February 12, 2021 | Information and updates from our physical and digital auction leadership.
It was a busy week at McConkey Auction Group! With inventory continuing to tighten and an anniversary sale in Las Vegas, the business has been brisk for us across the West.
DAA Seattle: Friday in Seattle was much like we experienced this entire week across all MAG selling platforms and locations. Product is selling at an extremely high conversion rate, and lower inventory levels throughout the industry are due to unconditional factors caused by the last several months. Tax season is upon us, but it feels different. Just the same, we know our dealer community is resilient and will continue to push through and find ways to adjust.
We will continue to support you and look to our diverse consignment providers for fresh product. We will not lose focus on improving our operations to provide you with a fluid sales experience. Maintaining your trust and serving you with professionalism and integrity is one of our greatest privileges. We want you to feel confident that when you need assistance, are dissatisfied, or have something that needs attention, we are available for you.
Congratulations to DAA Las Vegas for having an off the charts Anniversary Sale. Joe and the team in Las Vegas are an extension of the MAG family; if you haven’t tried them out yet we can help get you going.
This upcoming week in Seattle, Way Scarff Ford will be running 65 fresh trades, GSA will have 90+ units, and we’ll feature several lanes full of opportunities from Titus-Will, Honda of Seattle, Toyota of Seattle, Burien Chevrolet, Burien Toyota, Hinshaw’s, and Kendall Ford.
This weekend we are expecting snow and in Seattle and that means “Snowmageddon.” Maybe this is a perfect opportunity to stay inside and enjoy a nice weekend with your significant other in celebration of Valentine’s Day. Stay off the roads, physically distance, and stay socially connected. Our team takes the opportunity to serve you all seriously and we are extremely grateful that this is what we get to do.
Your faces are not in the lanes, but your presence is appreciated.
– Dave Blake, General Manager
DAA Northwest: In mid-June, Bob described our market as a perfect storm. We had pent up demand from shutdowns across the entire Pacific Northwest and little supply as OEMs struggled to get product to their dealers. It is no surprise that not a lot has changed since June, and the result has been less and less product making its way to auction. With compressed consignment, we are seeing average sales conversion at an unbelievable 80% again.
Clean trades and diesels under $30,000 have been the hot product. With another high conversion rate this week, expect next week to be full of fresh inventory. Retail in Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, and Montana has been steady and should pick up even more over the next few weeks as we approach tax season and state restrictions lessen.
I personally have been blown away by the resilience, grit, and adaptability of you, our customers and I can’t thank you all enough for being true partners.
– Collin McConkey, General Manager
DAA Las Vegas: We celebrated our 7th anniversary this week, and what a celebration it was! Market demand was at its highest point of the year to date and we set location records for units sold, dealer attendance, and post-sale inspections. We converted 80% of our 450-unit offering as buyers from throughout the West participated in-lane and online.
Honda and Acura Remarketing headlined the event with a conversion rate of 91% on 150 units. Exeter and United Auto Credit increased their consignment volume for this event, and both sold 100% with high retention numbers across the board. Our late-model presence continues to grow in Vegas and was bolstered by additional rental volume from Avis Budget Group. Jim Marsh, Towbin Automotive, Centennial Toyota, Prestige Automotive, and the Super Automotive Group were all high converters and were critical to the overall success of the sale.
Buyers from Dick Hillsboro, Rands Auto Sales, Cliffs Quality, Swickard Honda, and Poor Boyz shared our $7,000 post-sale cash and prize giveaway. The team here in Las Vegas put forth a tremendous effort in preparing for and executing this sale and I couldn’t be prouder of them.
With commitments from additional commercial consignors and dealer partners mounting, we are looking forward to upcoming sales and our next large promotional event in May.
– Joe LeMonds, General Manager
MAG Now: We understand the strong need to source inventory. With a suppression on new vehicles being built and a retail market that is holding strong, we are working diligently to provide avenues for both buyers and sellers to connect. Part of that strategy is helping to streamline the connection of buyers to sellers who are not running vehicles through the physical lanes. We’ve been doing this over the past year through our digital auction, MAG Now powered by EBlock.
This month, we’re offering new MAG Now buyers a $100 credit per unit on their first week’s purchases. In addition, we’re doing $250 drawings for every 10th unit sold. Congratulations to this week’s drawing winners: Heartland Toyota, Harris Ford Lincoln, Valley Ford Nissan Kia, Bill Pierre Ford, Beaverton Hyundai, Findlay Chrysler Jeep Dodge, and Five Valley Auto Sales!
If you haven’t experienced MAG Now yet, I encourage you to let us walk you through the platform and find inventory that fits your needs. MAG Now runs about 250 vehicles a week, all of which are not in our physical lanes. The consignment includes an array of fleet consignors, aged units, and trades. We have transportation ready to go at the location of our selling dealers and we will help provide the facilitating service you have grown accustomed to throughout MAG.
– David Pendergraft, COO |McConkey Auction Group
ABS Auto Auctions: We saw increased buyer activity during Monday’s Live Auction as a result of Saving Money Monday – our February ABS promotion. Buyers earn free Monday Buy Fees and Inspection Guarantees when they buy vehicles from the prior week’s Wednesday, Thursday, or Weekend auctions.
We’ll finish this week with a conversion rate of 65% as buyers and sellers work their way through tightening market conditions. We’re seeing that sellers want spring money, but buyers aren’t quite there yet. The inventory of nice cars is very thin, and dealers are holding on to everything they can make a retail car out of. Vehicles in the $5,000 – $20,000 range are very strong, while cheaper units and inventory over $20,000 are tougher.
We’re now averaging over 1,000 sold units per week, and our business development department is doing a great job onboarding new buyers!
Our Southern California, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Medford teams look forward to serving you next week!
– Tom Harmon, President | ABS Auto Auctions
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