We know car auctions. They’re either squalid places populated with car salesmen looking for gems among unloved ex-rental cars, or they’re ultra-exclusive, sip champagne-on-the-lawn events where exotic specimens (both cars and people) spend a ton of money . Apparently there is another type of car auction, namely the way Barret-Jackson does it.
At this car auction, enthusiasts from the first group and people from the second category come together. Add to that a good portion of American entertainment, the best sides of a car show and even more American entertainment and you have something like the Barret-Jackson car auction. The show is much more than just a place to bid on cars.
Barret-Jackson is more than a car auction
There are stands of different car brands. Rezvani unveils a car and you can take a ride with other car brands. In addition to cars, you can also shop merchandise, art, boats and jewelry.
The main ingredient, however, remains the car auction. All cars in the halls will be auctioned with no minimum amount. That’s a big risk for the seller, but big boss Craig Jackson knows how to sell a car or two. Jackson says that more than 1,900 cars are sold over seven days.
Once his father and Tom Barret started the auction as a fundraiser for the city of Scottsdale. This got quite out of hand and now 350,000 people come to the event every year. According to Jackson, the Barret-Jackson car auction sells about $2 billion annually. Learn more about the auction below or read about it in TopGear Magazine 214.
