If you follow our 40+ fresh monthly Corvette features at CorvSport, you’ll know that we get excited about analyzing the Corvette market and finding new ways to bring the intricacies to you! Well, welcome to our brand-new series, “In The CorvSport Ring,” where we pit near-identical Vettes against each other in our virtual boxing ring–with one Corvette selling under a no-reserve auction and the other hammering under a reserve auction.
Which auction style will bring the most money? CorvSport hopes to answer the age-old question: Do no-reserve auctions really matter? [Author’s Note: This article is FREE and not behind a paywall. Yes, FREE! If/when any pop-ups appear, please click to dismiss them and continue enjoying the article.]
Sit back and enjoy the fun, because CorvSport has combed through Bring a Trailer sales to set up an epic three-round battle between no-reserve and reserve Corvette auctions. And as we move through our exclusive In The Ring series, we will navigate around the auction world–I especially look forward to some knock-down-drag-out fights between the king of no-reserve auctions, Barrett-Jackson, and Mecum, who typically has mostly reserve auctions to protect the seller’s bottom dollar. We’re going to have as many Corvettes glove up as we can find, so ultimately, after this series ends, we will know if no-reserve auctions really matter. Let’s dive into our first three-round battle!
CorvSport will attempt to answer these burning questions:
- Do no-reserve auctions garner more bids?
- Will a no-reserve auction generate more views and excitement?
- And most importantly, do no-reserve auctions bring more money?!?
In The CorvSport Ring
The No-Reserve vs. Reserve Corvette Battle
ROUND ONE
♦ In The No-Reserve Corner:
- 1996 Corvette Collector Edition Convertible Auto
- Miles: 59,853
- Date Sold: 11/27/2024
- Link to full listing
VS
♦ In The Reserve Corner:
- 1996 Corvette Collector Edition Convertible 6-speed
- Miles: 50,525
- Date Sold: 2/4/2025
- Link to full listing
♦ And The Round One Decision Goes To!
The RESERVE Corvette Wins!
- Reserve Sales Price: $18,249
- No-Reserve Sales Price: $13,100
- Reserve Bids: 10
- No-Reserve Bids: 9
- Reserve Views: 5,549
- No-Reserve Views: 4,838
ROUND TWO
♦ In The No-Reserve Corner:
- 1986 Corvette Coupe Z51
- Miles: 42,407
- Date Sold: 10/31/2024
- Link to full listing
VS
♦ In The Reserve Corner:
- 1986 Corvette Coupe
- Miles: 36,353
- Date Sold: 3/11/2025
- Link to full listing
♦ And The Round Two Decision Goes To!
The RESERVE Corvette Wins!
- Reserve Sales Price: $11,300
- No-Reserve Sales Price: $10,750
- Reserve Bids: 4
- No-Reserve Bids: 12
- Reserve Views: 4,007
- No-Reserve Views: 5,039
ROUND THREE
♦ In The No-Reserve Corner:
- 2004 Corvette Convertible 6-Speed
- Miles: 45,226
- Date Sold: 8/30/2024
- Link to full listing
VS
♦ In The Reserve Corner:
- 2004 Corvette Convertible 6-Speed
- Miles: 34,483
- Date Sold: 4/21/2025
- Link to full listing
♦ And The Round Three Decision Goes To!
The NO-RESERVE Corvette Wins!
- No-Reserve Sales Price: $20,000
- Reserve Sales Price: $19,350
- No-Reserve Bids: 11
- Reserve Bids: 12
- No-Reserve Views: 5,326
- Reserve Views: 4,878
BOUT #1 Summary
To begin, CorvSport acknowledges that this is not a scientific study and is primarily intended for entertainment purposes. While we attempted to find nearly identical models with sale dates that are close to each other, the auction market databases do limit how perfect our comparisons can be. That being said, are you surprised by today’s results? Did you think the no-reserve auctions would bring more bids and money?
Here is the beginning of the running tally, which will be updated and archived after every episode!
- BOUT #1 Sales Scorecard: No-Reserve 1 Reserve 2
- Running Tally: No-Reserve 1 Reserve 2
Thank you for joining CorvSport today for our first In The Ring battle! Are you CORVETTE OBSESSED like we are? The team of renowned authors and contributors at CorvSport hopes you sense our passion for the iconic Corvette, and our vast database of articles and guides should prove it–5000+ features since Scott Kolecki founded CorvSport over 15 years ago! Join the fastest-growing Corvette community on our Facebook page, with over 169,000 followers (50,000 since January 2023!). Meet other hardcore enthusiasts and say hello. This is Douglas B. signing off–click here if you would like to view more of my features.
