Hammer Time: Confessions Of An Auto Auctioneer

by Steven Lang

Updated: May 16th, 2014

hammer time confessions of an auto auctioneer

A little over 12 years ago I got married. It was a bargain basement wedding that overlooked a beautiful lake on one side, and my mother-in-law’s house on the other. At that time I was all of three months into the free market free-for-all that is the auto auction business.

No bid calling at that point. No buying of vehicles on the side. Not even some grandiose plan to turn my auction and automotive interests into an enduring career. I just went for auctioneering tryouts at the sales and, with enough recommendations from friends in the business, hoped for the best.

My first job was to be the ringman. The guy who says, “Yep!” while pointing to a professional car buyer at the auctions. For two to three hours I took my two degrees at Emory and put them towards their most relevant use at the sales… “Yep!!!”

My daily performances may not have been Hamlet on Broadway at that time. But it was a living and a surprisingly lucrative one that has now spanned nearly 2,000 auctions and over 100,000 vehicles.

Now my life has come full circle. I have been a bid caller. A remarketing manager. A car dealer, and even a partner of an auto auction. I have been on top of the world. Down and out. Back in the game. Even built lifelong friendships and been stabbed in the back along the way. Heck, sometimes the handshakes and backstabs were from the same source on the same day.

Through it all I have learned an awful lot about human nature and the way folks react to the auction process. The 140 decibel chant. The excitement. The enthusiasm. Even the deception and the games that are played to create the urgency to buy.

It’s very hard to impart all the information folks should know when visiting an auto auction. Especially since these operations survive solely on the power of persuasion. Do I recommend that everyday folks buy a car from a public auction ? No!

But if you are among the mechanically gifted and rightly skeptical, there is a road map now. I wrote this article recently and hopefully it will add some perspective to a business that is as chaotic and freedom oriented as any you can ever imagine.

Enjoy… and keep your hands in your pockets!

Steven Lang

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DavidB on Mar 09, 2012

My experience at estate auctions is that something will sell for .10¢ on the dollar or double retail, and there's no way to know which until after the bidding begins...

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TheHammer on Mar 10, 2012

First auction I ever attended I was confident i would be able to keep cool and make some smart purchases. I left the sale bewildered. I didn't understand a single word from the auctioneer and I certainly couldn't keep up with the frantic pace. Add to that the high decibel level and the exhaust smell too. Luckily, I was accompanied by an experienced buyer and by my third attempt I was good to go.

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