Equipment auction, 1988 (Credit: Kentucky Photo File via Flickr CC)
The heavy equipment sector is not immune to change. Though eBay may have started the shift to online sales as an alternative to classified ads and equipment auctions, equipment listings sites are now plentiful. Tuffwerx has accepted the Internet as a portal to opportunity, constantly improving its methods for buying, selling and financing heavy equipment online.
But when new technology is widely adopted, the logical next question is: what’s going to happen to the old way of doing things? In the case of heavy equipment sales, are heavy equipment auction houses seeing their last days?
Based on their decades of experience in business and equipment, Tuffwerx’ Executive Team has offered their insight on the future of auction houses.
CEO: There Will Always Be Auctions
There will always be auctions. Today the average age of equipment at auctions is seven years old. As the industry continues to change, the average age, hours and miles at auction will increase.
Owners are constantly looking for better ways to sell their equipment. TuffWerx and others are adapting the Internet to the requirements of heavy equipment sales, to provide owners with a cost-efficient way to do exactly that.
-Gary Forni, Chief Executive Officer
CTO: The Internet Provides Instant Gratification
This is the age of instant gratification. People want things faster and faster. Sellers have to wait up to three months for an auction with Ritchie Brothers, which is a long time to wait to get your cash out of the asset.
Look at eBay as an example. The auction site has been making an aggressive effort to shift users to a fixed price format. Yes, there will always be a need for the auction format. But for newer equipment, people want a more cost-effective and instant solution. That’s what Tuffwerx has to offer.
-Erik Dreyer, Chief Technology Officer
Equipment Auction Houses as We Know Them Are in Their Last Days
Richie Brothers was banging the gavel at live auctions in the 1960’s, and they’re doing the same today. But the face of auction houses is bound to change as the Internet grabs market share. The reasons are many. Perhaps most significantly: sellers are becoming more resistant to handing 10% or more of their purchase price over to the auction house, and buyers want the flexibility and nearly endless product options the Internet offers.
Because of our reach, Tuffwerx can bring a buyer to a seller and help close a deal at rates that are a fraction of what an auction company charges. Interestingly enough, over 25 auction companies use TuffWerx. We help them do their job better.