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    Default My Mecum Auction experience

    I bought a Trans am last October, because I always wanted one to replace the one I had "back in the day". I figured I would replace one of my other cars with it. After working all winter on it, and replacing the entire interior, I drove it a few times and found that I didn't enjoy driving it. It didn't make me happy. I enjoyed my other cars much more. I could have kept everything, but storage/garage space was a problem. The fact that I haven’t driven any of them in six months was also a factor. It just seemed silly to have another car that just sat for the majority of the year. Since I enjoyed the Trans am the least, I figured I would sell it. Normally I would do the Craigslist, or eBay thing, which is what I think you should do. That is what I would do in the future as well. This particular time, I made the decision to sell, and Mecum auction was coming the following week. So I figured what the heck...

    This is what I learned during my experience selling my car at the Mecum auction. First, they make a ton of money. They have all bases covered. They make money from the seller, when he LISTS the car, and if he SELLS it. They make money off the buyer, when they REGISTER to buy, and each time they BUY a car. They make money off spectators just coming to LOOK at the cars. Let me explain.

    First, as a seller, you pay to LIST your car. $250.00 -$750.00 depending on what day and time you pick. The better the day and time, the more expensive it gets. Thursday is a little cheaper, but there are not as many bidders there. As you can see, prime time on Saturday is more expensive.

    Thursday 4/25/13

    Star Entry * - $500
    3pm - 7pm
    ($20000 suggested minimum value)

    Feature Entry - $250
    12am - 3pm and after 7pm
    (No minimum value)

    ·Friday 4/26/13

    Feature Entry - $500
    12am - 3pm and after 8pm
    ($25000 suggested minimum value)

    Star Entry * - $750
    3pm - 8pm
    ($35000 suggested minimum value)

    ·Saturday 4/27/13

    Feature Entry - $750
    12am - 2pm and after 7pm
    ($35000 suggested minimum value)

    Star Entry * - $750
    2pm - 7pm
    ($50000 suggested minimum value)


    Remember...these fees are just to LIST the car. If your car does not sell, they still make this money. The money you pay on top of that, the commission, is based on if you have a reserve or not. That fee structure is as follows:


    Sellers Commission


    Vehicle Selling Price

    Option - (Reserve)Commission*
    Up to $7,500
    $500


    $7,500 and Up
    7 percent


    Absolute - (No Reserve)Commission
    Up to $7,500
    $500

    $7,500 and Up
    5 percent

    commission only applies if the seller accepts last bid.

    As you can see, this can really add up. Now as a BUYER, you are subject to a $100.00 registration fee. That’s right. You pay $100.00 just to REGISTER to bid. If you don’t buy anything, you are out $100.00. Then, as a BUYER, you are also subject to the following fees if you BUY a car. That’s right; you pay Mecum a commission also if you BUY a car.

    Buyer's Premiums

    Final Price
    Buyer's Premiums
    Up to $5,499
    $300
    $5,500 to $9,999
    $500
    $10,000 and up
    6 percent of final price
    Boats and Motorcycles
    10 percent of final price
    Road Art
    18 percent of final price
    15 percent if paid in cash, certified funds, or check


    If you just want to go in and look, it will only be $20.00 per day. Of course there is a fee for parking, and that varies on parking lots.

    They also sell food and drinks there. They are priced about what you would expect to pay at an NFL stadium. Now this money I am not sure if it goes to Mecum or if it goes to the owner/operator of the venue. They also have kiosks around selling alcohol. This is a particularly good idea in my opinion. People can get caught up in the whole bidding process and not wanting to get beat by the “other” guy. Combine that with a little alcohol, and you might get someone to overbid. At the very least, you made money on the overpriced alcohol. I think loosening up peoples wallets with a little alcohol is really a brilliant strategy.

    Speaking of strategy… in the future, I would sell my vehicle the way I have in the past, using Craigslist, eBay, auto trader, and other similar ways. I am not saying I would never use Mecum; I would just use them as a last resort. I think you just give up too much money.

    As far as Mecum auction strategy, based on what I have learned, I would pay the $750.00 and get a good spot on Saturday. The reason for this is simple. When I was there on Thursday, there just were not many bidders. No bidders equal low bids. Friday is better than Thursday, but I believe Saturday is the best. You could go cheap and get a $500.00 slot, but when you are talking about $15K-$20K cars, why cheap out right here in the end, trying to save $250.00? Pay the extra money; get a good day, and a good time slot. Too early, and people either haven’t gotten there, or have not warmed up to the whole process. Maybe they are just getting their feet wet, or seeing how it goes. Maybe they just haven’t drunk enough alcohol yet. Too late in the day, and people are getting tired and going home. Maybe they have already spent their money.

    Okay, once you have made the decision to sell your car, you have picked the day, filled out the forms, paid your entry fee, and dropped your car off. They want your car there no later than Wednesday, since it starts on Thursday. You will have time to do that last minute cleaning, and detailing of your car.

    Did I mention that as a SELLER, you automatically get registered to BID? That’s a $100.00 value. That way if you sell your car, pay the 5%-7% SELLERS commission, and then you can turn around and buy another car and pay the 6% BUYERS premium. Like I said, they have thought of everything, and have ever angle covered.

    The big day has arrived. As a seller, you have to be there when your car crosses the auction block. They drive your car around and into position. They push it across the auction block to cut down on the gas fumes. Once it crosses the block, they start it and drive it away. When it is your turn on the block, they push your car up there, and a guy immediately comes over to you, identifies himself, shakes your hand, and immediately starts to lowball you. He says things like what’s it going to take to sell your car today? I know your reserve is $XXX, but what would it REALLY take? Would you sell it for this? Don’t you want to sell it? Now while he is doing that, the auctioneer has already started the bidding. You are trying to listen to the auctioneer, and talk to the guy talking to you. You are on stage with hundreds of people looking at you. There are bright lights shining down on you. There are neon lights every where. You feel like you are on stage at some Las Vegas casino. It is very intimidating. Everything is happening very quickly. They schedule a different car every five minutes. That is for the complete process. Rolling your car up, auctioning it off, dropping the hammer, and rolling it off. They want to stay on schedule, so there is no messing around. Any way, with all the bright lights, and the guy talking to you, then another guy came over, and started talking to me, so they were kind of tag teaming me. I couldn’t hear the auctioneer, and all the while they are trying to get you to lift your reserve. You are not even really sure were the bidding is. Once you lift your reserve it’s over. Honestly, once I lifted my reserve, they smacked the hammer about ten seconds later, and it was over. Their whole goal is to sell your car. Once your car sells, they make the 5%-7% from the seller and the 6% from the buyer. There is no real reason to continue to squeeze out another thousand or two. Their time is just too valuable to try and get another thousand dollars for your car, so they can make another $50.00. All they care about is lifting or meeting the reserve so that they know it will sell, and they can make their money. The entire time you are up there it is super high pressure to lift your reserve and sell.

    What I learned from this, is to set your reserve much higher (at least $5000.00) higher than what you really want. That way, you make them work hard to get it up there. Stand your ground, and don’t lift your reserve. Make them work at it. They want to sell your car. I watched a lot, and they would really try to sell a car if it hadn’t met the reserve, and the owner was holding pat. They would put out a lot of effort. You can always lift the reserve once it gets close to the reserve. The main thing is to get them to work to get the highest price you can get. I’m sure a lot of those people have sold many cars through there and know all the tricks. Being new to the auction game, I felt I left some money on the table. Lesson learned. This is why I am writing this. Maybe someone else will learn something and not leave money on the table for someone else.

    Don’t get me wrong. This is not a bash Mecum thread. This is simply my experience, and much of it was an eye opener. I am not recommending it or campaigning against it. I am not unhappy with my experience. I do think I left money on the table. I do think I could have made more money on it. No, I am not upset. It was a learning experience. Just trying to share my experience, in hopes it might help someone else.

    In conclusion, once your car sells, they would like the buyer to pay for the car within an hour. The reason for this is they will not release the funds to the seller, until the buyer has paid. That way, Mecum is protected, and they haven’t stuck their neck out. They are not on the hook for anything. This is pretty smart on their part. After about an hour, you go to the counter, they have you sign the title, and assuming the buyer has paid, they give you a check, minus the seller commission of course. You are done, and the car is gone.

    If you have any questions about the whole process, please ask. If you have an experience with an auction, please share it. If you are still reading this…thank you for you perseverance.
    Last edited by FoxChassis; 05-10-2013 at 11:43 AM. Reason: changed color
    1982 Dominator GT
    *1st Dominator ever sold and
    autographed by Jackie Stewart *
    1993 Corvette
    2005 Roush Mustang
    2008 Escape
    (DD)

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