Equipment sellers benefit from on-site and online bidding at Ritchie Bros. auctions

VANCOUVER, March 1 /PRNewswire/ - Thousands of people, representing every continent, registered to bid at the unreserved public equipment auctions conducted by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) in Moerdijk, the Netherlands and Fort Worth, Texas last week (February 24 - 26 and February 25 & 26, 2010). Ritchie Bros. (www.rbauction.com), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, sold (euro)31 million (US$42 million) of equipment in Moerdijk, attracting more than 1,400 on-site and online bidders from 69 countries, and US$31 million of equipment in Fort Worth, attracting more than 3,100 on-site and online bidders from 41 countries.

"Two things stood out at our Moerdijk auction: the depth of the bidding audience and the strength of the pricing, which was above expectations across almost all equipment categories," said Brian Butzelaar, Ritchie Bros. Vice President - Northern Europe. "People feel confident buying from us because the equipment is always secure in our yards under our custody and control, because we allow our customers to do their own inspection so they can trust their own eyes, and because the bidders at the auction set the prices - not the sellers. That confidence results in better prices for our consignors."

Gary Sharp of Cummins Construction in Enid, Oklahoma sold almost 50 equipment items in the Fort Worth auction, a 4 1/2 hour drive away.

"I'm very pleased with the results of this sale; my asphalt pavers sold well above my expectations," said Mr. Sharp. "I've been selling through Ritchie Bros. for 14 years and I always get good prices for my equipment. I think people pay more because they can come to the site and see the equipment; that's why I won't sell just online. It's worth sending my equipment to Fort Worth. There were a lot of people at the auction and the internet brought in more bidders from all over the world - Egypt, Africa, the Middle East."

David Hobbs, Ritchie Bros. Vice President - U.S. Central, commented: "The auction went extremely well: we registered thousands of bidders and saw very encouraging prices across all equipment categories. For the first time ever, we registered bidders from all 50 U.S. states in Fort Worth. There seems to be some cautious optimism out there; people are coming to our auctions looking for equipment they can put straight to work. By giving our customers the option of bidding on-site or online, we open up our auctions to the world - and that benefits both buyers and sellers of equipment."

AUCTION QUICK FACTS

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                            Moerdijk, NLD             Fort Worth, TX
                           (February 24 - 26, 2010)  (February 25 & 26, 2010)
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    Gross Auction Proceeds (euro)31 million           US$31 million
                           (US$42 million)
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    Amount sold to online  (euro)3 million            US$11 million (35%)
     bidders               (US$5 million, 11%)
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    Unique bidders (total) 1,400+                     3,100+
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    Unique online bidders  380+ (28%)                 1,400+ (48%)
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    Lots sold              3,000+                     2,600+
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About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 40 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers