Bring a Trailer Experiences

[CanTechZ]

I'm selling one of my projects to make room for the restoration of my 1970 240Z. So I am considering making a submission to Bring a Trailer, to auction my modified 1988 Suzuki Samurai. Before I do, I would greatly appreciate hearing about your experiences as a seller. All experiences are welcomed. I am located near Vancouver BC, Canada so any input from fellow Canadians would be especially appreciated, ie. did you have any cross border issues?

If any BAT buyers would like to share their experiences, that's okay as well.  It's worthwhile considering both sides of the equation when choosing a selling/buying platform.

Thanks In advance

Mike

[psdenno]

I helped a friend list and sell his Porsche 912 on BAT last December.  The BAT folks were helpful with suggestions on how to best present the car with photos and video.  The car was located in Southern California and the eventual BAT buyer was from England.  Once the auction ends, the seller collects the cash and all shipping, border customs, and additional costs are on the buyer.  In this case, the buyer and his son flew over to pay and collect the 912.  They then drove it to the port in Long Beach and put it on a boat to England.  It was a fairly hassle free process for my friend and he got much more than he had anticipated selling it for locally.  Sometimes, self proclaimed experts on BAT post ugly comments, but his auction sale went quite well.  Detailed pictures are a must and a video of the vehicle doing a cold start is often requested.

Dennis

[CanTechZ]

Thanks Dennis, this is the type on input l was hoping for.

It would be nice to hear from others, be it good or bad. 

[grannyknot]

5 hours ago, CanTechZ said:

Thanks Dennis, this is the type on input l was hoping for.

It would be nice to hear from others, be it good or bad. 

I sold a 1970 240z to a guy in California through ebay, He hired a cross border transport service, they came to my door loaded the car and delivered it to his door, very easy me.

[CanTechZ]

12 hours ago, grannyknot said:

I sold a 1970 240z to a guy in California through ebay, He hired a cross border transport service, they came to my door loaded the car and delivered it to his door, very easy me.

Thanks @grannyknot, any issues on the payment/tile transfer part of the transaction?

[grannyknot]

8 hours ago, CanTechZ said:

Thanks @grannyknot, any issues on the payment/tile transfer part of the transaction?

The payment was a wire transfer to my bank, I signed the ownership over to him with a bill of sale and couriered it to him over night.

There was one hitch though, back in 1970 the MTO recorded the VIN wrong by adding an extra letter, no one had noticed the mistake until the transport company started processing the paper work. So I had to hire a certified appraiser to come out and look at the VIN on the car and the ownership papers (Title for our US friends) and sign a paper saying yes the VIN was recorded incorrectly.  MTO then issued me new ownership papers with the correct VIN. Classic cars go back and forth over the border all the time, just have all your paper work in order.

[CanTechZ]

@grannyknot thanks for your input. I am definitely going to check my Vin. 

[golfer racer]

I just got done listing my 72 Z on BAT and it was not a good experience. It took them over two weeks to assign someone to my listing and them another week getting the listing right. Once I gave them the go, on July 18th, it took them until the 25th to list it. I thought it was a great car to go up against the Pierre' Z factory restoration car and told them so, but they didn't listen. I was then up again Z of lesser valve for my entire 7 days until the morning of the last day, when a  the bidding takes place, and they listed a nice stock 72 Z that probably took away some of the bidders. They also tried to get me to lower my reserve, which I didn't. Luckily I already had a buyer lined up for my reserve price. 

[psdenno]

3 hours ago, golfer racer said:

I just got done listing my 72 Z on BAT and it was not a good experience. It took them over two weeks to assign someone to my listing and them another week getting the listing right. Once I gave them the go, on July 18th, it took them until the 25th to list it. I thought it was a great car to go up against the Pierre' Z factory restoration car and told them so, but they didn't listen. I was then up again Z of lesser valve for my entire 7 days until the morning of the last day, when a  the bidding takes place, and they listed a nice stock 72 Z that probably took away some of the bidders. They also tried to get me to lower my reserve, which I didn't. Luckily I already had a buyer lined up for my reserve price. 

If this was your listing, nice looking Z.  https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-datsun-240z-95/

That said, I'm sure that the cracked dash, and other modifications, including later model engine swap, kept the bidding lower by those looking for a bone stock Z like the $100K example.  That's the luck of draw with the auction process.

Dennis

 

 

[CanTechZ]

Thanks @golfer racer for sharing your BAT experience, sorry it was not good. Glad that in the end you sold your car for a price you were happy with.  Over the weekend I did a submission to BAT to hopefully sell my Samurai. Hopefully my experience will be better than yours.

Mike

[CanTechZ]

I got a response from BAT within a half day of my submission with the following response:

Thanks for the submission and detailed photos and info. Neat Samurai. This is one we would be open to listing in a no reserve auction and it could go live in the next 2 weeks or so. Will that work for you?

I had a good email exchange with the BAT representative but in the end I declined to list as they would not budge on the no reserve point.  I asked what factors are considered in determining when no reserve would apply and was told, "price range and location" and that "they are inundated with submissions in this price range and unfortunately simply cannot list them all".  In my case being located in Canada was probably the main reason as I have seen a number of Samurai's listed from the US over the last couple of years that did not have "no reserve". I understand their reasons and don't regret making a submission. I was impressed that they were quick to respond to my questions even after I declined to list.

 

[Patcon]

12 minutes ago, CanTechZ said:

I got a response from BAT within a half day of my submission with the following response:

Thanks for the submission and detailed photos and info. Neat Samurai. This is one we would be open to listing in a no reserve auction and it could go live in the next 2 weeks or so. Will that work for you?

I had a good email exchange with the BAT representative but in the end I declined to list as they would not budge on the no reserve point.  I asked what factors are considered in determining when no reserve would apply and was told, "price range and location" and that "they are inundated with submissions in this price range and unfortunately simply cannot list them all".  In my case being located in Canada was probably the main reason as I have seen a number of Samurai's listed from the US over the last couple of years that did not have "no reserve". I understand their reasons and don't regret making a submission. I was impressed that they were quick to respond to my questions even after I declined to list.

 

So basically they pick and choose what they list. They get to cherry pick; it's not really an open market. Too bad..