Auction fees and shipping explained in plain english (harbert's)

saving this. on the shipping line, get 2 or 3 quotes, prices swing a lot by week depending on how full the lanes are. a route that is 575 one week can be 700 the next if the carriers are slammed around a holiday. i always quote it BEFORE i bid so the number in my all in math is real and not a guess.

also worth knowing, the haulers usually quote based on a vehicle being operable and standard size. if you win something that does not run, or a big lifted truck or a dually, the price goes up because they need a winch or extra deck space. tell the broker exactly what it is so the quote does not change on pickup day.

this is the exact breakdown i needed before my first one. the buyer premium was the part that confused me until i saw it laid out like this. i posted my whole first win story in the new bidders section, won an accord off harbert's, and the invoice i got matched bob's table almost line for line. the only difference was my shipping was a bit more because i am further from waco.

for any first timer reading, screenshot bob's table. having it open while you look at a lot makes the hammer number feel a lot less abstract.

good thread. from the trade side, the public auction buyer premium is basically the margin a dealer would add, so you are paying it once instead of twice. when i buy a car to retail it, i pay my own fees at the dealer sale, then i add a few thousand of margin on top before it hits my lot. a regular buyer skipping me and going straight to a public auction like harbert's auto sales pays the premium and that is it. cheaper than buying it from someone like me after i marked it up.

one note bob is right about, the doc fee is flat. on a cheap car it is a bigger percentage so it stings more on a 6k car than a 25k one. does not change the all in math, just something to be aware of when you are shopping the bottom of the price range.

add one line to your budget that bob's table does not have, recon. fresh fluids, a brake job that might be coming due, tires you cannot judge from photos, a battery on its way out. on a clean late model lease return it might be 150 bucks of filters and a wiper. on an older higher mile car it could be 800 to 1200. it is never exactly zero.

i pad my all in number by 500 on anything newer and 1000 on anything with real miles, just for the stuff you find in the first month. if i do not spend it, great, the car was even cheaper than i planned. if i do, i already accounted for it and it does not feel like a gut punch. on the harbert's listings the condition report is honest enough that my padding is usually more than i actually need, but i still budget it.

the all in working backwards trick is what stopped me from overbidding. i write my max hammer on a sticky note now and that number already has the premium, doc, shipping, and ron's recon pad baked in. when the bidding climbs i only look at the sticky note. if the live bid passes it, i am done, no exceptions.

i learned this the hard way, almost blew way past my number on a truck once because i was doing the fee math in my head in the heat of the moment and got it wrong. now the math is done cold, days before, and the only decision left during the auction is keep going or stop. way easier on the nerves.

as someone who does this for margin, my whole spreadsheet is built around the all in number bob described, nothing else matters. my columns are hammer ceiling, premium, doc, shipping to me, recon estimate, target resale, and the margin that is left. if the margin column drops below my minimum at a given hammer, that is my walk away bid, period.

a first timer buying a keeper does not need the resale and margin columns, but the front half of that sheet is identical to what bob laid out. the discipline is the same whether you flip or keep. respect the all in number and you basically cannot get hurt buying off a public auction.

quick shipping tip, terminal to terminal saved me 90 bucks but i had to drive an hour each way to get the car, do the math on your time and gas before you assume the cheaper option is cheaper. for me that one was a wash once i counted the fuel and the half day off work.

door to door is worth a small premium for most people. the only time i do terminal to terminal is if the terminal happens to be on my way home from somewhere anyway. otherwise the convenience is worth it. add whichever one you actually pick to your all in number so the math stays honest.

the worksheet is great. wish i had it on my first one, would have saved me the surprise at checkout. linking this thread anytime a new person asks in the shipping section from now on. nice work bob.