Since the first Branson Auction was conducted by Mark Trimble 41 years ago, the event has become a spring and fall staple for the Branson, Mo., area. This year, Jim and Kathy Cox celebrated their 35th year of owning and running the auction. After being conducted at several venues and their parking lots, it was further entrenched as a local fixture when it became the first reoccurring event held at the Branson Convention Center when the facility opened in 2007. The auction has remained there ever since. The three-plus decades of the Coxes’ leadership of the Branson Auction is something of a bedrock in the industry. While there are auction houses that have been around longer, far more have now folded. The Branson Auction and the Coxes bring a sense of stability that a host of their customers—both consignors and bidders—find assuring.
The fall 2023 edition found even Mother Nature being cooperative, with highs in the lower 80s on both days the auction was conducted. While this was most appreciated for the Friday lots, which were staged in the parking lot next to the Convention Center (since Saturday lots are staged inside), not having weather concerns in mid-October always helps to bring in more customers.
Even with pleasant weather, consignments were down by 14 lots compared to the spring auction, Yet when all was said and done, 140 cars were declared sold—exactly the same as in the spring. However, the gross sales were down by slightly more than $236,000 from last spring. It all again proved that finding consignments and finding new homes for them versus having them go back to the same homes again is a delicate balance. That is specially true in today’s auction landscape with so many live and virtual venues, plus an overall market cooling after three years of exceedingly strong sales.
Leading all sales in Branson by a significant amount was a replica of the 1960s TV series Batmobile, fashioned upon a 1978 Lincoln Continental chassis and driveline. This copy of the “Caped Crusader’s” cruiser copped a cool $140,000, besting the second-place 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 XL 427-powered fastback by $64,000.
