Auction Ceiling Sheet
Build every ceiling at the desk before the sale, in ink, so the lane does not get to reopen it.
The sale
Filter the run list before you value anything, then pre-value what survives: comps adjusted for miles and equipment, a written recon estimate, a number. Fifteen units is about three hours.
Building one ceiling — before the lane opens
| 1 | Target retail, from comps in your market | $ |
| x 0.80 | Maximum landed cost target retail x 0.80 | $ |
| − | Recon estimate, written 8% of purchase price | $ |
| − | Transport, priced before you bid $150-400 regional | $ |
| − | Buyer fee at your expected hammer $300-450 per unit | $ |
| = | Ceiling — round down, write it in ink | $ |
Run list — every ceiling written before the lane opens
| Lot | Year, make, model | Miles | Announcements | Target retail | x 0.80 | Recon | Transport | Fee | CEILING — in ink | Written (init. + time) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nothing above this line changes once the lane opens. A ceiling written after the lane opened is not a ceiling. Online counts too: a countdown that resets to fifteen seconds is a ringman.
At the block — landed cost, never hammer alone
| Lot | Ceiling carried down | Hammer | + Buyer fee | + Transport | + Recon | = LANDED COST | Won / lost by | Over ceiling? By how much | Front gross at target retail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This sale
| Measure | Actual | Standard | On / Off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front gross on units won, against target retail | 20% of selling price | ||
| Landed cost against target retail | target retail x 0.80 | ||
| Recon as a percent of purchase price | 8% of purchase price | ||
| Front gross left after pack | $300 per unit new and used, off the top |
What the lane cost you
| 1 | Units bought above the ceiling you wrote | |
| x | Average dollars over ceiling | $ |
| = | Front gross handed back at this sale | $ |
Standards behind every ceiling
- $300-450 per unit
- $150-400 regional
- target retail x 0.80
- 20% of selling price
- $300 per unit
- new and used, off the top
- 12%
Every pre-value on this sheet goes into the appraisal log (APR-01) with the channel marked auction, bought or not — including the ones you lost, with the ceiling and the sold price beside each other. In ninety days that is how you find out whether your numbers or the lane were wrong.