One of the better accounts I follow on Instagram is a Californian by the name of "Rad Report", who started a quasi-newsletter a few years ago highlighting so-called "rad"-era vehicles for sale on craigslist. Like many others, he soon discovered that while people love to consume free content, they rarely like paying for it.
So, unlike others before him, he didn't bend to their will: he just stopped providing the newsletter, deciding that his page was better suited to using his network to sell and promote his own vehicles.
He recently penned a few statements about why he doesn't use Bring A Trailer to sell his cars, as he almost always gets the question when one of his well-preserved and/or restored 1980s rides goes up for sale. He summed up what a lot of us feel, which is that the Bring A Trailer model relies too heavily on commenters who can seriously derail an auction, even with blatantly false information. He basically points to the desire to retain some control over the sales process, and highlights that craigslist - for all of its failings - is basically a blank canvas for anyone with a car worth selling to go hog wild in their description.
Check out the screen captures below and tell me you don't feel the same. The idea that the peanut gallery on BaT somehow can propel your car to a better sale price is hogwash; your own attention to detail and comprehensive record-keeping is far more compelling than listening to an armchair quarterback go off on how your car is trash because the date codes on your tires are too old.
I have no desire to take down a viable player in the digital auction arena, but I do tend to agree that sellers should prioritize finding channels and outlets (such as this website) that allow you to tell your car's story in the most content-rich format possible rather than a stripped down and templated form that that neuters the narrative.