Auction Car Didn’t Meet Reserve? Data Suggest This Is the Best Way to Relist It.

Listing a classic car for sale through an online auction is exciting. It can also be nerve-wracking and, in the end, disappointing. But even if bidding doesn’t take off as expected and your car doesn’t meet the reserve price you set, that doesn’t quite mean you’re all the way back at square one. On the contrary, you’ve already taken the photos, done the prep work, and gathered all the relevant info.

What’s even better is that simply relisting it at no reserve (which means it sells no matter what the high bid is) has a very good chance of attracting higher bidding the second time around. That’s what we discovered when we looked at the data for online auctions where cars failed to sell, then were relisted by the same user within 300 days.

Plenty of psychology and strategy go into auctions. The reasons why aren’t entirely clear, but when a car fails to sell in an online auction, giving bidders a second bite at the apple and dangling “No Reserve” above it apparently excites them. Doing it quickly increases the chance of success, as 79 percent of vehicles relisted at no reserve within 30 days brought a greater high bid the second time around. That success rate generally decreases the longer you wait.

Adding a reserve the second time around generally has a lower chance of getting higher offers. Perhaps some bidders see such a repeat listing and think “it didn’t meet reserve last time around, so it probably won’t this time around, either.” Meanwhile, if they see a repeat listing at no reserve, they know the car must go to a new home and that the seller is motivated. They may even think the seller is eager or desperate, and think they have a good chance of bidding low and getting a deal when, ironically, they’re statistically less likely to get a deal.

You know what they say—if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. It’s good life advice, but the data suggest it works in the world of selling cars via computer screen, too.