These auctions are an almost totally useless metric, that do little to alter real world values.
People that own quote high after-fee buyer prices they could never get if they tried to sell, and people that are looking quote low after-fee seller prices they could never get if they were trying to buy. If you're selling and you see some guy paid ~$330k all-in, what good does that do you if you get ~$270k in the same scenario? Not a lot.
Plus...shenanigans. Let's be realistic, everyone is aware that manipulation occurs. A lot of it.
A few pics from Barrett Jackson Auction yesterday.
PS. Yes, at one point there were 4 Heritage cars on the docket. Someone got cold feet.
If I was a seller, certainly would not want to be at any auction with this many GT's. My guess is BJ probably does not inform sellers ahead of time until docket is announced.
AgreedI was a real estate broker. Let me compare real estate pricing to auto pricing. When looking for comparables for pricing of real estate (cars) most appraisers will not give very much weight to foreclosure or estate sales (auto auctions). That is, until those events become,ie, dominate, the market. That was true of the real estate bust when housing prices crashed and every 2nd or third house on the market in certain areas was a foreclosure. When establishing value of cars, if a certain segment is highly represented in auctions then those prices will be used to set values.
Why people would sell cars on auction is beyond me. Ford GT Heritage hammered at $485k. The seller only gets 437k and buyer pays 533k. Seems like it's lose-lose situation.