RM Sotheby's Open Road auction

https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/0620
There is a quantity of Ferrari automobilia and literature in this sale--many brochures, books, manuals, build sheets, MSOs, some tools and parts. There had been a number of dealer signs listed but they've been removed, not quite sure why?

 

Right. Some great items that aren't offered very often.

 

Many items went below the estimates.

 

And then there were a few lots like this:
https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/0620/open-roads--fall/lots/n1283-ferrari-250-california-brochure-english/1002243

 

wow...nice pay day....

 

I took the 1975 Ferrari sales and service directory for well below what I perceive the market to be. There were two other bidders, probably dealers who were bottom feeding.

 

And this(!)
https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/0620/open-roads--fall/lots/n0017-nardi-ferrari-steering-wheel-ceramic-ashtray/1000031

 

Oh I LOVE that!!


Not $6K worth of love, but that is just beautiful......I'm sure more than one Italian shop owner cherished having one....

 

There are a few of those. I was thinking more about these:

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I did pick up a cool red and white 250 GTO poster for well under guidance. Now got to figure out the shipping.

 

I was contacted by RM about shipping for the item I bought. Have you heard from them?

 

It looks like the froth may be out of the “wallet, books and papers” market....

 

I can't disagree with the results, this sale was not well executed and properly promoted. Bear in mind that buyers commission for automobilia is 20% so add that to these numbers. Further all of the automobilia lots were No Reserve; in that situation auction companies give consignors a bit of leeway in setting estimates. I am guessing that the specialists are not Ferrari experts and they relied on the representations of the consignors. Minimal descriptions and they were often incorrect/inaccurate.
Lot 1001 appears to be a thrown together 250 set: August 1961 GTE Owners Manual, fair to poor condition; Inside plug pre-1960 250 Parts Manual(autographed yet not mentioned); pouch appears to have had a sticker removed from the cover, can't discern from the photo whether the pouch is a 250 or 330; Maranello Concessionaires brochure(almost no value/relevance). A dealer probably bought the lot to use the pieces in other sets.
Lot 1002 described as a 275 GTB/4 Manual set was a joke, pure crap.
Dino and Daytona stuff looked good but as others have mentioned prices have softened quite a bit. Also it helps when selling a manual set to show all of the components in the main photo. Several didn't include the pouch which is usually the most valuable component. Items for supercars--288 GTO, F40, F50, Enzo et al seem as strong as ever. I thought that the 365 GTC sold well.

 

It’s the job of the auction houses to publish valuations that represent reality, that’s what they are paid to do. In my armchair assessment many of the valuations for the memorabilia felt a little on the high side. And many (most?) items sold below the lowest valuation.

Part of the issue was the format and the not so great marketing of the event. And values for collectibles, cars included, are down from their peak. As a buyer I’m not complaining.

 

I believe one of the models was a Patrice Conti, might be wrong on that, but it looked nice. Bidding started at around $1000 and it didn’t get one bid.

 

Opening bid for all automobilia lots was $50. There was a 333 SP model that hammered for $1000 but the description did not reference Conti.

 

Patrice de Conto. And I highly doubt either the 333 SP or the F50 were built by him. The fact that RM gave NO information on either model is their failure. They don't seem to realize that you can't just put something up with one or a few photos, and no information, and very poor marketing.

 

Ok, I contacted one of the two shipping agents recommended by RM. I called first thing this morning and asked for the person named in the RM email. He was out, but I was told by the clerk to send details to that person by email. I also left a message for him to call me when he came in because I don’t put cc details in emails and I need a price quote. Clerk says ok.

I sent the email without delay and reminded him to call me. No phone call as of mid-afternoon, so I re-sent the email and again asked him to call me. Six PM and still no call, so I called the RM rep to ask what’s going on. She takes the opportunity to tell me that that particular agent won’t be making any pickups until next Monday.

WTAF? That’s ridiculous. But I wouldn’t mind so much if the guy had had the courtesy to contact me and let me know, rather than my having to find out on my own. My first call tomorrow will be to the other company.

 

That's one of the downsides of remote auctions Jack. I'm not sure how RMS works stateside, but I recently purchased a BNIB set of Schedoni/Ferrari fitted luggage at another auction. The commission, "uplift" fee and packing/shipping charges(only one designated agent) were nearly half of the hammer price.
The irony is that your lot could be sent in a USPS small Priority Mail Box or a padded envelope, what's the big deal?

 

I guess RM’s attitude is that no matter the size or value of the lot, it’s the buyer’s responsibility to get it off the premises.

 

Indeed, and that's why it was difficult for many to bid on these items. With a proper service for shipping there would be more bids, especially from oversees. I would have bid on certain items when this was offered. Now, the results on some (very) rare items are just poor...

 

I live in the States, and when I saw RM''s statement about buyers being responsible to collect items from them/arrange their own shipping, as in RM was going to be no help at all, I lost interest in bidding on anything. Seems like a big hassle. And I've recently been a buyer with some other online auctions; overseas and in the US who are all more helpful, and either have on premises shipping or have arrangements with 1-2 outside shipping services. RM had arrangements with some shippers in past auctions, I wonder why it changed now? It could be due to damage in packing and shipping caused by a former shipper.... I was contacted by them to do repairs last year on a couple of damaged Amalgam F1 models they had shipped.

 

I got my auctions mixed up, it was a lot from another auction happening around the same time, in Germany. It’s a 1:8 Monza described as made by Patrice, no last name, one of the images shows his signature. As I understand it the bidding started at 1000 euro and it received no bids.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/92596296_ferrari-limited-handwork-model-860-monza-by-patrice

 

I sent the first person on the list the lot info and he sent back a quote. Way overpriced but what’a ya gonna do? Maybe contact the second guy.

 

My “experience” over yet. I’ll update when I finally get the item in my hands.