Please go to BaT Frank. It’s not often the opportunity arises for entertainment of this quality.
Cheers,
John
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+1 Frank: you gotta go on BAT... I need the humour in my life (I’m probably a little warped, but who cares?)
1966 911 Coupe - Slate Grey - 304598 - still in restoration!
Member #1616
The true smelling of blood on BAT is if your perceived of being "in the business", then they shred you, everything you say is suspect, and the burden of proof gets high, and it's all on you. The people I find who usually do well on BAT are well rounded enthusiasts or someone very well respected for doing something in the business that isn't flipping cars, the Skirmants coupe that went for record money comes to mind. But if you are seen a soul-less flipper the jackals will be at your heels the whole auction, and it will affect the final price. I've seen guy's get openly clowned for bidding on cars there. Not a great atmosphere sometimes.
---Adam
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More info on new acquisition plz
So, they are really not secrets of any kind and basically come down to just common sense - with a sellers/business twist.
After having sold 3 vehicles on BaT, with a 4th coming very soon, my two biggie hints/recommendations with regards to being a seller on BaT are these:
1. Stay completely engaged from beginning to end, yet keep your cool during the haul.
As already touched on above I can't stress enough how important this is to a successful auction for you as a seller. You don't have to agree with it, you just HAVE to do it. I have seen many auctions go completely sideways as soon as a commenter "gets your goat" as they say. As soon as the seller gets nasty, sarcastic, condescending, even when completely justified and understandable, it does nothing but effect the auction in a negative fashion = no more worthwhile bids. Everyone gets turned off by the tone of the auction and it almost always results in a "Reserve Not Met" ending. Time and time again, I have seen cars of very high caliber not get sold only due to the drama of the back and forth. It's especially hard when you can tell, or suspect, they are not coming from legit buyers/bidders. This is extremely common on BaT. I encountered it with every single one of my auctions. Just sort through it all and respond, in a positive fashion, only to the legit questions even if they have already been answered several times (in your mind!). There are trolls everywhere, even on BaT. You have to Skip(py) past them, (like what I did there?)
A friend of mine has, very successfully, been listing and selling high quality backdated 911's via BaT and he has a system. He reads the comments and has his wife respond in writing. He is not allowed to write the responses. That's their agreement. If he was to respond the way he really wants to, he would sink the auction right away. It's a system which has worked very well.
2. You cannot take too many pics, and lately videos are a must.
Almost all vehicles sold thru BaT are bought sight unseen. Buying a car via the net, without a personal inspection is much more common than not today. So, high quality photos of every detail of significance is extremely important. And, now so are videos. It's more work for sure but like with anything else you get out of it ($$) what you put into it. I'm frankly amazed at the lack of overall effort some put into their "marketing" on the site especially when you consider the value of some of the vehicles brought forth. If you are not good with a camera, stills or video, it would be worth it to hire a pro I think. I've kind of self trained myself and have become better and better with each listing. I see a standard as at least 100+ pics and at least 3 videos, a cold start video, a "walk around" video and a driving video. This should be the minimum standard in my opinion.
Another good friend, and fellow Oregonian, is Jason of "Denwerks Vintage Car Shop" (just "Denwerks" on BaT). His operation is in Salem, OR. He is a classic car restorer and he sells almost exclusively via BaT. He recently sold his 100th vehicle thru the site, more than any other BaT seller, ever. I mention him as his auctions are worth looking at and mirroring if you want a successful BaT selling experience. I learned a ton from studying his methods, which really come down to straight honesty and complete transparency.
Hopefully this helps anyone considering BaT, wether selling or buying. I have found it a great experience every time and downright exciting.
Tomorrow I'll be photographing our all original survivor, 37K mile, '73 VW Beetle in order to get it submitted to BaT.
Last edited by SD Swede; 08-18-2018 at 08:38 PM.
Peter Andersson #2864
Pinstriped Early 911 Club #1
I don't know... it sounds like I could be one of those hecklers. I honestly can't blame them for roughing up flippers and charlatans who tell tall tales. Embellishing or exaggerating to accommodate one's personal agenda and pocketbook eventually comes back to bite them. Present a product and be honest; anything apart from that I say grab the torches and pitchforks.
The Sky Blue C coupe Vic and Barb sold was a great car. How could anyone give those two a hard time?
New acquisition is probably not too exciting around here. Let's just say it's knot a Porsche, has twin Volvo diesels, and was a hull of a deal.
Peter,
Thanks for the tips and lead on Denwerks. I will do my homework.
Uh oh frank. Sounds like you've got a propeller or two coming your way.
Agree re comments above re BAT. The good cars do well, and the crummy ones get shredded. Good photos are key. Its a fun site to window shop, and I'm considering selling my 3.0cs coupe there. I've seen some strong prices for solid cars.
Your knowledge is important, as some of the sellers (and buyers) don't appear to be knowledgeable, or don't want to communicate. For example, look up the 68L currently there to get an idea of a crummy car. And on the other end, the very nice Albert blue coupe is already past $105k I think.
Scott
1968 911S
1986 Carrera
2006 Carrera S
1973 BMW 3.0CS - Frances (gone but not forgotten)
Frank, I would throw it on BAT. Car will be sold in 7 days and you won't have to deal with all the phone calls/tire kickers/etc that go along with selling a car. Sounds like a great car thats being sold by someone who knows about these cars. The peanut gallery on BAT doesn't stand a chance. And good luck with the boat, my brother in law just picked up a 35 ft Sea Ray.
The peanut gallery on BaT doesn’t stand a chance against your acerbic wit Frank...but go easy on them and stay cool. And no trips to foreign countries to punch someone!
The only downside for you will be that your (good) reputation around here won’t be apparent on BaT and so the price you get may not be the ultimate you could get from someone who knows your love and maintenance of these cars.
That said, BaT has a many orders of magnitude larger audience than here, so your exposure will be much better. RM Sotheby’s and such are good vehicles for selling pristine collector cars, but BaT is a great choice for all the rest.
Ravi
Early 911S Registry # 2395
1973 Porsche 911S in ivory white 5sp MT
2015 Porsche Macan S in agate grey 7sp PDK