McLemore Auction Company

What McLemore Auction Company does

McLemore Auction Company, LLC is a privately held, family-owned Tennessee auction firm founded in 2006 and headquartered at 470 Woodycrest Ave, Nashville. The company conducts online timed auctions for real estate, personal property, estate contents, wholesale liquidation merchandise, commercial equipment, vehicles, coins, and collectibles, operating across Tennessee, Iowa, and Georgia under Tennessee Real Estate Firm Lic. #259577 and Principal Auctioneer Will McLemore (Tennessee Auctioneer Lic. #5198). Its primary activities include themed multi-lot auctions (wholesale club finds, estate sales, restaurant equipment, vehicle auctions) as well as full estate liquidations and bankruptcy court auctions for corporate clients such as Forest Hills Liquidation, BP Retail Partners, Inc., and See Suite Logistics, Inc.

The firm runs its marketplace on the third-party AuctionMethod.com platform, which provides self-service bidder registration, soft-close auction mechanics, item-level catalog pages, and secure payment processing via credit card or wire transfer. No proprietary technology, mobile app, public API, or AI/ML capabilities are documented. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-consumer via the company website, supplemented by organic search discovery of auction listings; no app stores, social channels, or marketing automation are in use. A small set of dedicated auction managers (Caleb Opstein, Wilson Land, Blake Kimball) handle buyer/seller relations by event.

The business model is a transaction-fee marketplace: most wholesale and retail liquidation auctions apply a 15% buyer's premium on the winning bid, while estate and specialty auctions apply 10%. Additional revenue mechanics include a 3% surcharge on credit card payments for invoices of $5,000 or more, a $15 wire-transfer service fee on smaller invoices, and 9.75% sales tax collection. The company sells to two primary counterparty types — consumer bidders seeking discounted merchandise and a fragmented consignor base spanning individual estate executors, retail liquidators, and bankruptcy trustees — with secondary demand from restaurant/hospitality operators and collectors.

Name

McLemore Auction Company

Legal name

McLemore Auction Company, LLC

Website

https://mclemoreauction.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

McLemore Auction Company is a Nashville-based, family-owned online auction house founded in 2006 that conducts timed auctions for estates, wholesale liquidation goods, vehicles, commercial equipment, and collectibles across Tennessee, Iowa, and Georgia, charging buyers a 10-15% premium on winning bids.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Auction Services

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Auction Services (FSAEAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bankruptcy, Probate & Estate Property Auctions (BPAJAEAG), B2B Liquidation Auctions & Asset Disposition Retail (CRAEAFAG), Auction-based Generalist Marketplaces (CRAFAAAC)

Keywords

• Online auction services
• Estate liquidation auctions
• Wholesale liquidation sales
• Bankruptcy asset auctions
• Real estate auctions

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Buyer's Premium: McLemore Auction Company charges a buyer's premium on all auction items. Most auctions charge a 15% buyer's premium on the high bid, while estate sales and some specialty auctions charge 10%. This premium is added to the winning bid to determine the final purchase price.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

McLemore Auction Company operates an online auction marketplace that conducts timed auctions for personal property, estate contents, wholesale and retail liquidation merchandise, commercial equipment, vehicles, coins, and collectibles. The company handles end-to-end auction services including cataloging, online bidding, payment processing, and pickup coordination, including full estate liquidations and bankruptcy court-ordered auctions for corporate clients. The platform runs continuously with multiple themed auction events open concurrently and most items sold without reserve to the highest bidder.

Product overview

McLemore Auction Company operates a single unified online auction platform (powered by AuctionMethod.com) that connects buyers with sellers of liquidated, wholesale, and estate merchandise. The platform facilitates real-time online bidding across diverse categories including vehicles, coins and currency, collectibles, tools, furniture, restaurant equipment, and wholesale club liquidation items. Key product features include soft-close auction mechanics, variable buyer premiums (10% or 15% depending on auction), secure payment processing via credit card or wire transfer, and scheduled pickup logistics. The company does not offer modular add-ons or separate product tiers—the service is delivered as a single integrated auction marketplace.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• McLemore Online Auction Platform Online auction marketplace where buyers register and bid on liquidated, wholesale, estate, and personal property merchandise in real-time timed auctions with soft-close functionality. The platform supports diverse categories including vehicles, collectibles, tools, furniture, restaurant equipment, coins, and wholesale club items, with buyer premiums of 10-15% on top of winning bids and secure payment processing.
• Estate Liquidation Auctions Complete estate liquidation services that catalog and auction personal property collections for individuals and estate executors. Items include furniture, antiques, collectibles, china, art glass, model trains, tools, and home furnishings.
• Bankruptcy and Corporate Asset Auctions Bankruptcy court and corporate asset liquidation auctions handling retail inventory, commercial equipment, vehicles, and other business assets for bankruptcy trustees and lenders.
• Wholesale Club Liquidation Auctions Themed auction events offering wholesale and overstock retail merchandise including furniture, appliances, tools, outdoor goods, baby products, and home essentials sourced from wholesale warehouse clubs and retail liquidators.
• Vehicle Auctions Online auctions for vehicles and transportation equipment, including commercial and consumer vehicles sold through bankruptcy estates and corporate liquidations.
• Restaurant Equipment Auctions Auction events dedicated to commercial kitchen and restaurant equipment, targeting hospitality businesses acquiring equipment for new or expanding operations at below-market prices.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• HiBid: Online auction marketplace aggregating estate, liquidation, and general merchandise auctions. Closest direct peer — both operate as online auction aggregators running concurrent themed auctions with buyer-premium pricing on diverse categories.
• Proxibid: Online auction marketplace for heavy equipment, vehicles, and commercial assets. Comparable as a digital auction venue connecting sellers with a distributed buyer base via timed online events.
• AuctionZip: Online auction directory and live-bidding platform listing estate, liquidation, and collectibles auctions nationwide. Direct peer in serving small-to-mid auctioneers and consumer bidders via a unified digital platform.
• BidSpotter: Online timed-auction marketplace focused on industrial, commercial, and estate assets. Operates the same digital-auction mechanics McLemore offers, including buyer-premium pricing and themed auction events.

Broad incumbents

• Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers: Global leader in industrial and heavy-equipment auctions with significant online infrastructure. Comparable as an auctioneer of restaurant equipment, vehicles, and commercial assets, but at vastly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Heritage Auctions: Large collectibles auction house running online auctions in coins, art glass, model trains, and estates. Compares on the collectibles and estate-content verticals that make up a portion of McLemore's catalog.
• Copart: Dominant online vehicle auction platform. Comparable on McLemore's vehicle auction offering, although Copart operates at national scale with proprietary infrastructure serving insurance and dealer channels.
• IAA (Insurance Auto Auctions): Major online vehicle auction operator serving insurance carriers and fleet sellers. Overlaps with McLemore's vehicle auction work, particularly distressed/salvage units arising from corporate bankruptcies.
• Bonhams: International auction house covering fine art, collectibles, jewelry, and luxury goods. Compares on the collectibles and estate valuation side of McLemore's business, though at the high end of the market.
• Sotheby's: Global auction house with strong online bidding infrastructure across collectibles, estate, and luxury categories. Thematic overlap on estate liquidation, jewelry, and collectible verticals that McLemore serves at a smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mclemoreauction

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about McLemore Auction Company