Market Intelligence
Online auctions? The Barrett-Jackson Fortress teaches
Barrett-Jackson Auction House held an online vintage car auction, demonstrating its ability to adapt to the pandemic. The auction featured a parterre of cars with most having reserve prices, and Barrett-Jackson provided dozens of photos and videos of the lots to help buyers safely participate. The top lot was a 1996 Chevrolet Monte Carlo ex-NASCAR car that fetched $425,000, with the entire proceeds going to charity. The auction also saw a trend of online sales reaching prices similar to those at traditional auctions.
Almost half a century. The Barrett-Jackson Auction House is perhaps the oldest auction house in the world that only organizes vintage car auctions and has been doing so continuously since 1971. About 20 years ago, it became known as “the one that offers unreserved cars.”
This experience has clashed with the virus that we have all come to know, in spite of ourselves. No races, no events or rallies, no auctions. Like others, “Scottsdale’s” have re-emerged by demonstrating a spirit of adaptation that few expected. They composed a nice parterre of cars, most of them with reserve prices in front of the new experience and perfectly organized the online auction: the seriousness and professionalism of Barrett-Jackson was not questioned. In fact dozens and dozens of photos from every angle of the lots, photos of every detail that was no more than correct, video to show the functionality of all mechanical or electrical organs. Fans could safely revive.
This online auction has confirmed a trend already in place in the previous ones: what you sell is more important than how you sell it. Take the example of the two Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastbacks I mentioned in the preview of this auction: I had made the prediction that one of them was worth much more than the other, and time proved me right. One was red with 71,000 miles and was sold for a whopping 195,000 dollars. The 4,300-mile Grabber Green has come to the offer of 360,000 dollars. Although it has stopped at this figure remaining unsold this should not be misleading since the main cause was the reserve judged by many to be too high. If they had sold it (you have to add 10% commissions and we’d be at 396,000 dollars) it would be one of the most expensive Mustang Boss ever sold. We can’t say yet, but the trend seems to be that of a rapprochement between the prices of historic cars sold online and those beaten at traditional auctions.
