It’s a whole new world for collector-car auctions.
One that can be measured in photo file size and pixels.
Wave after wave of cancellation, postponement and rescheduling notices — it’s been seven weeks since they started popping up in my inbox — gave way to a big one breaking late last week. Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance announced they were canceling this year’s event. Gooding & Company, the official auction of Pebble, followed suit within the hour.
I expect we’ll hear about the plans of the other companies in due time, but RM Sotheby’s released their plans on Monday. The new sale is called Online Only: SHIFT/Monterey, and the 150-car auction isn’t expected to drop off in terms of the usual Monterey quality.
Since August is over three months away, and so much can happen in three months, you might feel the itch to buy or sell before then.
EG Auctions is hosting their second online timed auction right now, with the whole deal ending soon on May 2. They are a Canadian company with a ton of experience selling vehicles to U.S. bidders. A couple of the current highlights include a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette 327/365 convertible (bid to $60,500 as I write this) and a 1952 Ford F2 pickup with its old flathead.
The consignment docket for Barrett-Jackson’s Online Only May 2020 sale is already full, so they’ll be a place to spend your money rather than try and make some at this moment. The online extravaganza (which is the only way I expect Barrett-Jackson to hold an online sale) starts May 8 and runs through the 17.
If you miss out on those sales, don’t worry, as there is another one starting on May 21. RM Sotheby’s Online Only: Driving into Summer will run for a week. It sure seems that their online sales division launch late last year was the right move at the right time. Consignments for this auction are invited through May 14.
Auctions are happening. Bring a Trailer and eBay Motors haven’t stopped during the crisis shutdown. With new horizons to pursue, the online part of the collector-car world is getting bigger and busier.