Ritchie Bros conducted a two-day unreserved industrial auction in Houston, TX last week with record-breaking online gross auction proceeds for the site and the highest number of buyers purchasing live and online, using rbauctionBid-Live. The unreserved public auction, held March 27 & 28, 2008, featured more than 2,300 lots that sold for total gross auction proceeds of US$30 million. More than US$8 million of the trucks and equipment was sold to 175 online buyers, beating last year’s site record for online sales by more than US$1 million.

More than 2,350 bidders participated in the unreserved public auction from 38 countries, including 45 U.S. states and nine Canadian provinces. Over 400 of the registered bidders were first-time registrants at a Ritchie Bros. auction.

“Our permanent auction site is a great location for people who are wanting to purchase equipment in person or using our online bidding service,” said Alan McVicker, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Regional Manager. “The fact that we are located right near the Port of Houston makes it easy and practical for people to purchase equipment and ship it to wherever they are located around the world. Forty-eight percent of purchases at this auction were made by customers located outside Texas and more than 25 percent of purchases went to buyers located outside of the country.”

Posted: 03|31|08 at 8:38 pm. Filed under: US News.