Location? Vocation!
Service and product are key, says Lincs auctioneer
How long has GYM been selling classic cars?
The business began 153 years ago and the Bourne Auction Rooms has been selling cars and bygones, like horsedrawn carriages, since the 1980s.
How do you view today’s classic auction market?
With many classic auctions in the UK many entries are from dealers who want everything done for nothing, and some auctioneers have sellers’ premiums that are minimal. We, however, don’t get any trade entries because we won’t do something for nothing – we aim to offer a good service for a reasonable fee.
Would you consider holding sales on a more regular basis, especially as Lincolnshire is away from where other sales are held?
Today’s reality is that it doesn’t matter where a car is when it’s offered for sale. A £1 million Ferrari can be in Pebble Beach or the Fens – the market comes to the goods, which means a car will make the same amount whether it’s offered in the West End, Monaco or at a provincial auctioneer. Buyers go where the car is, whether it’s a Jaguar E-type, a Humber Super Snipe or a Skoda Estelle, and they don’t care about the auction house.
What are your thoughts on classic automobilia?
These days bigger auction companies don’t want to do automobilia, so over the past three or four years we have focussed on that, and through that we might see cars being consigned. We’d like to be one of the country’s leading automobilia auctioneers
How do get cars for your sales?
We tend to get cars from deceased estates or from people who know us.
What are your thoughts on a Code of Conduct for classic car auctioneers, and those businesses offering cars directly for sale?
In the past we’ve seen auctioneers who have gone bust, and others who haven’t run a regulated client account, which is the biggest problem. When it comes to selling cars, auctioneers have to be on one side of the fence or the other – it’s bad to be on both sides.
How important is it for results to be published?
Auctioneers live or die by their results.