Gumball
04-08-2012, 05:55 PM
I live very close to where Mecum holds their big spring and fall events, so I try to make it to those each year. Not so much to buy or sell (never did either), but just to look at a bunch of cool cars, people-watch, and see where prices are going. Whenever I sell a car, and I've sold way too many over the years, I usually want to know and like the buyer - I've actually turned down reasonable offers because I thought the potential buyer wouldn't be a responsible caretaker for the car.
Anyway, I've seen some pretty nice FFR cars go across the block at some of the big auction events, but this seems like a really cold way to sell something that took so much time, money, and effort to create. I guess I could understand it if the seller bought the car completed. But, I can't come to grips with the idea of turning over the end result of all this hard work to such a process - it just seems a bit like posting a spouse's availability on craigslist because it'd be more convenient and may result in a better deal.
I'm not saying that selling one of these cars at B-J, Mecum, RM, etc... is akin to pimping; just that I've been to some of those events and the impersonal nature, short time on the block, pressure to reduce or drop reserve, costs associated, potential for damage while on display, and other worries just don't seem to add-up to a good seller's experience to me - certainly not something that our dreams are worthy of when we've decided it's time to move on to "the next big thing."
I'm sure that there are some auction success stories out there and I've seen some pretty large sales prices for FFR cars. I know I've met some truly nice and engaged builders at the auctions, but I've also seen my share of cars that sit under the tent on display with nobody around to answer questions or to make sure the car doesn't get damaged and its enough to make me wonder how one of these cars ends up like that. Add in the sometimes second-class citizen status that replicas get at these auctions (and FFR sometimes undeservedly gets third-class status), as well as the tremendous costs that auction houses charge, and it makes me wonder why this is a viable alternative.
What say you?
Anyway, I've seen some pretty nice FFR cars go across the block at some of the big auction events, but this seems like a really cold way to sell something that took so much time, money, and effort to create. I guess I could understand it if the seller bought the car completed. But, I can't come to grips with the idea of turning over the end result of all this hard work to such a process - it just seems a bit like posting a spouse's availability on craigslist because it'd be more convenient and may result in a better deal.
I'm not saying that selling one of these cars at B-J, Mecum, RM, etc... is akin to pimping; just that I've been to some of those events and the impersonal nature, short time on the block, pressure to reduce or drop reserve, costs associated, potential for damage while on display, and other worries just don't seem to add-up to a good seller's experience to me - certainly not something that our dreams are worthy of when we've decided it's time to move on to "the next big thing."
I'm sure that there are some auction success stories out there and I've seen some pretty large sales prices for FFR cars. I know I've met some truly nice and engaged builders at the auctions, but I've also seen my share of cars that sit under the tent on display with nobody around to answer questions or to make sure the car doesn't get damaged and its enough to make me wonder how one of these cars ends up like that. Add in the sometimes second-class citizen status that replicas get at these auctions (and FFR sometimes undeservedly gets third-class status), as well as the tremendous costs that auction houses charge, and it makes me wonder why this is a viable alternative.
What say you?