Bring A Trailer Experiences
 

I'm looking for experiences with Bring A Trailer as a seller. I have a pretty nice '86 K5 Blazer. It doesn't get driven much. I could use the money for other things. So I'm leaning hard towards BaT. It seems pretty straight forward and seems to bring good prices.

I did hear that there's a wait. I was also considering the "Plus" listing. Are you saying their photos aren't worth the money? Price doesn't seem too bad.

Good For Buyers
 

BAT is good for Buyers
Not Sellers
They encourage prospective
sellers to list with a low opening
bid and with no reserve.

Facebook social groups
(not Facebook Marketplace)
or EBay or local and regional
car shows are where you will
get a fair sale price.

I just dropped off this
1972 K5 Blazer on Memorial Day
in Fairbaugh, California.

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...1&d=1717041986


Jim

That's precious, considering their descriptions read like they were written by a crappy AI bot in early beta testing.

They will seldom agree to your reserve price.

Ok. Might have to reconsider. Ugh.

So they won't list it if they don't like your reserve?

It seems that they have to accept your listing. This is not a site where anyone can list anything. It's subject to their $'s, verbiage, pics, etc. That's my interpretation anyway.

About 6-7 years ago I inquired about listing my '66 Corvette on there. They wanted me to set the reserve somewhere in the low 50's.. I wanted 60k.. They wanted me to jump through a bunch of hoops prior to listing. They wanted me to submit pictures and a description for them to review.. like they are gods or something.. real arrogant.. I ended up selling it on the local craigslist for 62k.

Attachment 634474

I sold a Trans Am on BAT and had a wonderful experience. I took 250 pics and 3 driving vids, and was interactive with the commentators. I got what I wanted out of the car, and the buyer was happy.

Plus, it only cost me $100 to list it, and no fees collected from the seller, only the buyer. It took about a month from submission to going live on the site.

I'll definitely be listing more cars on there soon.

Looks like a mixed bag of experiences. Guess it's on me to decide. Thanks for all of the input. Gonna list it soon.

Should I hire someone to take pics? lol!

https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1717170603
https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1717170628
https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1717170655
https://forums.maxperformanceinc.com...1&d=1717170686

probably...nice unit tho

I've been watching BAT like a sh*thawk for a couple years now...they are getting crazy $ imo

When the old man died I put his 31 Ford, 32 Ford, 51 Ford and 56 Apache on eBay and that was definitely a mixed bag. I also sold my old rusty '74 TA and it went to Kuwait!

If you end up on BAT let us know and GLWS!

I have bought a tow vehicle off
of one image - a 10 minute conversation
with the Seller - and a live IPhone
video call starting with a cold start
of the vehicle.

The images you posted are enough.
If you have a serious prospective
buyer they will not waste your time.

Jim

How much you looking for

Another similar auction site you might want to check out is " Cars and Bids."
It's more like the way Bring a Trailer was a few years ago before they got so full of themselves. Fees are lower, less picky about some of the cars that they are "willing to do you a favor and list". Shorter waiting period to list. BAT has really taken on an elitist attitude. A victim of their own success I guess.

Remember the gold 65 that did not sell on BaT months back. He told me definitely do not use their professional photographer. He wound up using his own pictures!!

"Bill"!

I tried to sell my Whipple supercharged 2009 Mustang GT Deluxe on Bring A Trailer in 2020. It had 5600 miles on it and had never been in the rain. All of your normal suspension upgrades, gauges, yada yada yada. They wouldn't even accept it for listing. Said it wasn't suitable for their clientele. Whatever. Ended up selling it on Ebay with an ad. Cost me $100. Sold it in 6 days for what I wanted for it. Not a fan of BAT. A bit snooty me thinks.

I'll look into that. It does sound like BaT has a bit of an ego trip.

That seems to keep coming up. That's a shame. Would be nice to have great pics. Ugh.

Kinda getting that theme. I see all kinds of stuff on there. IDK...

Your Blazer will probably sell on Craigslist for the upper end of what the market will bear.
I might try it first.

But since its sort of a hot market on Blazer / Bronco lately you might exceed your anticipation mark on BaT.

Its the best place to sell the "right" type of vehicles that are in the going trend.

The tiger gold 65 convertible with over the top restoration did sell after the BaT auction ended.
PY member bought it. He was a bidder during the auction.

Hire a pro , or become a pro photographer.
Find the best backgrounds and best filters.
The pictures are what they are bidding on

The difference between a $275k Yenko and a $325k Yenko is usually the quality of the pictures.

I have been considering selling it on Craigslist or Ebay. But I agree with the hot market theory. I might submit to BaT and see what they say.

Here's an update on my quandary. I took the tip from mgarblik and initiated posting my Blazer on Cars & Bids. It didn't work out like I'd hoped. They pushed very hard for no reserve. I told them that I'm not willing to do that. Below is a copy of our chat. UGH! Now I have to decide on next steps.

Cars & Bids1d
👋 Hi there! While your car is being reviewed, feel free to ask us questions in this window. This is how you’ll interact with us through the auction process — and we’ll do our best to respond within a business day.

Cars & Bids16h
Hi Jeff! We’ve reviewed your Blazer. Please login & view the chat within your submission to proceed!
(https://carsandbids.com/account/listings)

Cars & Bids16h
Hi there Jeff! Thank you for submitting the Blazer, it looks great. We believe your vehicle would be a great candidate for a no reserve auction as we've found that no reserve auctions generally get more bids, more interest, and more excitement from our audience. Our data shows this format does tend to bring the most money and we are confident it will do the same for you. Would you be OK with no reserve? Let us know!

JSchmitz16h
I'm not ok with no reserve

JSchmitz16h
No reserve with what starting bid?

Cars & Bids12h
Hey Jeff! We definitely want to see your Blazer auction perform its best and we're certain a no reserve auction will enable that. We understand being apprehensive to run it with no reserve, but truthfully, running cars at this price point with a reserve just stops bidding.
We've found time and time again that at this price point, bidders expect the vehicle to be no reserve and when they see one listed, they often think the seller has some unrealistic expectation and think "why bother?" grinding bidding to a halt.
On the other hand, when it's no reserve, interested bidders KNOW the car is selling and there won't be any second chances. As a result, we've found they almost always bid much stronger to make sure they take it home. Let us know if you'd like to give it a go, we think you'll be happy with the result! :)

JSchmitz11h
Ok, I can buy your theory. But I would have to have a reasonable starting bid to ensure that I don't give it away. Otherwise, I'll just list it for what I think it's worth.

Cars & Bids11h
Hey Jeff! All of our auctions, regardless of price, start at $0. That may sound concerning but we have over half a million enthusiasts on the site that we're sure would LOVE to have a crack at your Blazer. Can we get the ball rolling on the auction? Let us know!

JSchmitz10h
I see lots of vehicles on your site with a reserve. If I cannot do the same, I will sell elsewhere. Thanks, Jeff

Cars & Bids10h
Hi Jeff! We're sorry we aren't able to accommodate your reserve request on this one.
Whether you decide to sell with us or elsewhere, we strongly recommend working to get the Blazer sold ASAP. The market is cooling and returning lower sale prices week over week as it restores to "pre-pandemic" levels and we'd hate to see you spend the next few weeks trying to get more, meanwhile the value continues to drop.
Thank you for the submission and for thinking of us. Please be sure to keep us in mind for the next one and let us know if you change your mind!

I just submitted to BaT. We'll see how that goes. I expect about the same or worse. Lol!

I tried Hagerty and BaT for my Lemans. Both wanted a no reserve auction and wouldn’t entertain a reserve or a starting bid higher than $0. I’m sure it’s a great model for them. They get paid and a commission on the selling price, whatever it is.

There's no way I'm signing up for a $0 no reserve auction. This model could enable them to literally/legally steal vehicles from people. This arrogance will eventually be their undoing.

The application process was seamless for me. Uploaded 30+ pics quickly. The questions were much more tailored to my vehicle and thorough than C&B. I also applied for professional pics. We'll see how that turns out. Sometimes you you have to read the rules and then get started with the game. ;)

If BaT fizzles out, It's probably on to Ebay. Not familiar with Ebay fees for selling a vehicle. Need to read up on that. Seems that you can define your own auction terms though. No acceptance process. Gonna take it to some local car shows too. That might be the best venue of all. Then I have to set a price. Kills my dreams of a bidding war. :)

I sold a 77 TA on BAT no reserve, just to see what would happen. Got exactly what I wanted for it, and off to Texas it went.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...c-firebird-52/

That's good to hear! I hope it all works out great with BaT. I'd love to be wrong.

Any spurious charges or was it what you expected?

BaT had a pretty high rate of RNM auctions not very long ago.
That probably isn't helping to allow them to be more lenient towards reserve auctions.

They should just let people do whatever reserve they want , then charge higher base fee on those auctions.
Let the no reserve auctions get better fee incentives.
I think their current seller fees are reasonable though.

If I wasn't selling an upper profile numbers car I would be nervous about no reserve.
And if your buddy covers your back with a shill bid , they have his credit card locked to cover the buyers premium if he ends up the high bidder.

Nope. Just paid the $99 listing fee, let the auction run, and the buyer wired the money the same day it ended.

Just my two cents worth here. Having spent many an hour at work (When it was slow and the phones weren't ringing 🙂 ) looking at Bring a Trailer auctions over the last 10 years or so and as a result I've come to the opinion that as a buyer there are very few deals to be had there. Which for a seller would mean that your vehicle is going to sell for what the market believes it is worth. I have no affiliations with the site or anyone who works there.

Just my opinion. Which along with a ten spot will get you a cup of Joe most anywhere.

Sorry to hear Cars and Bids was a waste of time for you. Sounds like they did try the full court press for a no reserve auction. What do they have to lose? Nothing. A good friend of mine has sold several cars with them. One was no reserve and he barely made out OK in his opinion. The cars were all quirky 80's and 90's Japanese sports models which are kind of a Cars and Bids specialty. Good luck with your eventual sale. With my luck selling cars, I know I would get burned badly with any auction. Total lack of control would scare the hell out of me.

Well, I just got an email that my Blazer was accepted by BaT. So I'm gonna roll the dice. I'll let ya know how it goes. Thanks to all for your input!

Let us know when it actually goes live. I hoped you have great results.

Will do. Thank you sir!

ooooooh...I love auctions...

LOL! I hope I love this one! :D

JSchmitz, you likely know the "value" of what you have but just in case, here is a another data point for you.

My youngest son was recently involved in a total loss collision with an UI driver that pulled in front of him at a green light. He lost his "restored" 1984 Bronco. I settled with the insurance company (he was on my insurance) for a tad over $24k. UMI limit was $25k.

It took some due diligence. I had to supply many sold examples over the last 5 years AND from many databases/websites/etc...., many receipts, pictures, ...

The value of the full size Broncos, Blazers and less so, the Ramchargers is high. Yours looks solid.

I've had it for ten years. I think I know the value. They seem to be hot right now. We'll soon see. Thanks for the info. It has original paint. So people should know that what you see is what you get. Nothing hidden. I did replace the driver side rocker panel and door corner. Needs a passenger rocker. Comes with the purchase. Never got around to it. Patched a few spots on the floorboards. In very good shape considering the year IMHO. Not a Bondo'd POS.

Oh boy. Good luck!

I reluctantly paid for their photographer. That's scheduled for this Saturday morning. It took a little while to get acceptance. But ball is rolling fast now.

Value
 

BAT actually has a good archive anyone can search for pending listings and prior sales. Five years back if I recall correctly.

It's on now! I'm relatively pleased with the listing and pics. Didn't feel like attempting to improve it. Just rolling with it. Wish me luck! :)

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...-k5-blazer-15/