Ritchie Bros. sold more than 1,600 equipment items and trucks for more than C$34 million ($26 million) in its two-day, online-only auction in Chilliwack, British Columbia, surpassing the previous site record by 39%.
More than 6,400 online bidders from 44 countries registered for the auction, which was held on Oct. 14 and Oct. 15. Approximately 89% of the items in the auction were sold to Canadian buyers, including 72% purchased by buyers from British Columbia. The remaining 11% was sold to international buyers, including those from Australia, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.
“This auction was built around a fantastic lineup of forestry equipment, which attracted additional consignors and a lot of buyer attention from around the world,” Pat Elliott, regional sales manager for Ritchie Bros., said “The forestry sector has been under pressure, but we were still able to achieve strong results for sellers. A majority of the equipment ended up staying in Canada, but international buyers helped drive up pricing.”
Leading up to the auction, Ritchie Bros.’ Chilliwack webpage received more than 223,000 unique pageviews, close to 30,000 watchlist adds and more than 9,900 PriorityBids for the more than 1,600 items in the auction. Sales highlights included a 2020 Tigercat LS855E tilter hoe chucker log loader that sold for C$670,000 ($508,570), a 2019 Tigercat LX830D tilter feller buncher that sold for C$620,000 ($470,620) and a 2018 Tigercat 880D processor that sold for C$525,000 ($398,510).
Equipment was sold for more than 375 owners in the online-only Chilliwack auction, including a large selection of forestry equipment for Don Bahen and Mary DeLury of Island Fibre.
“Ritchie Bros. has transitioned extremely well to a fully online auction experience,” Bahen said.
“At the same time, it’s the personal relationships, professionalism and global reach that makes them stand out,” DeLury said. “Our relationship with Ritchie Bros. is very valuable to us and we are grateful for their help.”
Auction Quick Facts
Ritchie Bros.’ next Chilliwack auction will be held in December.
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