[twobjshelbys]

The folks at BAT in the early days I think were really under-appraising vehicles. Over time they've gotten much better and have gotten much more traffic as a result. I see over and over again that the last-minute effect pushes cars over the reserve and in some cases way over.

I don't know if the guys that set the numbers have gotten better at appraising or simply have enough market data from their own site that a reasonable CMA based on their own historical data. (CMA is real estate term - Comparative Market Analysis. Real estate brokers are not appraisers but are allowed to do their own seat of the pants price guess using, these days, the exact same information that appraisers use, all driven by the choice of comparables.)

My opinion now is that BAT has arrived at the auction heat that everyone applies the term "powered by alcohol" at Barrett Jackson and Mecum. On the other hand it also supports that two or more competitive bidders arrive at what they consider a FAIR price that satisfies their needs/wants and that in the past some BAT buyers have gotten smokin' deals.