Why Sell By Auction?

There may be several reasons why someone wants to sell goods by auction - and it can be very useful when deciding whether to bid and how much to bid for an item, to know where it came from and why it is being sold. Normally, one of the following will apply:

• The previous owner has gone into liquidation, receivership or bankruptcy and the goods must be sold to raise cash to pay off debtors.
• The goods are surplus to the owner's requirements maybe due to the purchase of new equipment, reorganization or re-structuring of the company.
• The goods cannot be sold via the normal sales channels i.e. due to temporary poor demand or excess of supply.
• The goods may have faults which the owner does not consider worth repairing, or the goods may be past their expiry date.
• The goods may have been entered by a dealer hoping to make a profit on them, or to create space for new stock.
• The goods may have been acquired by illegal means and subsequently confiscated by the police or Customs & Excise, or the original owner cannot be traced in the case of lost/recovered property from the police, transport departments, etc.
• The goods may be surplus or old stock and equipment from various government departments or the armed forces.

This information may be stated in the catalogue or you may be able to find out by consultation with the auctioneers prior to the sale.