Hagerty Marketplace: The Inner Workings of Collector Car Auctions

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How is the industry viewing that? Is Barrett-Jackson afraid of that?

So, it's imperative to start with live auctions. Many like myself will go to an auction and fall in love 10 times walking down one aisle. I will go for one car I'm hell-bent on buying, and I’ll see another that I like and want, and I may end up going home with two cars. That's one thing that the online component does not give you. Many people will shy away from the online piece because they, like myself, believe in buying visually and being able to inspect a car. I will never, ever again, buy a car sight unseen. I don't care if it's Bring a Trailer.

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I registered as a bidder for the last auction they had so I could test it out online while also watching. There seemed to be a slight lag for the first couple of blocks, but then it got better. If you look at the Monterey Jet Center and then Jim Taylor Collection in New York, they've had two successful auctions. The most recent West Palm one was probably less of a success. The sell-through rate was maybe 55%, which was substantially lower than previous ones. But many of the cars also sold below the range initially put out there, for the low range. So I'm curious; do you have any insights into what might have been different?

I think Broad Arrow should have almost splintered off and focused on the meat and potatoes that is Hagerty's base where the end-user has the $50,000 car and it's his pride and joy, and then kept the Broad Arrow space with the European classics, pre-wars, and the like, separate. They’re tough to comingle. I don't understand it. I don't even think Bring a Trailer sells many big, heavy cars, the pre-war classics, the brass-era stuff. The people that love those cars are dying off, and their kids are not picking up that same passion.

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