Help With Selling #1 Car at Auction - Mecum Indy?

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Smokey</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Jim brings up a good point. You never know who is a buyer these days. Met some kids the other day all muddy who just dropped Copo money on a new pulling truck motor. Then I was at a customers house right before Christmas who were farmers. 2 miles down the gravel...and her husband pulled up with a new LS600 Lexus. I go wow that's a nice present for your wife. He goes ya...beans were still pretty good for us this year. Not as good as last year but not bad either. Remind you he was wearing his dirty Carharts full of dried on pooo on them. He has 4 midyears in the machine shed. </div></div>

4 midyears in the machine shed = [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/Can-I-Have-It.gif[/img] Man, I loves me some midyear Vettes. Had a sb/4 sp 66 convt and a L72/4sp/knockoff/side exhaust 66 coupe when I was in school. Wife loves 'em too, but no room for the baby.

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rubbinisracing</div><div class="ubbcode-body">From past experience I have found it helpful to have instructions for the seller's assistant who will work with you as your car is being auctioned. The 90 to 150 seconds while your car is active is not a good time to develop strategy. There are basically 2 methods the auction house can use for cars with a reserve.

1.) The seller's assistant will ask you about your reserve price and if your firm on that dollar amount. If he senses that you’re adamant on not letting your car go for anything less than your reserve they will most likely proceed as follows. They will recognize real and non-existent bids, as allowed by their agreement, very quickly to just short of the reserve to see if there is any real money on your car at that price. If there is real money on the car they will work to get the bids to the reserve. If not, they will quickly move to the next car and your time in the sun is over.

2.) If you instruct the seller's assistant that you want to know where the real money is and that you might lower your reserve or accept an amount lower depending on the level, the auctioneer after initially acknowledging non-existent bids to get the pump primed will switch to only real money bids. Now you can see the bids you have to work with and can make a judgment, albeit quick, on how to proceed. If the real money is close to the reserve and there is more than one interested bidder the auctioneer will work to get the bidding to the reserve or an acceptable level for the consignor to accept. If the real money is far short of the reserve and a deal can't be made they will close the bidding and move to the next car.

Both methods have their advantages. With the former, the auction house has a much higher &quot;bid to&quot; amount to work deals from post block. The consignor leaves the auction with a car that just fell short of his reserve with verifiable auction results to support his price. But unfortunately, in the quick run up of the bidding to reach a level just below the reserve amount real money bidders may have been bounced off the car while it was on the block. Meaning that real money that fell 5 to 10k short of where the auctioneer took the bidding has been lost and the consignor has lost those bids and has no way to accept them. Thus, the consignor has no real feedback on the perceived value of his car.

With the later, the consignor has good information about how the bidders felt about the car and had an opportunity to work a deal for real money. Unfortunately in this method the consignor may leave the auction with a high bid that is tens of thousands less than what he had hoped for and the auction house has a large gap to bridge in trying to work post block sales. In addition, there may be less than favorable historical bids that can be used as a gauge for subsequent efforts to sell/purchase the car. These precedents can give pause to buyers who may have wanted to pony up for the car initially.

If I really want to move the car I go with no. 2. If I plan on attending other auctions and don't mind the expense and time of prepping the car for auction and see it as entertainment and enjoy the ride I use no.1.

Just some thoughts that might help! </div></div>

Howard -

Thanks for the detailed explanation; crucial info for someone headed to his first auction.

I do want to sell the car, so option #2 makes more sense to me.

Thanks again,

Scott

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Xplantdad</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Good info Howard! Also, as far as the fuel....make sure you have enough...but just like MCACN or any other indoor event, I believe that you have to have less than a quarter tank of gas...Fire Marshal rules [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/smile.gif[/img]

Also, spend the money on a good show board, if you don't already have one.

Finally, as been said above-be around your car as much as possible. One of my buddies just scored a really nice Chevelle...because the owner wasn't there...and it was dirty until it hit the block! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img]</div></div>

Bruce -

I have a basic show board, but it doesn't include the awards.



I can assure you that my car won't be dirty when it hits the block!

Thanks for the advice,

Scott

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Vern B</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Really good information and strategies, thank's.

Do you consider taking a chance and letting it go to &quot;The Bid Goes On&quot;?

Obviously, it's best to sell it on the block, but I also understand Mecum may negotiate to the point of eliminating the sellers fee during this last chance option. That's probably not a huge thing, as it relates to the entire transaction, but on a high dollar car it could be a factor.

Maybe the &quot;mood&quot; is broken by letting the buyers walk, but they do seem to sell a lot of vehicles after they cross the block.

I was looking for an older truck at the recent Kissimmee auction. Several I was interested in, that were a little above my price, sold a day, or two later. </div></div>

I'm ok with hanging out for another day or so to sell the car if it doesn't sell on the block, but I have to get back to Korea, so my time is somewhat limited. Good input, though, and glad to hear that many cars sell after they roll off the block.

Thanks

Scott

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Mecum is sending out a professional photographer from Wisconsin tomorrow (car is in Ohio) to take some pics.

Car is headed to a large indoor car show in Canton this weekend if anyone is going to be there.

Thanks,

Scott

[stritestoration]

First off, great looking car. Would you believe that I missed your car at mcacn until I was loading mine for home and saw yours moving out of its spot. Love green also, not a mainstream color kind of guy. anyway...I had the experience a few years ago selling at mecum. I was a bundle of nerves as it approached the block. as soon I got on stage they hit me right away with &quot;what's it going to take, what you gotta have&quot; They gave a look to the auctioneer with a hand sign and it went quick. mecum seems to roll the cars out real quick!!! And if you watch tv, once reserve is met it seems that its hammered. I've been to enough BJ events to know that they do give cars more time of day,although it is a gamble with no reserve. I've heard from others also that BJ seems to get more $$ for cars. Mecum seems lately to be running quicker as they increase the # of cars at each auction. Seems like they are watering down the market. I would also say this year at BJ, I rarely saw anyone by a car. And I was there many days and took many laps around. I would even consider buisiness cards with just the lot # time and a quick decription along with your #. It shows that you are interested in talking about it. How many people buy without asking questions? For what it's worth, I ended up selling my car for $3,000 less than my original reserve. But minus the fees and I still was a bit shy of the of where I originally wanted to be. Good luck and super car.

[njsteve]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bulletpruf</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Bruce -

I have a basic show board, but it doesn't include the awards.




Scott </div></div>

As for a sign, you can make a nice one yourself like I did. Buyers tend to ignore those professional show car signs, since everyone has them. I went down to my local Michaels Craft store and paid $20 for a big 3'x3' poster frame and made my own display which contained a typed up history of the car and its rarity, magazine features and reduced sized copies of the original documents, close up photos of the vital engine parts and serial numbers like the VIN, engine VIN and trans VIN. And keep in mind, the car was not matching #'s either! For some reason people get happily reassured just seeing a photo, regardless of whether its the original engine or not. On that same sign you can put a note that says &quot;Any questions at the auction call me at XXX-XXXX.

And no that wasn't a home-made tripod - I had a metal oil painting easel that could cause some serous damage to a car if it got knocked over, so I went to Home Depot and bought $5 worth of foam, pipe insulation and covered the metal legs and posts of the easel with it. I had a lot of people at the auction ask about that as well - anything that gets a potential bidder talking with you, is a good thing!

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: stritestoration</div><div class="ubbcode-body">First off, great looking car. Would you believe that I missed your car at mcacn until I was loading mine for home and saw yours moving out of its spot. Love green also, not a mainstream color kind of guy. anyway...I had the experience a few years ago selling at mecum. I was a bundle of nerves as it approached the block. as soon I got on stage they hit me right away with &quot;what's it going to take, what you gotta have&quot; They gave a look to the auctioneer with a hand sign and it went quick. mecum seems to roll the cars out real quick!!! And if you watch tv, once reserve is met it seems that its hammered. I've been to enough BJ events to know that they do give cars more time of day,although it is a gamble with no reserve. I've heard from others also that BJ seems to get more $$ for cars. Mecum seems lately to be running quicker as they increase the # of cars at each auction. Seems like they are watering down the market. I would also say this year at BJ, I rarely saw anyone by a car. And I was there many days and took many laps around. I would even consider buisiness cards with just the lot # time and a quick decription along with your #. It shows that you are interested in talking about it. How many people buy without asking questions? For what it's worth, I ended up selling my car for $3,000 less than my original reserve. But minus the fees and I still was a bit shy of the of where I originally wanted to be. Good luck and super car. </div></div>

Thanks, Jason. Appreciate the details on your recent experience at Mecum. Hopefully they give my car enough time on the block.

I'll certainly have my contact info displayed at/near the car somewhere. Think it would be easier if it was on a business card or flyer that the prospective buyers can take with them.

Scott

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<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bulletpruf</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Bruce -

I have a basic show board, but it doesn't include the awards.


Scott </div></div>

As for a sign, you can make a nice one yourself like I did. Buyers tend to ignore those professional show car signs, since everyone has them. I went down to my local Michaels Craft store and paid $20 for a big 3'x3' poster frame and made my own display which contained a typed up history of the car and its rarity, magazine features and reduced sized copies of the original documents, close up photos of the vital engine parts and serial numbers like the VIN, engine VIN and trans VIN. And keep in mind, the car was not matching #'s either! For some reason people get happily reassured just seeing a photo, regardless of whether its the original engine or not. On that same sign you can put a note that says &quot;Any questions at the auction call me at XXX-XXXX.

And no that wasn't a home-made tripod - I had a metal oil painting easel that could cause some serous damage to a car if it got knocked over, so I went to Home Depot and bought $5 worth of foam, pipe insulation and covered the metal legs and posts of the easel with it. I had a lot of people at the auction ask about that as well - anything that gets a potential bidder talking with you, is a good thing!

</div></div>

Thanks, Steve. Gorgeous car with a very interesting past, too.

Good idea on the poster board - that would give me room for magazine coverage, PHS documents, and pics of the relevant stampings and dates.

Thanks again,

Scott

[mockingbird812]

Does that Charger have eny dokumentashun?! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/hmmm.gif[/img]