Cautionary Notes for Auction Bidders
 

I'd like to offer some cautionary notes for auction bidders, if i may. Most are lessons learned from years of experience ... both good and bad. I don't post that often, mostly because i like to fly under the radar ;) but a few well-respected members know me :)


I'll try to organize so that there's one "lesson" (so to speak) per post. I'll also offer my best, unbiased advice ... without any agenda, other than to share & maybe inform.

I've thought about this quite a bit. I've concluded that it just benefits no one, who is passionate and really cares about our hobby, if "mistakes" are made at auction.


So here goes ... please feel free to add, comment or ignore, of course!

FIRST: Do NOT trust the auction description! Not one word of it. It's not worth the paper it's printed on.


PLEASE start here. PLEASE read this:

https://cdn1.mecum.com/assets/regist...gistration.pdf


A few highlights:


"7. All Lots offered are sold “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Mecum makes no representation and extends no warranty, express or implied, respecting any Lot’s
condition, genuineness, value, and/or quality. Mecum is not responsible for any defect in any Lot. MECUM HAS NOT INDEPENDENTLY
INSPECTED OR TESTED THE LOT AND HAS NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE LOTÂ’S HISTORY OR CONDITION. Bidder has the duty, right, and opportunity
to inspect any Lot prior to bidding, and BidderÂ’s participation in the auction of any lot is exclusively premised upon the BidderÂ’s own
determinations. Winning Bidders shall accept their Lot(s) with all faults, including, but not limited to, qualitative conditions, defects or
imperfections (whether structural, mechanical, cosmetic, latent, obvious, whether mentioned or unmentioned in the Lot description).

8. Bidder releases, waives, and discharges Mecum for any and all claims arising out of, involving, or associated with a Lot description. Bidder shall
reimburse Mecum for any costs and/or expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneysÂ’ fees) that Mecum incurs in defending any
BidderÂ’s claim arising out of, involving, or associated with a Lot description."




IN SHORT: The auction house accepts ZERO responsibility for the accuracy of the lot description. NONE.


What should a bidder do?
In short, invest the time to do your own research!!!

1. Get someone you know or trust to put eyes on the car, to verify the VIN. This will likely be the starting point of the internet search.
2. If the lot description includes old magazine articles, get on ebay ... find them, buy them, and READ them! Get familiar with the car's history.
3. Research the past auction history of the car, if applicable.
4. Find the past owners and experts. TALK TO THEM. This is a GREAT forum to explore this particular point :)
5. PAY the experts for their time and knowledge! Time, and knowledge, are money :) A few hundred, or couple thousand, bucks spent now ... can save you MUCH more $$ in the future. If an expert is willing to visit the car, seriously consider following through on that small investment.


PLEASE REMEMBER: NO single person is necessarily the "final word" on any one car. Your job, as bidder, is to "assimilate" all available info ... and come to your own conclusion about a car's authenticity and condition.

SECOND: Always remember: you have NO IDEA who you are bidding against! Not EVER.


Most auction houses reserve the right to shill/house/chandelier bid up to the reserve price (you already knew that, right?). How about after the reserve is off ... surely, all the house shills are "out" by then, right? Not so fast ... how do we know the seller, or seller's proxy, is not continuing to juice the auction? If the seller (or proxy) wins, he just pays himself and you'll find the same car at another auction within a year.


What should a bidder do?
1. You've done your research on the car itself. Before the auction, your next task is to research the "market value" of equivalent cars. Auction history, internet sales, and this very forum are great places to look :)
2. Then, you must add your own "personal passion premium" to the market value. This will determine your MAXIMUM, happy-to-walk-away BID.
3. Disclose your maximum bid to NO ONE. Not your best friend, not your wife or mother, and certainly to NO ONE connected with the auction house!

THIRD: Don't exceed your maximum bid (determined above). Allow LOGIC to rule the day, rather than EMOTION.


You've already added your "personal passion premium" to the market value, to determine the number where you are, quite literally, happy to walk away.


So ... BE HAPPY.


If you lose, hold your head high in the knowledge that:
- you may have lost to a drunk bidder, who's gonna relist the car somewhere as soon as his wife finds out what he spent!
- you may have lost to the owner (or his proxy), who will also relist the car somewhere within a year or two.


PLEASE REMEMBER: If you are passionate about these machines, you're in it for the LONG HAUL. You're not a day trader :) If you've done your homework, the chances are VERY HIGH that the car will find its way back to you within a couple years (yes, it's happened to me). Please be patient :)

Is this an open thread to allow questions from those of us never exposed to an auction? Buyer or seller? There's a ton of good offerings, knowledge, that reside in this group, and I'd like to know some specifics but usually these types of questions interrupt specific sales and get ignored.

Heck yeah! Post anything at all :)

I've got a car I'm considering selling, it's a high end chevelle. These are my observations....and please comment if they're wrong or skewed.
A car that hits the market without being well known may have a handicap with the field of buyers.
A car that doesn't have lineage needs more thorough build history, ie, pics of the build.
A car that hits a high exposure marketplace will need to lay out ALL the cards and be well prepped, or it may suffer from that sale, or a no-sale on the next go-around.
There is a stigma amongst auction buyers that if a car suffered from a no-sale or a stagnation on a on-line venue, that the gallery has spoken, and it won't achieve anything beyond that.
That last statement is something I've always felt, that there's a local frenzy of buyers that vet a new listing, and if it's still up for a few weeks, most buyers will cool off.

My thoughts:


A less-well known car may not suffer any disadvantage, if the evidence of authenticity is strong. In fact, "hidden" cars may surprise with a premium over the well-known cars!

You will need some form of documentation, or expert opinion, for authentication. This is, of course, a GREAT forum to seek out the experts!

There's lots of fraud in this hobby. There's money too, of course ... but smart bidders/buyers just want to be sure of what they are buying. Has your Chevelle ever been discussed here (or another forum)?

by the way ... what I know about Chevelles would fit in a thimble. With room left over.
(I love them, just not knowledgeable)


HOWEVER, I know for a fact that there are true EXPERTS on this forum, who know more about these awesome machines than the people who designed and built them! I think it's quite likely that these experts would have no agenda, other than to help :)

This is a '69, and that year is very familiar to me. For the purpose of my concerns, I can validate the car, and it has enough paper and codes to stand for itself. My main concern is presentation mostly. I did meet up with a pro photographer that does a lot of work for BaT ads, who offered his services. When it's time, I'll likely use him. I'm sure he's also got insight on presenting a car on that venue. I really have no intention of running the car across the blocks. I'll reserve my reasons for that.
I hate to discuss the car specifically, as it'll sidetrack this thread. Mainly looking overlooked or focal points for these types of online auctions. Many will apply to either type of auction though.