Ritchie Bros. conducted its first online-only auction in Mexico, at its site in Polotitlán. Traditionally the site sees more than 80 percent of its bidders participating in person, so this was a big challenge for the company—and it succeeded. The auction attracted a record more than 1,200 bidders from 44 countries, which was a 17 percent increase from the same auction last year.

"We increased our marketing, conducted a massive call campaign, and held special how to bid online seminars to help our customers feel more comfortable bidding online," said Richard Aldersley, Sales Director, Ritchie Bros. "In just a few short weeks, we were able to shift our entire buying audience online and set a new bidder record, which helped us achieve strong returns for our consignors." 

More than 850 equipment items and trucks were sold in the July 2 Polotitlán auction. Approximately 93 percent of the equipment in the auction was sold to online Mexico buyers, while the remaining seven percent sold to buyers from as far away as Nicaragua, Canada, and the Netherlands.