Setting a reserve price for business equipment
- Reading time
- 3 minutes
- Last reviewed
On this page
Discuss a reserve using the sale evidence, your objectives and the consequences of not selling. A reserve sets a minimum selling instruction under the agreed auction arrangements. It does not cause buyers to reach that amount or guarantee the equipment's value.
Begin with the estimate and its assumptions. The estimate, reserve and valuation guide explains why those figures are different. If you need a particular net amount, also establish which seller costs and other matters sit between hammer price and money received.
Prepare a reserve discussion sheet
Asset and package: lot or asset reference, included items and exclusions.
Estimate: figure or range, date, evidence and relevant assumptions.
Seller objective: what matters for this sale, including any fixed site deadline.
Commercial floor: the amount or outcome the authorised seller is prepared to discuss, with its basis made clear.
Costs and tax questions: seller charges and unresolved accounting matters, kept separate from the reserve instruction.
Authority: who can approve the initial reserve and any change.
Unsold outcome: options, costs and latest decision date if the reserve is not met.
Final instruction: agreed amount or arrangement, date and written acknowledgement under the selling terms.
Leave undecided fields open until the relevant person answers them. A working sheet should not become an instruction merely because it contains a number.
Test the consequences of the limit
Ask what you would do if bidding stopped below the reserve. Could you retain the asset, consider a later offer or try another route? If access to the site ends soon, the deadline guide helps explain why time needs to be part of the discussion.
A reserve that reflects the seller's preferred return may still result in no sale. That can be an acceptable choice if the alternatives are understood. Problems arise when the business needs every item gone but has made no plan for an unmet reserve.
BidSpotter's glossary provides the basic definition. The auctioneer's conditions determine how the instruction and any later decisions operate.
Consider the whole buyer offer
The buyer-premium guide explains why bidders may think in total costs rather than hammer price alone. Collection responsibilities, condition evidence and included items also matter. Do not respond to these factors with an arbitrary reserve formula.
Record what happens after the auction
If a lower offer arrives later, use the below-reserve offer worksheet and the actual selling agreement. Do not assume that a reserve automatically instructs the auctioneer about every future negotiation.
Discuss the proposed reserve with UK Auction Group before the sale opens. Provide the decision-maker's contact and the unsold fallback. A clear instruction should make the permitted action understandable without pretending that the outcome is certain.
Explore the auctions and private sales guides.
Sources
- UK Auction Group: asset disposal Checked
- BidSpotter: jargon buster Checked
This guide gives general information. Equipment-specific, legal, tax and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser or competent specialist. The guides do not promise sale prices, fees or results.