When I began publishing our auction sale price books in 1989, I had one column for the type of auction. It was simple, but I always considered it important to know that to best understand the sale price.
Simply put, farm auctions used to produce the highest prices on equipment versus consignment and dealer auctions.
Then came the rise of online auctions when the pandemic hit. Auction prices for equipment started to creep up, and things really took off when commodity prices did the same in October 2020.
I think online auctions have direct implications if you’re looking to sell a piece of equipment (or five) to manage cash flow.
The Farmer Inventory Reduction sales I’ve seen have all been online-only auctions. That makes sense to me. This allows your equipment to get its own “star treatment,” so to speak. Like I mentioned, farm auctions tend to produce the highest sale prices, which is the goal if you are the seller.
Do You Need to Fix Up Your Equipment?
I’ve been asked over the years, “Hey Pete, I’m looking at selling my (type of equipment) and was wondering if I should spend money to fix it up first?”
My answer is based on our Machinery Pete auction price data: No. As the seller, you want to offer the best product in the best condition, but what’s your return? Our auction price data has shown sellers tend to get back a percentage of the repair dollars they sink in.
A John Deere DB60 24-row, 30" planter that had $200,000 in upgrades (to high speed) sold at an Aug. 27, 2024, farm auction in Tulare, S.D. for $230,000. I’ve seen countless 1970s model tractors with a sale bill that says “$17,500 spent on recent overhaul” and the sale price is $20,000.
It’s worth the money if you plan to keep and use the piece of equipment for some time, but adjust your expectations surrounding immediate payback if you’re looking to sell.
Keep It Simple
If you’re selling a few items, the best policy is to take a zillion high-quality pictures, provide as much documentation as possible and present it, possible warts and all, to as many potential buyer eyeballs as you can. Make simple video clips sharing the good, the bad and what you’ve experienced with it.
Now here’s the kicker. In the old days when you had an auction, marketing came down to promoting the event itself. You still need to do that, but now the best practice is to also market every equipment item you’re selling at auction or privately.
The auction firms we work with feature equipment listings from their upcoming auctions in the 100,000+ items on MachineryPete.com.
This is game-changing stuff, and our sale price data shows it.
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