Carlisle Auction Experience Reflects Dismal Collector/Classic Car Market

By Linda Riggs
Sec'y, Heart of Maryland Classic Chevy Club
After having our ’57 wagon for sale for several months, Jim & I decided to consign the wagon to the Carlisle Fall Auctions. We know that the wagon shows much better in person than in print or on the internet. In consigning to auction, we had to decide whether to have a reserve placed on the car (duh) and then whether to have it auctioned during “prime time” of 5:00 - 9:00 pm on Thursday or Friday.
We opted for a reserve and for prime time, and paid the consignment fee to Carlisle Productions. For the consignment fee, Carlisle Auctions promotes the consigned cars and features them on www.carlisleauctions.com. They also pre-qualify the bidders, and the successful bidder makes their check payable to Carlisle Productions. Carlisle Productions holds the title until the payment is processed. About 2 weeks after the auction, once the payment is successfully transferred, the seller receives a check from Carlisle Productions. This, to us, seemed a safer way to conduct the transaction than the possibility of us accepting a fraudulent cashier’s check. Also for our consignment fees, we would receive two passes to the auctions and Fall Carlisle. I think they hoped we would bid on a car to replace the one we were selling! Not!
In any case, we consigned the wagon and were told to have the wagon, keys, clear original title and other paperwork at the Carlisle Expo Center on Tuesday, September 28. The weekend before that we cleaned and detailed the wagon and she looked fantastic. It was a bittersweet weekend—we realized it might be the last time that we worked together on her. But we also knew that we really needed the additional room in the shop (we were very tired of having to do the garage shuffle every time we wanted to work on a car) and Frederick County was not going to allow us to enlarge the shop, especially since it was already a non-conforming structure according to the new zoning rules.
After spending the weekend cleaning up the wagon the weatherman decided to throw a curveball at us and it rained heavily all day Monday with more rain called for on Tuesday. Instead of driving the car to Carlisle as we had planned, we asked Ed Z to trailer it to Carlisle for us so our hard work was not in vain. THANKS, EZ!
The weekend before the Carlisle Auction was Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas. We watched some of the Speed Channels coverage of Barrett-Jackson and we were both discouraged and encouraged. There was a nice ’55 210 wagon that sold for $55,000 but there were other cars that appeared to be very nice that didn’t bring much. Not knowing what to expect, or even if we would get any bids, we headed up to Carlisle on Tuesday afternoon; a bit nervous and apprehensive.
Check in went well. In fact, we were rather surprised at how quickly it went. The guys checking in the cars really liked the wagon and the security guys promised to keep an eye on her and assured us that they had never lost one. The only thing we didn’t like was that the cars are kept outside but we figured when we go to conventions the cars are outside and there isn’t 24/7 gated security.
On Thursday, September 30 we returned to Carlisle in pouring rain, the remnants of a tropical storm. It was very cold, wet and dreary; not a great day for an auto auction. We checked on the wagon and all was good. She attracted a lot of attention in the parking lot. We had a seat in the auction room and watched some auction action. After about the 10th or 12th car, I turned to Jim and told him we would not be selling the wagon that day. He agreed. None of the bidders were taking their hands out of their pockets to bid. The only cars selling were in the $1,500 to $10,000 range.
A very nice original ’55 Chevy Pickup only got the bidding up to $12,000 and was not sold. Several nice Chevelles, Camaros and Corvettes were not sold. Nothing of any value was selling although the auction room was absolutely packed. The wagon was #74 and I doubt that they sold even 20 cars that day. The only thing we could figure is that it was so rainy that a lot of people from the flea market at the fairgrounds were taking refuge in the dry auction house and were not there to bid.
So, at 7:00 pm, when the wagon rolled over the auction block, we were not a bit surprised when the bidding only got up to $20,000. Standing in line to go on the block people were all over the car, taking pictures, admiring the interior, loving the paint colors, wheels, under the hood. As she rolled on the block there was an audible buzz in the room and people were taking pictures. She was the only ’57 Chevy in the auction but still brought few bids. The bidding stalled and out she went. Afterwards, several people came up to us and said the car was just too nice for that auction, that day.
On the plus side, as registered participants, we received access to the hospitality area with a nice hot buffet and drinks. It was good food on a miserable day. Not worth the price of admission but at least we got something, besides the experience, out of the day!
Since it was still pouring after the auction, we left the wagon so we would not have to drive home in the pouring rain at night. Chris from Carlisle Auctions came up to us and encouraged us to leave the wagon until Friday’s auction—he said he was sure we would get some offers once the sun came out and people could appreciate the car. Skeptical, we decided to come back Friday afternoon to pick up the wagon. When we did we, watched some of the auction. Even though the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day the sales were just as dismal as on Thursday. It did not seem to matter whether the vehicle was a car or truck or motorcycle, an AACA National Champion or a Pro-Street vehicle, nothing was selling.
Again, in the parking lot, the wagon got a lot of attention. But, since this wasn’t a car show, it really didn’t matter! We loaded up the wagon, put the tags back on and headed home.
So the wagon is still for sale and we’ll keep doing the garage shuffle every time we need to work on a vehicle. The Carlisle Auction was quite an experience, but one we will not repeat. I know it’s the economy, but we were disappointed. Not just for ourselves, but it isn’t much fun to go to an auction where nothing sells!