Online Car Marketplace Bring a Trailer Reaches Record $1.35 Billion in Sales for the Year

Bring a Trailer, an online car market, expects to close out the year with a record $1.35 billion in sales. A new generation of collectors is logging on to buy classic and pre-owned cars.

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Randy Nonnenberg, Bring a Trailer's president and co-founder, told CNBC that sales for the year are up 63% from last year. This means that sales have hit $829 million.
The website of the San Francisco company has made it easy for collectors to buy and sell cars online, and has attracted a large number of young car traders during the pandemic. These traders sell everything from seven-figure Ferraris to $60,000 Corvettes and $15,000 Saabs.

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The question now is whether the pandemic-fueled frenzy of car collecting will hold up if there is a recession. However, Nonnenberg said he sees no evidence of a slowdown in the company’s business. "We have a big challenge in meeting all the demand," he said. Rising interest rates, recession fears and rising car inventories are starting to pressure used-car prices and demand. Some car prices have drifted lower, with the average sale price down slightly in the second half of 2022, according to Nonnenberg.

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Yet he said that Bring a Trailer's business model, which is based on low-cost, easy-to-use, and efficient car buying and selling, could benefit in a downturn. Sellers pay a flat fee of $99, while the buyer fee is 5% on top of the final sale price, with a cap of $5,000. That is far less expensive than traditional auctions or many dealers.
Nonnenberg stated that horse trading will continue. If people have had their car for a few years and want something else, or their financial situation changes and they want to sell some of their cars, that is still good for their business model.

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Bring a Trailer's growth this year was driven by higher sales volume and car values. The company sold up to 700 cars per week, with an average value of $54,495 - up from $47,500 in 2021. This year, 145 cars sold for more than $500,000, up 172% from 2021. The company has attracted wealthier buyers and sellers, with its most expensive car ever sold being a 2017 Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta that went for $5.36 million in May.

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Bring a Trailer is looking to expand its community of collectors and car enthusiasts. With over 900,000 registered users and 413,000 registered bidders, the company is planning to roll out more in-person events. It is also working with partners in local markets to expand services to buyers and sellers, Nonnenberg said.
Nonnenberg said that the goal for 2023 is to reduce the amount of time it takes to list cars on the site. Currently, it takes an average of 26 days to list a car, but Nonnenberg said that they would like to reduce that to 10 days.