Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers has launched an online website for heavy
equipment sales that gives buyers and sellers an eBay-like experience
for purchases of everything from helicopters to dump trucks.
The Burnaby-based auctioneer held the commercial launch of its online marketplace, EquipmentOne.com, in a webcast on Monday.
Chief strategic development officer Bob Armstrong walked participants through the workings of what he described as an innovative and unique addition to the used heavy equipment market.
Ritchie Bros. has a $4-billion-a year auction business specializing in industrial equipment, but Armstrong said although the company is the world's largest seller of used equipment, it has only a two-per-cent slice of the $200-billion-a-year global market.
"The size of the used-equipment market worldwide is colossal," he said.
Half of that market is handled through private negotiations between buyers and sellers.
"We recognized an opportunity because Ritchie Bros. has the reputation, knowledge and brand to bring to that side of the market."
Ritchie Bros. quietly launched the site Jan. 2, Armstrong said, but has spent the last three months refining it and getting feedback. During that period, the website did $10 million worth of transactions.
It has 606 listings, but includes links to other websites. However, its listing tool is available only to sellers in the United States at this time. Canadian sellers are expected to be able to list equipment later this year, with further international expansion planned for 2014.
Armstrong said Ritchie Bros. borrowed elements from existing buy-and-sell websites to develop its own portal. "We have taken advantage of all the great ideas that consumer websites and non-machinery equipment websites have used to create an awesome experience," he said. "It is quite different from what you are used to seeing in the equipment world."
Instead of kicking the tires of a log loader, a potential buyer has access to details about the equipment, high-resolution photos that can be zoomed in on, and market analysis showing what the going prices are for the displayed equipment. Negotiations are all visible, and Ritchie Bros. stands behind the process, Armstrong said.
The Burnaby-based auctioneer held the commercial launch of its online marketplace, EquipmentOne.com, in a webcast on Monday.
Chief strategic development officer Bob Armstrong walked participants through the workings of what he described as an innovative and unique addition to the used heavy equipment market.
Ritchie Bros. has a $4-billion-a year auction business specializing in industrial equipment, but Armstrong said although the company is the world's largest seller of used equipment, it has only a two-per-cent slice of the $200-billion-a-year global market.
"The size of the used-equipment market worldwide is colossal," he said.
Half of that market is handled through private negotiations between buyers and sellers.
"We recognized an opportunity because Ritchie Bros. has the reputation, knowledge and brand to bring to that side of the market."
Ritchie Bros. quietly launched the site Jan. 2, Armstrong said, but has spent the last three months refining it and getting feedback. During that period, the website did $10 million worth of transactions.
It has 606 listings, but includes links to other websites. However, its listing tool is available only to sellers in the United States at this time. Canadian sellers are expected to be able to list equipment later this year, with further international expansion planned for 2014.
Armstrong said Ritchie Bros. borrowed elements from existing buy-and-sell websites to develop its own portal. "We have taken advantage of all the great ideas that consumer websites and non-machinery equipment websites have used to create an awesome experience," he said. "It is quite different from what you are used to seeing in the equipment world."
Instead of kicking the tires of a log loader, a potential buyer has access to details about the equipment, high-resolution photos that can be zoomed in on, and market analysis showing what the going prices are for the displayed equipment. Negotiations are all visible, and Ritchie Bros. stands behind the process, Armstrong said.
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