does this break Auction Etiquette ?
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Depends on the car. There’s 3-4 Gen 1 Boxsters just about all the time. Do think it’s poor taste to push your own auction in someone else’s.
What "carknute" did is unconscionable. It's almost as bad as picking apart a car listed for sale right here (not that this has ever been done).
As far as listing 2 identical cars at the same time - it seems as if they actually TRY to do it. BaT used to be fun. At present, I think it's in process for ruining the car hobby.
I don’t know if it’s “ruining the car hobby,” but it’s not doing it any favors. It’s been invaded by flipping dealers. Same with reality show TV and live auctions like Mecums and Barrett-Jackson. I miss the days when it’s name meant what it said.
TV auctions are definitely one of the worst things for the car hobby, and I've long held that belief. Everybody thinks they a) have something special and b) think they'll make a killing. Drove the prices up, PERIOD.
And as far as pimping your ad on someone else's comments? That's just wrong. But I'm one of those people that wishes that common courtesy was still COMMON. It ain't. And sense is gone too.
There is no common sense, only a huge sense of ME, ME, ME in the world.
If you are looking for a particular car, you search for it, and you will find it. Nobody needs help from some shill.
I've been looking at BAT resto-mod pickups lately. It seems the higher end the auctions, the less idiots attend.
I have seen people post after the auction closes that there's is coming up soon, at least that's better.
I comment on BAT regularly, but limit it to Beck brand auctions, unless specifically tagged. I know that is a world different than pushing my own separate auction, which I think is inexcusable... but I just never want to be the reason that another brand misses out on a bid because of something I said/feel. Lots of shill bidding on BAT, and quite a few "other" unscrupulous things happening. Just pay attention to the user names and don't forget you can click on their profile and look at what they bid on and what they won, if anything.
Amen to that, @chines1 - it is the shills that make BaT a form I'm becoming much less interested in. It still draws some interesting cars, but even that's nothing like what it could/should be - there are precious few Cummins diesel-powered mid-60s Cadillacs, etc. I'm uninterested in another online Sotheby's for "precious motorcars".
In general, I dislike auctions, "YTM sales", OBO, and all other price obfuscation nonsense. It is incumbent on the seller to establish the price he'd like to have. If there's no "which shell hides the pea" hidden price, I can tell you within 5 minutes if I'm interested. Throw out some vague description ("the seller reports that he knows nothing about this car") and expect me to tell you what I'll give, and I've got considerably less interest. The other thing I hate about auctions are hidden reserves - we go through a 7 day auction, with all the hype and energy, then get to the time when everybody is done bidding... and it's not enough.
How far did we fall short? $100? $1000? $10,000? I know that reserve is there to protect the seller, but it's the buyer taking ALL the risk - the unknown aspect of the car, the unknown price, and then the 5% buyer's fee, which is paid whether the item is as represented or not.
What the world needs is a site that has the kind of reach and exposure that BaT has, with a fixed pricing structure, or with auctions where the bid starts at the reserve.
BAT ... " Told " me what my restored and certified Meyers Manx was valued at and would not do my requested reserve, I got 25% more on eBag and the transaction went w/o a hitch. When I get the Outlaw speedster done in April, I may bow to their graces of BAT and list it there.
It seems that BAT is a great venue to sell a select type of car. The rest as Alan mentioned will do better on other platforms. The right car offered on BAT that has the interest of a few buyers with mega bucks can result in a very favorable result for the seller as many of have seen. I for one haven't had a car that I thought would sell well on BAT and have had very good results using Ebay, Samba and the SOC classifieds to get the exposure needed to find the right buyer. Good marketing takes thoughtful strategy.
@Alan Merklin posted:BAT ... " Told " me what my restored and certified Meyers Manx was valued at and would not do my requested reserve,
@Stan Galat posted:it's the buyer taking ALL the risk - the unknown aspect of the car, the unknown price, and then the 5% buyer's fee, which is paid whether the item is as represented or not.
BAT understands that the world they have created puts all the risk on the buyer, and they'd like to keep failed auctions (7 days where the bid doesn't reach reserve) to a minimum, which is why the set the reserves were they want them (rather than where the seller wants them). The problem with this is that they often have no idea where to set them.
eBay does it their own way, and allows sellers to set the reserve - so that many, many items never make reserve and are listed again and again and again. At least eBay puts the monkey on the seller's back by charging them for the listing.
In general, there are a lot of ways for the entire auction process to go off the rails. The seller can not be a fair dealer, and misrepresent his item. He can have shills. The buyer can (easily) flake.
All in all, it's a pretty awful way to sell something, but it's the only way to get it done in a lot of instances.
I've said this before, so for some I'll apologize for repeating myself, but for anyone considering selling on BAT, be very cautious about what you accept as a minimum reserve despite what they say to entice you. BAT can drop your reserve at any time without your consent! Yes, this is true. The caveat is they have to make up the difference if it closes under reserve. I had this happen to me personally when I sold my '68 911. They dropped reserve a few hours before close and (from memory) $5k short. The car finally bid to $78.5k, still $1500 under reserve, and sold. The seller sent me his $$ and BAT sent me the $1500 difference. So in the end I got my reserve, which I hesitantly accepted to start with, obviously hoping for much more. I guess BAT decided they'd rather make 70% of their normal profit than just $100, since they only get their $99 listing fee if reserve isn't met.
@chines1 - wow. Note to self: no BaT sales
@chines1 Holy crap didn't realize that ... thanks for the imput !
I was worried that would happen with my car. High bid was a couple grand lower than the reserve, and I didn't want to sell for that.
To be fair, BaT is very much upfront about their option here. They do disclose it very plainly to the sellers before the auction parameters are set. And it is an option, not a policy. In my case it was just a RNM.