Ritchie Bros. continued its auction season kick off in a big way, selling more than 7,400 items through two events – a $59 million record-breaking Phoenix, AZ, auction and a $55 million Houston, TX, auction. All assets were sold 100 percent online.

Ritchie Bros. held a two-day unreserved auction in Phoenix that broke site records for Gross Transaction Value (GTV) and auction registrations. Over 10,000 customers registered to bid on more than 2,400 equipment items being sold. Approximately 96 percent of the equipment was purchased by U.S. buyers, while international buyers picked up the remaining 4 percent.

"This was an exciting auction with non-stop customers in our yard checking out gear ahead of the sale and record numbers of online bidders during the sale, all resulting in record-breaking pricing levels," said Ivan Molina Carrillo, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. "With the market continuing to experience inventory constraints, and prolonged wait periods for new product, Ritchie Bros. is the only place where you can buy unused, very late-model gear and have delivery of it the same day. It was a great event for our sellers getting price realization, and for buyers needing assets right away."

The company sold just under 5,000 equipment items from its Houston auction site, attracting more than 15,800 bidders from 62 countries. Approximately 90 percent of the items in the auction were sold to U.S. buyers, including 46 percent purchased by Texas buyers and 6 percent from buyers in California. The remaining 10 percent was sold to international buyers as far away as Chile, Russia and the United Kingdom.

"Our auction last week in Houston easily surpassed our expectations, with record-breaking registrations and lots of activity at the auction site," said Chuck Roberson, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. "Clearly the momentum we saw last quarter is still going strong. Customers are especially responding to us adding a third day to the event for Timed Auction items. It gives them more time to bid and more time to get the assets they need."

The two auctions were part of what is expected to be a big February for Ritchie Bros. The company recently introduced new technology to improve the customer online bidding experience and is currently conducting its premier global equipment auction from February 21-26 in Orlando, FL. Over 11,000 items will be sold to buyers around the world at this global equipment event.