Iron Planet to hold first European on-line auction
11 January 2009
Iron Planet will hold its first European on-line auction on 28 January with over 160 machines from Poland to Spain on sale.
With its weekly US auctions currently attracting over 14000 visitors from 60-plus countries and 35% of sales going overseas, European auctions were needed to cater for CE-marked machines, said Tom Cornell, managing director of its Dublin, Ireland-based European operation.
An online auction has several advantages for the buyer, added Mr Cornell. "They don't have to travel to the auction as they can view the machine online, find its location, the starting price and when a bid is placed on a machine they're watching."
Bids can also be placed ahead of the auction date during the two week auction preview through IronPlanet's PriorityBidSM service. This service also can automate bidding on the buyer's behalf if the buyer is not able to attend the auction.
During the auction bidders will see any price increases and whether theirs is the highest bid. Bidding is restricted to 10-minutes, but any bid placed in the last two minutes extends the finishing time by two minutes to allow any counter bids.
Once the winning bidder receives email notification of the sale he has three days to pay. When Iron Planet receives the monies the seller is informed and the buyer is given their details and the machine's exact location.
Iron Planet inspectors will prepare a report on all the machines in the auction. This will include a visual inspection of key systems and components along with ratings - for individual items such as tracks, pins and boom cylinders, notes and images of the machine, including the CE plate, wear-related measurements and oil/fluid samples when appropriate.
"These inspection reports, backed by our exclusive IronClad Assurance, ensure that our buyers know the true condition of the equipment and can bid with confidence," said Mr Cornell.
Sellers will pay a listing fee plus an 8 to 14% commission, while the buyer pays commission of just less than 2% to a maximum of about € 950.
