Latest / BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show / From Neon Nostalgia to Digital Bidding: How Mecum On Time Is Reshaping the Collector Market
Transcript
- 0:00BreakFix podcast is all about capturing the living history of people from
- 0:04all over the autosphere, from wrench turners and racers to artists, authors,
- 0:09designers, and everything in between.
- 0:11Our goal is to inspire a new generation of petrolheads that wonder, how did
- 0:17they get that job or become that person?
- 0:19The road to success is paved by all of us because everyone has a story.
- 0:25The following episode is brought to us in part by Garage Style Magazine.
- 0:29Since 2007, Garage Style Magazine has been the definitive source for car collectors,
- 0:34continually delivering information about automobilia, Petroliana, events, and more.
- 0:39To learn more about the annual publication and its new website, be
- 0:43sure to follow them on social media at Garage Style Magazine, or log on to www.
- 0:49garagestylemagazine.
- 0:50com.
- 0:51Because after all.
- 0:52What doesn't belong in your garage?
- 0:57What started in 1988 with little more than a few helpers around a family dining
- 1:03room table This company is now the world's largest collector car auction company with
- 1:07the most auctions the most consignments And with more than 700 million in total
- 1:12sales In 2022, MECUM Auctions maintains its close knit family atmosphere with many
- 1:19team members who have been onboarded since the company's inception and its first
- 1:23auction at the Rockford, Illinois Airport.
- 1:26MECUM Auctions continues to expand its catalog of offerings to include an even
- 1:30wider array of collectibles, encompassing entry level to investment grade classics.
- 1:36and collector cars, vintage and antique motorcycles, signs and memorabilia
- 1:40items like gas pumps, pedal cars and clocks, and even collector
- 1:44grade tractors and farm relics.
- 1:47And to more effectively manage the growth of MECUM's Road Art and
- 1:50Automobilia divisions, the company has expanded into Road Art and On Time.
- 1:56And joining us tonight is Melissa Smith, the new director of MECUM On
- 1:59Time, to tell us more about MECUM's Road Art and MECUM On Time programs.
- 2:03So welcome to Break Fix, Melissa.
- 2:05Thank you very much for having me.
- 2:07Since we already described the origin of MECUM in the introduction, why don't
- 2:10we just jump right in and talk about MECUM Road Art and MECUM On Time.
- 2:14Where do they come from?
- 2:15What are they about?
- 2:16MECUM offers something for everyone that intends a MECUM auction.
- 2:20MECUM Road Art is really an all encompassing Collectible genre.
- 2:25You know, and the word road art is something that MECUM has
- 2:28developed, has backed, and is really trademarked over the last few years.
- 2:33The term that's exclusively used by MECUM Auctions.
- 2:37Everyone else is anything collectible that may enhance your personal
- 2:41space, accentuate a collector car garage, a motorcycle museum, or
- 2:46even your vintage tractor barn.
- 2:48It's everything that can be used to embellish a personal space and
- 2:52also offer a piece of history.
- 2:54It can be anything from vintage gas pumps, to dealership signs, to items from racing
- 2:59history, but virtually it covers anything that has a past and even a story to tell.
- 3:05So Mecum Road Art is displayed at Mecum car auctions.
- 3:08People can look at it, feel it, touch it, and give them a sense of what it would
- 3:14look like in their own personal garage.
- 3:16Gives them a chance to maybe take something home from a Mecum event.
- 3:21If maybe they didn't get the car of their dreams, they may find a piece
- 3:24of road art that they can take home and add to their personal collection.
- 3:28We offer lots prior to the car auctions every morning at our live
- 3:33events, and then also twice a year at the Kissimmee auction, as well as in
- 3:37Indianapolis, we have a standalone road art auction called Road Art Monday.
- 3:42So it's everything you can think about.
- 3:44And different offerings that are available exclusively on that one day
- 3:50when the cars kind of take a break and road art gets to shine for the day.
- 3:53What is Meekum on Time?
- 3:55Is it something to do with road art?
- 3:56Are they interchangeable?
- 3:58Meekum on Time has been something we've been working with since about 2019.
- 4:03We took a wonderful collection from the late Steven Giuliano.
- 4:08You remember his collection.
- 4:09It was.
- 4:11And it was the family's wishes to keep it all together.
- 4:15There were thousands and thousands of items.
- 4:18Honestly, there wasn't enough time to sell them across the actual car auction block.
- 4:23So we started Mikuman Time to allow us a chance to keep the collection together
- 4:29and sell all the little intricate pieces that went along with the collection.
- 4:35We were able to create a platform.
- 4:38That accentuated the collection and then also gave us an
- 4:43opportunity to sell everything.
- 4:44The pandemic started in 2020.
- 4:47We did shut down live events for just a very, very brief time.
- 4:52Meekam on time really took focus at that moment and we ran quite
- 4:58a few auctions during that time.
- 5:01Well, the live auctions just took a brief pause, so we're seeing that
- 5:05people they want to be part of me come.
- 5:07They want to be part of the experience and whether it is sitting
- 5:10in their home or a live event.
- 5:12We want to be able to give that me come experience to everybody.
- 5:16It was that one individual collection that was sort of the kickoff for on time.
- 5:20What did you do after the Giuliano collection?
- 5:22What was next after that, before COVID?
- 5:25We had various auctions where we had an on time auction where we sold in Las Vegas.
- 5:31We did pull up various on time auctions, kind of testing the waters and see how
- 5:37really we wanted to tweak the system.
- 5:39What was really working best for us.
- 5:41Ultimately we wanted to master it.
- 5:43We didn't want to.
- 5:44Be making any mistakes.
- 5:45We wanted to do it right.
- 5:47So from then on, we've been able to take other collections privately and
- 5:52they were only sold through me come on time or they were in collaboration
- 5:56with a car collection or other road art collections where we work together
- 6:01in order to sell the multiple items.
- 6:04Well, we talked about the history of OnTime and its intersection with
- 6:08RoadArt, but let's more clearly define what exactly is OnTime for
- 6:13our first time collectors out there.
- 6:15MECUM OnTime is a timed internet auction platform.
- 6:20It's sold strictly through the internet.
- 6:23Nothing crosses the actual auction block, but it crosses the virtual auction block,
- 6:28and it gives us a chance to sell to customers all across the United States
- 6:33as well as in the other countries, and it allows us to push more items.
- 6:38through in another format.
- 6:41Um, it's a free platform.
- 6:43You know, we don't charge anything to become a registered bidder.
- 6:46We want everyone to have a chance to own a piece of these amazing
- 6:50collections that we're selling.
- 6:51Is OnTime specifically web based or is there a phone app as well?
- 6:56We are web based.
- 6:57The only way to get on is through ontime.
- 6:59mecum.
- 7:01com.
- 7:01Registration is free.
- 7:02Bidding is very simple.
- 7:04We try to make it as easy as possible.
- 7:07As soon as you are outbid, you are able to get an email notification,
- 7:11text notification, so that if you are outbid, you can easily
- 7:15jump back in and set another bid to make sure you win that item.
- 7:18So is there a differentiation between MECUM auctions or items just
- 7:22sold as Rodart or MECUM on time?
- 7:24Or can anything be sold through on time?
- 7:27How does that work?
- 7:28Trying to showcase the larger, the bigger items through the Rodart division that can
- 7:33be displayed beautifully at the auctions.
- 7:37MECUM on time right now, we are taking care of The smaller pieces,
- 7:42but that's not to say that we are going to only be selling smaller
- 7:46items through our platform.
- 7:47We're hoping that this opens our door to additional types of collections
- 7:52beyond the automobile world.
- 7:55And really just the difference is a timed internet auction platform
- 7:59versus items crossing the actual auction block at a live event.
- 8:04So when you compare the three, Between the Mecum Live Auctions, Road Art, and
- 8:08On Time, are they all displaying and selling different items, or is it more
- 8:14of a trickle down effect, where On Time is like, oh, it's that second chance to
- 8:18pick up that Road Art item that you didn't get the first time at the live event,
- 8:22or are they independent from each other?
- 8:23You know what, they really are independent from each other.
- 8:27For example, the Jim's Forever collection we're selling right now.
- 8:30We have about 10, 000 items from him.
- 8:34We just don't have an opportunity to take all the items, display it at a MECUM
- 8:38auction, tear it down, ship it out.
- 8:40Having the Meekum on Time platform allows us an opportunity to
- 8:45share these large collections.
- 8:47It may be the smaller, more intricate pieces that we're able
- 8:51to share with more people, and not necessarily take up the time and
- 8:56the valuable space at a live event.
- 8:58You know, we want to use that for the cars.
- 9:00They're the show, we want them to be the spotlight, but we also want to be
- 9:04able to sell these large collections.
- 9:07As the strength and sales of road art items been the driver to separate
- 9:12MECUM Road Art and MECUM On Time, or what was the driving factor for that?
- 9:16You know, we are getting these large collections.
- 9:19A lot of times we see it's the family's wishes to keep everything
- 9:23together, to sell them as whole.
- 9:25The MECUM On Time platform does allow us to keep the collections together.
- 9:30Keep the focus on our live events on the actual cars, and that's
- 9:34what everyone does want to see, but really have an opportunity to sell
- 9:39thousands and thousands of lots and really keep the family's wishes and
- 9:43the collectors wishes together to be able to sell it in its entirety.
- 9:48Sometimes you get collections that are As you know, they're
- 9:52from someone who passed away.
- 9:54You're dealing with the spouse.
- 9:56You're dealing with the family.
- 9:57Is there like a, for lack of a better phrase, a handholding process?
- 10:01Is there some way somebody who doesn't know what they're doing
- 10:04can call you and say, hi, help?
- 10:06Yeah, absolutely.
- 10:07You know, we have it.
- 10:08People that have worked with Mecum since, you know, they're
- 10:11around that kitchen table on the beginning ends of Mecum auctions.
- 10:16There's an amazing staff here that knows how to make sure that in
- 10:20the end that we make the family, all their wishes come true.
- 10:24There's a time when we really have to make those decisions on
- 10:27what's best for the collection.
- 10:30And our team here at Mecum auctions, they've really got a
- 10:33sense of what the family wants.
- 10:35And what we've seen before too, is.
- 10:38Before someone even passes away, it's already in their wishes, they
- 10:42want MECUM Auctions to essentially take care of their prized possessions
- 10:47and share it with the world.
- 10:49So a lot of those details are taken care of right on the front end, if not before,
- 10:54and it's really an honor to see the full circle of how that process works.
- 11:00Nice, very good.
- 11:01So let's talk about the folks that are buying from both road art and on time.
- 11:05Are you seeing any trends?
- 11:08Is it more collectibles?
- 11:10Is it all just like you described supplementals to the vehicles that they're
- 11:14purchasing or to the vehicles themselves?
- 11:16Is it some combination thereof?
- 11:18You know what, I really think it's a combination of both.
- 11:20A lot of times people are buying things to add to their own personal collections.
- 11:25People are finding a piece of their past, and you know, something spikes
- 11:30their interest, may remember it from their childhood, their grandparents
- 11:34childhood, or whatever that may be.
- 11:36Sometimes we do see impulse buying, a lot of other times we do see
- 11:39just collectors really trying to enhance their personal collections.
- 11:44And another note too, when we sell these large collections, we're
- 11:48People really do want things from the Stephen Giuliano collection, or the
- 11:52collection we're selling right now is Jim's Forever out of Menden, Ohio.
- 11:57These people that have meticulously cared and curated items for 60 some
- 12:02years, people want a piece of that.
- 12:04They want to remember that, and they want to add that to their personal collection.
- 12:08Did it have to be a collection to sell On time, or can somebody just
- 12:12call and say, I have the XYZ gas pump.
- 12:15I need to get rid of it.
- 12:15Help me.
- 12:16Or Melissa, can I just go on and list something by myself?
- 12:19Is that an option too?
- 12:20Right now we don't offer an option for you to personally list your items per sale.
- 12:26We do have possibility of listing personal items.
- 12:30We would create an auction, sell different lots, and we are able to
- 12:35utilize that with different consignors.
- 12:37Does it have to be a collection or can it just be one or two items?
- 12:41As of right now, it would need to be a collection, but that's not to
- 12:44say we can't sell one or two items.
- 12:47Now that we are branching off in our own division and making new
- 12:51auctions, we do have the possibility of offering that to consignors where
- 12:56we would sell one or two items.
- 12:58And what's your cutoff?
- 12:59In other words, what constitutes a collection?
- 13:01How many pieces does somebody need to come to the program with?
- 13:05Ideally, we would like to say maybe 30 items would be a collection.
- 13:09We have the opportunity right now, the way our platform is set up, we
- 13:14sell one or two items every minute.
- 13:16So say you have 30 items, the auction itself would last
- 13:20about 30 minutes to close.
- 13:22We can always adjust the time how everything would close, but we
- 13:26have one coming up that has 50 items, which is absolutely perfect.
- 13:31It's very defined, and it's going to be marketed in such a way that you're
- 13:36going to want to own a piece of this.
- 13:37Let's say somebody had a collection of die cast toys that
- 13:40are very popular these days.
- 13:42Is that something on time would want to handle?
- 13:44Absolutely.
- 13:44We have done that in the past as well, where we have sold die cast cars.
- 13:49You can look at MECUM's website and you can see all of our results
- 13:53are always posted there as well.
- 13:55We do have a great team that's able to do the research, the photography,
- 14:00and able to describe the items.
- 14:02So anything from die cast cars and up, and we're happy to take that on.
- 14:07What does on time offer to customers that's different from
- 14:11the auctions that are live?
- 14:12What Mecom on Time does offer, we don't have to run an auction at the
- 14:16same time a live event is going on.
- 14:18For example, we just had an on time auction today where we sold over 300
- 14:22lots and we did a Cyber Monday sale.
- 14:25We've been trying to do auctions every Tuesday at least once or twice a week.
- 14:29We don't have to sell them specifically at the live events.
- 14:34We're able to continually run auctions weekly, bi weekly, you know, as we see
- 14:41fit, as we start to get these collections and consignors wanting to sell with us.
- 14:45It allows people to really have the comforts of their own home.
- 14:50Be able to bid from their house, from their personal device,
- 14:53from work, wherever they may be.
- 14:55So I can honestly say I was part of the eBay online auction generation.
- 15:01The first go round when it first came out, when the race was who had internet
- 15:05fast enough to get on eBay, right?
- 15:07You know, back in the days of the AOL CDs and that.
- 15:09And so online auctions have been around.
- 15:12For quite a long time, there's all sorts of different types out there.
- 15:15Was the move from road art to on time, an indication that online auctions as
- 15:20a result of COVID, like you mentioned are really on the rise again, because
- 15:24facilities like eBay and others had kind of gone out of fashion, thanks to
- 15:28online shopping, like Amazon, et cetera.
- 15:30So are you seeing a shift back into the online auction world where consumers are
- 15:35more interested in that type of medium?
- 15:37We're definitely seeing an increase.
- 15:39Our live events, if you've been to them, they are packed with people.
- 15:42People want to be there.
- 15:43They want to be involved and we're seeing a huge increase with our absentee
- 15:48bidding from the live events too.
- 15:49We did offer a 100 bidder registration fee if you want to bid on road
- 15:55art and vehicles for a live event.
- 15:57So we are accommodating to that group of people as well.
- 16:01Absolutely.
- 16:01We're seeing an increase with the MECUM on time.
- 16:04We've got almost 7, 000 active bidders right now.
- 16:07Giving them another place to purchase a piece of MECUM and a piece of these
- 16:12amazing collections we're selling out of the comforts of your own home and your
- 16:16car at the baseball game, wherever you may be, you can be part of the MECUM.
- 16:21Our auctions, and it's also giving our consignors and our collectors
- 16:25a chance to share their huge collections with the public.
- 16:30We've got a chance to keep the collections together and sell them in its entirety.
- 16:35And we've got an amazing marketing and presentation department here
- 16:39at MECUM, where we're able to get into everybody's home, share these
- 16:44amazing stories, and give everyone a chance to bid and purchase something.
- 16:50Let's say I buy something off of MECUM on time.
- 16:53Are you guys involved in shipping it out?
- 16:55How is an item actually purchased?
- 16:57You know, what are the fees?
- 16:58How does it all really work?
- 16:59So when you start out with the bidding process, our platform right now,
- 17:03you'll see everything starts at 1.
- 17:05Our bidding platform gives everyone a chance to play and the bidding
- 17:09increments go up from there.
- 17:10We've got a team that's on site.
- 17:13We've just remodeled a warehouse where we're meticulously doing inventory,
- 17:18photography, describing the items, all the way until an item is purchased
- 17:22in one in one of our auctions.
- 17:24We have a team that they are facilitating all of the packaging and shipping.
- 17:29So once your item is packed, it is shipped right to your doorstep.
- 17:34Roughly about 1 to 3 days by the time you win the item and
- 17:38then it's on your front door.
- 17:40You mentioned that the items are listed always starting at a dollar.
- 17:43Is it a system where there are reserves?
- 17:45Is it all no reserve?
- 17:47How does that work too from the mechanical side of the auction?
- 17:50In the past, we have run collections where there were reserves on
- 17:54items, and that definitely is something that we're able to do.
- 17:58Right now, the collection that we are selling is strictly no reserve, and
- 18:02that also rolls into the live road art from Jim's Forever Collection.
- 18:07That, too, is no reserve.
- 18:09As well as his motorcycles that will be sold at the Las Vegas
- 18:12Motorcycle Auction this January.
- 18:14That entire collection is being marketed and sold no reserve.
- 18:18Then we know everyone's going to be going home with a piece of the collection.
- 18:22But if you do want to sell your collection and have reserves on it, that is
- 18:26definitely something we can do as well.
- 18:28Are there fees for both buyers and sellers and percentages?
- 18:31Is it all based on how it ends?
- 18:33Can you give some insight into folks that might be interested in trying
- 18:36out on time for the first time?
- 18:37So our consigning fee, we negotiate.
- 18:39It is really based on, you know, what kind of collection you have
- 18:43and how many items there are.
- 18:44So that is discussed on an as is basis.
- 18:47As far as buying from our MECUM OnTime platform, the buyer's
- 18:52premium for MECUM OnTime is 25%.
- 18:56That includes the lot itself and all the payments going,
- 19:00you know, directly to that lot.
- 19:03Mecum Kissimmee 2023, the world's largest collector car auction,
- 19:07will take place this January 4th through 15th in Kissimmee, Florida.
- 19:12This is a 12 day auction featuring estimated 4, 000 consignments of vehicles,
- 19:18but There's a whole day of road art sales that MECUM calls Road Art Monday.
- 19:24Melissa, can you tell us a little bit, what are some of the highlight
- 19:27collections of the road art items that are consigned to Kissimmee this year?
- 19:31Everyone's excited for Kissimmee.
- 19:32Who doesn't love January, Florida, weather?
- 19:35And our road art team, they are excited.
- 19:38They are getting ready to showcase over 10 private collections that will be sold
- 19:45over the course of the 12 day auction.
- 19:48One of the major highlights of the collections is one of my favorite.
- 19:52It is called the Sweet Street Collection.
- 19:55It's a bright, fun collection of vintage candy neon signs.
- 19:59Once these are displayed in Kissimmee, they are going to bring so much nostalgia
- 20:05back to everyone that has a chance to take a look at these beautiful neon signs.
- 20:10That sounds terrific.
- 20:11How many road art items are consigned to Kissimmee this year?
- 20:15Every day before the cars start crossing the auction block,
- 20:20Road Art will take center stage.
- 20:22Roughly 60 to 70 lots will sell each morning prior to the cars.
- 20:27And in addition to that, as you touched on Road Art Monday, the
- 20:31cars get to take a break and Road Art really does shine that day.
- 20:36And we'll be selling almost 600 lots of Strictly Road Art on Road Art Monday.
- 20:41Wow.
- 20:42So 600 alone on Road Art Monday?
- 20:44Absolutely.
- 20:46That's incredible.
- 20:47Going, uh, side by side, what's on offer at MECUM on Time and items
- 20:52to be on the lookout for there?
- 20:54We actually will not be selling any MECUM on Time lots during the Kissimmee
- 20:58auction because we certainly want to make sure the focal point is on the cars and
- 21:03the road art during that amazing event.
- 21:06But we will have a wonderful booth on just a few minutes.
- 21:09play in Kissimmee, where we will be showcasing the final lots of
- 21:14the Jim's Forever collection.
- 21:15And in addition to that, we have two collections coming up.
- 21:19One which you can see now online, which is a Porsche Rennsport collection, as
- 21:25well as one that is not up yet, but it is coming in the days to come, the Sheldey
- 21:32American collection coming out of Southern California with some amazing pieces.
- 21:38How does MECUM go about consigning collections for the Road Art in Kissimmee?
- 21:42We have a consignment form that you can find online or you can call to
- 21:47our office at any time and someone can walk through the process.
- 21:51All items do get reviewed prior to being entered into the auction.
- 21:57Like I mentioned, we are offering 60 to 70 lots every morning.
- 22:01So it's not a lot of opportunity, but you know what we're looking for
- 22:06is the really high quality, high dollar items that people are really
- 22:10going to be looking for in Kissimmee.
- 22:12Consignment procedure, the consignment process for road art.
- 22:16At Kissimmee or any other live auction you hold that's different
- 22:19than me come on time, right?
- 22:21Yes, it is.
- 22:22There is an entry fee based on what day that you would want your road art to
- 22:26sell in Kissimmee, and there are minimum sellers commission for each day as well.
- 22:32That is available.
- 22:33Online, all the details are there, and we've got an amazing road art
- 22:37team that is eager and ready to review any incoming consignments.
- 22:41And if you can't get it ready for Kissimmee, we do have other auctions
- 22:45coming up in 2023 that are going to be great places to sell road art as well.
- 22:50You know, we see all these auctions on TV.
- 22:53We see these auctions everywhere, expensive, expensive,
- 22:56expensive, kind of exciting.
- 22:58Are there even items there that say just.
- 23:00Your average show just getting into the collector hobby, they
- 23:04can go there and they might find something that will fit their budget.
- 23:06What advice do you have for people like that?
- 23:08When we take on the large collections, you know, when they're not only the
- 23:12cars, the motorcycles, the tractors, everything that's used to display in
- 23:17these beautiful garages and Barnes.
- 23:20There's always little knickknacks and little hidden treasures.
- 23:23We're able to take these collections and offer them to the public.
- 23:27It does make something available to everybody.
- 23:30It's not always going to be the high dollar items.
- 23:33You may find the bargain of the day.
- 23:35We certainly try to get something that is available for everybody.
- 23:39Since we're talking about future events like Kissimmee 2023 and
- 23:42other MECOM auctions, there's so many throughout the year.
- 23:44And obviously there's the road art auctions and on time is kind of this
- 23:47perpetually turning wheel of things that are available for people to peruse,
- 23:51but it's also been an evolution, right?
- 23:53As you said, it started in 2019.
- 23:55Here we are approaching 2023 very quickly.
- 23:58In that four year span, it's changed a lot from its inception to today.
- 24:02But what does the next four years look like or the next 10
- 24:05years look like in your mind?
- 24:06What do you see as the future of on time?
- 24:08And in addition to that, what are some of the hot trends that you're also seeing
- 24:12right now and going into the future?
- 24:14And where do you think the market is going?
- 24:16You know, it has changed a lot in the course of the last four years,
- 24:20and I think what this is really going to do is open our doors to be able
- 24:24to offer different types of hidden treasures that maybe people have been
- 24:28holding on to for many years and not really sure what's the best platform
- 24:34for them to finally part with them.
- 24:36I feel like we are opening the doors where we can come in.
- 24:40You can trust us.
- 24:41We have a dialed in team that's ready to really do the research, do the
- 24:46work, be able to offer these little hidden treasures to the public.
- 24:52It's fascinating to see what people do collect, and you never know.
- 24:56There are so many opportunities out there for us, and I'm really excited to see what
- 25:01the next four years look like, and beyond.
- 25:04Do you think you'll see a time in which on time is selling cars as well?
- 25:08Well, not yet.
- 25:10That's not to say that it won't happen.
- 25:12You know, now that we do have our own division, you know, we may test the
- 25:16waters, we may do some new, fun, exciting things, we'll see what is yet to come.
- 25:21We've got some amazing collections that are not cars coming up on the horizon.
- 25:25And we'll see, you never know.
- 25:27We're hoping to expand our offerings, offer more things beyond the Realm,
- 25:34so to speak, and it just gives us a good platform and a good place
- 25:38to start now that we are expanding our MECUM on time division.
- 25:42We just recently remodeled a warehouse close to the MECUM
- 25:47headquarters in Wisconsin.
- 25:49We're really fortunate that we have hired a full time staff that we have working
- 25:55every day diligently doing the inventory.
- 25:59Describing, we have an in house photographer and all the way up into
- 26:04shipping and sending it out to the buyers.
- 26:07We're really an all inclusive place where everything is meticulously gone through
- 26:13research, taken care of, and just gives us an opportunity to take our time with
- 26:18it, offer more information to our buyers.
- 26:21We just really want to gain the trust.
- 26:23In not only sellers with these large collections, as well as the buyers on
- 26:28the final end of it, the collection that we have right now, like I mentioned, was
- 26:32from Jim's forever out of Menden, Ohio.
- 26:35It was over 10, 000 items that we picked up from Ohio brought to our warehouse.
- 26:41Went through each item that this family collected for over 60 years,
- 26:46you know, and in the matter of just a few weeks, our team was able to
- 26:50really get in, dissect, and create an inventory and offer different auctions
- 26:56and different opportunities for bidders to own a piece of this collection.
- 27:00So I hear it all the time from friends.
- 27:02Well, I'm going to hang on to this until the value goes up.
- 27:05There's all this prospecting is the word I'd like to use when it comes
- 27:09to when they should consign an item.
- 27:11But in your professional opinion, looking at all these different
- 27:14auctions that happen, is there really a right time or should you just
- 27:19get it done before it's too late?
- 27:20Only, you know, when it's the right time, but I feel like now is the best
- 27:24time if we have a chance to share these collections with a multitude of people.
- 27:30And what we've seen in the past too, as people decide, you know, they get
- 27:35older, they move on, their families may not want to take care of these big
- 27:40collections when something may happen.
- 27:43And a lot of times people that have these large collections,
- 27:46they want to see themselves.
- 27:48They want to see their history, where these pieces have come and
- 27:52where the future is for them.
- 27:53They like to see the change of hands.
- 27:56They like to see that things that they've enjoyed for all these years are
- 28:00now being offered to other people so that they too can enjoy them, treasure,
- 28:06share, and create the new stories and that they always continue to live on.
- 28:12We've compared and contrasted both RoadArt and OnTime several
- 28:16times throughout this episode.
- 28:17So one more, as we talk about futures and trending.
- 28:20Are you seeing, or do you think there will be a swing in either direction?
- 28:25Are more people buying RoadArt right now, or they're buying more from OnTime?
- 28:30Is it 50 50?
- 28:31Do you see the two maybe sort of just blending together in the future?
- 28:35What are your thoughts on that?
- 28:36I do think we will continue to blend together.
- 28:39The best way to do something like this is through a dedicated team
- 28:42and between the road art team, the on time team and everyone at Mecum
- 28:47Auction, working together is the key to making all of this work.
- 28:51Personally, I'm super proud to be part of it, working with some of the most
- 28:55fascinating people I've ever worked with.
- 28:57We have a big overlap of customers that are buying on all the different platforms.
- 29:04They want a little piece of kind of everything.
- 29:06We'll continue to strive to be the best and continue to work together in
- 29:11order to ultimately make the consigner happy and be able to share these
- 29:16pieces of history with many people.
- 29:20Melissa, we've reached that part of the episode in which I like to ask my guests,
- 29:23are there any shoutouts, promotions, or anything else you'd like to share
- 29:27that we haven't covered thus far?
- 29:28I'm really, really proud of the team that I've been a part of for all
- 29:32of these years and really looking forward to see the growth and the
- 29:35potential of everything that we have.
- 29:37You know, our road art team, the on time team, they're spending countless hours.
- 29:41Weeks, months on the road, curating, collecting these
- 29:45collections for us to really be able to share them with the world.
- 29:49They really do make us look good by all the hard work that they're doing.
- 29:52Hats off to the team that is behind all of this and really doing the
- 29:57hard work because without them, we couldn't make this possible.
- 30:00So it's really exciting to be part of this exciting to be part of MECUM
- 30:04auctions and, you know, really looking forward to what's in our future.
- 30:08Nobody sells more than MECUM.
- 30:10Nobody.
- 30:11MECUM Auctions is the world's leader of collector car, vintage and antique
- 30:16motorcycle and road art sales, hosting auctions throughout the United States.
- 30:21The company has specialized in the sale of collector cars for more than
- 30:2435 years, now offering more than 22, 000 lots per year and averaging
- 30:30more than one auction per month.
- 30:33MECUM Auctions is headquartered in Walworth, Wisconsin, and since 2011
- 30:38has been ranked number one in the world with the number of collector cars
- 30:43offered at auction and is host to the world's largest collector car auction
- 30:47held annually in Kissimmee, Florida, as well as the largest motorcycle auction
- 30:52held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- 30:55MECUM's Road Art and MECUM on Time divisions offer a wide variety of
- 31:00collectibles for live and online auctions.
- 31:03You can learn more and follow MECUM and their upcoming events at www.
- 31:08MECUM.
- 31:10com or you can follow them on social at MECUM Auction on Facebook at MECUM
- 31:16underscore auctions on Instagram.
- 31:18at MECUM on Twitter and at MECUM Auction on YouTube.
- 31:23Thanks, Don.
- 31:24And with that, Melissa, I can't thank you enough for coming on BreakFix, and
- 31:27I have to say, I wish I knew this was a thing sooner because it would have made
- 31:32Christmas shopping a heck of a lot easier.
- 31:35Is an awesome thing that MECUM is providing to the entire car hobbyist
- 31:40community and that we can pick up things that we like, whether it's that
- 31:43memorabilia and that Petroliana and those collectibles through road art,
- 31:47or if we're trying to even unload our massive collection of hot wheels and
- 31:50die cast that are taking a valuable space in our garages through the on
- 31:54time system or anything in between.
- 31:56I love this interchange within the community, being able to make a digital.
- 32:00Some of us are still cool.
- 32:02Let's say participating in our own self imposed travel restrictions and getting
- 32:06to different places is tough and making this available digitally is awesome.
- 32:09So I appreciate everything you guys are doing and make them and especially
- 32:13the job you have at hand directing all of the work over at on time.
- 32:16So again, thank you for sharing all this information with
- 32:18us and coming on the show.
- 32:20Well, thank you so much for having me.
- 32:21I really appreciate it.
- 32:22Pack your bags, buy your flight.
- 32:25Get to Kissimmee.
- 32:26It's going to be something you definitely don't want to miss.
- 32:28We're slated to have almost 4, 000 cars, if not more.
- 32:32So, it's going to be jam packed every day.
- 32:35You know, just make sure we can get everyone to Florida and spend
- 32:39some time in Kissimmee in January.
- 32:42Thank you so much.
- 32:43I appreciate it.
- 32:44Thanks.
- 32:45Thanks.
- 32:45Bye bye.
- 32:50The following episode is brought to us in part by Garage Style Magazine.
- 32:54Since 2007, Garage Style Magazine has been the definitive source for car collectors
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- 33:05To learn more about the annual publication and its new website, visit
- 33:10Be sure to follow them on social media at Garage Style Magazine or log onto
- 33:16www.garagestylemagazine.com because after all, what doesn't belong in your garage.
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