• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

rb auction

check

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
800
Location
in the mail
Went to a Ritchie Brothers auction yesterday. It seems to me that they are trying to generate as much confusion as they can.
When you bid at a live auction, your eyes and ears are on 3 things. One is the price on the screen, one is trying to decipher what the auctioneer is saying and the last is the body language of the bid catcher.
The price on the screen seems to change back and forth from "bid" to "ask" because the amount goes up and down. The auctioneer is talking at 100 MPH with 8 pieces of bubble gum in his mouth. The bid catcher is talking to you with body language, which usually means someone is not accountable to what he says.
One thing that you don't usually see clearly is the other bidders. You rely on the bid catcher to signal when you have been outbid, but that just seems a bit vague. Did the other guy actually outbid you or is the bid catcher trying to get you to bid against yourself??

Bidding online is easier, IMO. First of all you don't have to figure out what the auctioneer is babbling and second is that you don't have to figure out what the bid catcher is saying with hand signals and third is that the current price is always bid so you don't have to try to figure out whether it's bid or ask.
In business and politics clear, plain language is the best way to communicate and when one party is deliberately trying to confuse or go over your head, he is a crook. Adding to this ambiguity, RB is using a fast pace to add to the confusion.
My advice would be to plan ahead by looking at the junk a day or two before the auction, then do your bidding at home on your computer.
 

check

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
800
Location
in the mail
Fourth, you have to figure in the buyer's premium.
And shipping. Here in Montana used equipment for sale is scarce and you have to pay the local premium (if you can find what you need) or plan on having it hauled 600-800 miles. Premium plus shipping can run upwards of 25%. At least RB has equipment for sale,which is the main reason I do business with them. No matter how much I have tied up in my old equipment, I can always sell it at a small profit to local guys who don't have time for traipsing across the country to look for it.
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,275
Location
sw missouri
Fourth, you have to figure in the buyer's premium.

At least ritchie bros is reasonable on their buying premium. Purplewave is more of a midwest online auction house for a lot of equipment, and they are 10% buyers premium on all sales. If you start looking at some high $ equipment, that adds up.

Ritchie is only 10% on items under $10,000, 3.85% for 10 to 30,000, anything over $33,000 is a max of $1,300. Makes a big difference on a $80,000 purchase.

I will agree with check though, some of the ritchie auctioneers need to go back to school, they are really hard to understand. There are some that are quite good. If the buyers can't understand what you are saying, I'm not sure what good they are?
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,865
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
Watch an art or collector car auction if you want to understand what they are saying. Ritchie Bros. runs their auction like a live stock auction. You have to be alert and know how to anticipate what is going on.

I've said this before, "no one else can generate as much mass stupidity as an equipment auction."
 

catman13

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2011
Messages
435
Location
oregon usa
Occupation
refrigeration engineer/excavation contractor
RB auction sales so many lots a hour and that makes it harder to fallow whats going on, I do like their premium scale , some auction companies it is flat rate no matter the price
 

Welder Dave

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2014
Messages
12,260
Location
Canada
The thing with RB is if you want to bid, you better bid now. They have way too many lots to sell to spend 5 minutes trying to get an extra $10 like farm auctions do. The only time I see them spend extra time trying to get more is with the high dollar equipment. Stuff under 10K, they don't fool around. I like that. I've been to farm auctions where they spend 5 minutes trying to get an extra buck or 2 on the miscellaneous stuff under $10. Have seen people interested in the machinery leave the auction because they spent too much time on the small items and junk. I bought 1000 and 500 gallon tanks (put together as one lot) at RB for $50 several years ago. Auctioneer started off at $200, then $100, then who will give $50? I put my hand up and he said sold.
 

check

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
800
Location
in the mail
The RB auction I went to Friday they were having two auctions simultaneously. The timed auction took place at the same time as the live auction. They were selling skid steer attachments at the same time as skid steers.
They don't seem to possess the ability to put themselves in the shoes of the buyer from afar. Someone who travels a few hundred miles to bid has to think about timing and shipping strategy. You don't want to bid early on attachments not knowing if you will be successful buying a skid steer. Buy the attachments by themselves and the cost just doubled.
They won't let you haul off an items the day of the sale so if you brought your own trailer you're stuck in that town with a trailer and nothing to do for 24 hours. If you didn't bring a trailer, you will be looking to find someone to haul a couple attachments. Poor strategy.
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,865
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
The one time Richey will spend time on items is when they own them. Bid levels will go from tens of thousands to five thousands to two and half thousands to ones thousand to five hundreds.
 

Wilson892

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2015
Messages
93
Location
Ontario, Canada
Tried to buy a skeleton bucket for my JD 892 three times online with Ritchie. Three different sales same picture of bucket had it each time at last second, auction closed and was notified I was not the successful bidder. Pretty sure Ritchie was covering their butts.

John
 
Top