[2] Known to many as the "Dean of Auctioneers," Kruse was once a well-respected member of the collector car hobby.
[3] A 1957 graduate of the Reppert School of Auctioneering in Decatur, Indiana, Kruse cried his 5,000th auction in Houston in 1987, and is reportedly one of the youngest men to even attain that goal.
He is a past president of the Indiana Auctioneer's Association, and was elected as a member of their hall of fame,[5] along with his father Russell and brother Dennis Kruse.
Dean was responsible for negotiating the purchase of his auction company in 1999 by online auctioneer eBay which paid $275 million for Kruse International and Billpoint.
[6] The company was purchased back from eBay by Dean Kruse in 2002.