The other day, a fairly prominent dealer - Duncan Imports, which has an arsenal of imported Japanese classics - got caught pumping up the bids on its supposedly super clean S14 chassis Nissan 240SX on Bring A Trailer. While the collective car community lost its ever-loving mind over this, the bigger fault that was exposed is how BaT really doesn't screen anything that they approve for auction, which violates a key aspect of the supposed relationship BaT has with the enthusiast community.
While the outrage was largely directed at Duncan as there was sufficient evidence that it wasn't the first time he pumped his own listing, some commenters also called into question why BaT has missed so many red flags on a car that had very clearly been in a significant front-end collision. Duncan shared emails with the community showing how he alerted BaT to these flaws, as well as emails showing BaT's refusal to pull the listing down. It's all very weird but also confirms how hell-bent BaT is to complete every auction with a win, regardless of whether the buyer gets a car that's not nearly as nice as advertised.
I've felt for a while now that BaT is just another version of the stock market, and this seems to reinforce that notion. It's like the middle America farmer finding out the $40,000 he sent to some hotshot in New York was for stock in a company that doesn't exist, or at least has no shot at returning anything close to that investment. There was a time when many of us would trust BaT without hesitating because we felt like we were a part of a community that looked out for one another. And while that community may have been pivotal in pulling a shoddy 240SX off the auction block and banning a disreputable seller, why were either of those things on the platform in the first place?