Wholesale Markets

Oklahoma

Kyle Clopton, general manager, Oklahoma Auto Exchange, Oklahoma City, Okla.

“We’ve always been franchise-store dominant, which is still our main focus. But we’re diversifying our consignors some, so it’s been really good.

“We’re running between 650 and 700 cars a week. We’ve been actually able to maintain and even grow over the past 12 months.

“I know a lot of people are seeing lower consignment numbers. But we’re actually up in consignment and the number of vehicles sold.

“We’re up about 16%, so it’s been a really good start to the year.

“Sales percentages this week, I think, were 66%. They’ve been consistent between 64% and 67%. So, it’s been good, better than we deserve.

“We draw between 275 and 375 (bidders) weekly.

“Our average sales price is about $9,000. For that price point, a lot of dealers prefer to put their hands on it and see it in person. But our online presence has also grown. We have been 60 and 75 online buyers weekly. It’s something we never considered but implemented during a two week period, when COVID started.

“Dealer consignment makes up about 70% of our business. That’s the focus my dad (Mike Clopton) started out the business with 19 years ago.

“But I think we are going to go to a dedicated fleet/ lease lane – commercial lane – probably in Q3 or Q4 this year. We’ve done a good job with the accounts we have, being able to grow them both locally and nationally.

I think the appetite is there from the dealers in Oklahoma City and the surrounding area. Our reach has grown as our consignment has grown and the quality of our consignment has improved.

“With the people that we have and the team that we have, we’d be really good in any business. We have people that are detail oriented and communicate well. That’s what matters to buyers and sellers alike.

“It’s what my dad built the business on.

Pennsylvania

Clint Weaver, general manager, America’s Auto Auction – Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Pa.

“We just finished up a sale (June 8) that went pretty well, sold 63%. Can’t complain about that.

“We have seen an uptick in repossession the last couple of months. Dealer consignment is still light.

“These (franchises) seem to be changing the way they sell, getting more into the used car market than they were the last few years, holding some of that stuff.

“Around here, some of the bigger dealer groups are buying up some of the independent-owned franchise stores.

“We recently ran just over 1,000, about 1,023. Before COVID, we’d probably be at 1,300 or 1,400.

“Another place the volume is off is with the off-lease companies. I think some of that inventory is down because people have transitioned to working from home and they don’t need a car on the road. Some of those aren’t getting leased out.

“But the truck and RV market – oversized equipment –

Compiled by Jeffrey Bellant

is what we are seeing a lot of and we still run it weekly for the lease companies.

“Then we do what we call a specialty sale at the end of the month where the dealers will run boats, RVs, motorcycles, big trucks and things like that. We even incorporate some classic cars into it.

“But it’s powersports, heavy trucks and equipment like backhoes, things like that. Then boats and RVs as well.

“We did a big one in the first week of April and ran about 300 that week.

“On an average end of the month sale, we’ll run 60 or 70.

“That first week of April we also had our 41st anniversary sale and had about 1,500 cars. So that was a big deal.

“We’re feeling good right now, just wish we had a little more inventory.”