At some point, you just can't help people. I know I crow about sellers of enthusiast vehicles being unfairly forced into selling at no reserve, but that's really not much different than believing a fat person was forced to get all their nutrition from Dairy Queen.
You have the right to say no; it's just that you're impatient, or otherwise under the impression that you need to sell your vehicle as quickly as possible, damning the consequences that it may involve in the process. That's the strangest thing about people who complain about the results of their no reserve auction: you literally don't have to sell your car that way.
There's an odd sense of compulsion that develops among some sellers whereby they decide to roll the dice on a car they absolutely know to be worth more than what the auction house is telling them. I sold my 1995 Audi S6 over the summer for what was probably a very good price, but I still feel content I got a fair deal - especially when you consider how little time I spent actually selling it. I left maybe $1,200 on the table, but it sold in a little over 12 hours. So, let's assume that the addition $1,200 would have required another five days of live selling, talking with buyers, dealing with tire kickers, etc., etc., and you multiple 120 additional hours times my professional hourly rate - well, you're talking about way more than $1,200.
Yes, there's a definite value to selling something quickly, but I also know based on how the Audi presented (bad paint) I would have gotten raked over the coals by the armchair quarterbacks on an internet auction versus a guy showing up and seeing how solid the car was mechanically. At the end of the day, I still managed the transaction myself, on my terms, and likely made more money than a glitzy internet auction would have.
There's a combination of issues happening: sellers assume that managing the sale themselves will require more time than they think, and they believe the auction houses will get a better price, and faster, than if they did it themselves. There are no guarantees for either of those conditions.
Put simply, they are being lazy. You don't want to be this guy who got absolutely FLEECED on Hemmings because, I guess, he wanted the car gone before winter. But in looking at the video, he's got quite a bit of space and the Chrysler could have absolutely stayed there a few weeks while he dealt with some in-person meetings. Multiple commenters posted that they would have been interested if they knew the car was for sale. Even if just one of those was legit, he could have likely gotten a better price for his car than agreeing to the Hemmings terms, which again - and I can't state this enough - no one is forcing you to sell your car this way.
Our platform allows you to be as detailed or as brief as you want, but the smart play is to upload your records or photos documenting maintenance work to drive higher buyer confidence, and justify a higher asking price. Craigslist is gone, Marketplace is a dumpster fire, and The Common Gear is here to help you sell your enthusiast vehicle on your own terms.