Barrett-Jackson Auction Company announced today the results of its Reserve/No Reserve auction during the 9th Annual Palm Beach event on April 7-9.
The test of the Reserve/No Reserve format at the Palm Beach auction was successful. The Reserve format provided the intended level of comfort sought by some consignors who had vehicles in the sale that they weren’t comfortable selling at No Reserve. But, as Barrett-Jackson has proved time and time again over the last 6 years, the No Reserve format is the key to its success. Sales, crowd participation and the overall excitement of the event, proved that the No Reserve model stood out as the winning formula.
Based on the Palm Beach results, Barrett-Jackson will extend and modify its Reserve/No Reserve format for the next three events beginning in June at Orange County. A Reserve will be offered on vehicles with an agreed minimum estimated value of $200,000. The minimum Reserve option will increase to $250,000 at the September event in Las Vegas and then up to $500,000 during the January 2012 Scottsdale event. The raised minimum Reserve will allow for a continued partnership with consignors that desire a safety net for their Reserve vehicle.
“While we are happy to provide a level of security to some who have asked for the Reserve model, Barrett-Jackson’s No Reserve format continues to create excitement in the auction arena,” said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO, Barrett-Jackson. “Part of our test during Palm Beach was to gauge the reaction of our bidders, consignors and spectators on the Reserve/No Reserve format. Our auctions are done in real time, with real buyers and sellers, which allows for high energy in the auction arena with No Reserve cars.”
An analysis of two similar vehicles representing an exciting era of automobile history and design significance were compared. Both vehicles benefited from prime time placement on Saturday and were to sell in the same price range — these included:
Lot #656 — 1956 Lincoln Premier Convertible — sold for $110,000 at No Reserve, an early consignment that benefited from early promotion and the marketplace determining its real value.
Lot # 684.1 — 1957 Oldsmobile 98 Starfire Convertible — a Reserve vehicle that did not sell.
Barrett-Jackson announced in February an option for Reserve consignments at the 2011 Palm Beach event. In its 9th year, Palm Beach was the ideal location out of the four annual Barrett-Jackson auctions to test the Reserve format. By offering both Reserve and No Reserve consignments at its Palm Beach 2011 auction, Barrett-Jackson tested this Reserve/No Reserve buying and selling environment to gather feedback from its customers.
“Barrett-Jackson’s ultimate goal is to meet the needs of as many of our customers as possible by having an open dialog at all times,” said Steve Davis, president, Barrett-Jackson. “We have heard from many that they are committed to the Barrett-Jackson auction model and the No Reserve format offers a fair platform for buying and selling collector cars to the largest pool of qualified bidders anywhere in the world. We took into consideration all of these factors and put a modified Reserve option business model in place for Orange County and beyond.”
Additional success metrics for the Barrett-Jackson event in Palm Beach were positive, including total Automobilia sales, attendance numbers, percentage of new bidders and merchandise. Exhibitors that participated in the Palm Beach event were pleased with the attendance and results. Several exhibitors sold out of merchandise within the first few hours of the event.
In the past six years, Barrett-Jackson has sold nearly $1 billion of collector vehicles at No Reserve. This represents approximately 13,000 cars across the auction block. Barrett-Jackson recently completed the Scottsdale 2011 auction which was the company’s largest single auction event in its 40-year history: more than 1,200 collector cars, all offered at No Reserve, with total auction sales greater than $70 million. This was the largest single No Reserve collector car auction in the history of the industry.
“As leaders in the collector car marketplace, we feel it is not always about the bottom line, but about understanding our customer base and continuing to build the passion and excitement for the collector car hobby,” continued Davis. “We turned away many No Reserve vehicles to enable us to test this Reserve/No Reserve format. It is always our goal to deliver a positive experience for all our customers while staying true to our ethical standards.”
Even though its auction sales have been exclusively No Reserve in recent years, Barrett-Jackson has maintained its commitment to carefully screening all consignment applications and assessing estimated values. This will continue in the careful consideration of both Reserve and No Reserve applications for Orange County.
Barrett-Jackson is currently accepting consignment requests and bidder applications for the 2011 Orange County Auction scheduled June 24-26. For more information, visit www.barrett-jackson.com.