Types of Sale

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• Traditional On Site Auctions
• Auction House Sales
• Catalogue Auctions
• Collective Vehicle/Plant Auctions
• Agricultural/Farm Auctions
• Online Auctions
• Tenders/Private Treaties

Traditional On Site Auctions

Where a company has ceased trading or has assets surplus to requirements, it is not always practical to transport the goods to an auction house and therefore the goods are sold "On-Site" at the company's premises.

Auction House Sales

Many auctioneers have regular collective auctions held at their own premises. Items sold through these auctions may originate from a wide variety of sources from bailiff seized assets to private entries. Some will be general sales, where literally anything could turn up while other specialise in one particular field - for instance machinery, computers or catering equipment. Large auction houses such as Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips, located in London and other major cities, hold auctions of high quality items attracting international interest - not only antiques & fine art, but also jewellery, carpets, wines & spirits, coins & stamps, ceramics, prestige and classic cars, etc.

Catalogue Auctions

Government surplus, property and other auctions where the goods for sale are scattered at several different locations are normally sold "from the catalogue" i.e. the bidding takes place at an hotel, a social club or other convenient function room, and prospective purchasers must view the goods prior to the auction.

Collective Vehicle/Plant Auctions

A number of companies specialise in vehicle auctions, ranging from small family saloons, up to Heavy Goods Vehicles and Contractor's Plant. The largest of these is BCA Europe, with 23 UK centres, as well as representation in 6 mainland European Markets, between them handling in excess of one million vehicles each year. Manheim Auctions have 18 sites in the UK offering over 550,000 vehicles a year, with a number of sites dedicated to selling Commercial Vehicles and Plant.

Agricultural/Farm Auctions

Often held on-site at the farm, these sales arise when a farmer retires from business, or where a farm is re-investing in new plant and machinery and needs to dispose of its' old or redundant deadstock. In addition to the usual tractors, trailers and implements, these auctions will often include other interesting items such as farmhouse contents, vehicles, vintage goods and memorablilia, so it's always worth checking out the catalogue. There are a number of collective agricultural auctions held at convenient locations several times a year, with entries from dozens of different agricultural establishments.

Online Auctions

This is a rapidly expanding field, pioneered in the United States, but now commonplace the U.K. and Europe. There are basically three types of on-line auction web site: person to person, business to consumer and business to business (where businesses offer their services and goods to other businesses via auction instead of the traditional fixed price sale). Sites can also be categorised as either large general interest sites (i.e. Lycos Auction, eBay), or smaller niche speciality sites. For the most part, person to person on-line auction sites function simply as a third party which brings buyer and seller together. By accepting their terms of service you are effectively waiving their liability for your person-to-person transactions. On the other hand, business to consumer sites often list merchandise acquired directly from manufacturers and are therefore responsible for guarantees, refunds and warranties. Some people would argue whether these are auctions in the true sense of the word, or simply on-line catalogues of new goods for sale. ANS would advise users of these sites to make themselves fully aware of the terms and conditions under which they are trading.

Tenders/Private Treaties

Not all industrial plant and equipment is best suited for disposal by auction - for instance Oil Refineries, Chemical Plants, Breweries and Mines. This could be for any number of reasons, but is usually because the potential market is focused on a small number of parties. In order to maximise value, the assets may be offered for sale over a prolonged period of time and only be sold if a realistic price can be achieved (as in the case of a private treaty). In other cases, where time is of essence, the selling agent may invite written sealed bids (or tenders), to be submitted by a given deadline, with the sale going to the highest bidder. Terms and conditions for these sales can vary widely from one sale to the next, therefore potential purchasers should always be aware of these.