---
title: "Hemmings: How Its Auctions, Make Offer and Classifieds Work"
description: "Hemmings is a listing marketplace, not a dealer. Its 5% buyer fee ($500 to $10,000), 7-day auction rules, Pay + Title, shipping and terms, read 16 Oct 2026."
url: "https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/hemmings-review/"
type: "article"
published: "2026-10-16"
modified: "2026-10-16"
site: "Baron Auto"
disclaimer: "This site is under new ownership and is not affiliated with Baron Auto Emporium dealership."
---

# Hemmings: How Its Auctions, Make Offer and Classifieds Work

> Hemmings is a listing marketplace, not a dealer. Its 5% buyer fee ($500 to $10,000), 7-day auction rules, Pay + Title, shipping and terms, read 16 Oct 2026.

*Used Car Buying · 22 min read · 4,899 words*

## The short version

- Hemmings is a listing marketplace, not the seller. Its Terms say it “IS NOT A BROKER OR DEALER,” holds no title and does not transfer ownership; the sale, and any dispute, is between buyer and seller.
- Its own listings come three ways: Hemmings Auctions (7-day online auctions), Make Offer listings (offers lapse after 48 hours) and classified ads (you call or email the seller). Dealers list there too.
- Buyers pay Hemmings 5% on an auction win or accepted offer, at least $500 and at most $10,000. Bids and offers cannot be withdrawn. No buyer fee is printed for classified ads.
- Sellers pay $99.95 for an accepted auction or a Make Offer listing and $179.95 for a classified ad; an auction seller who cancels after agreeing the reserve owes $1,000 ($500 with no reserve).
- Payment, title and shipping are left to buyer and seller. Optional partner services: Pay + Title at a flat $299, run through KeySavvy as a dealer, and shipping by National Transport Services.
- American City Business Journals has owned Hemmings since April 2002. Claims against Hemmings go to individual arbitration unless you opt out in writing within 30 days.

Hemmings is the collector-car marketplace and publisher that grew out of Hemmings Motor News, a classified sheet first printed in 1954. Today hemmings.com runs its own online auctions, Make Offer listings, classified ads and dealer listings, alongside the monthly magazine. On 16 October 2026 we read its [Marketplace Terms of Service](https://www.hemmings.com/auctions/user-agreement) (updated 18 April 2024), the ACBJ User Agreement those terms fold in (revised 13 August 2024), its auction, Make Offer and classified FAQs, the seller package page, its fraud page, the Pay + Title, shipping and financing pages and its About page. We bid on nothing, listed nothing and have no commercial relationship with Hemmings or any company named here.

**Figure: What happens at each step of buying on Hemmings**

A two-column table of seven buyer actions on Hemmings and what Hemmings’ own pages say follows: a 5% card hold with each auction bid and no cancelling, a two-minute reset for late bids, a buyer’s fee of 5% with a $500 minimum and $10,000 maximum on a win, Make Offer offers that cannot be withdrawn and lapse after 48 hours, classified ads with no printed buyer fee, an optional $299 Pay + Title service with wires required above $50k, and Terms that leave buyer-seller disputes to the two parties.

Read from Hemmings’ auction and Make Offer FAQs, seller package page, Pay + Title page and Marketplace Terms of Service on 16 October 2026.

## What Hemmings is, what its terms say it is not, and who owns it

The Terms call Hemmings Marketplace “an information and listing marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers of classic automobiles and other motor vehicles, parts, and services.” The company you contract with is “Hemmings Motor News, a d/b/a of American City Business Journals, Inc.”

The paragraph a buyer most needs is printed in capitals. The marketplace “ACTS ONLY AS A WAY FOR BUYERS AND SELLERS TO MEET,” and “THE ACTUAL CONTRACT FOR SALE IS DIRECTLY BETWEEN THE SELLER AND BUYER.” Hemmings “IS NOT A BROKER OR DEALER,” does not “CALL BIDS AT A LIVE AUCTION,” “DOES NOT TRANSFER TITLE OR LEGAL OWNERSHIP” and “HOLDS NO INVENTORY.” It does not guarantee “the existence, quality, representations of seller, safety or legality of Items advertised,” nor “that a buyer or seller will actually complete a transaction.” Any price or condition guidance on the site “is solely informational.”

In practice a Hemmings purchase is a private or dealer sale that Hemmings introduced. The protections are the ones you build in yourself.

### Who owns Hemmings

By its About page, Ernest Hemmings founded Hemmings Motor News in 1954 in Quincy, Illinois. In the late 1960s publisher Terry Ehrich and partners bought it and moved it to Vermont; it is still based in Bennington. Then: “Hemmings was acquired in April 2002 by American City Business Journals Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina, following the death of Terry Ehrich.”

Nothing we read records a later sale. Every hemmings.com page carries “© 2026 American City Business Journals,” the Terms name ACBJ as the contracting company, and ACBJ’s own site lists Hemmings among its brands. By our arithmetic that is 24 years of ACBJ ownership. We name no parent above ACBJ: none of the ACBJ pages we read states one. The current print title, by the About page, is Hemmings Motor News & Marketplace, and the package page says classified ads reach “more than 165,000 Hemmings Motor News subscribers.” For the online auction sites built around enthusiast cars, see our [Bring a Trailer review](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/bring-a-trailer-review/) and [Cars & Bids review](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/cars-and-bids-review/), each read from that company’s own terms.

## The ways a car is sold on Hemmings

Which route a car is listed under decides who you deal with, what you pay Hemmings and how fast you must commit.

**How each Hemmings sale route works for the buyer, from Hemmings’ package page, FAQs and dealer and calendar pages, read 16 October 2026**

| Route | How the buyer engages | Hemmings fee to the buyer | How long it runs |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hemmings Auctions | Online bidding with a credit card on file | 5% of the winning bid, minimum $500, maximum $10,000 | 7 days, plus two-minute extensions |
| Make Offer listing | Offers and counteroffers online | 5% of the accepted offer, same minimum and maximum | Up to 6 months, or until sold |
| Classified ad | Phone or email to the seller | None printed | Online up to 6 months; in the magazine for 1 month |
| Dealer listing | Directly with the dealer, on the dealer’s terms | None printed on the pages we read | Not printed on the pages we read |
| Partner live auction | On the auction house’s own site | Not Hemmings’; each house sets its own | The auction house’s schedule |

**Hemmings Auctions** is the curated route, which the package page calls “our premier, highly selective online auction house.” Hemmings picks the cars, writes the listings and helps set a reserve; if bids miss it, the car becomes a Make Offer listing. **Make Offer** listings belong to the seller, who controls “photos, description, and asking price,” and “Multiple buyers can make offers and try to out-raise each other.” **Classified ads**, sold “since 1954,” run online and in the magazine, and “Interested buyers will have to email or call you”; Hemmings is out of the deal from the first call.

**Dealer listings** sit in a Dealer Showroom that invites dealers to “Checkout with the premium package selected” to be featured, so placement there is paid. A dealer sale runs on the dealer’s paperwork and your state’s dealer rules; our guide to [buying a car out of state](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/buying-a-car-out-of-state/) covers what crosses a state line. **Partner live auctions** appear on an “Upcoming Live Auctions” calendar that links each sale to the auction house’s own site and terms, which we did not read. Nothing below about Hemmings’ fees applies to them.

## Buyer and seller fees, exactly as printed

Hemmings puts most of the cost on the buyer. “For every Auction and Make Offer vehicle sold, the vehicle’s buyer pays Hemmings a 5% fee,” the package page says, and “This fee enables us to charge you less,” meaning the seller. These are the standing fees printed on 16 October 2026; nothing shown as a promotion is included.

**Hemmings marketplace fees as printed on its FAQ, package page, Pay + Title page and Terms of Service, read 16 October 2026**

| Who pays | Fee | Amount as printed | When |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Buyer | Buyer’s fee, Auctions and Make Offer | 5% of the price, minimum $500, maximum $10,000 (reached at a $200,000 sale) | Charged to the card on file when you win or your offer is accepted |
| Buyer | Card hold while bidding or offering | 5% of the bid or offer, minimum $500, maximum $10,000 | Released if you do not win |
| Buyer, by default | Pay + Title (optional) | Flat $299, can be split with the seller | Refunded if the deal is cancelled before pickup |
| Seller | Auction listing | $99.95 | Only if Hemmings accepts the car |
| Seller | Make Offer listing | $99.95, or free for Hemmings Motor Club members | Per listing |
| Seller | Classified ad | $179.95 | Per listing |
| Seller | Auction cancellation | $1,000 with a reserve, $500 with no reserve | If the seller cancels after agreeing, even before the car is listed |

**What 5% costs.** By our arithmetic, with example prices we chose: on an $8,000 car, 5% is $400, so the $500 minimum applies, 6.25% of the price. A $20,000 car pays $1,000 and a $60,000 car $3,000. On a $300,000 car, 5% would be $15,000, so the $10,000 cap applies, 3.33% of the price. The minimum sets the fee on any sale under $10,000. Add the whole $299 Pay + Title fee to a $20,000 purchase and Hemmings-side charges reach $1,299, 6.5% of the price, before tax, title, registration and shipping.

**The fee survives a collapsed deal.** The Terms have you agree “to pay Hemmings the buyers fee of 5% if your bid or offer is accepted, regardless of whether you ultimately complete the purchase of the vehicle in question.” Do your checks before you bid.

**No seller add-ons.** Listed prices exclude “government fees and taxes, registration and titling fees,” which the buyer pays. But sellers “shall not charge the buyer additional fees over and above the bid or listing price such as ‘dealer fees’, ‘document fees’, etc.” Hemmings may change buyer fees “by posting the changes,” and the bidding screen shows “your full cost, including Hemmings fees, before you confirm your bid.” That screen outranks any figure here.

## How a Hemmings auction runs

**Registering.** Free. Hemmings asks for “first name, last name, and a unique username” and “a valid credit card on file,” which it says “helps minimize fraudulent activity.” Each bid places “a hold of 5% of that bid (minimum $500 to maximum $10,000),” released when the auction ends if you lose; a $20,000 bid ties up $1,000 of your card limit, by our arithmetic. Bidders outside the US are welcome if Hemmings can process their card. No dealer license is involved, unlike dealer-only wholesale sales such as [CarMax’s auctions](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/carmax-auction/).

**Getting in.** Sellers submit for free. Hemmings weighs “the description, the photos, and also at our existing inventory and auction history,” and steers cars it declines to a Make Offer or classified listing. An accepted car gets a listing specialist in Vermont and one of Hemmings’ writers, and the seller approves the final text. Hemmings asks sellers to “share any and all known flaws” and reminds them that “the vast majority of bidders won’t see your car in person before they bid.”

**The reserve.** “A reserve is the lowest price you will take for your vehicle.” Hemmings researches each car and “relays a specific Reserve recommendation or recommends No Reserve”; the seller may lower or waive it during the auction. Under the Terms, a bid “at or over the reserve price” means the car “is sold to that bidder for that bid amount.”

**Seven days and the two-minute rule.** An auction “will begin on a weekday and conclude 7 days later,” a week chosen partly “to allow ample time for an inspection.” “Any bids within the final two minutes of an auction will reset the time remaining in that auction to two minutes,” which Hemmings says “prevents auction ‘sniping.’” The Terms warn that bid updates “may not occur in real time,” another reason not to wait for the last seconds.

**No take-backs.** “Can I cancel my bid? ... Nope, bidding is serious business.” A live auction “lasts for the entire scheduled duration, save for a significant change to the vehicle, such as damage or theft,” and the car may not be offered elsewhere from two weeks before the auction to its end. Sellers answer questions in the listing’s comments, and changes to the description are added at the bottom.

**After the hammer.** If bidding clears the reserve, Hemmings charges the buyer’s fee, emails both sides “next steps” and shares contact details “following a successful sale.” From then on, the Terms say, buyer and seller must “arrange for payment of the winning bid/sale price and delivery or pick up,” and “It is the buyer’s responsibility to arrange for pick-up.” A car that misses its reserve becomes a Make Offer listing for up to 6 months.

## Make Offer listings and classified ads

**Make Offer.** Listings go live within 24 hours and run up to 6 months. Buyers keep a card on file and pay the same 5% fee. The difference is the clock: offers “can’t be canceled but they will expire in 48 hours automatically if not accepted by the seller,” and the seller has the same 48 hours to accept or counter. An offer is a two-day commitment you cannot take back, so inspect first. You can message the seller privately or ask in the public comments; use the private channel for the VIN and paperwork.

**Classified ads.** The package table lists “Calls and emails to you from potential buyer” as the buying method and no buyer success fee. The seller pays $179.95; a print Silver listing is limited to 35 words and one photo, while the online ad can carry up to 35 photos. Everything after the first call happens between you and the seller, with no card hold or Hemmings fee in the way, which makes the checks later on this page more important here, not less.

## Payment and title after the sale

Once Hemmings has its fee and has swapped contact details, money and paperwork are yours to arrange: “We do not transfer legal ownership of Items from the seller to the buyer.” Hemmings points both sides to an optional service, Hemmings Pay + Title, and says you may instead “arrange payment and transfer of ownership directly with the other party.”

**How Pay + Title works.** Hemmings runs it with a partner: “Our partner, KeySavvy, processes transactions as a dealer by buying the vehicle from the seller and selling it to the buyer,” which Hemmings says lets it “verify titles, issue temporary permits, and access DMV data.” By Hemmings’ page:

- **Cost:** “a flat $299 fee that is paid by buyers by default,” which the two sides may split, refunded in full if the deal is cancelled “for any reason before the vehicle is picked up.”
- **Payment:** most payments are verified “immediately, even on nights and weekends,” but can take “up to one business day.” Above $50k, “the buyer will be required to pay using a wire transfer.”
- **Checks:** third-party identity verification of the seller, then “public records, seller-provided information, and DMV records to verify that the seller is the legal owner.”
- **Title:** the seller or lienholder sends the title to KeySavvy, which reassigns it to the buyer and ships it “with tracking.” If the seller still has a loan, Pay + Title pays the lienholder and any positive equity to the seller.
- **Paperwork and limits:** an e-signed bill of sale stating the car is sold “as-is”; the car needs “a US-based title” and the buyer “a US address”; international SWIFT wires are not accepted.

Pay + Title protects the money and the title transfer, not the car: the same page says Hemmings “does not make any guarantees regarding the condition of the vehicle, and third-party inspections are highly recommended.” KeySavvy’s own terms were not part of our reading. If you pay the seller directly, our guides to a [bill of sale](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/bill-of-sale-for-a-car/) and a [car title transfer](https://baronauto1.com/trade-your-car/car-title-transfer/) cover the paperwork, and the rule is simple: no full payment until you have seen the original title in the seller’s name with the VIN matching the car.

**Financing.** The menu also offers financing, but the page says “Hemmings Financing is not a lender” and shares what you enter “with Travelers Financial Solutions, which will manage all financing activity.” A pre-approval can be used “within 60 days of approval,” financed cars need full-coverage insurance, and no rates are printed. For borrowing to buy from a private seller generally, see [private party auto loans](https://baronauto1.com/financing/private-party-auto-loan/).

**Figure: Annotated photograph**

Three numbered callouts over the photograph mark the speedometer, the steering wheel and the dash beside the door pillar, each with one fact from Hemmings’ FAQ and Marketplace Terms.

Hemmings’ FAQ and Marketplace Terms, read on 16 October 2026: Hemmings’ free CARFAX report on auction cars covers only 1981 and later models (callout 1); Hemmings’ terms: buyer and seller settle disputes directly, without Hemmings (callout 2); Before paying, match the car’s VIN to the title and ask for proof of ownership (callout 3). The photograph is illustrative.

## Shipping a car bought on Hemmings

The Terms make delivery the buyer’s job: “It is the buyer’s responsibility to arrange for pick-up of the Item,” and “Sellers are not responsible for any shipping or delivery fee.” Hemmings’ own option is Hemmings Shipping, provided by National Transport Services, “Hemmings’ preferred shipping provider.” Its rules, as the page states them:

- **The quote is an estimate** “for a standard sized vehicle”; a representative then calls to confirm details and may “adjust any pricing or timing.”
- **The bill of lading is the record.** Condition is noted in detail at pickup and the same document is presented at delivery. “Any damage claims not reported to National Transport Services within 48 hours of delivery will not be covered by insurance.”
- **Someone “18 years or older”** must be present at both ends to inspect and sign.
- **Dates are estimates.** Haulers “typically travel 400-500 miles per day”; by our arithmetic a 2,000-mile haul is four to five days on the road once loaded, not counting the wait for a truck.
- **Coverage:** “within the continental US only (49 states including Alaska)”; enclosed transport is offered.
- **With Pay + Title**, the seller will not release the car until your payment is verified and the bill of sale e-signed, and the seller is paid when the shipper picks the car up, provided KeySavvy already has the title.

Whatever carrier you use, look it up on the federal motor-carrier records before paying a deposit; our guide to [car shipping companies](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/car-shipping-companies/) shows how, and explains brokers versus carriers.

## Hemmings’ fraud rules, as it publishes them

Hemmings’ fraud page starts from the market it serves (“A lot of money changes hands in the collector car world”) and admits there is “no surefire way” for Hemmings to stop fraudsters answering ads. It says 99% of the frauds it describes take one of four forms: a price “too good to be true”; “a sense of urgency”; a buyer who sends a seller “a forged cashier’s check for more than the agreed amount”; and a seller who “instructs buyer to wire, credit or mail a deposit to hold the car.”

**A deposit to “hold the car” is the pattern Hemmings names for buyers.** Its page tells buyers to “VERIFY the car or parts exist prior to purchase” and to “Ask for documentation of ownership.” In Hemmings’ own auction and Make Offer flows, the only money Hemmings takes before a sale is a 5% card hold (the package page calls it a deposit); the car’s price goes to the seller, directly or through Pay + Title, after the sale. Do not send money for the car to a seller whose ownership you have not checked.

The rest of the page, in brief:

- **Checks are not cash.** If a forged cashier’s check bounces after you wire part of it onward, “you are still responsible for that money.”
- **Verify:** inspect “in person or send a representative,” and ask for photos showing a recent date and the seller’s contact details.
- **Avoid** offers that “Involve a 3rd party” or move money through your account.
- **Secure the payment** through Pay + Title or “an escrow service like Escrow.com.”
- **Guard your details:** “Hemmings will never email you to ask for your password.”
- **If it happens:** file a complaint with the FBI (the link goes to the Internet Crime Complaint Center) and tell the site where the listing ran.

The card-on-file rule screens bidders and offer-makers, not sellers, and a classified sale has no Hemmings payment step at all. That is why the VIN and ownership checks below matter most there.

## Terms of use, disputes and arbitration

Two documents bind a Hemmings user: the Marketplace Terms of Service and ACBJ’s general User Agreement, which the Terms fold in. The site footer says using or registering “constitutes acceptance” of both, and Hemmings “may amend the ToS at any time” by posting a new version.

**Disputes with the other party.** “All disputes between buyers and sellers are to be resolved directly by such parties, without the involvement of Hemmings,” and “Hemmings has no obligation to intervene.” It may choose to help. A separate release clause goes further: in a dispute with another user, “you release us” from claims “of every kind and nature, known and unknown.” Hemmings also disclaims losses from other users’ listings, including “allegedly fake Items.” If a car arrives with problems its listing hid, your claim is against the seller, which is why your written messages about the car, its VIN and its title matter.

**Rules that help buyers.** Users may not “manipulate the price of any Item or interfere with any other user’s listings” (on our reading, that reaches shill bidding) or post “false, inaccurate, misleading, deceptive” content, and Hemmings may “limit, suspend, or terminate” abusers’ accounts. An auction seller who swaps contact details to sell outside Hemmings Auctions “may be liable to pay the buyer fee,” so a seller proposing a private deal mid-auction is breaking the rules you are relying on.

**Disputes with Hemmings itself** run through the ACBJ User Agreement:

- **Informal step first:** a written description of the claim by email; if it is not resolved within 60 days, formal resolution follows.
- **Individual arbitration** before National Arbitration and Mediation (NAM), under the Federal Arbitration Act and New York law, held in your county or in New York, New York. Either side may use small claims court instead.
- **Under $10,000:** ACBJ will “reimburse you for filing fees you pay to NAM,” and the case is decided on documents unless the arbitrator wants a hearing.
- **Limits:** claims must be filed “WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR”; class actions and punitive or consequential damages are waived; billing errors must be raised within 30 days; unpaid fees can draw a 1.5 percent late charge.
- **Opt-out:** write to ACBJ “WITHIN 30 DAYS” of first use with your name, address, the service and a clear statement that you reject arbitration.

The User Agreement adds that ACBJ “MAY RECEIVE A COMMISSION, FEE, AND/OR OTHER COMPENSATION ON SOME PURCHASES MADE ON, THROUGH, OR LINKED FROM THE SERVICE.” Hemmings’ Services menu links shipping, Pay + Title, financing, insurance and, under “Inspections,” the Lemon Squad site with a “Hemmings Partnership” tracking tag. Treat those as partners and compare them like any other provider; our [Lemon Squad review](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/lemon-squad-review/) reads that company’s own terms.

The same agreement bars “any bots, cheats, macros, scripts” and scraping for any purpose but search indexing, and hemmings.com’s robots.txt blocks several AI crawlers by name and disallows paths such as /search/ and the auction index. So we read each Hemmings and ACBJ page once by hand, requested no disallowed path and quote only short passages.

## Checking an older car’s VIN and history before you pay

The Terms put the homework on you: you are responsible for “performing all due diligence of the physical condition and title of the Item,” and Hemmings recommends you “physically inspect the Item before purchasing.” The report Hemmings supplies will not reach most classics. Its free CARFAX report comes only with cars “accepted for auction,” and only for “1981 and later vehicles”; cars listed directly as classified, dealer or Make Offer listings get none from Hemmings. The 1981 cut-off is the model year the modern standardized VIN began, as our classic VIN guide explains, and NHTSA’s own decoder answers an earlier year with “Invalid Year Submitted – Pre-1981 Year Decode Attempt.” For an older car, you check the car against its paperwork:

1. **Get the VIN and documents before you bid.** Ask through Contact Seller or the comments for a clear photo of the VIN plate or tag, the front of the title and any trim or data tag. Hemmings’ own advice: “Ask for documentation of ownership.”
2. **Decode it the classic way.** Older VINs follow each maker’s own pattern, so a modern decoder rejects or misreads them. Our [classic car VIN decoder guide](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/classic-car-vin-decoder/) covers where the number sits, what the trim tag adds and what “numbers matching” proves; for trucks, see [buying a classic pickup](https://baronauto1.com/truck-buying-tips/buying-a-classic-pickup/).
3. **Match title, car and seller.** The title’s VIN should match the plate character for character and carry the seller’s name. A [title check by VIN](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/title-check-by-vin/) searches NMVTIS, the federal title database, for brands; see [branded titles](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/what-is-a-branded-title/).
4. **Rule out theft and re-tagging.** A replaced or re-riveted VIN plate on a valuable classic is a reason to stop and ask. See [how to check if a car is stolen](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/how-to-check-if-a-car-is-stolen/).
5. **For 1981 and later cars, run the history:** [how to check a used car’s history](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/how-to-check-a-used-cars-history/), our [free VIN check](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/free-vin-check/) and the [odometer check by VIN](https://baronauto1.com/vehicle-history/odometer-check-by-vin/).
6. **Inspect, or send someone.** Hemmings says buyers “should inspect vehicles before bidding.” Our guides to a [pre-purchase inspection](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/used-car-pre-purchase-inspection/) and a [mobile inspection](https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/mobile-pre-purchase-inspection/) cover what to ask for from a distance.

### Before you bid, offer or send money on Hemmings

- **Know the route.** Auction or Make Offer: 5% buyer’s fee ($500 minimum, $10,000 maximum) and no withdrawals. Classified ad: no buyer fee printed and no Hemmings process.
- **Get the VIN, a title photo and proof of ownership** in writing before you commit.
- **Match plate, title and seller**, and check the title for brands.
- **Inspect inside the auction week**, or before you make an offer you cannot withdraw for 48 hours.
- **Price in the extras:** buyer’s fee, any Pay + Title fee, tax, title, registration and shipping.
- **Never send a deposit to “hold the car”** to a seller you have not verified.
- **Record the car’s condition on the bill of lading** and report shipping damage within 48 hours of delivery.

## Where Hemmings’ own documents disagree

- **Is a bid binding?** The Terms say twice that “A bid or offer initiates a non-binding transaction” and “does not create a formal contract,” yet also that a bid at or over the reserve means the car “is sold to that bidder,” that an accepted bid or offer is “a binding sale,” and that the fee is owed even if you never complete the purchase. Treat every bid as final.
- **Fee limits.** The Terms print a flat “buyers fee of 5%” with no minimum or maximum; the FAQ and package notes add the $500 minimum and $10,000 maximum.
- **Financing, titling and escrow.** The Terms say Hemmings does not offer financing, “REGISTRATION/TITLING, OR TRANSFER ESCROW SERVICES,” while the menu sells “Financing” and “Pay + Title Assistance.” Partners do that work: KeySavvy as a dealer, Travelers Financial Solutions for loans.
- **“No-risk” for sellers.** The FAQ calls Hemmings Auctions “the only ‘No-Risk’ auction in the business”; the Terms charge a seller who cancels after agreeing the reserve $1,000, about ten times the listing fee by our arithmetic.
- **Auction house or venue.** Marketing says “online auction house”; the Terms say Hemmings “IS ALSO NOT A TRADITIONAL AUCTIONEER.” The contract governs.
- **The Make Offer hold.** One FAQ answer bases it on “5% of the vehicle asking price,” the next on “5% of that offer.”
- **Help when things go wrong.** The FAQ promises “We will stick around to support you”; the Terms say Hemmings “has no obligation to intervene.”
- **Audience.** ACBJ’s undated brand page claims print publications “reaching 410,000 subscribers” and names Hemmings Muscle Machines and Hemmings Classic Car; Hemmings’ own pages say “more than 165,000” subscribers and name one title. We use Hemmings’ current figures.

## Common questions

### Is Hemmings a real company, and does it stand behind the cars?

It is a long-running publisher and marketplace, founded in 1954 and owned by American City Business Journals since April 2002. It does not stand behind the cars: its Terms say it does not guarantee “the existence, quality, representations of seller, safety or legality” of listings and that buyer-seller disputes are settled “without the involvement of Hemmings.”

### How much does Hemmings charge a buyer?

On auctions and Make Offer sales, 5% of the price, minimum $500, maximum $10,000 (reached at a $200,000 sale), charged when you win or your offer is accepted. Classified ads carry no printed buyer fee. Pay + Title, if used, is a flat $299 that buyers pay by default. Taxes and title fees are extra; seller dealer or document fees are barred.

### Can I back out of a Hemmings bid or offer?

No. The FAQ answers “Can I cancel my bid?” with “Nope,” and offers “can’t be canceled,” though they lapse after 48 hours if not accepted. Once you win or an offer is accepted, the 5% fee is due “regardless of whether you ultimately complete the purchase.”

### How do Hemmings auctions end?

Each runs 7 days from a weekday start, and any bid in the final two minutes resets the clock to two minutes. At or over the reserve, the car sells to the top bidder; below it, the car becomes a Make Offer listing for up to 6 months.

### Who owns Hemmings?

American City Business Journals, Inc., of Charlotte, North Carolina, which acquired it in April 2002 after the death of publisher Terry Ehrich. The Terms name the contracting company as “Hemmings Motor News, a d/b/a of American City Business Journals, Inc.”

### Does Hemmings handle payment, title and shipping?

Not itself. Buyer and seller arrange payment and pickup. Hemmings offers optional partner services: Pay + Title, where KeySavvy buys the car from the seller and sells it to you as a dealer, and shipping by National Transport Services, which requires damage to be reported within 48 hours of delivery.

## Sources and further reading

- [NHTSA VIN decoder](https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/decoder/)
- [NMVTIS (US Department of Justice)](https://vehiclehistory.bja.ojp.gov/)
- [FTC used car buying guide](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/buying-used-car-dealer)

Recall, complaint and safety-rating figures on this page were retrieved from the federal databases above on August 19, 2026. Federal data changes — re-check any VIN before you rely on it.

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Canonical source: https://baronauto1.com/buying-guides/hemmings-review/