The system gives customers the ability to do virtual equipment inspections before bidding on-line or on-site. Equipment can also be inspected in person at the auction site. Detailed equipment information includes up to 50 high-resolution photographs of each item, allowing customers to clearly see key components of an item, along with a multi-point summary of those components and comments on basic functionality.
The firm is now the world’s largest on-site and on-line industrial auctioneer, reached and exceeded US$5 billion of online equipment sales in the fourth quarter of 2011. Ritchie Bros hit this significant milestone on October 6th, 2011 at an unreserved public auction at its auction site in Hartford, CT. Ritchie Bros introduced its real-time online bidding service in March 2002 to upgrade its live auction.
The usage of the service has grown steadily, and in April 2010 the Company introduced online bidding in six additional languages. Today close to 50% of the people bidding at Ritchie Bros auctions participate online in real time; the others participate in person at the auction site.
