[sugarwood]

I was at Monterrey this week and attended a live auction. The "speaking in tongues" gibbering was annoying as hell, and I wore earplugs like a proper middle-aged crank.
But, it was a real fun time to see cars staged and then pass through the block.

I am curious where these things fit in the marketplace landscape of Ebay, forum classifieds, exotics dealers, CL, Autotrader, etc.
It seems very different than targeting a car and buying directly from a dealer/seller. If you want to buy a certain car, why not just find one directly?

What is the profile of the typical live auction buyer ?
Does a buyer come into town open to the idea of buying anything?
Kid in a candy store? Or pro investors? Hedge fund scouts?

What is the advantage for a seller to use a live auction to sell his car? The cost to a seller is $2000 to ship, hotels, airfare, and 10% to the house.
What is the advantage over using Ebay to market and then do a private deal? Or consign to a regional dealer who markets well?
Seems like a lot of hassle to only be able to sell a car to a few people in attendance. Would you use a live auction if you need a quick sale?

What if a seller wanted to maximize the selling price of his GullWing 300SL and was ok with marketing the car for a year, if needed? Would he still use a live auction?
Private party seems to allow selling to anyone on the planet, not just a few 100 people in attendance in a very specific part of the planet.

Do private party sales or live auctions pull the highest prices?
Is there a "realtor" effect for high dollar sales?
Do buyers feel there is a value added vetting process? Legal backup in case of fraud?
It does seem odd to hand over $1 million for a Gullwing in someone's driveway.

Lastly, prices for regular cars did not seem crazy. In fact, it seemed like some good deals were to be bad (or no reserve met)
Of course, it totally depends on the car, but it was far from the "Neiman Marcus" vibe I was expecting.
Lots of decent looking 60's muscle was selling for $25k, which is hardly "Saks 5th Ave." pricing.