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My Convertible was supposed to go to Mecum in Kissimmee in January but some last second issues forced me to withdraw it. After more blood, sweat, tears and money, it's now ready to go. We loaded it on the Mecum truck yesterday. It will sell on Friday July 17 as lot F226. I've attached a few pics below but if you'd like to see more, please log onto the Mecum site and go to the lot list for Friday. It should come up on page 7 that day
As near as i can tell right now there are very few Oldsmobiles in this 2100 car sale. It looks like only two other 70 to 72 convertibles and just a few hardtops, one Rallye 350 and one 69 Hurst Olds. No one can guess what will happen with the corona virus but I'm hopeful that after being cooped up for so long, people will be there wit
h money to spend.
This may be a test of the economy and classic cars. Should be interested. Randy, your car may not necessarily sell if your does not meet the reserve. Although rumor has it that you set your reserve at $24,000.00. Lol
Good luck! Give us a heads up so we can see how you do.
Thanks, Harry
69442ragtop
The Camaro is not mine. There were actually two of them on the truck
Jaunty75
Thanks for the article. It was very interesting. A little bit outdated in some respects though. The bidder and seller commission is now up to 10%! I'm sure that the details on the pressure applied by the staff to sell is all still very real though. Thanks for posting the article
Harry,
My car may test the Oldsmobile market but there are a ton of fantastic cars there that will definitely test the status of the economy. I'm hoping that people have been sitting on their wallets for the last 4 months or so and are anxious to spend some cash. My reserve is considerably above $24k. However, I have pretty much resolved already that unless the bids are stupid low, the car will not be coming home with me. What really worries me is that a number of states around Indiana are now reimposing restrictions so I'm hoping that Indiana doesn't follow suit. I was told by the truck driver that there were already a ton of cars at the sale site, It would be incredibly expensive for Mecum if they had to unwind it all before the sale starts.
I'm sure that the details on the pressure applied by the staff to sell is all still very real though.
I watch the Mecum auctions fairly frequently on NBCSN, and they always show one of the Mecum staff standing too close to the seller trying to get him to lift his reserve. It's also true, as that article describes, that when the reserve is finally lifted, the sale of that car often ends almost immediately. Mecum has the car sold, they're going to collect all of their various buyer and seller fees, and they have little incentive to eke out another $1000 or $2000 increase in the bidding because it takes time away from the next car up for auction and because the slight increase in their commission isn't worth it.
I watch the Mecum auctions fairly frequently on NBCSN, and they always show one of the Mecum staff standing too close to the seller trying to get him to lift his reserve. It's also true, as that article describes, that when the reserve is finally lifted, the sale of that car often ends almost immediately.
Not like the good old days prior to the 2008 recession, when taking the reserve off often resulted in a last-minute flurry of bidding activity, I guess because bidders would get excited that the car was actually going to sell!!
I wonder if anybody has ever tried saying, "Yeah, I'll drop my reserve, but only if you guarantee me an extra two minutes on the block with the auctioneer and the ringmen working as hard as they can"?
Last edited by BangScreech4-4-2; Jun 30, 2020 at 12:52 PM.
Reason: Addendum
Apparently Mecum feels that they have many more phone bidders and online bidders that they normally would so it makes sense that they would open online bidding pretty early. Some of the most expensive cars are already well over $100k. It's hard to believe that the sale actually starts already this coming Friday. just talked to one of their auction assistants a day or two ago. I told him that I was concerned about low attendance and low bids. He told me that they were actually expecting just the opposite. He said that the results from the recent Eddy Vannoy Estate sale were actually up by 20% to 30% over expectations. Hopefully that holds for this sale.
Good luck tomorrow Randy. I assume you will be in attendance? Please give us your perception of the process, the market comps or any other interesting tidbits once you get the chance. Hoping at least 2 bidders really want your awesome ride.
Last edited by capstoneclub; Jul 16, 2020 at 07:40 PM.
There is no set time for any particular car except the first one of the day. They start the auction at 10 a.m. local time (eastern, in this case) and run through them at a rate of what seems to be about 2 to 3 minutes for each vehicle. His is vehicle number F226, meaning he's (roughly) the 226th vehicle to cross the block. I say "roughly" because sometimes they'll insert a vehicle into a particular day's schedule later, so if they want to put it, say, after vehicle 55, they call it lot number 55.1. So there might be more than 225 going ahead of Randy's.
The last car number on Friday is 316. If they start at 10 a.m. and devote no more than 2 minutes per car, that 632 minutes, or more than 10.5 hours start to finish. So I'm assuming they go as far into the evening as they have to to get all the cars through. If Randy's is car number 226, there's 225 vehicles ahead of his, which is 225 x 2 = 450 minutes of auction before they get to his car. That's 7.5 hours, suggesting they'll get to his car around 5:30 p.m. But I would consider this a very rough guess. You can watch the entire auction at the Mecum website through their streaming service, and it's free. I would tune in periodically to see what lot they're on and how fast they seem to be going.
Anyone planning to watch this on NBCSN should be careful, because there's far more auction than is covered by the TV show. The schedule shows that NBCSN will show the auction live from 12 noon to 2 p.m. and then "SDD" (same day delay) from 6 to 7:30 p.m. (all times eastern). So that's only 3.5 hours of coverage out of a day of auction action that likely lasts more than 10 hours. You'd be lucky if their broadcast window happened to catch Randy's car. It certainly won't be in the first, live segment because that would seem to be way too early. The later segment is tape-delay, but they don't tell you ahead of time which 1.5 hour block they're showing. If you really want to make sure to see Randy's car, you really have to watch the website, which shows everything (and has no commercials nor the constant chatter of the announcers).
Last edited by jaunty75; Jul 16, 2020 at 08:54 PM.
There is no set time for any particular car except the first one of the day. They start the auction at 10 a.m. local time (eastern, in this case) and run through them at a rate of what seems to be about 2 to 3 minutes for each vehicle. His is vehicle number F226, meaning he's (roughly) the 226th vehicle to cross the block. I say "roughly" because sometimes they'll insert a vehicle into a particular day's schedule later, so if they want to put it, say, after vehicle 55, they call it lot number 55.1. So there might be more than 225 going ahead of Randy's.
The last car number on Friday is 316. If they start at 10 a.m. and devote no more than 2 minutes per car, that 632 minutes, or more than 10.5 hours start to finish. So I'm assuming the go as far into the evening as they have to to get all the cars through. If Randy's is car number 226, there's 225 vehicles ahead of his, which is 225 x 2 = 450 minutes of auction before they get to his car. That's 7.5 hours, suggesting they'll get to his car around 5:30 p.m. But I would consider this a very rough guess. You can watch the entire auction at the Mecum website through their streaming service, and it's free. I would tune in periodically to see what lot they're on and how fast they seem to be going.
Anyone planning to watch this on NBCSN should be careful, because there's far more auction than is covered by the TV show. The schedule shows that NBCSN will show the auction live from 12 noon to 2 p.m. and then "SDD" (same day delay) from 6 to 7:30 p.m. (all times eastern). So that's only 3.5 hours of coverage out of a day of auction action that likely lasts more than 10 hours. You'd be lucky if their broadcast window happened to catch Randy's car. It certainly won't be in the first, live segment because that would seem to be way too early. The later segment is tape-delay, but they don't tell you ahead of time which 1.5 hour block they're showing. If you really want to make sure to see Randy's car, you really have to watch the website, which shows everything (and has no commercials nor the constant chatter of the announcers).
Thank you Jaunty for being helpful. I have been watching tonight's show on NBCSH starting at 7:00AM through 3:00AM. I haven't seen his car pass through as of 11:45PM.
I will follow your recommendation and watc the auction online.
Thanks again, Harry
Thank you Jaunty for being helpful. I have been watching tonight's show on NBCSH starting at 7:00AM through 3:00AM. I haven't seen his car pass through as of 11:45PM.
I will follow your recommendation and watc the auction online.
Thanks again, Harry
His car isn't up for auction today. It's tomorrow (Friday, July 17).
Thanks to all of my Olds friends who were following this. It was quite an adventure. I've been asked several times to describe what happens so for those interested, please read on!
Overall - You don't really realize on tv how big this really is. The organization and logistics of doing the auction are incredible. There were somewhere between 2100 and 2500 cars there. The actual number was pretty difficult to come by. In many ways the "show" as I have called it was much like MCACN except much less restrictive about the cars they allowed. There were some truly strange things there. I will try to add some pics as I go along. The stage is much larger than it appears on tv. It's enormous! Your first impression when you walk in the auction arena is a cross between Las Vegas and a carnival. It is truly hard to describe.
Pricing - It's hard to establish any real trends from just one sale but I did see some things that i thought were interesting. It seems like Corvettes may be out of favor right now. There were a couple that brought good money but many of them just didn't ring the bell like they usually do. Camaros were largely the same way. The one big surprise from the Chevy side was that 66 & 67 Chevelles seem to be on fire right now. Not that way for the 70 model though. They had a very nice 70 LS6 that they really had to work to get to $150k. Baracuda's and Challengers seem to have finally cooled off. Just because it has a hemi doesn't seem to guarantee that it's automatically going to bring big money any more. Mustang prices also seemed to be down a bit but the Shelby collection that sold on Friday were outstanding cars and brought big money accordingly. I thought that most of the Oldsmobiles there brought good money. That weren't a lot of them but they seemed to do well. That seemed especially true of the 70 - 72 convertibles.
THE RESERVE IS OFF!! - Much discussion of this earlier including a really good thread from another site. After sitting in the stands for two days here are my thoughts. It really depends on the auctioneer. Most do exactly as has been described previously. When the reserve is lifted - they ask the room for any more bids and then slam the gavel. There were two - and one in particular - that really worked the room after the reserve came off. In fact, one of them spent so much time getting another grand or $500 for a car that it got a little tiring. The 72 442 convertible clone that sold (and yes it was a clone because I talked with the guy that built it) was a good example of that. The reserve was pulled at about $65k if memory serves and the bids went on until it was at $80k plus. Wait until the new owner discovers that he paid $80k+ for a clone. They changed auctioneers by the time my car crossed the block but more on that in a bit. This brings me to another observation. Buying or selling, it doesn't matter which, you better know what you are doing and have your head on very straight because things seem to happen in a heartbeat and it's over before you even realize it. Also, it was difficult to get a handle on it because they were not consistent in announcing it but it seemed like as many as half of the cars were sold on internet bids.
After I'm all done writing and trying to submit this, the site tells me it's too long and I have to shorten it. Look for Part 2 in a minute.
This was Thursday before the sale started for the day
There were a large number of halls and tents outside to house the cars. This was the Champions Hall, The real high end cars were in the Blue Ribbon hall. My car is next to the big boat Buick that is right in front in this shot. It would follow that car for the entire auction.
This was the staging area on Friday. This is actually only a small portion of it. It was huge!
My car in the staging lane. Note the big boat Buick in front of it
One final wipedown before the car goes on stage. There was no charge for this service.
One final insult. My car being pushed to the block because of a dead battery
A shot that most people never get to see. The Closer is on my left and the auctioneer a little further left and above us. This is the last time I would see the car.Note how sparse the crowd seems to be.
My block experience - The car HAS to sell. There is no Plan B. I cannot ship the car back to Georgia as we have sold our home there and are moving in about 5 weeks. I can't ship it to our new home in Wisconsin because it hasn't even been started yet. You hate t even think about renting a storage unit - it's just too nice to sit in one for a long period of time. The car has to sell. There is no Plan B. That's how the process begins for me. In a word, it's overwhelming. I've been waiting for two long days. On Friday I sit in the stands and watch 150 plus cars before they get to the Rally Red (They called it Hugger Orange) 70 442 convertible sell for $83k. I'm wondering if they bought it for the flashy paint job. It's a frame up restoration including a color change. The paint is well done but the rest of the car is just way wrong. It would not have scored very well at an Olds show! Oh well, not my problem I guess. I just hope mine does better. I wait another 50 cars and the yellow 72 comes up. $82k+ for a 72? I don't believe I've ever seen a non-W30 72 bring that kind of money. Now it's time to go down to the staging lanes to be with my car. It was right behind a big old boat Buick. There's the Buick but where is my car? There it is - about 50 yards down the staging lane with the hood up. After all the money, blood, sweat and tears, including two full engine rebuilds (long story) it throws one final insult at me by not starting!. This car has fought me every step of the way during the restoration. Maybe I shouldn't have rescued it? Brand new battery. It's never done this before. What the hell? A couple of Mecum guys standing next to it with a booster pack seem totally unconcerned. They decide they are going to let the line get all the way around the corner before the block before they fire it. When they connect the booster, it fires right off and runs great.
What you can't see on tv is that from the point the car is about six back from the block, they push all of them. As the car moves forward from that point they have a team of people going over the car to make sure it looks perfect. The car is slowly pushed forward towards the On Deck spot. From there, it supposed to be started and driven to the block where it is shut off and then ultimately pushed off the stage. Of course, mine won't start again so it has to be pushed to the block. All of this of course, only raises my stress level. While the car moves to center stage you are direct to a spot to the right of the auctioneer and below him where there is a giant Mecum Sold sign on the floor. I guess that's the subtle part to set you up for what’s next. A really nice young guy meets you on the sold sign. I immediately think of him as The Closer. He greets me and comments on what a nice car you have. Since he says that to all the girls, I mean cars, it doesn't mean much. He basically just stands next to you as things get started. There is so much going on around you. The lights are flashing, people seem to be yelling. There is so much noise and confusion. By this time you are on total sensory overload. With the very bright lights shining on the stage, you don't even see the audience. Truth is that even without the lights, they just would fade into the background. Your brain can only process so much at one time.You barely here them read out the details on the car. Then the bidding begins. $20k? Whaddya mean you're starting at $20k. That's way too low. All you can hear now is the auctioneer calling out prices and the auctioneer assistants out in the crowd calling out each new bid. The price seems to rocket to about $70k and then slows down just a bit. For the first time the guy next to you leans in and says "you know your reserve is $100k. Maybe you ought to consider lowering it? You tell him no. You need way more than that for the car. Then you hear $75k. Alright now, that's low but it was my absolute minimum for the car. I feel a little better now. The bid hits $85k and seems to stop. The Closer leans in again and says maybe it's time to lower the reserve and sell the car. You tell him no, you want at least $90k for the car. You mean in your pocket. He takes it to mean gross money. He says "look, If you sell at $90 you will net $81.I will cut you a deal, if you lift the reserve now at $85, I will guarantee you $80 in your pocket. You glance up at the auctioneer, it's almost as if he has been flashed some kind of sign (and he probably has been). His look seems to say to me "If you don't take this deal, I'm going to hammer "The Bid Goes On" There is no Plan B. The car has to sell. You've got a little more than your minimum and the risks seem really high There is no Plan B" You hear what almost sounds like someone else telling him that you will lift the reserve. You hope that they will at least try and get to the $100k you know the car is worth., especially after the prices for the other two. You here the auctioneer shout that the reserve is off. In what seems like the very next second, with no effort at all to raise the bid, he slams the gavel down and yells SOLD!! The Closer pulls out a note pad and you watch him right down your lot number and the figure $80k. He says you will get a check from Mecum for $80k and turns around and walks away. You have no further interaction with anyone from Mecum. In fact, within about 10 minutes or so you are in your car and driving away wondering "What in the hell just happened. Did I leave money on the table by lifting the reserve when I did? In my opinion now - almost certainly. Given what the other cars sold for, a better auctioneer willing to spend a little time on it, could have pushed it to $11\00k or better. In the end, I needed $75 and I got $80. With no Plan B, I did what I felt I had to do. I will ultimately be ok with it.
Would I do it again? Since this was the last car I need to sell, it's kind of a moot question. The one I am working on now, we will be keeping so this was basically a once in a lifetime experience. With the experience I now have, I would do things a little differently. Have a Plan B so you don't have that pressure on top if everything else. Stick to your guns better than I did and don't be afraid to keep telling them no until you get what you want .I do feel like the auctions are a great way to get your car in front of a very large audience in a very compressed time frame. Please feel free to ask me any questions about the experience.
That's a great story. Thank you for giving us an up close and personal view. I don't know how many bidders had blood in the game but, if it was down to two, I am sure you did the right thing. If "The bid goes on" there is risk that you drop it off at the closest consignment shop. So, while you may feel disappointed, I think you did a great job. You can't control the $$$ or the wants / needs of the audience. So, kudos.
I have been to a couple Mecum auctions in Dallas. I have to say, its the best $ 20-$30 car shows I gave ever been to.
An absolutely fantastic narrative you presented here. I too, appreciate the behind-the-camera atmosphere you write about.
I've never been a fan of automobile auctions houses, but I was one of those Internet buyers today you mentioned in your writeup. I had expected beforehand there would be sparse attendance at this event due to the pandemic, and that certainly reflected in the number of unsold vehicles, that and the uncertainty of the US economy to provide employment, all of this is of course, my own opinion. The pandemic is certainly the reason I did not attend the auction.
I hope you meant in jest when you referred to the big boat Buick (no less than 3 times in your writeup). The car you talk about is the iconic 1953 Buick Skylark, no less than being the 50th anniversary model presented by Buick Motor Division in 1953. It is big because they built them big in the 50s. Think about it, beauty doesn’t exist on its own but is created by observation
Thanks once more for taking the time to write about your Mecum experience--regards.
That's a good story. Ultimately, the auction house is there for the buyer, not the seller. I've always had a hard time grasping why some stuff is just dismissed with minimal effort, and some stuff is really pushed, and it always seems like my stuff that I am selling is junk. I guess that's auctioneering and being good at it. I sold off much of my grandma's furniture last year and got very little at auction. But, it's gone.
Thanks Randy! after that report I feel like I was there. Yes, I think it could've done better pre-covid when economy was rolling but it could always be worse. With much in life, timing is everything. Glad you got your minimum at least.
Thanks to all for your kind words. I tried to write from my view and how I was feeling at the time. Others may have a completely different takeaway. I hope it helps others along the way.
tnswt - Yes, I was just teasing about the big boat Buick. I love those old cars myself and have great admiration for them. I didn't comment on it but this one was not as nice as the photos made it appear. It appeared to have been patch painted in multiple areas - most noteably the drivers door - with paint that did not match especially well. Seems like it didn't bring the kind of money expected but the paint really hurt it.
Ultimately the "auction house" is there to benefit the "auction house". They have no cash tied up in anything. They will pressure both sides to make a sale happen, no matter what. They don't make a nickel unless it SELLS. Of course,if it sells for more, they make more. Its simple economics.
I saw at Indy on TV Friday a white 64 Cutlass 442 clone with 455 cross the block for 31K. Nice car and it gave me an idea at least what my F-85 would be in the ball park north of that 31K. I believe so anyway but as mentioned you never really know until it's Miller Time.. Absolutely a GREAT review RAND5204 and am glad your happy with the results of your sale.
Ultimately the "auction house" is there to benefit the "auction house". They have no cash tied up in anything. They will pressure both sides to make a sale happen, no matter what. They don't make a nickel unless it SELLS. Of course,if it sells for more, they make more. Its simple economics.
I think I failed to make my point. I am always surprised at how the auction house goes for a huge sale on a couple things, and just wants the other things to sell. It was like, "hey, if you had worked a little harder, you could've made more money for both of us." Perhaps they know more than me, but I am always off-put by how brusque and abrupt they are on stuff. I've commented more than once, "if I had known it was going to sell for that low, I would've donated it and taken the tax write-off instead."
It became clear to me while I was therethat the comments on working the crowd are absolutely true. On Wednesday lot #226 (same as mine) crossed the block just after 3:30, on Thursday it was about 5, on Friday my car crossed at about 5:30 or so. Clearly they spent more time, in general, with the cars as the values went up. Within each of those day groups they seemed to work certain cars for extra long periods of time. On Friday, that LS6 Chevelle I mentioned before just about got worked to death trying to get to $150k. The Shelby's also got worked extra hard but I suppose at $1 million plus you would expect that. Oddly, the pair of L88 Corvettes that crossed the block on Friday went to something like $400K and got no extra work at all.
