Market Messages…What Do You Think?

May 14, 2019

The “Market Report Message” has been a tradition for nearly 75 years. It dates clear back to my dad and South Seattle Auto Auction.

The Market Report used to be known as the Auction Sheet. Every week, my mom saw the project through from start to finish. She typed it up, printed it at the auction on an old printing press, addressed, hand stuffed and sealed the envelopes, and mailed every copy to the dealer body. The Auction Sheet was the weekly bible of the Pacific Northwest’s wholesale automotive market. There was no such thing as MMR, no Pipeline, no vAuto…nothing but the weekly printout of the week’s sale results as a guide for dealers to know what used cars were really worth. No one trusted the guide books to be accurate…some things never change! The commentary or the message my dad wrote at the bottom of the Auction Sheet was usually a brief auction activity overview and a heartfelt thank you for doing business at South Seattle Auto Auction.

That weekly commentary/message is something I have continued to write for the past 35 years. DAA stopped mailing paper Auction Sheets and later, Market Report booklets many years ago. We all view everything digitally these days, including car values. With that in mind, my Market Report Message transitioned to our website’s home page years ago.

Over the past few months, I have questioned the relevance of the Market Report Messages I write, wondering whether or not anybody actually reads them. As those of you who are reading this and know me are aware, I have my opinions!

Looking ahead, I plan to expand Market Report Message topics in order to tackle a broader array of subjects affecting our mutual business relationship of Auction Remarketer and Auto Dealer. I will welcome and very much appreciate your feedback on our opinions and the information we share. We really need to know what you are thinking and how our efforts are working for you. As such, I would appreciate your feedback by email…please send your thoughts to me at rm@daanw.com.

In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you in the lanes or online this week!

– Bob