I've written a few times lately about how damaging the comments gallery is on Bring A Trailer, but a car that sold recently shows the other side of the same coin: it's also largely ineffective when the vehicle in question is above reproach. In other words, the BaT comments apparatus has been shown to hurt good sellers of good cars, and be largely ineffective against mediocre sellers of great cars.
Related: Over the summer, I sold a handful vehicles to declutter my mind and garage. One was a 1999 911; another was my 1995 Audi S6 Avant. Both were drivers, and very well maintained. The 911 I stuck with a fairly firm price of around $20K while the S6 I priced somewhat aggressively due to its mediocre paint quality. The S6 sold in about a day, because of its rarity and turnkey condition; the 911 took closer to 2 months, owing to the fact I wasn't giving it away and there's a dozen 996s like mine that wasn't a particularly amazing spec. It proved to me that, once again, it's about the car.
As a 964 owner, I watch the market fairly closely for this era of 911, and took a keen interest in the listing for this 32K-mile 1989 Carrera 4. This was a special car for a few reasons beyond the mileage; namely, it was determined to be a "Venture Tour" car which was a Porsche-sanctioned driving event across Europe for the first batch of 964s. They were all Guards Red and limited by VIN. This was one of those cars, not that the seller cared: he took average photos, barely engaged in the comments, and didn't upload a single cold-start video. It still sold for $96,000.
What I love about this result is it shows you how cars that aren't particularly hard to find, or that otherwise don't stand out in a significant way, can easily be impacted by the comment section of an auction. You know, the ones that belong to folks with a decent income but not mega millionaires - the people who really want to see every dollar back out of their investment. The individuals with the landmark vehicles really don't need to sweat the comments, or give into the demands of a virtual lynch mob. The seller of the above-referenced 911 was berated multiple times for not taking professional photos (which he addressed by noting that the BaT staff took too long to find him a photographer - the guy lives in the Chicago suburbs, not exactly a remote location), for some non-existent issue regarding the bumper mesh, and for not answering every sniveling, dumb-ass question that non-buyers on BaT love to ask. My favorite comment is this:
Say what you will about the seller and the photos, a low mileage aircooled 911 is still going to bring the money. It seemed to only bother the non-bidders.
BINGO! The seller of this 964 is like a presidential candidate who won't debate: why subject myself to the ridicule of an audience that isn't voting for me, anyway? Why even engage, and give them the chance to pick my answer apart on a massive forum? The same logic applies here. I'm sure a buyer not interested in flexing his internet muscles reached out to the seller, found a time to either inspect the car in person or run it through a PPI, and bid accordingly, given this looked like an excellent specimen of a 964.
No matter where you choose to sell, if the car is a home run, it will sell like one. If it raises doubts in the mind of a buyer - whether virtual or standing in front of you - it won't. Kudos to this seller for not bending to the whims of the internet comment army, which would have only led to his auction suffering as a result.
By the way, you can store your records and build a pretty nice portfolio for your car on The Common Gear, and use it to either sell your car privately or drop a link in the comments section of your auction to create a simple, secure path to all your records and maintenance for potential buyers to view virtually. Check it out!