Collecting Cars odd selling practices…
Discussion
I am interested in a car currently up for auction on Collecting Cars. I mentioned in a comment under the ad that I would like to organise a viewing, and someone from CC duly rang me. The chap said he'd like to make sure that I am on the same page with regards to value before proceeding to set up the viewing. I said that I had watched the market over the past few months and I thought that £21k was a reasonable value, to which he replied that they had the reserve set at mid 20's. I said I doubt it would reach that reserve, but would be pleasantly surprised if it did, as this would mean the market was picking up. Basically, the call ended without me being able to book a viewing.
What is odd is that they are more than happy to persuade the vendor to drop the reserve when the car doesn't sell, but don't seem willing to let potential buyers view the car unless their expectation of value matches that of CC/the vendor.
The thing is, I now won't bid as I haven't been able to view. Also, a viewing may have persuaded me to up what i was willing to bid to. Doesn't this seem a bit strange?
What is odd is that they are more than happy to persuade the vendor to drop the reserve when the car doesn't sell, but don't seem willing to let potential buyers view the car unless their expectation of value matches that of CC/the vendor.
The thing is, I now won't bid as I haven't been able to view. Also, a viewing may have persuaded me to up what i was willing to bid to. Doesn't this seem a bit strange?
Edited by e28525e on Wednesday 26th February 17:39
Wills2 said:
Why did you just not pay them the lip service and just agree and then go see the car at least you can bid/not bid based upon the viewing, they will talk the car up until the market has spoken on the car then they will try and get the vendor to sell for that price.
Yeah, I guess I could have done that. I knew that I couldn't stretch to the mid 20's, and have another car I am planning to view that is cheaper and has had the big jobs done, so I must admit I just dismissed it. It does seem odd that they would set the reserve so high with the track record of values over the past few auctions.In terms of not allowing a viewing, assuming the car is at the seller's home, a benefit of CC to the seller may be that they screen buyers so that the seller only needs to host people who are genuinely prepared to bid above the reserve.
In terms of what the reserve price is set at, could be due to a number of reasons, you have one opinion of value and perhaps the seller has another. Either CC back the seller, or they're happy to host the auction even with an unrealistically high reserve price for whatever reason.
An auctioneer wants to sell at the highest price, since their commission will be duly higher. But they would prefer to sell it lower, than not at all. Their approach is pretty consistent on this - they'll always try to do a deal.
A seller, however, you can't really tell their motivation behind their sale. Sometimes, sellers are desperate for the money and WILL drop to below what they consider its worth; or accept that the market sets the value. But sometimes they just don't need to sell, and will hold on and on (sometimes for a year or more) for what they believe is the true value, or maybe never sell it and just keep it.
I am guessing, the auctioneer and the seller have an agreement that viewings are only done for serious buyers, and they determine that based on their ability to actually pay above the reserve.
A seller, however, you can't really tell their motivation behind their sale. Sometimes, sellers are desperate for the money and WILL drop to below what they consider its worth; or accept that the market sets the value. But sometimes they just don't need to sell, and will hold on and on (sometimes for a year or more) for what they believe is the true value, or maybe never sell it and just keep it.
I am guessing, the auctioneer and the seller have an agreement that viewings are only done for serious buyers, and they determine that based on their ability to actually pay above the reserve.
Wish said:
There have been some horror stories about CC and the sate of the vehicle when you do win.
I’ve had some interaction with the company and then closed my account.
Good luck to them, but not a company I would buy or sell with anytime soon.
It’s just an auction, no more secure or protected than any other auction purchase.I’ve had some interaction with the company and then closed my account.
Good luck to them, but not a company I would buy or sell with anytime soon.
I’ve bought a couple of cars from the platform and they were both great, but they were cheap enough to justify the risk.
greeneggsnsam said:
I had the same phone call (about 2yrs ago) and the same result - I didn't view the car. They said it was worth £30k. It later sold for £22k which was almost exactly what I'd said it would go for.
I'm glad you said that - I did think that I can't have been the first to have this phone call!Your offer will not touch the sides so why would they waste time, yours and the vendors, in scheduling a visit? If you’d been prepared to increase your offer once you’d seen it they might have entertained you as a customer, potential customer, but to them you came across as a tyre kicker, a time waster - there are lots of them about at the moment.
CC and the seller agree the reserve. The seller will say what they want for the car and CC will advise if it's too high/low.
The whole point of using a platform like CC as a seller is to avoid having to deal with time wasters, dreamers and standing on the driveway haggling. CC wouldn't be doing their jobs b if they sent buyers without the expected funds to your door.
The whole point of using a platform like CC as a seller is to avoid having to deal with time wasters, dreamers and standing on the driveway haggling. CC wouldn't be doing their jobs b if they sent buyers without the expected funds to your door.
I don’t sit on the side of CC here. They aren’t providing a good service to the buyer or seller.
Asking a buyer what they think a car is worth vs what they can afford are very different things that it sounds like CC didn’t clarify.
So, if the OP was allowed to view the car and it presented much better than expected, then of course the opinion on value would change and they would also be confident to bid.
If the car ended up being not as good as hoped, they could still be interested but at a more realistic figure and still been on the platform bidding.
Now, the buyer won’t bid at all, regardless of the price. This will probably result in a lower final value for the seller as the competition to bid it up has reduced.
I wonder if part of them upselling the professional photography package is that they promise fewer viewings / hassle?
Asking a buyer what they think a car is worth vs what they can afford are very different things that it sounds like CC didn’t clarify.
So, if the OP was allowed to view the car and it presented much better than expected, then of course the opinion on value would change and they would also be confident to bid.
If the car ended up being not as good as hoped, they could still be interested but at a more realistic figure and still been on the platform bidding.
Now, the buyer won’t bid at all, regardless of the price. This will probably result in a lower final value for the seller as the competition to bid it up has reduced.
I wonder if part of them upselling the professional photography package is that they promise fewer viewings / hassle?
In regards to high values and CC in particular, I know a few people who have utilised their services. When they come out they fluff your ego about how sought after and valuable your car is to get the listing and for the seller to pay for their inordinate amount of photos.
Once the listing is live then ‘check in’ a few times over the week which culminates in the last 24hrs with them telling you they are convinced the bidding will go high but a way of (their inflated) reserve they convince you to take the reserve off.
You take the reserve off, it doesn’t make the inflated reserve that was on it in the first place, it sells, they get their commission (from the buyer) and you sell your cars.
It’s like estate agents over valuing a property to gain the business and once it’s on the market it either sits and doesn’t sell or they manage your expectations down and you eventually agree a sale at a much lower figure than first valued.
Naughty really, not everyone succumbs to the hard sale to remove the reserve. I have lost count of the number of cars I have enquired about which clearly have CC style photos on the listing and when you ask the seller they tell you it didn’t sell or get near the reserve so they have shaved a chunk off and having a go privately.
Si
Once the listing is live then ‘check in’ a few times over the week which culminates in the last 24hrs with them telling you they are convinced the bidding will go high but a way of (their inflated) reserve they convince you to take the reserve off.
You take the reserve off, it doesn’t make the inflated reserve that was on it in the first place, it sells, they get their commission (from the buyer) and you sell your cars.
It’s like estate agents over valuing a property to gain the business and once it’s on the market it either sits and doesn’t sell or they manage your expectations down and you eventually agree a sale at a much lower figure than first valued.
Naughty really, not everyone succumbs to the hard sale to remove the reserve. I have lost count of the number of cars I have enquired about which clearly have CC style photos on the listing and when you ask the seller they tell you it didn’t sell or get near the reserve so they have shaved a chunk off and having a go privately.
Si
One thing about CC and most auctions is that they say that it's a "buyer's fee" that you pay, which means that it's free to sell right?
But that's only true if people are willing to overpay for your car when including the fee.
Buyers are aware of what the fee is therefore adjust their highest bid accordingly, so it is in fact the seller that pays the buyer's fee as it is deducted from the budget of the winning bid.
But that's only true if people are willing to overpay for your car when including the fee.
Buyers are aware of what the fee is therefore adjust their highest bid accordingly, so it is in fact the seller that pays the buyer's fee as it is deducted from the budget of the winning bid.
charltjr said:
It’s just an auction, no more secure or protected than any other auction purchase.
I’ve bought a couple of cars from the platform and they were both great, but they were cheap enough to justify the risk.
This, a million times over. I really don't get the whining about CC that seems all over the internet - "can't believe they're selling that" etc.I’ve bought a couple of cars from the platform and they were both great, but they were cheap enough to justify the risk.
THEY ARE AN AUCTION HOUSE.
This is no different to buying off eBay Motors. They're a facilitator. An auction house.
I've bought cars at auction before, being an ex-trader. Clearly, many people have not. They'd be laughed out of most auction houses!
EDIT: not aimed at you, OP, just more generally.
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