When we think of online auctions, we think of sites that sell used Volkswagen tires or old baseball caps from the 1950s. We don’t often think of sites that deal with high-valued collectibles or business equipment.
Proxibid was started to connect sellers with buyers interested in unique items that don’t typically make their way to the usual online auction websites. Since its founding, Proxibid has been involved with several high-profile auctions—you might have heard of some of them:
The Lambrecht Chevy Car Auction
In late 2013, the Lambrecht Chevy auto auction brought nearly 15,000 people to a small Nebraska town where nearly 500 low mileage vintage Chevys, mostly from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, were auctioned off. The cars were unsold dealership inventory and marked the history of a local car dealership whose owner often took one model from a current year and parked it without ever driving it, or even registering it. The result was an assembly of rare cars with incredibly low mileage, and the buyers came flocking.
The auction occurred over the span of 2 days, and highlights included a Chevy Corvette official pace car from the 1978 Indy 500, with only 4 miles, and a pickup truck with only 1.3 miles on the odometer.
The auction attracted 15,000 people onsite, and Proxibid hosted another 3,000 bidders in its online coverage for the event. In fact, Proxibid represented more than 3,300 bids from online bidders during the two-day auction.
Warren Buffet’s Cadillac
Every once in a while, one of the world’s richest men, Warren Buffet, sells his car to support a local charity. In 2006, “The Oracle of Omaha” sold a Lincoln Town Car for $70,000, about 3 times its street value. In February 2015, Buffet sold his 2006 Cadillac DTS sedan to support a charity in his community: Girls Incorporated of Omaha.
Proxibid hosted the sale, running over a period of three days. The sale was successful, with the winning bid topping out at over $122,000, about $110,000 more than its value. Proxibid was pleased to host the highly visible auction and help out one of Mr. Buffet’s favorite local charities.
Bernie Madoff’s Mets Jacket
Felonious financier Bernie Madoff is known for having bilked thousands of investors out of billions of dollars in an investment scandal that ultimately fell apart in 2008. As part of the case, the court ordered the liquidation of his estate to recover as much money as possible for the victims of the scheme.
Proxibid managed the event, and hundreds of personal items went up for bid in late 2010. Among the items were several items of interest. A satin New York Mets team jacket with Madoff’s name across the back, sold for $14,500, and Madoff’s Hofstra class ring sold for $6000. The auction was successful, pulling in nearly $1 million, a drop in the bucket of what is owed to investors, but more than was expected from the auction.
Every Customer Matters, Every Transaction Matters
These are just three examples of the kinds of diverse auctions that Proxibid has been a part of in the past. And there are more scheduled in the future too. Over time, we’ve developed a system that protects both buyers and sellers, and we have a well-earned reputation for successfully representing bidders in hundreds of auctions for business equipment, machinery, high profile, and high value collectibles.
We put our reputation on the line with every bid we represent, and with every piece of equipment or gear that goes into our system. We know that every transaction is important and every customer—buyer or seller—is critical to our success.