The top seller by volume on Bring a Trailer
The uniqueness of Bring a Trailer's auction platform has rewarded sellers who adapted to it, shown by the billions of volume sold a year. Unlike conventional high-end, classic, and enthusiast car auctions that unveil listings ahead of time and have a short auction period, Bring a Trailer launches listings straight into a seven-day auction period. This requires skill and nuance to encourage activity and maintain interest up until that final minute. At Hypercars, we process 100,000+ listings, including Bring a Trailer, to help buyers and sellers of high-end, classic, and enthusiast cars be more successful.
Based on our research, here are 5 tips to sell better on Bring a Trailer.
1. Give all your information to Bring a Trailer
Top sellers give as much information as they can about a car to Bring a Trailer. This streamlines the application process and includes all documentation and records, as well as hundreds of photos and videos. Bring a Trailer plays a neutral role in the descriptions, so their descriptions only contain the info provided. Any gaps in the description may lead commenters to ask questions that negatively impact your listing.
Key tip: Use video to your advantage to highlight the experience of ownership. Walk-around videos and driving videos are great to give a similar feeling seeing the car in person. Make videos that highlight the charms of the car, like a driving video with the microphone next to the intake or exhaust to convey the visceral experience that comes with driving.
Make sure to review the final description in depth to see if there is any information missing that you want to highlight. Use the comment section on the listing to share missing information, especially using an intro comment at launch.
2. Drop an intro comment at launch
First impressions are important.
Due to the neutral nature of Bring a Trailer descriptions, it is up to the seller to set the auction tone and add color. Before the auction goes live, you should prepare a comment with the following points:
- Auction welcome and self-introduction. Are you the owner or are you selling on behalf of the owner?
- A brief colorful intro to the car. Why are you excited to sell it?
- Add any information that Bring a Trailer may have missed. Place all information out there for potential buyers to see. It looks better than them having to leave comments asking about missing information.
- Invite serious buyers to contact you and ask questions. Remind them of the contact seller button so they can reach you for anything about the car.
Make sure to post this comment the moment your auction goes live. It will be the first thing viewers will see and will set the tone that you want.
3. Promote conversation and engage
Bring a Trailer listings are a show and it is up to you as the seller to keep the audience engaged.
Comments have the power to make or break an auction. Great sellers know how to control these to their benefit. Make use of the like button to highlight certain comments. Respond to any questions promptly and thank people for engaging with your auction.
Inevitably you will have comments that distract from your listing or spread negative information. Be graceful in handling these comments as defensive or rude sellers may turn off buyers. Correct any misinformation and steer the comment section towards successfully selling your car. A top seller told us how he deals with negative commenters by “killing them with kindness”.
Key tip: Don't gate-keep key content like a driving video in hopes that it will reignite interest when engagement slows. Serious buyers are going to want to have as much information upfront to make a decision. Instead, consider making a video that addresses concerns or questions from the commenters.
4. Understand the timeline and flow of Bring a Trailer auctions
The typical Bring a Trailer auction lasts seven days which is quite a long time for an auction. Think of the auction timeline as this:
- Day 1 -2: Engagement and interest are high because of the new listing. With the help of your intro comment, comments should be flowing in and you will be busy responding to these. Some early bids will start coming in, but these usually are not an indicator of the final price.
- Day 3-5: Engagement is slower since there are newer listings and yours is not as easily discoverable. Do not panic here if comments start to slow. Keep engaging with new comments and existing conversations. Avoid posting comments in a vacuum which makes you appear as a desperate seller.
- Day 6-7: Engagement picks back up as the auction starts drawing to a close. This is when you need to be the most attentive to comments and prospective buyers. Bidding action tends to heat up in the closing moments so stay engaged until the auction closes. If the auction has a reserve, announce when it is met so to encourage buyers that someone will take that car home.
5. Timing and auction length matters
The timing of your auction can have a significant impact on the number of views and bids you receive. To maximize profit, it is important to research how seasonality and timing affect the car you are looking to sell. Consider these factors when deciding when and how long to list your vehicle:
- Auction Finish Date: While listing dates are not entirely in your control, it is important to know when your auction finishes. Is it on a weekday morning? A weekend afternoon? Will people be potentially busy at work? How do these affect listing viewing periods and bidding? These are all things to consider in your engagement strategy.
- Auction Length: Most auctions on Bring a Trailer run for seven days. This gives potential buyers enough time to discover and research the car and for sellers to control momentum. A 10-day or more auction may give more time for it to be discovered but is more difficult to control prolonged momentum.
- Seasonality: Certain types of vehicles perform better at different times of the year. For example, convertibles and sports cars often do better in the spring and summer. It may be worth holding off selling your vehicle at a peak time to maximize value.
Conclusion
Selling successfully on Bring a Trailer requires a different skillset than other platforms, which is why good sellers reap the rewards. If you have any questions on selling your car on Bring a Trailer or online feel free to send us your questions at info@hypercars.io. If you are new to selling on Bring a Trailer, we recommend our guide to selling on Bring a Trailer.