want to have a large number of cars to choose from in one place that they KNOW are going to sell. Time is valuable to these people and worth the extra money they may pay to buy or sell quickly. Have you ever considered the time & money you have spent on the phone, computer, traveling to look at cars you never bought? Multiply those hours (plus expenses) by $500-$1000. which is what some of these people's time is worth per hour.

In closing, my GUESS is that B-J will have another very suscessful auction and there will again be records set.