Mecum Auctions, Kissimmee, January 7-16, 2021
In the middle of a CoViD-19 resurgence Mecum Auctions went to Kissimmee for its annual extravaganza. Thousands of cars, thousands of people (although a lot fewer thousands than in 2020), live bidding and on-site previews. It was the Mecum auction formula, lightened up to cope with a pandemic. And it worked. Oh, how well it […]
Mecum Auctions, Houston, December 4-5, 2020
Yes, that says “December”. Mecum’s regular Houston dates are in April, but April 2020 was not like most Aprils and the regularly scheduled Mecum Houston auction got caught up in the Covid onslaught. Fortunately, though, there was availability at Houston’s NRG Center in December and Mecum Auctions took advantage of it. Unlike prior Mecum Houston […]
Mecum Auctions, Dallas, Texas, October 15-17, 2020
Mecum clings faithfully to a largely live auction format. Live bidders socially-distanced in the room. Live auctioneers on the block. A mix of phone and internet bidders but with a bid-spotter/ring person gesticulating and calling out loudly to claim precedence for remote bidders. It builds engagement and excitement like no “online only” auction can where […]
Mecum Auctions, Eddie Vannoy Collection, Jefferson, NC, June 29, 2020
Mecum Auctions has been stalled since its Glendale, Arizona auction in March. Their business model is spectator- and bidder-dependent, a vast show with vendors and exhibitors. That doesn’t translate to online-only. For the Eddie Vannoy auction Mecum created a hybrid: bidders and guests only at the venue in western North Carolina; an open online bidding […]
Mecum Auctions, Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, January 3-12, 2020 — Part II: Ford-Watson
This is Part II of Mecum Kissimmee, starting with Fords and ending with Watson (as in legendary Indy mechanic, crew chief and constructor A.J. Watson.) It’s a little shorter than Part I, mostly because it doesn’t have to include all those Camaros and Corvettes. It does, however, include the highlight of the auction calendar’s first […]
Mecum Auctions, Osceola Heritage Park, Kissimmee, January 2-12, 2020
When Mecum set up shop in Kissimmee eleven years ago it was an audacious bet that the team from Marengo, Illinois could – from scratch, without any tradition and a week before the long-established Scottsdale auctions – build a big mainstream collector car auction in the fields of central Florida. And have they ever done […]
Mecum Auctions, Monterey, August 15-17, 2019
Mecum’s “Daytime Auction” at Monterey was down 34.7% from last year, similar to the overall experience at Monterey this year. In Mecum’s case that was less unusual. As the table below shows, being up and down by a third has been a common experience at this venue and while this is the lowest total for […]
Mecum Auctions, Spring Classic State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis, May 15-19, 2019 Part II: Ford Thunderbird through Volkswagen
Let the introduction to Part I suffice, these are the rest of the cars, including the ’57 Ford F-birds. But a comment is in order. Mecum loaded the Spring Classic with ’57 T-birds, 24 of them in all, not to mention ’55 and ’56 T-birds. The sell-through was disappointing, just 14 of the 24 57’s, […]
Mecum Auctions, Spring Classic State Fairgrounds, Indianapolis, May 15-19, 2019 Part I: AM General through Ford Mustang
There were five of us on the ground at Mecum’s Spring Classic with the result that 238 of the 1,123 vehicles offered were described in detail. Put in literal terms, that’s about 37,571 words of content, about the same as a 150 page trade paperback novel. Now, a quarter to a third of it is […]
Mecum Auctions, Houston, April 4-6, 2019
Just over a thousand lots crossed the Mecum auction block at the NRG Center in Houston, Mecum’s eighth year at this venue. The car count was the Houston sale’s second highest. The sell-through rate also was second highest. The sale total, however, was the second lowest, a performance traced to a paucity of high priced […]