Having attended the BJ auction for the last 3 years, I have developed the
following conclusion:
Most of the bidders are looking for that special muscle car that would
satisfy the desires that they have held since they were young. Back then,
they didn't have the cubic bucks to satisfy their whims, but in the interim
they have been successful in whatever field they chose and they now have the
money to satisfy that dream. So they see their dream car hit the block and
get swept away by the bidding frenzy, which is egged on by the bidding
assistants (which are no more or less than heavyweights hired to shame the
bidders into upping the ante).
This pushes these cars much higher than they would ever bring in a normal
marketplace. Since the favored cars appear to be limited to the muscle
variety, a lot of other cars fall far short of what they are worth (by
comparison). This year, I saw a lot of nice hot rods (30's and 40's) that
were severely undervalued compared to what some of the 60's muscle cars were
bringing. One car (I can't remember which one) that was purchased last year
for a million dollars went for about 100K when it was resold this year.
Shows how fickle these buyers can be.
The absence of a great many British Sports cars shows that most owners who
are selling their cars have figured out that the BJ is not the place to try
and sell their beauty. With the ridiculous buyer and seller fees that are
paid, much of the value of these cars goes into the deep pockets of Mr.
Jackson and his associates. Every year he complains to the city of
Scottsdale demanding that they spend more and more money to upgrade the West
World facilities in order to keep that event there for years to come. While
it does represent one of the very special events held in Scottsdale every
year, it smacks of the NFL owners' demands for bigger and better facilities
with threats to skip town.
Whether this event really has any lasting effect (positive or negative) on
the value of our cars, I can't say. But my opinion is that the true
enthusiasts are the ones who best determine that. I think we are doing a
pretty good job of keeping out hobby affordable, at least for the time
being. Hopefully, when we all get ready to sell, the value of our babies
will have increased substantially.
Cheers,
Joe C.
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