(the end)

I recently sat with my father in his cigar room in our office building and asked him to tell me his story of becoming an auctioneer and how the Kruse Family got their start in the collector car industry. The following is a written narrative of that conversation.

Tiffany: eBay acquired Kruse International (KI) in 1999. How did the offer from eBay to buy Kruse Classic Car Productions (KCCP) come about?

Daniel: It was part of the discussion from the instant they began negotiations with Dean because eBay was not interested in another Kruse name being their competitor in the marketplace. eBay did not move on purchasing KCCP as quickly as they did KI and I got tired of waiting so I reached out to Rob Meyers at RM Auctions now RM Sotheby’s. We’d always had a good working relationship and I asked him if he had any interest in purchasing KCCP out from underneath eBay’s offer. He made Bruce Knox and I a written offer of $2 million. I made it clear I was going to use his offer as leverage against eBay. I took that offer to Dean. Dean got on eBay on the phone and within 24 hours, KCCP had an offer at $3 million which we executed.

Tiffany: So, eBay put the Kruse brothers back together formally under their banner of Kruse eBay and both you and Dean were on the payroll?

Daniel: Yes. Dean and I were both on payroll as eBay Kruse employees with all the benefits that went with the positions including stock options. eBay held on to most of the staff including Bruce, but Mitchell made the decision to retire from the business after the sellout except for the Labor Day auctions. He continued to help in Auburn for many years.

eBay ran Kruse at a profit, but the heavy corporate structure was not a good environment. Most successful collector car auction companies are family owned and run for a reason…a lot less red tape. Plus, the collector car market just wasn’t as ready as eBay believed it would be to support an online sales platform. I think you would agree that it wasn’t truly successful until 2020 and COVID-19.

Tiffany: Yes. I agree. The consumer was still heavily reliant on the live auctions until the lockdown. Most collectors still wanted to kick the tires. How long did eBay own Kruse International?

Daniel: A little over 3 years. Purchased in 1999 for $150 million or 787,312 shares of stock and sold back to Dean in 2002 for about 10 cents on the dollar.

Tiffany: When Dean bought KI back, he brought me onboard to run Kruse Southwest. I ran the New Braunfels semiannual auctions which were then moved to Fredericksburg, Texas. How long was it before you and Dean had a conversation about you getting back KCCP?

Daniel: It was about 18 months, I think. Ron Brown of Street Dreams of Texas and I approached Dean about allowing us to purchase back what was now just the two Hill Country Classic car auctions. We negotiated an override for a few years which transferred the auctions ownership back to us. Classic Automobile Auctions LP was formed to handle that transaction since eBay still technically owned the KCCP name.

Bruce had moved onto building a software company with Danny Leffel (met while working for Kruse eBay) which led Ron and I to make the decision to keep you on auction coordinator. I also forged a partnership with Pete Vicari of Vicari Auctions (including their Biloxi, Mississippi, Cruisin’ the Coast) during this time.

A few years before Ron passed (2015), he decided to get out of the auction business and concentrate on his dealership. Dan Kruse Classics was born. As Dan Kruse Classics, we expanded. The Hill Country Classic was moved to Austin, and we added events in Houston, San Antonio and Midland.

Tiffany: But this wasn’t the only thing you had going on because you continued to grow in the oilfield auction industry.

Daniel: Correct. The Superior partnership dissolved. Kruse Energy was born. Kruse Energy was sold in 2014 to Iron Planet and then Iron Planet sold to Ritchie Brothers in 2017. Ritchie Brothers also purchased Leake Auction Company in 2018. Jimmy Leake (Sr.) had been a local sponsor and partner with Kruse almost from the launch of Kruse. Richie Brothers fired all Kruse Energy employees in 2019 and we quickly reformed as Superior Energy Auctioneers.

Tiffany: The elephant in the room when speaking about Kruse International is always how it broke. What do you think happened? How do you think it happened because $150 million is a lot to lose and while I know Mitchell got a small portion, the lion’s share belonged to Dean.

Daniel: It is a lot to lose but money can always be made…again…and again. The bigger loss was Dean losing his auction license in 2010. Dean built something unprecedented. Unfortunately, what happened at KI and the loss of his license tarnished his legacy.  The loss of a thing does not negate what was built. History looks positively at what Rome built despite its fall.

I am not saying that Dean did not make mistakes. He was not perfect by any means. He did best when he had a navigator steering the course. Dean has always been a very powerful presence, charismatic, and an out of the box thinker. He idolized PT Barnum. Dean was a showman! A true entrepreneur but entrepreneurs take risks and often fail, including myself.

Tiffany: Was it hard for you when the auction park was sold?

Daniel: It wasn’t so much the auction park being sold but watching the history and legacy fade. I know Dean had other offers.  I will never fully understand why he decided to sell to RM Auctions, but it was his choice to make. It was nice though, that auctions were still being held in that location every Labor Day. Now, it has been sold to a group of developers that are turning it into a youth sports complex.

At one point in time, the Auburn Labor Day auction was the third largest event held in the state of Indiana behind only the Indianapolis 500 race and the state fair. The Labor Day auction celebrated its 50-year anniversary in 2021. There is rich automotive heritage in Auburn: EL Cord, Gordon Beuhrig, WH Kiblinger, WH McIntyre, SC Snyder, Zimmerman Manufacturing Company, Charles Eckhart, the Auburn Automobile Company, The Auburn Rubber Company, the ACD (Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg) Museum and the festival, and the Kruse Family. We will forever be part of that history but no longer on the state exit road signs.

Tiffany: I do not feel like your personal legacy is tied to just Auburn and the Kruse Auction Company. Do you?

Daniel: No, of course not. My legacy is not what I have done or not done in the auction world. My legacy is what I have sown into the people God has chosen to bring across my path. It is your mother and you girls, your children, and their children.

Tiffany: But that isn’t to say that you haven’t loved being considered one the greatest auctioneers of all time or setting all those world records with Julien’s Auctions! You are having some of your greatest successes, now at 73. What are some of the records you currently hold as auctioneer with Julien’s?

Daniel: I am. I am thankful to God for His provision. Let’s see… Ringo Starr’s drum kit for $2,100,000.

Michael Jackson’s Thriller Jacket for $1,800,000. Kurt Cobain’s guitar for $6,010,00 and his sweater for $334,000. Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress for $4,800,000.

Tiffany: Plus, the White Album (mono copy) by the Beatles for $790,000 and Steve Job’s sandals for $218,000. I looked it up before asking the question. I have to say, it has been fun watching you and Darren have such great success together.

Daniel: You got me that job! You and Angela (Jines Edgington, niece) were both helping Darren (Julien, nephew) at the start of Julien’s. Darren worked for Kruse International. We used to hold a memorabilia auctions during the Labor Day sale in one of the other metal buildings on property. Darren noticed enough attention wasn’t being given to collectibles auction and that it could be more than just a side show. He branched off, moved to Los Angeles and Julien’s Auctions was born.

Tiffany: Angela was on staff from pretty much the beginning, in 2004. I was just contract labor. But we were all there in 2009 when Julien’s offered Michael Jackosn’s white glove at auction, realizing $420,000 (Julien’s first world record). Kathleen Guzman (Antiques Roadshow) was the auctioneer, but you gave her some very important and interesting advice when you were discussing the upcoming sale of the glove. Do you remember what it was?

Daniel: Yes. I told her to open the glove for a dollar. Darren had given out replica gloves to everyone in attendance along with their catalogues. I remember chatting with Kathleen and Darren at the morning meeting, “if you open at a dollar, everyone in the room can bid and all those people can then brag that they bid on the glove”. Darren loved the idea. It was a great picture, all those people wearing their gloves with their hands in the air, bidding.

Tiffany: How many auction houses do you think Kruse helped launch?

Daniel: Countless (laughs). Barrett-Jackson. Leake Auction Company. Julien’s Auctions. Those are the most notable. People think holding an auction is easy, but it is much harder than it looks. There is a lot that goes and sometimes, not much comes out.

Tiffany: What does the future look like for you in the auction business? I’ve joked about it, but I really think you’d be happy if you left this world while on the auction block.

Daniel: I wouldn’t mind it, but I would rather be surrounded by my family. My family is what motivates me in all I have managed to accomplish in the auction industry. First, my father and brothers, and then your mother and my three girls and now all my grandchildren and great grandchildren. I have never really imagined myself retiring. I truly love what I do but I do realize my voice isn’t as strong as it was when I was younger. I have loved training younger auctioneers, and I will continue that work. I will continue with Superior and Dan Kruse Classics until someone finally kicks me out (he chuckles) or your mother finally makes me stop (he chuckles again).

Tiffany: What is the takeaway?

Daniel: You can accomplish great things in this life but without God and love, it means nothing. Your relationship with Him and your family is what is most important and likely what will truly be remembered about you once you are gone. How you treat people, the respect and love you give, being a blessing to others, sowing into His kingdom…these are the things that matter. No earthly success will be going with us once we leave here. The only thing that translates from this world to the next is love.