Is Copart A Huge Scam?

[AusTruck]

Seen the Copart.com ads at just about every NHRA telecast and decided to visit the website and see what its all about. Saw a few vehicles I might be interested in, right now its just motorcycles.

I went and registered to bid, easy enough procedure. When I went to bid on a vehicle, I got the message that I needed to be a "Registered Broker" or "Market Maker" in order to bid. Well, I'm just a guy that restores old cars, trucks and motorcycles. So I figured ok, what's a Registered Broker or Market Maker?

Clicking further on the Copart.com website, these folks are basically middle men who charge you from $100 - 300 (non-refundable, per year in most cases) just to register with them, then you have to bid through them, and then they charge you some % of the transaction, usually 3% or more. Some require you send money to them in advance of bidding, or register a credit card with them.

So I'm thinking if I do all this and bid on something local (Texas or surrounding states), and go get the vehicle myself, just what do these bozos do to earn their piece of the action? Maybe make $500 or more for just sending Copart a check and telling me I can go get my vehicle? I understand there may be a bit of paperwork,,,,but $500 or more for some minimum-wage clerk to handle a bit of paperwork sounds unreasonable. BTW, most of these Registered Brokers or Makers have large disclaimers that they don't have any liability in the transaction, in other words they're not guaranteeing or confirming anything about the vehicle. In other words, Caveat Emptor big time.

When you start to tack those fees onto a sale, it ain't such a bargain any more.
I'm thinking that Copart is some business reaction to the increasing number of flakes bidding on stuff on EBay and never paying. I've never been scammed on EB, but I have had several occasions where I've heard a litany of excuses from buyers as to why they can't send me the money they submitted for a winning bid. Seems to me that many of the insurance companies listing vehicles on Copart want some kind of assurance that the winning bidder isn't a deadbeat.

Or is Copart just an internet version of the local auto auctions that Joe Average can't get into unless he's got some friend with a business license? If so what are they doing advertising to the general public?