Preparing machinery and equipment for sale

How equipment is presented on viewing day feeds into what buyers are prepared to bid. They inspect before they bid, so a machine they can see, walk around and check is easier to describe and to price. Most of the preparation costs you nothing but a few days of effort. Here is what to do, and what not to do.

Power, isolation and safety

Machines that can be run safely stay connected for the viewing day so they can be demonstrated, by your staff where that is agreed. Everything else is isolated from its supply and left in a safe state before anyone walks the floor.

Lock off the isolators on the rest, shut off compressed air at the receiver and vent the lines, and close gas valves. Release stored energy, in hydraulic accumulators for example. Every lot is isolated by a competent person before collection.

Do not disconnect gas appliances yourself. Gas disconnection is by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and electrical disconnection by a qualified person. Buyers never do it themselves. In the same way, do not cut cables off machines to get them out of the way. A machine with its supply cable and plug intact is easier to describe and to sell than one with a stub of flex.

Lifting equipment (cranes, hoists, forklift trucks and the like) should have its current LOLER thorough examination report available. Where a report is in date, say so and we will note it in the catalogue. Where there is none, the catalogue says that too.

Clean, but do not repaint

Wipe machines down. Clear swarf, coolant and offcuts from beds and tables. Empty bins and remove rubbish from around each lot so photographs show the machine and not the mess.

Do not repaint. Fresh paint hides wear and repairs, and it raises the question of what has been covered up. A clean machine in its original finish shows its condition, which is what the description has to reflect.

Do not fill cracks, weld broken castings or otherwise cosmetically repair anything. Lots are offered as seen under the auction terms and buyers inspect before bidding. A repair that is hidden rather than described turns into a dispute on collection day.

Gather manuals, tooling and records

Find the manuals. Find the tooling: chucks, collets, tool holders, dies, jigs, fixtures, spare parts. Put them with the machine they belong to, not in a box in the office. A machine offered with its full tooling and documentation is a different lot from the bare machine, because there is less for the buyer to find before it can work.

If you have service history, hour meter readings, calibration certificates or the last inspection reports, put those together too. We photograph the paperwork alongside the lot.

Photographs and descriptions

We take the photographs, but you can make them better. Position the machine so its control panel and nameplate are visible. Leave the guards on and turn the lights on. If a machine can be run safely, tell us, because a short video of it under power shows more than a description can.

Give us honest information about faults. A known fault disclosed in the catalogue is priced into the bids. A fault found on collection day becomes a dispute.

Think about access

Before the sale, walk the route from each machine to the loading door as if you were the buyer's haulier. Is the door wide enough? Is there a ramp, a loading bay or level access for a lorry? Is the floor rated for a crane or a heavy forklift?

Machines that are bolted down, built into a mezzanine or trapped behind other equipment cost more to remove, and buyers price that in. Where one can be moved safely to a clear area near the door before viewing, it is easier to inspect and cheaper to lift out. Where it cannot, tell us and the catalogue describes the route out and the removal needed.

What not to do

• Do not sell items yourself in the run up to the sale without telling us. Withdrawn lots undermine the catalogue and may cost you a withdrawal fee under the agreement.
• Do not strip parts, motors or control units off machines to keep or sell separately. A stripped machine may be worth only its scrap value.
• Do not throw away tooling, fixtures or consumables because they look like clutter. They are catalogued with the machine.
• Do not let staff or contractors take equipment home. Once the asset schedule is signed, it belongs in the sale.
• Do not switch off the heating and let the building go damp. Rust on a machine bed shows in photographs.

If you are unsure whether something is worth preparing or is just scrap, leave it where it is and ask us when we walk the site.