Any experience with Bring A Trailer Auctions?

oldeskewltoy wrote: Another members experience with BAT

WOW, what a bunch of shiny happy people Now I'll never browse BAT the same way.

I sold two cars through BaT. You need thick skin, and be prepared for full disclosure. That's how I sell cars anyway, so I found it to be a positive experience.

If you're a let the buyer beware sort, then you'll get skewered in the comments section. It's a venue for 'experts' to demonstrate how much they know and pick all the nits. So put those nits out on parade rather than let the peanut section rip on them.

It's a venue to sell top-notch cars for top-notch prices. I think you have to be realistic about the best venue to sell a car.

I did find it interesting that the buyers I spent the most time with offline were ultimately not the winning bidders. Both of my auctions went up 15~20% after the auction was scheduled to hammer.

10/10. Would sell again.

In reply to Tyler H:

There are experts, then there are 'experts'. BAT seems to have a lot of both. I agree with a previous poster that mentioned some moderation. I think if they left the real experts and got rid of some of the nonsense the experience would be much better.

Update: BAT doesn't want to play ball unless it's a no reserve auction. Expect an ad to go up in the classifieds section of the GRM forum very shortly.

You say they are picky on there. I just looked at a 65 Corvair turbo convertible that is selling for around $5000. It's a sad example of good paint over a lot of rust and almost certainly bad body work.

No one seems too concerned. If I owed that car, I would be ecstatic to get $5000 for it. A LOT of body work and a full repaint is in someones future...

I sold my 82 911 SC on BaT last year. It was a nerve racking experience dealing with some commentors. But if you hang in there the shiny happy people usually get called out by the more mature commentors. I went round and round with a guy about the authenticity of the speedometer in my 911 for example. I politely answered all of his rather rude questions until finally a few commentors called him out.

BaT is still the best option for selling a rare model in a rural location. I tried for months to sell on craigslist and had one person contact me. It went on BaT and sold in a week for more than I listed it on craigslist.

Just to be clear BaT is not like a "real" auction house that does an expert in-person authentication and appraisal for each lot item that they represent. In these cases then yes the reputation of the auction house is on the line and withdrawing an item in mid-auction (which take like 5 min each) would be unheard of.

BaT auction is just a monetised version of a more grassroots web site where people used to email them cool cars for sale they found around the internet.

So in my opinion this is not about the integrity of their auctions, its about maximizing profits plain and simple.

Ottawa

Ottawa wrote: So in my opinion this is not about the integrity of their auctions, its about maximizing profits plain and simple. Ottawa

Ahh, I love the smell of capitalism in the morning...and coffee. I usually get a dose of both while browsing through BaT on Saturday mornings.

So for those of you who have done BaT and eBay, would you use BaT again? And how much time did you have to spend in the comments section?

I'm planning to sell two of my classic bikes this year (the GL1000, which is nicely restored, and the BMW R100RS with its ultra-rare 4V head conversion) and I'm trying to figure out what the better venue would be.

Having participated in the BAT community and actually bid on a few cars, it seems to me if you have a car that generally fits the BAT-criteria (some combination of rarity, condition and mileage), then selling a car there seems to be a good deal. The fees seem to be more in favor of the seller than the buyer. Unlike eBay, the buyer pays a premium, which is more like a traditional auction. I've watched quite a few cars sell for a fair bit more than I thought the car was worth. Maybe the stars will align and one of these cars will sell for a price I'm comfortable with, but I'm not holding my breath.

I've commented on a number of cars, but will generally try to hold off on outright criticism unless a seller posts something I know to be incorrect. Otherwise, the high selling prices have limited my participation lately.

I sold an odd little Bike Engine Car (BEC) about a year ago on BAT and it was a great experience.. I had listed it on Ebay prior to that, but it was such a niche little car that it didn't fit well into any one category, and as a result, the Ebay response was a bit limited.. A few months later I put it on BAT, and it eventually went for 20% more than it would have on Ebay..

I'm a regular contributor and visitor to BAT- it's one of my favorite sites, so I'm a bit biased.. but when it came time to sell, they offered great exposure to 'real' car guys.. As stated though, you'll have to ignore some armchair experts, but it seems a small price to pay to get access to their vast pool of pre-qualified bidders..

In reference to the peanut gallery in BaT's comments section: Does the seller have to respond? When I'm bidding for something online especially a car I set my highest bid and walk away until the auction is over.

In reply to nutherjrfan:

The seller doesn't "have" to respond to questions, but it is generally a good idea if they want the best price. A non-responsive seller often results in low bidding as bidders think the seller has something to hide. Of course that may not be true, but the perception is there.

I think the biggest issues people have with BaT are overestimating what it is that they do. They don't inspect the car, they don't guarantee quality (although they try to only accept good examples of cars), they don't moderate comments (good, IMO - I'd rather it be under-moderated than over as some "mean" comments may have legitimate value).

They're simply there as middle men, they offer exposure to a big audience of pre-qualified car enthusiast bidders and do all the legwork of the auction writeup/bid processing. That's valuable, and they get paid for that.

I've found that people (in general) tend to have higher expectations for BaT because the site is prettier than other auction sites and the community is more involved. In the end, they're basically an enthusiast focused EBay or less expensive (and internet based) Barrett Jackson. It's a great place to sell and buy cars, but you have to approach the purchase like you would any other car sale, inspect it yourself and do your homework. If you're the seller, be open, honest, and active (and have thick skin...this is the internet after all).

I love BaT. I think they've found a very cool niche and their positives for potential buyers/sellers far outweighs any negatives.

I feel like that site is a good way to drive the price of your car up without necessarily getting all the money. I have little interest in paying a buyers premium.

G_Body_Man wrote: A couple pictures of the car in question.

There is a very similar one on Detroit metro Craigslist.

In reply to chandlerGTi:

I'm looking at that one right now. It's got relatively shabby monoblocks instead of multi-piece wheels, no mention of the factory aluminum hardtop, and almost 40k more miles. The bones are similar, but this one's got better bits and appears to be in better shape, so $11k CAD ($8k USD) seems fairly realistic.

David S. Wallens wrote: When I sold my Innocenti Mini Cooper, they asked lots of questions--lots and lots of questions, many that could have easily been answered via Wikipedia. If anything, in the end I think it helped vet the car as I answered each question with documentation.

I didn't realize that car was yours. Not that it would have made much difference as it sold for way more than I'm willing to spend on a Mini right now.

To me, it seems like BaT is the "Barret-Jackson" of the online auction world. Cars listed there seem to sell there for considerably more than market value right now. I would absolutely sell a car there. Buy? Not so much. Although the E46 M3 that sold for less than $13K recently seemed like a decent deal, so I guess it does happen once in awhile.

G_Body_Man wrote: In reply to chandlerGTi: I'm looking at that one right now. It's got relatively shabby monoblocks instead of multi-piece wheels, no mention of the factory aluminum hardtop, and almost 40k more miles. The bones are similar, but this one's got better bits and appears to be in better shape, so $11k CAD ($8k USD) seems fairly realistic.

This is the one I was talking about, SL600 it's more money (asking) but it is a 12 so I think yours is fairly priced.

Tyler H wrote: I sold two cars through BaT. You need thick skin, and be prepared for full disclosure. That's how I sell cars anyway, so I found it to be a positive experience. If you're a let the buyer beware sort, then you'll get skewered in the comments section. It's a venue for 'experts' to demonstrate how much they know and pick all the nits. So put those nits out on parade rather than let the peanut section rip on them. It's a venue to sell top-notch cars for top-notch prices. I think you have to be realistic about the best venue to sell a car. I did find it interesting that the buyers I spent the most time with offline were ultimately not the winning bidders. Both of my auctions went up 15~20% after the auction was scheduled to hammer. 10/10. Would sell again.

Agree completely. I sold my MG on BaT. It has really become more premium over the years.

First gen Cayman S sell pretty low on bat..

Btw, that r129 looks great and 8k is very fair. Those wheels are worth a good bit being multi-piece.

I was considering putting my 93 240SX on there, but I can't hide the fact that I haven't owned it for very long and am a flipper. I figured they wouldn't accept the car because of that, or, I would get roasted in the comments. I have the "rare car, rural area" problem.

maschinenbau wrote:

oldeskewltoy wrote: Another members experience with BAT

WOW, what a bunch of shiny happy people Now I'll never browse BAT the same way.

I'll never browse BAT, and link the story to people who do.

For an alternative to BaT, check out Second Daily https://seconddaily.com/

Just sold a Civic Si with some GRM heritage ... https://seconddaily.com/2000-honda-civic-si-grassroots-motorsports-heritage/