I attended the Russo and STEAL auction and found out the hard why what "BUYER BEWARE" really means. I also found out I was not an isolated example of an easy mark. The auction that touts itself as a boutique auction for collectors had to find a niche of virgin buyers. I'm focusing on the buyers because there seems to be plenty of sellers available since the reputable auction companies were turning away consignments. Plenty of new consigners were available. The Alcazars decided to prey on the baby boomers with disposable incomes that might be intimidated with the large successful car auctions. Russo and STEAL didn't need to run a reputable auction to make money.
SMOKE AND MIRRORS
A car I purchased was (I later found out) owned by the owner of the auction, Drew Alcazar. It seems he buys a lot of cars at this auction from sellers that got duped. He bought the car at his own auction and turned around and sold it to me at his next auction. Why did the same car suddenly become worth more money and get bid up to the price I paid when at the auction before it sold to Drew for $16,000 less. I've since learned that when cars he owns go through the auction he has his shill bidders bid them up to what ever price he feels he can get away with. And he gets the buy fee on top of that. And oh yes, he got the sell fee from the poor owner on the previous auction that ended up selling the car for a loss when the market was escalating. Printing money couldn't be easier.
I had buyer's remorse after drinking too much; it seems that the free drinks are also part of the elaborate game. When I tried to find the next highest bidder on the car I had won, I learned he wasn't a real bidder. So I had two choice, suck it up and figure things out later or refuse to pay. When I refused to pay, the price was suddenly reduced and that made me even more suspicious. That is when I started talking about my experience with RUSSO and STEAL and I began running into other people that had similar experience. Last year in the Russo and Steele Monterey auction I witnessed such bogus smoke and mirror tactics that I decided to find out just how many people are getting ripped off while the owners Drew and Josefine Alcazar are lining their pockets with other peoples money.
This practice is hurting the collector car hobby.
I started this blog, so I could hear your story. I want everyone to know what's really going out at this auction company.
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7 comments:
RIGHT ON
I appreciate what your are doing. I'm not a seasoned car auction guy but when i first went to a Russo and Steel Auction I thought there were a lot of dealers selling cars that looked nice but were pieces of junk. You know the kind of car Barret Jackson turns away. I asked a seller why he would bring his car to this auction and he said and I quote "because the smart buyers are at the other auctions". I never went back and as it turns out, maybe this was a good piece of information.
Craig Jackson should be ashamed of himself!!!!
The fact that there is no name associalted with this website, and the fact that a link was posted on the Barrett Jackson website is extremely suspicious. I have put up with a lot from the Barrett guys over the years, but this truly lacks honor and class! Hey Craig, why don't you leave the little guys alone - You just whittled my Scottsdale acution list down from 3 to 2!!!
--Bill
Go Home Little Boy.
You really don't know what you are talking about, have no knowledge about how auctions work in general, and collector car auctions specifically. This blog should not be buyer beware, but buyer be informed. Had you been so you would better understand the process and wouldn’t have started this stupid blog. I hesitated to even respond and give your comments an ounce of credibility.
Just to examine one of your points; how would you like to be a seller, have some drunken bum buy your car, than back out with "buyers remorse?" You would probably be pretty unhappy and immediately ask the auction company what they are going to do about it. Maybe they would bring the car to the next auction to help you sell it again…for real. Does that scenario sound familiar?
You also have no understanding of what happens if a car has a “reserve” and how an auction company works to reach the reserve on behalf of a seller. (Since Barrett forces you to sell at no reserve, that factor is eliminated at their auction, but you might be surprised at how many people buy their own cars back at a 20% premium).
Please never come to a collection car auction again. You are the kind of so called “buyer” that ruins it for everyone else. Go home little boy, find another game to play.
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