Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers conducted a record-breaking unreserved public auction at its auction site in Tipton, CA on February 14, 2014. The multi-million dollar auction set new Tipton site records for number of registered bidders (2,850+) and number of sellers (390+). Every item in the auction was sold to the highest bidder regardless of price—without minimum bids or reserve prices.

The auction took place the day after World Ag Expo, the world's largest annual agricultural exposition, which was held five miles north of the Ritchie Bros. Tipton auction site in Tulare County from February 11 - 13. Bidders from 48 countries participated in the Tipton auction in-person, online in real time at www.rbauction.com and by proxy.

"Holding our auction in conjunction with the World Ag Expo has become an annual event—it's convenient for our customers to attend the trade show and then come to our auction the next day to purchase the equipment they need for the upcoming season," said Jeremy Martella, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "We saw strong prices in both the agricultural and construction sectors. Construction equipment was especially in high demand as road-building and industrial development contractors are getting ready to start their 2014 projects."

Close to 1,550 agricultural and industrial equipment items were sold in the auction, including 300+ agricultural tractors.