Ritchie Bros built the modern equipment auction business on one policy: everything sells, unreserved, on the day. It works, and it is why their sales draw serious money. But their commission reflects that position, and for many sellers there are cheaper routes to the same buyers.
Here are eight alternatives with an honest read on where each is genuinely better.
Online-first alternatives
1. IronPlanet
Now inside the same corporate group, but operationally distinct and worth considering separately. IronPlanet’s detailed inspection reports come with a guarantee on their accuracy, which is the single most valuable thing you can offer a buyer purchasing sight-unseen. Fully online, no transport-to-the-yard requirement.
2. Purple Wave
Fully online, fully unreserved, published flat fees, no physical lane. The transparency is the pitch and it lands well with sellers who dislike negotiating commission. Strong across construction, agriculture, trucks and municipal equipment.
3. BigIron
Unreserved online auctions with agricultural weighting and — unusually — no buyer’s premium on many sales. That policy attracts buyers, and buyer attraction is what a seller is paying for.
4. EquipmentFacts
The bidding platform behind a large number of independent equipment auctioneers. Choosing a local auctioneer who lists on EquipmentFacts often means lower total commission than a national house, with the same online reach.
Listings and marketplace routes
5. Machinery Trader
Primarily listings rather than auction, and for many sellers that is the point. A well-priced private-treaty listing avoids auction commission entirely, at the cost of time and negotiation. Also the reference catalogue everyone checks before bidding anywhere.
6. Equipment Trader and dealer networks
Same logic in different categories. Slower than an auction but cheaper if you are not in a hurry.
Government and specialist
7. GovPlanet
Ex-military and government heavy equipment. Relevant as a buying alternative rather than a selling one — different inventory entirely, with condition and restriction caveats that need reading.
8. Regional auctioneers
The most underrated option for sellers. A well-established local auctioneer with a genuine buyer list, listing online through an aggregator, frequently produces comparable results at meaningfully lower commission — particularly for a single machine or a small fleet where a national marketing campaign is not justified.
How to choose as a seller
Four questions:
- What is the total cost? Commission plus listing fee plus transport to the sale site plus yard charges while it waits. National houses often require you to move the machine to them, and that freight is real.
- Is the sale unreserved? Unreserved brings serious bidders. If you need a reserve, be honest about it and accept that fewer bidders will engage.
- Who inspects, and is it guaranteed? A guaranteed third-party inspection lifts realised prices more than any marketing spend.
- Where does your machine’s buyer actually look? A grader and a combine have different audiences.
The option for dealers with steady volume
Equipment dealers taking regular trade-ins face the same maths car dealers do: a percentage to an auction house on every unit, permanently. Past a certain volume, timed online sales to your own buyer list are simply cheaper, and you keep the customer relationship.
The equipment-specific module set is well established — hour meters, attachment and implement inventories, serial number verification, structured inspection templates with enforced photo angles, and transport quoting integrated into the listing. Our farm equipment auction software covers the agricultural side and custom auction software the broader build.
We covered the platform architecture in detail in building an industrial equipment auction platform, and the full landscape in the best heavy equipment auction sites.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ritchie Bros commission negotiable?
For a large fleet dispersal, generally yes. For a single machine, rarely. Volume is the leverage.
Do I have to transport my equipment to the auction site?
For traditional yard-based sales, usually. Online-only platforms like Purple Wave and IronPlanet let the machine stay where it is until sold, which saves a meaningful freight cost.
Will an unreserved sale lose me money?
On a single machine in a thin market, possibly. Across a fleet dispersal, unreserved consistently outperforms because the crowd it attracts is much larger.
