💰 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.

The reserve sell-through rate is just for cars that are listed with a reserve. The full sell-through rate includes all auctions, reserve and no-reserve.

I only include websites that have sold 5+ cars in the chart below.

With Monday typically viewed as a slower day in the automotive auction industry, yesterday's overall sales numbers defied those norms. The total sales value came in just shy of $7 million across multiple platforms - an impressive figure for the start of the week.

What made yesterday particularly noteworthy was the lack of any singular "big" sale over the $500,000 mark. Instead, it was a combination of high volume and consistent pricing that drove that sales number with the average sale price landing around $41,000. So while there were no multi-million dollar unicorns, it was a steady stream of solid deals across affordable, mid-range, and higher-end models that collectively stacked up.

Typically, huge single-sale prices are needed to propel the daily totals toward $7 million. But yesterday demonstrated the impact of simple consistent inventory turnover across all price brackets when sales volume is high.

Rather than leaning on a couple of premier listings, it was a "grind-it-out" day where sheer quantity and market appetite for quality vehicles paid off handsomely. An intriguing start to the week that defied usual "Monday lull" perceptions in the industry.

A nice eclectic mix of cars in the top 5. SOMO once again showcasing their ability to move higher end cars.

Click on the cars to check out each listing!

Look, we all gotta start somewhere in life, right? It's a journey we're all on, with ups and downs along the way. Now don't worry, I'm not about to get all deep and philosophical on you. But think about any online platform selling vehicles - they all kicked things off at zero. Zero followers, zero bidders, zero sellers. The grind to get where they want to be is one long, winding road.

So when I see new platforms struggling or even the established ones hitting some speedbumps, I have to remind myself - this is all part of the journey. There will be really crappy days, weeks, even months sometimes. But I'll still report on it, no sugar-coating (you know how I roll).

We all look at the behemoth that is Bring a Trailer now and it seems like they're just dominating, light years ahead of everyone else. And they are...now. But I guarantee you they don't see it that way internally. I'm convinced the BaT team sees a hundred areas they can level up and grow even more.

But let me take you on a little trip down memory lane to show that even they had humble beginnings. Below is legitimately the very first post ever on BringaTrailer.com way back in 2007. Yep, that's where this automotive auction juggernaut was born.

Then check this out - here's their first ever auction listing (1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302)...7 years later in 2014! And get this, BaT themselves were the sellers, basically acting as a dealer to offload this car. So much for an "overnight" success story!

And let's not forget, back in BaT's early days they were fighting an absolute behemoth themselves! The assumption was that eBay's stranglehold on online car auctions was untouchable. That's where this whole game started, so the idea of some little upstart taking them on seemed laughable.

But BaT showed that paradigm shifts can and do happen. They chipped away, found their niche, and execution excellence took them from the underdog to the top dog over time. It's proof that even when a giant looks unbeatable, the hungry underdog willing to go the extra mile can eventually shift the power dynamics.

Look, I'm sharing all this to give some inspiration and perspective to the new platforms fighting an uphill battle. And a reminder to all of us that good things take time to blossom. The backers of these platforms need to be patient, back the team they hired and not pull the plug too soon. We're all on this crazy journey together.

Like I said from the jump, we all gotta start somewhere. The key is showing up every damn day and grinding it out. There will be bumps and potholes, but stick with it. As long as you don't quit, good things will happen. Let's see where this road takes us!

Keeping on the BaT theme for one further minute. This 149-Mile 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series ended up as an RNM (Reserve Not Met) with a final bid of $975,000. I don't think BaT started all those years ago imagining scenarios like this elitecar hitting six-figures but not selling.

So why didn't it sell? Well, to be blunt, as is often the case with RNM auctions, the seller simply didn't think the final bid met their reserve price. It's worth noting they did sell 5 out of their 6 listings that day which were all quite special cars (see below).

What happened next was a little shocking. The highest bidder openly chimed in, revealing:

Talk about showing your hand! I'm not sure how much more transparent the highest bidder could have been. Which leads me to this thought - if they knew their final bid was short of meeting reserve, then in this case they likely would have placed another bid to push it over the line, allowing the sale to complete and BaT to receive their commission.

I get it, it's a tricky conundrum as the seller/platform don't want to reveal the reserve price. But maybe there's a way for them to discretely indicate if the reserve has been met in the final minutes? I honestly don't know the perfect solution, but I'm just reflecting on how this sale potentially could have happened if certain mechanisms were in place.

What likely happened after is the seller reached out to the highest bidder now knowing what they were willing to pay. A deal was quite likely struck between the two parties privately, which means no commission for BaT's facilitating the transaction.

Now, I know no one's shedding tears over BaT potentially missing out on a commission ( I hope BaT are!). But I do care about legitimate sales not happening when mechanisms aren't properly in place, whatever those might be. Just some food for thought on this high-profile RNM situation.