One billion dollars.
That’s the figure recently reached and surpassed by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers for its 2011 online equipment sales.
The Vancouver-based company is the largest on-site and online auctioneer of heavy equipment and trucks.
In 2002, Ritchie Bros. started its real-time online bidding service for selling construction, transportation and other various types of equipment. Since that time, the company has sold more than $5 billion worth of equipment.
The company has had more than 190,000 online bidder registrations from 118 countries so far this year.¿Bidders at Ritchie Bros. are currently split between in-person and online bidding, with half of the customers participating in online real-time auctions, and the other half bidding in person.
“Selling $1 billion of equipment over the internet in one year puts Ritchie Bros. in the realm of household names like Toys ‘R’ Us and Zappos,” said Peter Blake, CEO of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. “This milestone reminds us that our customers-the world’s builders-embrace the use of technology, much like the rest of the world, to do what they do every day.”
