Ritchie Bros. conducted its largest Grande Prairie, Alberta, auction ever, selling more than 4,900 equipment items for more than C$82 million ($63 million), which surpassed the previous gross transaction value record by 32%.

A record of more than 12,350 online bidders from 53 countries registered for the event, which was held 100% online from Nov. 23 to Nov. 26. Approximately 91% of the equipment in the auction was purchased by Canadians, including 52% purchased by Albertans, while international bidders from Mexico, Romania, Taiwan and other countries purchased 9%.

“With 4,900+ items to sell, we set up our first-ever, four-day Grande Prairie auction and the results were record breaking,” Terry Moon, regional sales manager for Ritchie Bros., said. “We saw strong pricing for the construction and transportation equipment in the auction, including 121 excavators sold for $19+ million. At the end of the auction, we had set new records for lots sold, number of bidders registered and gross transaction value.”

Leading up to the auction, on rbauction.com, the Grande Prairie webpage received more than 582,000 unique page views, with 57,000 items added to customers’ personal watch lists.

“We also sold a large selection of pipeline equipment in this auction, including 80+ pipelayers,” Moon said. “One of these pipelayers, consigned by NTL Pipelines, was painted pink and sold for $245,000 in the auction. All proceeds from the sale of the pink pipelayer have been generously donated by NTL’s owner, John Neudorf, to a charity made in his late sister’s name: the Community Foundation of Northwest Alberta Eva Marie Fund. We are glad we could help.”

More than 375 owners consigned equipment to the Grande Prairie auction, including a complete dispersal for TalCan Oilfield Contracting.

“I certainly miss attending the auction in person and chatting with all my friends in the industry, but Ritchie Bros. sure has made buying and selling online easy,” Taud Schall, owner of TalCan Oilfield Contracting, said. “We are very pleased with the results we achieved in the Grande Prairie auction last week. I was particularly impressed by the work of the auctioneers, who highlighted the care we took with our equipment and did everything they could to get that next bid. I’d also like to thank my sales rep, who was always willing to go the extra mile. Thank you, Ritchie Bros.”

Sales Highlights

• Three 2019 Komatsu PC490LC-11 hydraulic excavators sold for a combined C$1.05 million ($810,00)
• A 2017 John Deere S690 RWA combine sold for C$410,000 ($316,490)
• A 2015 Kenworth T800 T/A tri-drive w/ Manitex TC700 boom truck sold for C$405,000 ($312,630)
• A 2018 John Deere 850K LGP dozer sold for C$337,500 ($260,523)
• A 2018 John Deere 772G AWD motor grader sold for C$335,000 ($258,590)

Auction Quick Facts

• Gross Transaction Value (GTV): More than C$82 million ($63 million), which was a 32% increase over the previous record auction in March 2016
• Total Number of Lots: More than 4,900
• Total Registered Bidders: More than 12,350
• Total Number of Consignors: More than 375