1970 Franklin Mint 240Z up for Auction on BaT

[zspert]

SH30-H & DougN you've hit the nail squarely on the head. I have a lot to say about that book, and some back story, but  don't have a lot of time in the am so I'll have to chime in this evening.     Cheers 

[Mark Maras]

5 hours ago, HS30-H said:

So fraud, basically.

I have often found it 'interesting' how quickly and freely Mr Larry Stepp ('Lstepp4re' on Bring-a-Trailer) and Mr Robert Jackson ('The240ZGuild' on Bring-a-Trailer) have been able to get their comments past the scrutiny of BaT administrators and published tout de suite. It's almost as though they were getting favourable treatment. Whenever I've tried to leave a comment I often find a long wait (if I'm lucky) or it just doesn't get published. And if it does get published, it only takes five individuals to get a comment flagged as 'Unconstructive' and deleted, so easily open to cliques who find a particular comment not to their advantage. 

  

 Has anyone asked BAT about the favoritism? My suspicious mind suspects something like a kick-back of funds to someone at BAT.

[DougN]

The few times I’ve commented on BAT, it seems to have posted immediately, although maybe my first comment or two were reviewed first.  It doesn’t seem to me that there is any favoritism from BAT, other then letting The 240Z Guild comment on other Z auctions when that would appear to be a conflict of interest as he is a seller himself, and I don’t ever see other known sellers/dealers doing that.

BAT gets paid a buyers fee on top of, and based on, the final sale price, so it’s in their interest to have any car sell for the highest possible price, but I doubt there is any kickback as that would possibly be illegal.

[HS30-H]

5 minutes ago, Mark Maras said:

 Has anyone asked BAT about the favoritism? My suspicious mind suspects something like a kick-back of funds to someone at BAT.

Well, the Z-specific auctions are only a small part of what goes 'across the block' on Bring A Trailer auctions, so I don't expect any direct kickback of funds.

It seems much more likely that Larry Stepp's frequently observed big-upping, namechecking and positive endorsement of BaT as "THE place to sell" would be enough to grease the wheels, so to speak. And he certainly seems to receive favourable treatment from BaT admin, as does 'The 240Z Guild'.

[26th-Z]

BaT has no fault, here.  They have no responsibility to preside over the petty banter from the peanut gallery either.  They DO monitor, of course, as they select notable comments that enhance their business model.  They will pull a posting if people complain...and think nothing of it!  I have never had trouble with posting a comment however I try to adhere to automobile etiquette by not bad-mouthing someone's car or name-calling.  It was all I could do to keep from commenting about the "originality" of the green car that sold for $300k.  On the other hand, I saw a fellow collector bid up the last Vintage Z auction with the idea that he wanted to see a higher selling price in line with the value of his collection.  He would buy it if it was going to sell that low.  If Larry Steppford did what we are discussing, that's leaning in the fraudulent direction, definitely.

[Jason240z]

any factually accurate post seems to get removed.  what we should do, is have 5-10 of us 'report' every 'Larry' and '240zguild' post.  that would stop their dire use of our range of cars to line their pockets.

[Jason240z]

His instagram has now vanished.....

[lonetreesteve]

On 7/8/2020 at 7:18 PM, zspert said:

"mostly the underside" I sure hope they didn't screw up the assembly marks like they seem to do to every Z that slips through their hands. Last time I worked on Paul's car the underside was PERFECT!

Zspert,  Just curious, did you take a look at the pictures from Instagram on my last post from yesterday that shows the underside of the car? 

[zspert]

Lonetreesteve I wasn't able to have a look, sure wish I could have. On the other hand it might have broken my heart.

About 2 months ago I got a call from a salesman asking if I would be interested in pimping for E's new Z car book. When he mentioned that my shop got a mention my ears perked up. He offered to send me an e version for my perusal. I had a look and got a bit hot when he, E, touted up the very characters we've been commenting on while devoting exactly one sentence, or is it two, to the shops that did the Z Store restorations - for very little profit.  

Go back about 20 years or so. At that time I was supplying Nissan with reproduction parts for the Z Store program. Some I already offered and some they, Nissan, commissioned. This relationship fostered a number of conversations about my experiences as a Datsun dealer mechanic during the early 70's and how the environment was, as I described it, heady.  E mentioned that perhaps some day he would write about the US Z scene. 

On one hand I'm flattered to get some ink for my business while on the other hand don't like being associated with a resident of OK who has such an extensive record of deceit. In short, If one is known by the company they keep then this book may not be in my best interest. However, could it be that a number of the the characters outlined in the book, now well known to those of us that have been in the Z world for more than 15 minutes, should indeed be known by the company they keep?     Cheers

[DougN]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Larry commissioned the new book, and dictated his and Roberts inclusion to promote their own “expertise” regarding Z Cars to drive up the price of their offerings.