Kruse International was an

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

firm founded by Russell Kruse in

Auburn, Indiana Auburn is a city in DeKalb County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,820 at the 2020 census. Founded in 1836 by Wesley Park (1811–1868), the city is the county seat of DeKalb County. Auburn is also known as Home of the Classics. Hi ...

, in 1952. The company began as a local auction company selling real estate, farms and personal property run by Kruse and his sons

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and Daniel. The company held its first collector car auction in Auburn on

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

in 1971; the Labor Day auction became an annual event and grew to become the largest collector car auction in the world. After the success of this auction, the Kruses were asked by Tom Barrett to have a sale in Scottsdale, Arizona, the next January. This was the first annual sales that continues today. The Kruses were the first to sell a car for a documented $1 million in cash — a 1934 Duesenberg Model SJ La Grande long wheelbase dual-cowl phaeton. The Duesenberg was sold to Tom Monaghan, founder of

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and then owner of the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. The Kruse family is also noted for conducting the $41 million sale of the famous William F. Harrah automotive collection. The sale of this 1,000-car collection was spread over three auction sessions in 1985, 1986 and 1987. The company was sold to ITT in 1981, but the family bought it back in 1986. It was then sold to

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

for $275 million in 1999 but was purchased back by Dean Kruse in 2002. On May 25, 2010, the Indiana Auctioneer Commission revoked the auctioneer's license of Dean Kruse amid charges that the company failed to pay clients who had sold items through the company. On July 1, 2010, Kruse sold its auction park, home to the annual Auburn auto auction, to RM Auctions of Canada.

References

American auction houses Defunct companies based in Indiana Auburn, Indiana EBay 1981 mergers and acquisitions 1986 mergers and acquisitions 1999 mergers and acquisitions 2002 mergers and acquisitions {{US-retail-company-stub EBay acquisitions