A MASTERCLASS ON HOW NOT TO RUN AN AUCTION

We've talked many times about how a great seller can make or break an auction. 

The best sellers understand that listing a car is only the beginning. They answer questions, upload extra photos, provide documentation, and most importantly, build confidence. Buyers don't just bid on the car. They bid on how comfortable they feel about the car. 

Which brings me to this 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo. On paper, this should have been a home run. Black on black, purportedly 16,000 miles, clean Carfax, and exactly the sort of car that tends to attract attention from Porsche enthusiasts. 

Instead, it turned into a lesson on how not to run an online auction. 

Almost immediately, bidders started asking questions. The mileage history raised eyebrows. The odometer readings didn't appear to line up. People wanted additional documentation, service history, driving videos, undercarriage photos, and clarification around the car's background. These weren't unreasonable requests. If you're selling a supposedly 16,000-mile Porsche, buyers are going to scrutinize every detail. 

The problem wasn't the questions. Every auction has questions. The problem was that the questions largely went unanswered. 

Eventually BaT stepped in, removed the mileage from the headline, added additional language to the listing, and publicly requested evidence showing the odometer functioning correctly. 

Yet the seller never engaged. At that point, the auction stopped being about the Porsche and started being about uncertainty. 

One commenter summed it up perfectly after the auction ended, calling it a "masterclass on what not to do as a seller." Another stated they would have been willing to bid north of $40,000 had the mileage concerns been properly addressed. Whether they actually would have is impossible to know. What's important is that buyers were openly explaining what they needed in order to become more aggressive bidders. 

There could be a hundred different reasons why the seller didn't get involved. Maybe they were busy. Maybe something came up personally. Maybe they assumed the car would sell itself because it was on Bring a Trailer. Maybe they simply didn't realize how important engagement is to the outcome. 

Regardless, the result was the same. This is exactly why power sellers continue to exist. 

Most people think power sellers are just photographers and marketers. In reality, one of the biggest things you're paying for is someone whose job is to be present. Someone who answers questions. Someone who uploads documents. Someone who follows up on requests. Someone who keeps confidence high throughout the week. 

Because auctions are ultimately about reducing uncertainty. Every answer removes a little bit of doubt. Every unanswered question adds a little bit more. 

Over the years I've shown plenty of examples where seller engagement helped a car outperform expectations. This felt like the opposite. The market wasn't rejecting the Porsche. The market was reacting to the uncertainty surrounding it. 

If you're planning to sell a collector car online, this is one of the clearest examples you'll find all year of why simply uploading a listing and waiting for the auction to end is rarely a winning strategy.