Auction Houses
 

Quite frustrating to say the least but due to economic conditions and ridiculous discount requests from customers I have decided to close my business for good. Now I need to divest of misc. shop equipment, tools, benches, machines etc.
I have zero experience dealing with auction dealers and would appreciate any heads up on practices or costs incurred, the good and bad. Auction houses to be cautious of, which I’m sure there are.. Truck equipment to the auction or have auction at my business location? Thanks,

Get everything you can into Ritchie Brothers, they will get you almost new prices for all your used equipment.

Sorry to hear of your situation.

Isn't that true of almost all auction houses?

Last thing I was serious about buying was a metal band saw. Once it got within $50 of a new one, I stopped paying attention. This was just an county auction house down near Red Deer.

Have you had good experiences selling equipment through RB?

What are you selling and how much of a hurry are you in? McDougall and Sekura have online auctions that might work for shop equipment. If you have heavy equipment, RB is probably the best choice. Olson in Rimbey and Rosehill in Olds have regular equipment sales if you don’t have enough to hold a sale. Many of the bigger outfits will give you a guaranteed minimum for your assets.

Shop equipment: tool benches, heavy duty tables, 60 ton press, hand tools, storage bins, shelves, pallet racking, caustic tank, large bore CNC lathe, CNC mill, Hyd. torque wrench, metal marking machine etc... As well as office equipment: wrap around desks with credenza lower and upper, several file cabinets, etc...

Where are you located? Our company just bought another shop, and we are in the process of tooling it up. I can ask some questions about what still may be required....

auction decisions
 

My suggestion is to have your own auction which allows you in-control of a date, time, location, cost(s) and even preferred price for more valuable items.

If you don't have enough of your own merchandise then team-up with another seller to have a larger sale or have neighbours or family members add to sale with consignments to make the sale more interesting and therefore attract a larger buying crowd.

The only downfall to your own sale is that you're competing with other auctions on that particular day or if you are selling junk then nobody will attend.

There is no advantage to taking it to RB or other auction house unless you just want your stuff gone NOW and at any price.

Don't start selling items out of your shop "today" prematurely...those items are needed to make a complete auction. If they want it...let them come to the auction. Similar to a yard sale...all the good stuff is gone leaving you stuck with the lesser priced ~ smaller items.

Finally, stay away from auction companies that charge the public a buyer fee as that is a huge turn-off and many people won't attend for that single reason.

SO for your type of gear i would not recommend RB
As they charge a min per lot if under $2500
ANd that will cut into your cash a lot.
I would get a auction at your place, this can cost much less, and it is only bringing in buyers that want your stuff.

Where are you located? I am an auctioneer and appraiser and have done many dispersals of the kind of equipment you want to sell. There are several options I’d be more than happy to discuss with you.

Montgomery Auctions seem to be the go to guys for shop dispersals.

https://www.montgomeryauctions.com/


Grizz

Montgomery charges a buyers fee Personally I won’t set foot on his property for that reason alone and I only live 10 miles away. I go to Allan Olsen in Rimbey instead

Yep.... yote beat me to it.

Which auctions don't charge a buyers fee?

Any thoughts on Michener Auctions?

[QUOTE=warriorboy10;4004643]Any thoughts on Michener Auctions?[/QUOTE
They have a very good reputation for selling vehicles and industrial at THEIR location. NOT a good choice for your needs.
MEIR charges a buyer fee...not a good choice.
A good country auction business for you would be ZIMMERMAN... JOHNSON's...
NO buyer fee, NO arrogance...excellent advertising !
Make sure you verify their wait time for PAY-OUT to you...
For example, RITCHIE BROS advertises for on site farms auctions and states a 21 day wait time for pay-out...that's crazy

[QUOTE=AlbertaAl;4004648]If there are no buyers fee how does the auction co. get paid?

Valuable info, thanks.

[QUOTE=warriorboy10;4004660]Someone else pays, there is only a buyer and seller....

[QUOTE=Trochu;4004677]My point!!

I could care less, personally. But I'm just following up. I work for a company with a fair chunk of change. Some of that stuff might interest some people.... Pm me if you'd like.

[QUOTE=AlbertaAl;4004648]Michner has buyers fees too.