Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers conducted a record-breaking two-day auction in Las Vegas on March 6 -7. The more than $60-million unreserved public auction was the largest the site has ever conducted in terms of gross auction proceeds, number of registered bidders (4,750+), number of sellers (450+) and total number of buyers (900+).
Last week’s auction also broke multiple site records for online sales, including online gross auction proceeds ($19+ million), online registered bidders (2,900+) and online buyers (400+). In total, more than 2,350 equipment items were sold in the auction, with every item sold without minimum bids or reserve prices. Bids were made in person at the auction site, online at rbauction.com and by proxy.
“Our large selection of equipment in last week’s auction attracted the attention of heavy equipment owners from every corner of the world,” said Joe Byers, regional sales manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. “Bidders participated actively from as far away as the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and New Zealand. We witnessed competitive bidding on all equipment types, including a selection of late-model, low-hour motor scrapers and more than 100 truck tractors.”
More than 4,750 registered bidders from 63 countries, including 48 U.S. states, nine Canadian provinces and two territories, participated in the Las Vegas auction. More than $54.5 million of the equipment was sold to buyers outside the state of Nevada, with more than $17 million (or close to 30 percent) sold to buyers outside the country.
The auction featured equipment from hundreds of sellers, including Nevada-based equipment dealer Blaine Equipment Co. Inc. The company sold a wide selection of construction equipment, including motor graders, hydraulic excavators, backhoes and skid steer loaders.
“We were very happy with the sale of our equipment at last week’s auction,” said James Blaine, sales manager, Blaine Equipment Co. Inc. “We noticed a high level of competition on all equipment categories we sold in, particularly for our line-up of motor graders. I have been moving equipment at Ritchie Bros. auctions since 1996 and return to their auctions time and again for a consistent level of service that is second-to-none. At Ritchie Bros. there is no fooling around; you will get paid at the end of the day – period. Their unreserved auction model is so powerful that we have implemented it as part of our business strategy; it gives us the ability to turn over idle assets and keep our fleet fresh for our customers.”