It is already happening. People calling, looking for SIX PACK and Hemi Cuda with the laundry list of "must haves". Must be numbers matching, must be a for speed, must have original rear quarters, must have the original build sheet, must have a horn of pure silver growing out of the front bumper...oh, yeah and I only want to pay $90k because that is what they sold for at Barrett-Jackson.
First of all, if you took the time to walk the entire lot at BJ, you would know that the car with all the "must haves" wasn't there either.
The only thing I could see is that the numbers of consignments were down, the number of bidders seemed to be down, and the number of muscle cars (quality or otherwise) also seemed to be down. I DID see some cars draw generous, yet nonsensical prices. The consensus from most those I spoke with was that the average BJ buyer is there for a good time, buying for entertainment or recreation and is NOT really there to make a shrewd, informed, collector purchase.
While it is a spectacle and prices can be sensational and they are widely publicized, the typical buyer at BJ is NOT the same type of people who buy privately throughout the rest of the year...
One example that comes to mind in the recent auctions that bear his central point out is the story of two, low-mile, low option, 1970 Hemi Cuda's, both in black- one sold at Russo and Steele for $255k hammer price
and the other for $245k at Barrett.
The two cars could not be more different. The car at Russo seemed to wear most, if not all of her original sheet metal, was very original, very correct, was number's matching, had her broadcast sheet AND seemed to be a crisp, quality restoration. $255k plus 10% buyers fee puts the price where a HEMI Cuda should be at $280,500.
The one at BJ also purported to be numbers matching, but had obvious quarter panel reskin, floor and/or trunk pan replacement, a 1971 hood, needed other concours correction and was an older, driver quality restoration, had a broadcast sheet AND had a celebrity owner history. This was a #3 car in my humble opinion.
The connoisseur collector would and has routinely passed on a car like this one. I think the ONLY reason the prices on these two cars were even close was the fact that the #3 quality car was at Barrett. To base a collector car purchase on a BJ result like this one is not unlike asking a Black Jack dealer how to balance your stock portfolio.
Dissatisfaction over how Barrett conducted last year's auction had more to do with the reduced number and quality of consignments. The investment buyer, usually willing to battle entertainment bidder also stayed away in droves because the quality wasn't there.
Published total sales for this year put Barrett-Jackson's sales totals at $84,475,985 down from a 2007 posting of $107,919,059 for a 21.72% drop in overall sales. Does that mean market recession? Not at all. It can be said that fewer people were in the mood for the "What happens at Barrett, stays at Barrett" casino like atmosphere.
It likely means more buyers have become serious about making more investment minded choices, educating themselves, and buying in venues that attract a higher quality of consignment. Auction buyers this January went to other auctions, where they felt they could enjoy a fair bidding environment.
Gooding roared into a "down" market and made their Arizona auction debut this year soaking up $21 million in sales and a healthy 90% sell rate. This confirms the fact that if you offer quality consignments with a quality process, the money will show up.
All the action houses taken together posted revenue of $162,981,757 on a volume of 2,037 cars. Down by 3.9 million representing mere a 2.3% drop over 2007, a record year that had more multi-million dollar consignments.
So, who REALLY thinks that Barrett-Jackson has a valid place as an indicator in the collector car market? A 21% drop in sales at Barrett when compared to an overall 2.3% blip certainly says no. Regardless, their results are seldom confirmed by the private sale market because the quality or car and type of buyer do not correlate with collector car market at large. As for Barrett being a market indicator, this isn't a case of “has been", this is a case of never was.
