Sold!

Going once, going twice … Gone! It can trigger a sense of satisfaction if the auctioneer is looking straight at you when he says it. But those words will make you grit your teeth if you’ve made your way from Brandon, Man., to this Ritchie Bros. auction in Bolton, Ont., only to have the truck you’ve been eyeing go down south on the back of a stronger dollar.

And so it goes, a lot of the guys around here say. Plenty of quantity to choose from, but lately the best stuff seems to get snatched up by American buyers. Their greenbacks stretch a lot farther up here.

Although he welcomes the competitive bids, Don McIntyre, Ritchie Bros.’s regional manager in Ontario, admits the difference in buying power can be frustrating for Canadian bidders. “It can be difficult,” he says, “unless there is a specific unit a Canadian buyer has immediate use for, like a contract that’s starting immediately, and profit and production is based on having this unit.”

Jim Brown, an auction veteran and president of J-1 Contracting in Clarenville, Nfld., says if an American really wants the same truck you do, forget it. On this particular day, Brown leaves his chequebook in his pocket.

So Jim, is it worth coming all the way down from The Rock?

“Where I’m from you’re playing with even less than a 50-cent dollar when you consider travel costs and the weight of the U.S. dollar you’re competing against,” he says. “But I wouldn’t come if there weren’t good days. You don’t always get what you came for, but sometimes you leave with something pretty good.”

All the more reason to do your homework and arrive prepared.
Your first time at a Ritchie Bros. auction can be an intimidating experience. The Richmond, B.C., company has grown to become one of the largest and most sophisticated industrial equipment auctioneers in the world. Its unreserved auctions are well organized, with the equipment neatly categorized, paraded around the yard, and then driven up a ramp directly in front of buyers who are seated in an open theatre. The bidding is fast-paced-Ritchie Bros. sells between 50 and 100 lots every hour.

Someone from the crowd makes the first bid, and then the head auctioneer sounds off like an announcer at a horse race, picking up steam every second. If you listen long enough, it all starts to sound like one long country western song. You could literally bang a tambourine to the beat.

Kind of hypnotic, isn’t it Jim? Or is that the point?

“Yeah, you really have to keep your concentration if you’ve never done it before,” he says. “I’ve seen guys bid against themselves… I saw one guy take a truck he thought he was buying for $15,000, meanwhile the bidding was up to $50,000.”
About 15 minutes later, our auctioneer announces that a unit will be coming around a second time because the buyer thought he closed at $20,000 less than the auctioneer was asking.
“See?” Brown says.

It’s easy to get carried away, like a rookie blackjack player at the high-rollers table: your adrenaline can push you into doing things you really don’t want to do. That includes feeling compelled to buy something, since you came all the way from Thunder Bay or Moose Jaw and don’t want to leave empty handed.

For Ritchie Bros., the planning starts early. Months in advance of an auction, the company begins to publicize the stock that will be available. It guarantees the clear title, arranging the release of all liens and encumbrances of all the equipment they sell.

From the weekend before the event to the minute it begins, buyers have the opportunity to check out the trucks personally. No, you can’t drive them around the yard, but you can do more than pull out the dip-stick and kick the tires.

First off, if you can, bring a mechanic to inspect the vehicle. Listen to the engine and the way it idles; look for leaks, welds that would indicate major repairs, new parts or body panels that could signify an accident, fresh paint that may be covering something, or burnt wiring or chaffing.

Consider the mileage, the overall body condition and cleanliness, and the reputation of the previous owner. Most auction buyers place fleet trucks higher on their wish list than trucks owned by owner-operators.

Once you have your sights set, determine the total cost of taking the unit home with you. Whether the vehicle will be going out onto the highway, chopped up for parts, or used to lug trailers around the yard, make sure you know before hand what you want to do with it, and attach a value. Then estimate how much it’s going to cost to repair the visible problems and tack on a few grand for what you can’t see. Finally, factor in travel expenses for your trip to the auction.

Even if you drive away with the truck, you rarely come out a winner if you bid more than the estimated costs you come up with, says Dan Galusha, a New York construction company owner who’s been coming to Ritchie Bros. auctions for 18 years. Experienced buyers learn to trust their gut, Galusha says, quickly adding that even then there’s always the risk of buying something you regret.

“Like a woman, you take it for better or worse,” he says. “I’ve been burned over the years at times.”

By trucks or women, Dan?

“Both.”

Ah, yes. But there are still some gems out there.