Nov 07 2017

Ba Tster II, numbers crunched

Fair warning : the following is of no interest to the above-average intellectual, provided you are not a car buff.

If the primary concern is the date your car lease expires, please, push #9, then, press end this call, and return to your comfort zone. There is no room in this cave for the 13 BaTsters left who enjoy our favorite website, today, and every day.

The author, ⬇, 1952

Having first reported early returns (April/May 2017), below is the compilation, 8+ weeks or ⅙ of a year, extending 4Sept2017 thru 3Nov2017. Weekly transactions have doubled, as normal daily activity has ➹ 100+ units on a rolling average.

Now, for the math (please, the writer is neither an actuary nor CPA, but once played a doctor on closed-circuit TV), as seen on today’s big screen ⬇

Utilizing his handy Keuffel & Esser 5″ Deci-Lon pocket slide rule.

The Results:
784 vehicles were auctioned.

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580 sold (74%) total $13,321,433

Avg. sale price $22,967.99

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204 RNM*, no sales (26%) total $ 6,173,861

Avg. no sale $30,264.03

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Unaccountable, a method to determine how many cars with *reserve not met may have been sold offline when BaT administrators allowed sellers and high bidders the option of negotiation. That would no doubt skewer the data above. But not by much.

The reserve not met $$ number may indicate sellers who;

willing to take 100+ photos, provide a description, a week of addressing the flock’s questions, and walk away with a true market appraisal for only $99. Cheap shot.
have an unrealistic reserve based on their “investment” in the vehicle.
for the top bid, realize the car is worth keeping, in their own garage vs. a regrettable fire sale.

Extrapolation of the 60 day numbers, multiplied by 6, would yield 3,480 units sold, per annum, and a total $$ sales of $ 79,928,598, a stunning, but clearly achievable target. Numbers that would be comparable to, or even dwarf in some instances, the SCM style bar graph of most middle tier auction venues, e.g., Leake, Mecum, Russo&Steele, Coy’s, Silverstone, B-J, Worldwide, Auctions America.

Final note for this bi-monthly calculation;

Top sales realized;

2002 BMW Z8 $181,050
2012 MB SLS/Amg $146,000
2006 Aston Martin Vanquish $132,500

Low sales;

1979 Ford TBird $1,809
1980 Honda CT110 (bike) $2,350
1979 Alfa Alfetta project $2,600

Reserve not met, high;

2003 BMW Z8 $255,000
1955 Alfa Berlinetta $210,000
2008 AL bodied Shelby Cobra $140,000

Reserve not met, low;

1980 Plymouth Champion $2,500
1939 Fiat Balilla project $2,600
hmmm…really, who cares

The ratio of private party : dealer sales was not calculated; takes too much time and I’ve run out of beer. A guess, 60%/40%. Shady dealers, often despised, will avoid this venue. However, those with sunny disposition, fair business practice, and attractive inventory have to adore the maximum exposure, target audience, all for < a C-note.

Dealer participation appears on the rise.

Too, “no reserve” offerings have risen, particularly for more pedestrian and/or lower demand collectibles….courtesy of website administrators anxious to maintain freshness and variety at all levels of interest.

Not redeemable for Hilton Honors points, or preferred parking at the Hampton Inn ®.

This will be the last entry from Captain Crunch, in re, Bring a Trailer, barring any dramatic changes, i.e., a Nasdaq IPO, outright sale to a major auction format, or Jeff Bezos’ intent on world domination by offering $1B for the Ba T platform.

We now return to the classroom to calculate the date a BMW Z8 will surpass the BMW 507 in value.

Consensus……0828 hrs GMT, 14Aug2154

©insightout2017

Any dissemination, copying, or disclosure of this communication is fair game. If you received this communication in error, (a) willingly take a flying leap, (b) notify sender @ (630) 986-POOP, actual cell #, (c) destroy the original message. Full disclosure: the author has no ownership and/or financial interest/currency in any business entity listed herein. Any resemblance to person/persons, living or deceased, is not coincidental.

Jul 12 2017

Chair Man of the Bored

As certain as a phase of the moon, a menstrual cycle, or the arrival of a utility bill, this monthly read may lift DeTour Village, pop.320 from obscurity….and enlighten the reader, especially those of you who enjoy both sitting and a good story.

Now for the legend of the Thonet Hairpin Bentwood Chair

The background: in late 2008, we lost a good friend Glen Shaw, unexpectedly (not a misprint) at age 92. After a distinguished career as a captain on Great Lake freighters, he retired at his home in DeTour Village, MI with his lovely first mate of 72 years, Joan. Glen and I spent many hours together. He talked. I listened. In the presence of a master story-teller, writer, & wit possessed with a sharp mind and memory, listening is the best policy.

Aged 11, as a fifth grader in 1928, he watched the large old Hotel DeTour burn to the ground from a roofing tar heater gone awry. As the wooden structure incinerated, the grade schoolers were allowed to watch from the school playground across the street. In the chaos, people ran into-and-out of the building, throwing out beds, furniture, and anything of value that was certain to be destroyed in the fire.

After school that day, Glen picked up a chair at random and carried it home. He kept it for 80+ years, using it as saw horse more than once. I noticed it, stoic and forlorn in the corner of his garage, and commented on its original finish, simplicity, and graceful design. Over a cold beer, he relayed his chair story and vowed, ‘if I die before you, the chair is yours’.

His darling widow, Joan, called me several months after his death and reminded me that the chair now belonged to me ( I had forgotten the promise he made, but she had not). The chair, a Thonet, made of beech, still retains the original label on the underside, exhibiting the latest patent date of March 29, 1910.

I can’t describe how much the chair means to me. I use it daily when lacing my shoes. I choose it over a deck chair when entertaining guests….and during those solitary moments when staring over Lake Huron seeking solace and inspiration. It defines the rhythmic nature of life and the value of true friendship. Without ever saying a word, the chair listens.

Captain Glen, old pal, you took a back seat to no one, I miss you and wish you, “four whistles, full steam ahead”.

May 24 2017

On being a Ba T ster *

For most Ba T sters, arithmetic preceded interest in cars. Taking a journalist’s view, Math 101, herein is a modest introduction to a favored website, BringATrailer.com . The web identity tacitly implies that described vehicles may be ‘projects’, however that element applies to a minor %age. The logo is hardly subtle.

* Minimal background noise; the genesis, Jan2007, CA, ‘gearhead’ Randy Nonnenberg and colleague, Gentry Underwood, via Texas, the UK, and now CA, shared a common interest in unusual vehicles offered for sale, foreign and domestic. They began to share the addictive passion online, an itching Lyme Rock virus, slow growing.

Knowledgeable, self-assured, neither would ever order french toast in a German restaurant.

Nonnenberg ⬇, Underwood ➘

Noted writer, Rob Sass, seen in his 911, described Ba T in detail, Autoweek, Nov2015. ⬇ His must-read, best seller, “Ran When Parked”, will no doubt lead to a sequel, “Needs a Recharge”.

Fast forward one decade, Ba T has morphed into a seismic game-changer for auctioning interesting, ‘cool’ collectible cars.

Of note, the past 30 days activity; ~late April-May 20, 2017

Rolling average # of daily offerings 50.31
total # lots offered, 337
total # sold 253 (75.07% sellthru)
total # reserve not met 84 (24.93%)
total $$, sales $6,545,401.00
average $ price/vehicle sold $25,871.15

Marketing autos may be arbitrarily divided;

Tier 1 (high end auction venues)

RM Sotheby

Gooding & Co

Bonham

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Tier 2 (cattle calls)

Barrett Jackson

Leake

Mecum

Russo & Steele

Auction America (RMS subsidiary)

Hey, you paid too much, but we’re on TV !

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Tier 3 (low end)

eBay

Hemmings (refined pulp)

Craigslist

Autotrader (pulp)

Local daily newspaper classifieds

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Tier 4 (slim to zero, overdone glam rags)

DuPont Registry

Robb Report

Prior to Ba T, a vacuum existed between tier 2 and 3. No longer applicable, as Ba T, by simple extrapolation (multiply the figures above x 12) is a threat to all four tier’s vulnerability;

unbiased descriptions
thorough commentary by the Ba T community

Fair warning: i.e., on occasion, clumsy, clever, clairvoyant, clueless, cliquish, classic, clarifying, clinical, often challenging both spelling and grammar, but always entertaining…..pure fun, free, at your own desk, functioning mute and delete keys at the ready.

no tent rental, glossy ads & catalogues, lanyards, gasbag auctioneers, frantic floormen waving hankies, biker dudes with white gloves pushing cars on/off stage, EtOH-infused bidders & bimbos, klieg lights, unbuttoned velocity channel ‘stars’, clad in Peter Pan bling.

“If I overbid, you get that tattoo I promised”

professional site management; realistic and reasonable fee structure, real time finish, zero snipe or shill bidding.

A well-written critique of the live auction experience can be viewed here, writer unknown. Lengthy, however it encompasses parallel results, voiced by many sellers.

Auctionmania Circus ⬇

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Full disclosure: the author has no ownership and/or financial interest/currency in any business entity listed herein. Any resemblance to person/persons, living or deceased, is not coincidental.