The art of selling
Yank tanks are down, but Fords are on the up
How has the first half of the year been?
We kick off quite early in the year, with our first auction usually at the end of the first/start of the second week of February. This means a lot of our business development for the auction is held over Christmas and New Year. What usually happens is clients make their mind up on the catalogue deadline week which adds extra pressure.
What makes/models are proving popular?
Fords from the late Sixties and early Seventies onwards. Escort MkIs and just about any model of Capri are hot to trot. Many classic car enthusiasts today are driven by nostalgia. It can be the car their dad or mum had, or even didn’t have but wanted nonetheless. We then decide to relive the moment and treat ourselves to a classic Ford, only to find out that many have been raced around housing estates or eaten by tin worm.
Are any cars falling out of favour?
Always a tricky one as I am no doubt about to upset some readers who will staunchly disagree with me! So, sticking my head up above the parapet, I am going to say vehicles on artillery wheels from the 1920s and left-hand-drive American land yachts. Artillery wheels do not always give a great driving experience and driving a left-hooker the size of small house around West Country lanes is only for the brave.
Alongside Shepton Mallet and the once-a-year Sherborne Castle would you consider any other sale venues?
Wherever you auction cars you need good road/rail/airport links along with selling space and car parking. Both venues offer all this. You then bolt on the attraction of visiting a classic car show and our auction and people seem to enjoy both venues. Perhaps the only time I would consider another venue would be a sale on-site, which we do every now and then.
How many cars do you see as ‘enough’ in your sales? After all, we’re seeing three-figure sales consistently these days.
Tricky. For us, we have had 80 cars before. Trying to display them is more of a problem – you don’t want people opening a car door onto the vehicle alongside. The sale needs to be properly policed and enquiries dealt with efficiently. Holding nine classic car and classic motorcycle auctions a year means that you are never far away from the next auction.
‘Any Capri is hot to trot’