💰 The figures shared below don’t count any other sales such as car seats, memorabilia etc.. All online auction sites are analyzed to put this leaderboard together.

I only include websites that have sold 5+ cars in the chart below. Which means Hagerty, Hemmings and many others did not sell 5 vehicles yesterday!

For those just diving into our newsletter, let's set the scene. Each day, we feature a leaderboard that shines a light on platforms clocking sales of 5 or more cars. Typically, this space is ruled by the same four websites, leaving many others in the shadows. But let's talk numbers: yesterday saw $4.6 million in vehicle sales across all online auction platforms, marking a dip that's a million below what we usually see on an average Tuesday. This scenario underscores the ripe opportunity awaiting both established and emerging platforms, ready to disrupt the status quo and make their mark against the industry's giants.

Just click on the image, and boom, you're right at the listing.

This week, we've been zeroing in on BaT's revised fee structure. My initial thoughts are laid out here, and we've already perused a wealth of your compelling insights. Yet, we're all itching to know: how will this fee adjustment affect BaT's financials? And what if Cars & Bids and PCarMarket decided to follow suit?

I've been dissecting the data, scrutinizing every sale from the vibrant autumn of October through the chilly end of December. Ready for the revelations? Below, you'll find an insightful distribution of the fees for vehicles sold on BaT, painting a vivid picture. And, as a bonus, we'll venture into what the landscape might look like if Cars & Bids and PCarMarket took a page out of BaT's book. Dive in!

In this chart above, it's clear that a significant portion, precisely 10.28%, of BaT's sales in the analyzed period were big-ticket items, with over 700 vehicle sales each hitting that $100k mark or soaring above. This elite cluster effortlessly brought in BaT's top-tier fee of $5,000 per sale. But why stop there? Let's dissect this further and take a month-by-month look at how these numbers rolled out.

It's intriguing to note the trajectory of BaT's fee earnings as the year progressed, revealing a gradual decline. This trend might not be too startling, especially considering the festive lull in November and December. Holidays tend to steer the market into a calmer tide, especially with less days to auction a car.

Here's a glimpse of what BaT's coffers would have looked like if they had implemented a ceiling fee of $7,500 in the last quarter. This strategic shift could have translated into a substantial $1.3 million bump in their fees (rounded figure), painting a vivid picture of the financial uplift from the revised fee structure.

Breaking it down further, this boost averages out to an extra $439k in revenue per month. If we project this trend forward, maintaining this average monthly surge, BaT stands to rake in an additional $5.2 million over the next year.

So, with the fee ceiling pushed from $5,000 to $7,500, BaT is looking at a potential 10% leap in revenue—a sizeable stride forward in their financial journey.

Note: BaT do bring in additional revenue through listing fees, selling of engines, parts etc..

If Cars & Bids were to align with this approach and elevate their maximum fee to $7,500, what ripple would that send through their revenue streams? Remember, Cars & Bids currently operates with a 4.5% fee, capped at $4,500. How might their financial landscape shift with this strategic adjustment?

In the analysis above, I've showcased the fees collected by Cars & Bids from October through December, adhering to their existing fee framework. This examination reveals a similar pattern, with a subtle downtrend in fees as we transition from October to December. It's worth noting that this calculation exclusively accounts for fees accrued during the auction period, excluding any additional fees Cars & Bids might garner from post-auction vehicle sales.

With the proposed elevation of their maximum fee to $7,500, Cars & Bids stands to see an extra revenue influx of roughly $71k for the observed period. Breaking it down monthly, that's an additional $23,500 on average hitting their revenue stream. Extending this trend over a full year hints at a potential revenue boost of about $284k.

So, if Cars & Bids were to escalate their fee cap from $4,500 to $7,500, they could anticipate an uptick of nearly 5% in their yearly revenue. This increment, although more modest compared to BaT, is quite understandable given Cars & Bids' less frequent foray into the six-figure vehicle bracket.

Now, turning our attention to PCarMarket, I have a hunch they might experience a more substantial leap (in percentage terms) than Cars & Bids when it comes to revenue boost. Let's dive into the data and test my prediction. Just for a quick recap, PCarMarket operates with a 5% fee, capped at a maximum of $5,000. Let's see how the numbers stack up.

First off, the chart above lays out the fee revenue PCarMarket garnered from their auctions spanning October right up until the close of December. Let's take a closer look at how these numbers played out during the quarter.

Operating with a $5,000 fee cap, PCarmarket pulled in roughly $606,000 in fees over a three-month span. If they were to nudge this cap up to $7,500, their earnings shot up to an estimated $706,000.

This tweak in the fee structure potentially pockets them an additional $100k. Broken down, this represents a monthly revenue surge of about $33k for PCarmarket.

Projecting this pace across a full year, we're looking at a substantial $401k increment. Now, that's a robust 16% surge in bottom-line revenue, just from auction fees! This figure isn't too surprising, given PCarmarket's knack for dealing in high-value vehicles, despite not matching the sales volume of the top U.S. players.

However, a word of caution: PCarmarket's platform isn't as seasoned as BaT's. An abrupt fee hike might backfire, potentially nudging their clientele towards other avenues. It's worth remembering, BaT took a whole decade before tweaking their fees! While these numbers are surely enticing, they come with their share of risk and need a strategic approach.

Will others take a page from BaT's playbook? Time will tell...

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In yesterday's edition, we posed the question:

"Do you agree with Rolls-Royce's policy of permanently banning individuals who resell the Spectre within the first 12 months?"

Interestingly 68% of you voted that ‘Yes they can what they want’.

Below are a selection of your comments.