Auctions and private sales

Choosing a sale route is only the first decision. These guides help you agree the instructions, prepare a useful catalogue, manage enquiries and understand what happens after bidding. Start with the question you need to answer now.

Choose the arrangement

Compare auction and private sale, then explore timed and live formats, negotiated private sales or sale by tender. If someone suggests an immediate-purchase feature, use the questions in the buy-now guide to confirm what is actually available and how it works.

Scale and location deserve separate decisions. Read about shared auctions, dedicated auctions, selling selected assets versus clearing a site and selling from your premises or moving first. A suitable sale format still needs a workable collection plan.

Agree price authority and terms

Use the selling-agreement checklist before appointment. Understand the buyer's premium, reserve setting, selling without a reserve and opening bids versus reserves. These terms describe different parts of the transaction; none is a substitute for checking the seller's expected net proceeds.

If circumstances change, refer to withdrawing an item or handling an early private offer. Both guides start with the agreement already in place and the person authorised to change it.

Prepare and run the sale

Follow the seller's auction stages to identify dependencies. Then prepare the lot plan, check the catalogue and review the marketing plan. These pages include working sheets you can adapt to the actual inventory.

Day-to-day questions are covered in handling buyer enquiries, organising viewings and briefing an overseas sale. Use the final seller approval check when the arrangements are ready. Keep late changes attached to the current lot list so the site and sale manager work from the same information.

Understand the outcome

A timed auction may extend under its published rules. Once bidding finishes, read the results by status before adding up figures. An offer, an accepted sale and received funds are different stages.

For unresolved outcomes, use the unsold-lot action log, the unpaid-bidder questions or the below-reserve offer worksheet. The next decision should have an owner and a date. The seller-payment guide explains what to confirm between a result and settlement.

UK Auction Group can discuss the sale routes and managed arrangements available for your equipment. Send the asset list, location, deadline and any conditions that would affect viewing or collection.

Return to all guide topics for valuation, preparation, retirement and other asset-disposal questions.

All 30 guides in this topic

Auction or private sale for business equipment?
Compare an auction with a private equipment sale by buyer fit, price decisions, timing and workload. Choose a route that matches the assets and constraints.
Auctioning selected assets or clearing the whole site
Define whether the instruction covers selected asset sales or the whole site outcome. Separate retained items, unsold equipment and residual clearance work.
Can an auction sale include a buy-now option?
Explore whether a fixed-price or buy-now arrangement fits an equipment sale, and what to confirm about fees, bidding, authority and buyer commitments.
Checking an auction catalogue before it goes live
Check an equipment auction catalogue against the actual assets before publication. Use a sign-off list for identity, scope, condition, photographs and corrections.
Considering an offer below reserve after the auction
Compare a below-reserve auction offer with the net proceeds, extra costs and time involved in another sale using a worked hypothetical example.
Handling buyer enquiries without losing days to them
Keep equipment-sale enquiries manageable with a shared log, approved answers, clear technical referrals and a reliable next action for each buyer question.
How a private equipment sale is negotiated
Move a private machinery offer towards a clear agreement by settling the asset scope, conditions, responsibilities and payment process, not just the price.
How to read your equipment auction results
Read auction results without confusing high bids, confirmed sales, unpaid lots and seller proceeds, using an annotated fictional results sheet.
Opening bid and reserve price are not the same thing
Learn the difference between an opening bid, a reserve and a bid increment, with three simple examples of how a lot can finish.
Organising equipment viewings before an auction
Plan useful pre-auction equipment viewings with a schedule, named contacts, relevant records and clear limits on demonstrations and access.
Planning auction lots for a mixed equipment sale
Turn a mixed consignment into a readable auction lot plan. Use stable references, explicit quantities and inclusion notes without hiding dependencies or exclusions.
Questions to ask about an auctioneer's selling agreement
Review an auctioneer’s proposed selling agreement using questions about scope, fees, instructions, payment and unsold assets before committing the consignment.
Receiving a private offer before an auction starts
Record and refer a private offer received before an auction, including its conditions, timing and the seller agreement checks needed before any response.
Selling equipment by tender: questions for the seller
Explore whether a tender could suit a defined equipment package. Prepare consistent bidder information and ask how offers, conditions and approvals would be handled.
Selling equipment from your site or moving it before sale
Compare selling equipment in place with moving it before sale, including access, viewing evidence, handling costs and the deadlines to confirm.
Selling equipment to an overseas bidder: questions to settle early
Before selling equipment to an overseas buyer, agree who handles payment, documents, collection and export questions, with a practical responsibility sheet.
Selling through a shared auction with other businesses
Explore a shared equipment auction without assuming a fixed schedule or acceptance threshold. Check buyer fit, location, identification, charges and settlement.
Setting a reserve price for business equipment
Prepare for an auction reserve discussion with evidence, sale costs, authority and an unsold fallback. Avoid treating a reserve as a promise of market value.
Should you sell equipment without a reserve?
Consider an unreserved equipment auction by checking authority, acceptable outcomes and alternatives. Understand what giving up a reserve may mean for the sale.
The seller's final checks before auction day
Use a final seller approval checklist before an equipment auction, covering sale authority, reserves, current information, access and unresolved exceptions.
The stages of an equipment auction for a seller
Follow the seller’s auction journey from instruction and catalogue approval to bidding, collection and settlement, with a decision required at each stage.
Timed and live equipment auctions explained for sellers
Understand timed and live equipment auctions from the seller’s side. Compare the preparation, bidding process and points to confirm in the actual sale terms.
What happens to unsold lots after an equipment auction?
Use a practical action log for unsold auction lots, covering confirmed status, reserve instructions, further offers, holding costs and collection dates.
What if the winning bidder does not pay?
Know what to ask when an auction buyer has not paid: confirmed status, payment deadlines, who handles contact and what decisions require your approval.
What should an equipment auction marketing plan include?
Review an equipment auction marketing plan by connecting each asset group to likely buyer needs, catalogue evidence, enquiry feedback and responsibilities.
When a dedicated equipment auction makes sense
Assess whether a dedicated equipment auction suits your consignment by describing the asset scope, buyer audience, timing and seller workload.
When does an auction seller receive payment?
Find the payment milestones an equipment-auction seller should confirm, from buyer invoicing and cleared funds to the statement and seller settlement.
Why sellers should understand the buyer's premium
Understand how a buyer’s premium enters the buyer’s total budget, how it differs from seller charges and what to ask before setting an auction reserve.
Why the end of a timed auction can move
Understand why a timed auction may finish later than advertised and which extension rules, lot timings and result statuses a seller should check.
Withdrawing equipment from an auction: what to check first
Need to retain an item already entered for auction? Check the selling agreement, sale stage and required instructions before assuming it can be withdrawn.