Hosting an automobile auction is difficult enough: You have to coordinate the transportation, presentation and sale of hundreds of vehicles; keep hundreds of bidders and consignors happy, some of whom are there in person, others, calling in from across the country or tuning in online. Add a global pandemic, which has prevented large groups of people from gathering in place, into the mix, and you’ve got quite a challenge on your hands.
But on September 19, the staff at the Saratoga Automobile Museum was up to that challenge, pulling off a completely safe, socially distanced, in-person 2020 Saratoga Motorcar Auction (of course, phone and online bidders were still welcome). The auction saw $3.7 million in sales and had a 70 percent sell-through rate.
In order for the museum to accomplish that, it limited the auction to bidders and consignors only, and “window shoppers” were able to livestream the 200-plus vehicles crossing the museum’s stage.
If you weren’t able to catch the live or livestreamed action, click through the photo gallery at the top of this page for scenes from the exciting day. You can also check out the Saratoga Motorcar Auction’s digital catalog, which Saratoga Living partnered with the museum to create, here.