384: How To Become A Car Specialist With RM Sotheby's President Gord Duff
About this episode
Gord Duff, president of RM Sotheby's, shares insights on becoming a car specialist in the collector car auction industry. He emphasizes the importance of passion, knowledge, and relationship-building in this unique career path. Duff discusses the skills needed, such as memory retention and understanding client preferences, and reflects on his own unconventional journey to success. The episode also touches on the recent Monterey auction results, highlighting record-breaking sales and the evolving market dynamics. Listeners gain valuable advice on how to enter and thrive in the automotive auction world.
What does it really take to become a Car Specialist at the world's leading collector car auction house? In this episode, I sit down with Gord Duff, President of RM Sotheby's, to explore the skills, knowledge, and passion required to succeed in one of the most exciting careers in the automotive world.
Gord shares his personal journey, offers insider advice for aspiring specialists, and explains how RM Sotheby's evaluates and markets the rarest cars in the world. We also review the recent Monterey results, highlighting market trends, record-setting sales, and what they mean for collectors moving forward.
I also open up about my own not-so-typical career path — how I transitioned from the consumer packaged goods industry into the collector car world, and how launching The Collector Car Podcast ultimately played a key role in consigning the $51.7M Ferrari 330 LM/250 GTO, the most expensive Ferrari ever sold at auction.
🔑 Topics include:
-
The pathway to becoming a Car Specialist
-
The mix of passion, expertise, and client service needed to succeed
-
Lessons from RM Sotheby's Monterey auction results
-
My own unconventional journey from CPG to consigning the world's most valuable Ferrari
-
Key insights into where the collector car market is headed
#CollectorCars #RMSothebys #MontereyCarWeek #CarSpecialist
Listen to the "Octane FM: Shift, Rev, Repeat" album on Spotify!
Stay connected with The Collector Car Podcast—find us on our Website, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or reach out to Greg directly via email.
Join RM Sotheby's Car Specialist Greg Stanley as he brings over 25 years of experience and keen market analysis to the world of collector cars. Each week, Greg dives into market trends, interviews industry experts, and shares insights—with a little fun along the way. New episodes drop every Thursday and are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Learn more at www.TheCollectorCarPodcast.com or email Greg at [email protected].
Interested in consigning a car at an RM Sotheby's auction? Contact Greg directly at [email protected].
Jaguar Etype
"now, you know, you think about, well, you know, there's a, whatever, an E-type for sale are available privately and you got to remember, wait, I had a client, you know, six months ago that said he'd like to have an"
Ferrari F40
"...as well as to somebody that wants a, you know, an F40 with miles on it versus the guy that's only buyin..."
Shelby Cobra
"...y mileage stuff or, you know, Shelby Mustang or a Cobra and they like doing their show car person, not a,..."
Ford Mustang
"...uying delivery mileage stuff or, you know, Shelby Mustang or a Cobra and they like doing their show car per..."
Ferrari F50
"going to sell the world's most expensive F-50 ever and that happened, you know, this summer forum and it's fantastic"
Chevrolet Camaro
"... across the board prices were strong from a Yanco Camaro to a 512 TR to a 599 GTO to, you know, we"
Chevrolet Corvette
"a judge based on whatever car you like in CRS for Corvettes, you know, Pontiac."
Ferrari 250 GTO
"the Ferrari 330 LM slash 250 GTO that eventually sold for"
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
Help improve this episode
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark. Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.