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In 1929, the Great Depression severely shocked the United States’ stock market in the worst way possible. 9 years later, in 1938, livestock auctioneers in the American South began importing a few used cars from the North to sell with cattle and farming equipment. J.M. "Martin” Rawls held the first auction, and 10 years later, the National Auto Auction Protection Association (now the NAAA) became the voice of the industry. 70 years later, Big Valley Auto Auction entered the auto auction industry.

Do you remember buying your first car? If you do, what factors played a role in deciding which was best for you? Number of miles? Model? Year? Or maybe you were just looking for whatever could get you from point A to point B. The same consideration you put into buying your first car is the same that goes into auto dealers deciding what auto auction is best for them.

Have you ever gone to a concert? If you paid for a general admission ticket, you’d be able to enter and watch the show as a regular customer. However, if you paid for the VIP package, you would get front row seats, backstage passes, and a meet-and-greet with the artist. This is a similar situation with public auto auctions and dealer-only auto auctions.

Back in the 1800s, the only way to transport goods was by a horse-pulled wagon. A single horse would pull a wheeled vehicle containing up to 2,000 pounds of items. Now, imagine having to use a horse to transport your lot of vehicles to and from an auto auction house. That would be crazy!