For buyers purchasing used heavy equipment via the Internet, a guaranteed inspection report safeguards the transaction. In the latest issue of Construction Business Owner, Paul Hendrix, equipment pricing analyst for IronPlanet, highlights the key information that inspection reports should include and the impact of guaranteed inspection reports as more people begin to purchase equipment online from around the world. 

View the full article online or in the April issue (page 22).

IronPlanet®, the leading online marketplace for buying and selling used heavy equipment, today announced it is the apparent high bidder pending final confirmation and award for a contract with the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to manage and sell rolling stock surplus assets of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) (Surplus Contract). Bids for the Surplus Contract were based on a percentage of the sales price of the items, which IronPlanet estimates at $50-70 million of rolling stock annually. IronPlanet’s high bid was equal to 75.29 percent revenue share to the DLA. The Surplus Contract has a base term of two years with four one-year renewal options.

If you had a chance to attend the 2014 CONEXPO-CON/AGG show, you know that it was a busy and exciting display of the latest construction equipment, products and services. At the IronPlanet booth, CEO Greg Owens highlighted some of our top milestones of the last 12 months, including:

Today, an increasing number of equipment owners are turning to the Internet for help in disposing and acquiring machines. Why? The Internet can reach a wider number of potential buyers and sellers. Online auctions are also more efficient and convenient because they eliminate the need to travel to a physical auction.

Crane owners are among those who are taking advantage of online auctions to sell their big-ticket items. David Tobon, IronPlanet's director of crane operations, offers his insight on online auctions in the latest issue of International Cranes and Specialized Transport. View the article here (p. 44).

IronPlanet will celebrate the 14^th anniversary of its first auction this week (download the infographic for a comparison of auctions over the past 14 years).

“We’re excited to celebrate 14 years of growth since our first online auction,” said Greg Owens, CEO, IronPlanet. “We have attracted more than one million registered users around the globe and sold more than $3.5 billion of equipment over the Internet. Our success is based on our customers’ recognition that IronPlanet offers the industry’s most efficient and timely way to buy and sell used heavy equipment.”

IronPlanet held its first online auction March 23, 2000 which consisted of one seller, 32 bidders and 22 items within the construction industry. This year, IronPlanet held a four-day online auction that featured 406 sellers, 2,996 unique bidders from 78 countries and 1,795 items sold.

“The convenience of working with IronPlanet is great. I simply call my sales rep and tell him what I have and they have a simple process that takes care of the rest. I like the fact that I don’t have to transport my equipment anywhere. An inspector comes to me and all items stay on my lot under my control until they sell. The ease of the entire transaction makes it the ideal way for us to do business.” - Dave Morse, Sunbelt Rentals

“Before IronPlanet we negotiated each sale deal-by-deal with mixed results. We had to coordinate the sale and transportation ourselves. We tried traditional auctions, but there was time and travel involved. What we didn’t sell, we had to transport back to our lot. With IronPlanet, it’s just easier. Everything is done online and we don’t have to move the equipment off site to auction. The IronPlanet team takes great photos and provides complete inspection reports. We get a lot of repeat buyers who keep an eye on our weekly auctions at IronPlanet.com.” - Dan VanderPol, Oak Harbor Freight Lines

Held every three years, CONEXPO-CON/AGG is the construction industry’s largest and most anticipated event. We’re excited to exhibit at this year’s show, taking place March 4-8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show attracts 2,400 exhibitors highlighting products and services for every imaginable construction industry niche, including mining, aggregate, concrete, lifting, asphalt, earthmoving, utilities and more. More than 125,000 attendees are expected to attend this year’s event.

During the five-day exhibition, we invite visitors to stop by booth 40064 to learn how we make used equipment buying and selling efficient and convenient. With a worldwide audience, auctions every week and a daily marketplace, we’ll show you how to turn your equipment into cash in just 30 days. We also help sellers dispose of their fleets without moving equipment from their yard to reduce shipping costs.

IronPlanet®, an online marketplace for buying and selling used heavy equipment, today announced it has surpassed 1 million users who have registered to view equipment for sale and participate in online auctions at IronPlanet.com (see infographic here).

“This is an exciting milestone for us because it demonstrates that more than 1 million users recognize IronPlanet as a trusted marketplace for buying and selling equipment,” said Greg Owens, CEO, IronPlanet. “We’ve attracted these users because of our ongoing dedication to innovation, customer service and delivering what they need: a convenient and reliable equipment solution.”

Understanding the state of the construction industry can help organizations make better leasing, purchasing and selling decisions. So what trends made a big impact in 2013, and what’s on the horizon for 2014?

From an increased demand for well-maintained equipment to a resurgence in residential building, there are a lot of issues that will affect equipment leasing and ownership this year. John Gougeon, Major Accounts Manager of Financial Services at IronPlanet takes a step back to analyze the state of the industry in his blog post for Equipment Finance Advisor.