Barrett Jackson in a Bit 'O Hot Water

It looks like he's a marketing genus from where I'm standing, he has the whole world eating out of the palm of his hand. Classic promotion strategy. Marketers start an enticing rumor, that rumor spreads into an uproar so everyone is talking about a certain product/company (for "free"), and then to everyone's surprise and amazement.. It was all untrue and the company looks like a hero with the widest most successful branding exposure money can buy.. Unless gossip is good for your industry to create viewers (Donald Trump branding himself with his fake pageant drama)..

Its just a capitalist gag to try and make you advertise for free, give em' the finger and don't be their bxtch, and on the way to wash your hands of it cut ("shave") the logos they made you pay for off those pants your wearing and pat yourself on the back for being a 1%er.

Shake those gold chainers off, they can't get US!

 

I just don't understand one word of this.

 

I used to not give two squirts or a shake about these auctions becasue I figured only the gold chain idiots are the people getting bent over, but because these guys are making the hobby unobtainable for the average enthusiast, I am kind of hoping this stuff is brought to the light more. Maybe the price for god old tin willl come down from the stratosphere it seems to be at right now.

This happened in 1989-1991 too, but it all fell apart then too.

 

I never watch it on TV, but I'd be pissed if I was a seller there. You pay for 3 minutes you should get 3. If it's true, I'd like to see a judge force them to repay EVERY seller their listing fee.

It's no different than getting shorted on anything. If I was getting gas at the same place for years, and I found out the guy had rigged the pump to only give me 2/3 of a gallon, I'd want to shoot the fucker.
This, if it's true, is no different.
The sellers are the guys who want/need to get the most out of the deal, and shorting them on time, and subsequent bids, is stealing from them... period.
The buyers in the case of the cars not owned by B-J make out well... especially, if they work for B-J...

Money... lots of it.
That's asking for corruption, right there. Does anyone think that if there's a ton of money going in and out of somewhere, there won't be someone trying to take advantage?

As far as them selling their own cars... and having their own buyers grab 'em and roll 'em back to the garage...?
I guess that hurts the buyer, but nobody has a gun to anyone's head making them pay more than a shill bidder.
If that's the case, B-J should just offer them "for sale" at their "price"... or list them in Hemmings.

One thing is probably true. If shit WAS happening, it won't be anymore... Folks will be watchin' HARD....


JOE

 

And now the "Backstep".




The Reason It’s No Longer Here
February 1st, 2007 by fourwheeldrift
After some real soul searching I decided to take down the posting regarding Barrett-Jackson. I was not going to offer an explanation to readers, but after widespread rumors, many emails and telephone calls, I wish to set the record straight.

Steve Davis, President of Barrett-Jackson took the time and effort to read the article, and then posted a comment that argued that the content was “reckless.” I firmly believe that in writing it I far exceeded the standard of conduct applicable to opinion pieces published on the internet. Each of the allegations made in the piece was already published in print, on message boards, around the blogosphere, through email lists, or had been circulating via car club events. I have additional sources who provided other information regarding most of the points.

That being said, as I reread the piece and gave it a lot of thought, I came to the belief in retrospect that while a valid piece of journalistic workmanship, it could be arguably seen from Barrett-Jackson’s standpoint as unfair. I had aggregated claims and allegations from sellers and participants over the years, yet had not leavened the piece with B-J’s side of the story. In taking it down, it offers B-J time to respond, educate, investigate…I even provided B-J the name and contact information of the now-famous judge (with his consent,) who sold his high-profile car on Saturday of the event. Hopefully, they can communicate and come to an understanding, and both report back.

Since I have no personal animosity against B-J (I believe it to be one of the most entertaining auto events of the season,) and I realize there are two sides to this and every story, I felt the better course of action was to pull it down and integrate anything they chose to communicate within a new article.

Furthermore, the article brought out many additional people (including some names car enthusiasts would recognize) who have taken time to tell me their personal stories of interaction with B-J and other auction companies. So like an artist who looks at his painting after the fact, this story, if and when it is updated, can look so much better, in my opinion, with all of the information provided by these sellers, attendees, as well as auction company representatives. (I also thank Drew Alcazar from Russo and Steele for taking time out of his busy schedule to communicate with me. I look forward to hearing more from him, as well as representatives from other auction companies, who have contacted offering to share information regarding their experiences.)

My final reason for pulling the article was that it was getting too personal on many levels. From threats of lawsuits against me to attacks against those posting on the blog with differing views, it simply was not what The Four Wheel Drift was intended to be about.

I personally thank all those who have sent their stories and support, as well as those many great, trustworthy sources who were the basis of the original story.

Sincerely,

Sam Barer
The Four Wheel Drift

 

I'm getting drowsy.

 

I'm always amazed at the class warfare "us versus them" mentality. Some people seem to think that it's just hunky dorey for someone with money to get screwed, mainly because they themselves don't have money and more importantly, they don't have the vision or determination to see themselves with it one day.

So guys are paying a million bucks for a muscle car. Here's a tip for you guys who are missing perhaps the really big item for us bottom-of-the-ladder types: THEY BOUGHT THAT MILLION DOLLAR CAR FROM SOMEONE. The car didn't materialized out of thin fucking air. Someone found it, restored it and sold it to a guy who spent his life building a business to the point where he could buy a million dollar car.

If BJ is shorting the guys (sellers) out of time, then it's criminal. I don't doubt that it's happening. Put youself in the builder's shoes: you spend $50K building a car, then BJ decides for you that it's only a $40K car...the bidding is brisk for the first minute and a half, and hits $40K. They drop the gavel, instead of working the crowd for another minute and a half. You're out $10K, plus fees, and they're moving on to the next car. Since they work on a percentage, they don't really care if you get another 5-10K, since they only get a fraction of it. I had a realitor want to list my house for $80K. It would have been a quick sale for her. I held out for $100K: More work for her. 7 percent of $20grand isn't that big a deal to a busy real estate agent. It was a helluva lot for me.

For the shill bidders, I'm not sure a lot of people are understanding how that works. Say Barrett Jackson owns a 440-6 Pack Road Runner. They run it through the auction, and legitimate buyers are bidding on it. BJ also has a couple of employees bidding on it, though it isn't known that they are employees. They will outbid the legit buyers, until all the legit buyers are out of the running. Then the car "sells" at a price the legit market wasn't willing to pay at the time. BJ has now set the market price for 440-6 Road Runners. The word gets out that one sold for $X, and next year, three show up at BJ and go for more than what their car sold for last year.

It's rigging the market.

-Brad

 

I've got a pile of shills if anybody is interested in buying them.

 

Brad54, I remember a story from Manheim auto auction back in '77 like your example. No one knew much about the '78 Corvette Pace car. One appeared at Manheim and was "sold" for an outrageous figure with the same guy waiting to bring several the next week now that the going rate was established. Except one of the bidders of the dolled up Pacer recognised the serial number as that of a '69. Story was the seller was told to not come back.

 

Since this is still on top...........Drama........hahahaha.....I like traditional hotrods and kustoms.......but, drama reminds me of when I was a chump kid helping my pops wrench on cars while the other kids had "issues".

 

During the Saturday night televised auction did anyone notice the cars that the price was lowered after being knocked down? It happened at least 4 or 5 times that I remember, car being driven away after being knocked down for say $225,000, then announcer says woops that was downgraded to $215,000, no explanation. My thought is the owner or shill got stuck with the bid. Anyone know for sure??

 

Shenanigans !

 

At one time another large auction company was the top dog auction and then the head auctioneer claims he put a few million in a suitcase, checked into baggage, and opps, the airline lost it.
Got away with it, and is still in business. Greed is tempting.
Shill bidding is a fact of life, but BJ is controlling the market because they are on TV and attracting the money crowd.
A harmless weekend diversion from Las Vegas for high rollers.

 

shit this is better than Young & the Restless

 

Im with ya on that one. I thought something was up!

 

Thats cause BOBBY ORR doesn,t play for them anymore!!! Guess where he was born and yes I have met him many times......

 

Plain and simple, if you over bid on a car that you should already know the worth of, THATS YOUR FAULT!

An auction is not a place to get a good deal at. Period.

 

Do they still have that big sign at the edge of town???

 

I bought a 78 El Dorado for $40 at an auction once. I lived next door so it was worth the drive. My wife told me I could sleep in it she liked it so much!

 

New highway bypasses town so there is a new one out on it. Its not the same....

 

The BJ auction system has lots of room for manipulation. A fancy hustle that adds cost.
A good example of "the bigger idiot" market.

 

What a drag!

 

The judges car was the Ramchargers super stocker that sold for $300,000. The car is suposed to be inpounded in Scottsdale.

 

This remark is really, really wrong. My late-grandfather was a good friend of Craig’s father Russ Jackson.

My father remembers taking cars on a pilgrimage to the auction – and Craig being there with the most un-glamorous job of all: washing cars, washing a ton of cars.

He say’s Craig has worked hard to be where he is today.

Does Sam Barer (Four-wheel drift) know Craig? Has he even met the guy? No, and he admits to this right in his rant.

 

B F D

 

this is easy to slove since the law suits are public record

 

Barer exorcised his sucky article, and all comments from his weblog. What a fucking shit bag. Removing something that you published is not good weblogging behavior.

Below is Steve Davis's response (archived by musclerides.com) to Barer’s paranoid fantasy..

Steve Davis also added..

 

By the way Barrett Jackson is a registered trade mark, and by using it without permission of the owner in a public forum is illegal and can be subject to a law action against the user. So if any one who my be sued it my be you.

 

Fine...Will just use B-J from now on.........That has more than one meaning.......

 

He's not using it to make a profit, nor is he representing himself as BJ, so no.


I know you're kidding, but I wouldn't put it beneath someone else to take the idea and run with it. haha