Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, an auctioneer of industrial equipment, last week launched its new online bidding interface at World of Concrete 2009 in Las Vegas. Equipment buyers had their first opportunity to use the redesigned and enhanced interface Feb. 5, when Ritchie Bros. conducted its first auction of 2009 at World of Concrete to raise funds for educational programs. Ritchie Bros. waived its internet purchase fee for this benefit auction, which supports the Concrete Industry Management program expansion. Interested buyers bid in person at World of Concrete or online at www.rbauction.com.
“We’re excited to be returning to the World of Concrete to raise funds to support the Concrete Industry Management program expansion — and we’re equally excited to be launching our new online bidding interface during the show,” said Peter Blake, Ritchie Bros. CEO. “Since introducing our real-time Internet bidding service in 2002, we’ve helped thousands of online bidders purchase billions of dollars of equipment; more than 99,000 people from more than 180 countries are now approved to bid online at our auctions. Our new online bidding interface offers more features and more flexibility, including the ability to follow multiple auctions in real time, making it easier to bid in many auctions on the same day. Online bidding at a Ritchie Bros. auction will be closer to the experience of bidding in person than ever before.”
The CIM benefit auction featured a wide range of donated items, including equipment, cement, and sports and travel packages. Proceeds from the auction totaled more than U.S. $285,000 on the sale of 48 items. Included in that total was 250 tons (10 loads) of bulk Portland Cement, donated by Holcim US Inc., which sold for $32,000.
Like every Ritchie Bros. auction, the CIM auction was unreserved, meaning there were no minimum bids or reserve prices. Every item was sold to the highest bidder on Feb. 5, regardless of price.
Ritchie Bros. also sold more than 1,200 equipment items for the construction, transportation and other industries during a one-day unreserved public auction at its Las Vegas auction site on Friday, Feb. 6.
