Unreserved dispersal sale at Avington Park auction report:

Usually 9:30am would come around, the auction bell would be ringing and I’d be shouting ‘gather round ladies and gentleman we’re about to make a start…’ The crowed would gather and the auction would begin. We would talk up and down the lines of machinery selling each one as it comes. Jokes would be made, bidding wars would infuriate the losing party and the auction atmosphere would light up. Machines would be paid for, an organised chaos of machinery being loaded would ensue and the day would be over.

However, this was not the auction day you are used to. It was a cold Thursday morning, all was quiet and calm in our Auction rooms in Guildford as we patiently waited for 9:30am arrive. I sat in front of a computer, turned on the audio and sound feed and with that we had our first online only, live bidding dispersal auction underway. As businesses Wellers Auctions have been using online for many years but this year has meant we, along with many others have had to drastically change what we do. This meant that our Avington Park dispersal could not be managed traditionally due to the risks of Covid-19. I am pleased to say that it went without a hitch. All bidder were logged on either through wellersauctions.com or bidspotter and we started the day with 50 lots of smalls.

The Stihl 023 chainsaw sold for £80, the hoist hardware sold for £15, the scaffold tower sold for £90 along with a range of prices ranging from £5 to £50. The phone bids were coming in thick and fast along with both internet platforms taking off, everyone was settling into the swing of the auction. And then, we moved on to the larger kit, the Augertorque HC-180 excavator mounted hedge trimmer made £1550, the Ringrose 45KVA generator sold for £650, the Ransomes aerator made £240. We moved onto the rollers and the auction felt as close to a live sale as it possibly could, bids flying in from everywhere. The 8ft Greys roller sold for £600, Chain harrows for £340, the Terra-vac T4 vacuum made £1,350 and the Rolba trailer on tracks sold for £340. We moved on lot by lot, minute by minute, selling the Kubota T1600 for £980, and the Jacobsen tri-king for a whopping £5,600 and then the Major flail mower for £1900. The next two lots generated a lot of interest during our viewing day and were real centre pieces for the auction. The Haggland amphipious all terrain carrier, even though it was for spares and repairs this seemed like too much of a bargain to pass up selling for £2,100. Next the 1968 Uniomg 411 Schmidt snow blower that sold for £6,200. The Unimog was a spectacular thing to look at in its worn, beaten work clothes. Once it’s tidied up its going to be something very special. The Japa 700 firewood processor sold for £4,800, the Aebi Terratrac TT77 sold for £4,100, the Case CX50 digger sold for £9,200, and the Warwick 14t grain trailer made £7000.

Even though this wasn’t the traditional farm sale in the middle of a field we succeeded in having a great day for buyers and vendors a like. If you think this a service we can offer to you then please get in touch with Rob Snelgar, Director of off-site auctions on 07966 437095.