Information is moving fast and so is Ritchie Bros. With concerns about large gatherings growing around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many trade shows and events have been cancelled. Thanks to its industry-leading online bidding system and mobile application, Ritchie Bros. will continue to conduct regular onsite auctions, with minor, temporary changes to the process and procedure of those events.

First and foremost, Ritchie Bros. will follow all local legislation on limiting onsite attendance to maintain the safety of all its customers and employees. Instead of bidding in person, the company is encouraging customers to participate online or via its mobile application. An auctioneer will still be used to conduct all Ritchie Bros.' onsite auctions, but all equipment and trucks will be sold virtually.

"The safety of our customers and employees is our first priority," said Ann Fandozzi, Chief Executive Officer, Ritchie Bros. "The demand for equipment right now is high—as witnessed by the strong pricing we've seen in all our recent events. With our online bidding technology, we can keep the market moving while simultaneously keeping people safe."

Today upwards of 78% of winning bids in Ritchie Bros. live auctions are made online. Additionally, due to new efforts to drive online demand, Ritchie Bros. has seen visits to rbauction.com and web account creations increase by 15% and 19% respectively. Ritchie Bros. mobile application users have also risen drastically, up 90% year over year.   

Ms. Fandozzi continued, "If you do not have an online bidding account, we encourage you to set one up—it's easy and we have a customer service team available to handle any questions you may have."

Ritchie Bros. will conduct live and virtual onsite auctions at its sites in Columbus, OH; Sacramento, CA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; Brisbane, AUS; and St. Aubin sur Gaillon, FRA this week.

Separately, last week in Vegas Ritchie Bros. sold more than 2,750 equipment items and trucks for US$44+ million, with approximately 61% of purchases made by online buyers.

More than 6,800 people from 55 countries registered to bid in the two-day Las Vegas sale (March 12 – 13, 2020)—setting a new Las Vegas site record—this included 5,800+ online bidders. Approximately 86% of the equipment was purchased by buyers outside the state of Nevada, including international buyers from as far away as Japan, Peru, and the United Kingdom. 

"With CONEXPO/CON-AGG running concurrently with our auction we expected to see a large percentage of online buyers and were happy to see 24% of online purchases were made through our mobile application," said Bill Walton Jr., Vice President – Sales, Ritchie Bros. "Our Las Vegas auctions held during CONEXPO are always fantastic and this year did not disappoint, with our biggest crowd ever, a great lineup of gear, and solid prices."

Equipment highlights in Ritchie Bros.' Las Vegas auction included 225+ truck tractors, 135+ excavators, 100+ loaders, 70+ skid steers, 50+ loader backhoes, 85+ aerial work platforms, and more. Specific sales highlights included a 2008 Caterpillar D10T dozer that sold for US$365,000; a 2017 Caterpillar 982M wheel loader that sold for US$215,000; and an unused 2020 Kenworth T880 mixer truck that sold for US$187,500—all proceeds from the sale of the Kenworth mixer truck are being donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Wounded Warrior Project, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester, MN.