Pioneering and leading the industrial auction scene for 52 years, Canadian company Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers is expanding its footprint around the world. With 110 offices, a global network of more than 620,000 customers, 42 permanent auction sites and multiple leased sites spread across North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia, its customers are efficiently using the standardized services, whether they’re participating in Las Vegas or in Hyderabad.
In 2009, the Company conducted 195 industrial auctions, registered 336,000 bidders and sold 283,000 items at its global auctions. On-site and online bidders purchased equipment items and trucks for USD 3.5 billion. Ritchie Bros. auctions are global marketplaces where hundreds – if not thousands – of equipment items, machines and trucks used in construction, transportation, agriculture, mining and other industries, are sold to large crowds of bidders through an unreserved auction.
The auctions are fast paced and exciting. All equipment is gathered and displayed at the auction site in the weeks leading up to an auction, available for inspection and testing. On auction day, mobile equipment is driven in front of a covered auction theatre at the auction site, where the bidders can sit in comfort and see each item as it’s being sold. Bidders are also able to place bids online in the comfort of their own home or office, using the company’s website, www.rbauction.com.
The ‘secret’ ingredient that brings flavour to every Ritchie Bros. auction is that all items are sold completely unreserved. This means that there are no minimum bids or reserve prices on the items being sold in the auction; everything sells regardless of price. Owners are forbidden by contract to bid on their own equipment. This creates a transparent bidding environment for equipment buyers, because they know that they are only competing with other legitimate buyers and can place bids with confidence.
The unreserved auction method appeals to equipment owners as well – they like the certainty that their items are exposed to a large crowd of potential buyers – on-site and live online – and that all their assets have a new owner at the end of the auction day. And because buyers far beyond the local market are reached, they can achieve fair market value for the items they’re selling.
When Ritchie Bros. conducted its first equipment auction in India in September 2009, a milestone was reached. In last quarter 2010, the auctioneer has scheduled one more auction in Hyderabad, where hundreds of items will be sold to the highest bidders.
The next auction in Hyderabad will be held on October 12, 2010. Interested in selling or buying equipment in this auction? Visit www.rbauction.com or contact the office in New Delhi at +91.11.41414444 for more information.
