Online vs. Traditional Auctions for Commercial Fleets

Do you have to pick just one remarketing option? The experts all agree: more options are better!

“Ritchie Bros. has a variety of ways to sell equipment. Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers is a live, unreserved sale – bring your equipment to our yard. We will do an inspection, and it can be sold during the next live event. Marketplace-E – is a great option for someone who is not pressed for yard space and has time to remarket. We will typically send an inspector to your location and remarket on your lot at a mutually agreed asking price.  Iron Planet Weekly Sale – typically inspected on your lot and sold on your lot in a reserved online auction,” explained Rob Slavin, senior valuation analyst at Ritchie Bros., an RB Global Company.

Two Options with Multiple Benefits

Both remarketing channels have proved to be beneficial and profitable. 

“Overall, traditional auction houses have embraced online channels and offer buyers and sellers whichever avenue makes sense for them and their goals. It’s important to build relationships.  I’m a little old school in that I’d prefer someone on my team to physically put eyes on a unit before we purchase. However, depending on the size of your fleet, this may be impossible,” said Josh Giles, principal automotive analyst at Black Book. 

Building a strong network of trusted buyers and sellers is increasingly important. 

“Advancements in technology, detailed, clear photos, and videos have improved the online experience, allowing fleet managers to expand and operate in multiple locations at once,” Giles added.

FLD strongly feels that fleet managers shouldn’t try remarketing alone, especially if it involves working with auctions and dealers, as that can consume a lot of time, energy, and resources.

“The benefit of working with us is that we will purchase your assets upfront in one simple, seamless transaction that takes less than a week so you can move on to more important things faster,” said Bill Bishop, SVP of sales and marketing for FLD, Inc.

Benefiting from Multiple Lines of Sale

In many cases, both online and traditional auctions can be combined. 

“Auctions can sell to buyers in the lane onsite and buyers online. Keeping the vehicle online between sales is also a best practice when possible.  Having more buyers look at vehicles daily improves the chances of hitting your floor price,” said Jeff Krogen, vice president of Fleet Strategy at Enterprise Fleet Management.

When selling online, Krogen noted it is critical to provide an accurate condition report with great picture resolution, capturing as many photos as possible of the interior and exterior of a vehicle. 

“This level of transparency can require acknowledging small damages that, in the work truck world, often don’t make that much of a difference for the next buyer, but it is important to acknowledge and be completely transparent about imperfections. It is also key in the appraisal process to set a floor price based on what the end buyer realistically perceives as the damage that needs to be addressed.  In person, in the auction lane onsite, the buyer can decide for themselves and likely understand what cosmetic repairs are necessary for their consumer buyers.”

Technological Advances in Truck Remarketing

New AI-driven damage detection tools are also being implemented and will likely soon be more widely adopted. 

“This is a great advancement for remarketers. The more accurate and consistent the industry becomes standardized on vehicle condition reports, the easier it will be for buyers to make decisions and pay more with confidence and better insights into a vehicle,” Krogen said.

Regarding online buying, descriptions, pictures, and even videos are critical.

“Buyers want to see every corner of a unit, both inside and out. As a seller, think about what it would take to get you to buy a unit. Put yourself in their shoes. What questions would you have?  What would you like to know about a particular unit or fleet of vehicles?  Market and advertise your vehicles in a way that would make you want to purchase them,” added Giles of Black Book.