Britannia AuctionsCollective auctions and single item consignments in Bristol
Subcontract machining is a business of single machines. A precision shop on the north fringe that serves the aerospace firms at Filton buys a five axis mill for one contract, runs it for a few years, and then replaces it with the next machine. The old one is surplus, along with the vices, the probe kit, the tool holders and the coordinate measuring machine that was only ever used for that work.
At the other end of the city, the distribution estates at Avonmouth and Severnside produce a different kind of surplus. A van off a fleet, a forklift off a contract, a set of pallet trucks, a run of racking left over after a shed move.
Both belong in a collective auction. We put your lot into an online sale alongside lots from other vendors, with the lot identified by number only, and it sits in the same catalogue as a full dispersal.
Single aerospace grade machines and where they go
Machining centres, lathes, grinders and inspection equipment from the north fringe shops can be the most valuable single lots to come out of this area, and they are the ones where a view on value matters most. What one makes turns on the specification, the condition, the age of the control, the hours on it and what comes with it. A full tooling package, a maintenance record and current calibration certificates are part of what a buyer judges, and the same machine stripped of tooling is a different lot.
So keep the package together. Tool holders, chucks, probes, software licences where they transfer, and manuals all go with the lot. Tell us the hours and any known faults.
The sale is online and open to bidders across the country, which matters for a class of machine that few shops are looking for at any one time. Shops in Yate, Thornbury and Bath are near enough to view in person. A reserve can be set on a main machine, and for a very high value item we may suggest private treaty instead.
From the port estates to the inner city units
Where the lot stands changes the plan for it. The Avonmouth and Severnside estates were laid out for lorries and most units there have their own handling equipment. The older units at St Philips Marsh, Brislington and Ashton Vale can be tighter, with narrow lanes, shared yards, low doors and no forklift. We check each site rather than assume: vehicle access and room to turn, door dimensions, floor levels, what loading help is available and what the machine needs before it moves. The findings go in the catalogue.
A single lot can be collected and sold from our premises where that is agreed, which gives it storage and a set viewing day. A machine that would cost more to move twice is catalogued in place and collected once by the buyer after the sale, on a day you agree.
Vans and pickups from the port estates are the simplest lot of all. They drive onto a transporter, and the buyer drives away.
What these sales can include
- Single machine tools
- Individual vans and pickups
- Compressors and generators
- Welding equipment
- Woodworking machines
- Hand tools and power tools
- Office furniture and IT equipment
- Catering equipment from a single kitchen
- Small plant and attachments
- Garden and grounds machinery
- Trailers
- Workshop consumables and stock
How a collective sale works
A collective auction is a regular online timed sale made up of lots from many vendors. Each vendor's lots are identified in the catalogue by lot number only. Buyers see one catalogue and bid across it, so a small consignment sits in the same sale as the larger ones.
Your lots are photographed and listed alongside the others. Bidding runs online, with lots closing in sequence on the sale date. Each lot is offered as seen under the auction terms, with buyers expected to inspect before bidding. The buyer pays the hammer price plus a buyer's premium, with VAT charged where it applies and shown separately.
After the sale, buyers pay and collect within the collection window. We account to you from cleared funds once it has closed and the sale is reconciled, less the agreed commission and any agreed costs.
The collective auctions and single item consignments page covers minimum viable value, at our premises or at yours, what to bring and what to tell us, timescales and unsold lots.
Questions about selling in Bristol
- We are a subcontract shop near Filton with one mill and a CMM to sell. Do they go in as separate lots?
Yes, separately, because they suit different buyers. The mill belongs with the machine shops and the coordinate measuring machine with an inspection department or a shop adding capability, and separate lots let each buyer bid for the item they want rather than for a bundle. Tooling can go as a lot of its own or with the mill, and we will tell you which we think makes more. Both lots can sit in the same sale under one consignment.
- Our unit in St Philips Marsh has no forklift and the lane is too narrow for a lorry. How do you collect?
We look at the photographs first, and at the door, the floor and the lane. Anything that fits on a pallet can usually be handled with a smaller vehicle, a tail lift and a pallet truck. A heavy machine needs specialist handling, which might mean a crane truck at the end of the lane or a mover with skates, and we cost that against the expected price before you decide. If the collection would cost more than the lot is worth, we say so.
More questions about single items and small lots
Related services
Guides
- How a commercial asset auction works
A stage by stage account of an online timed auction for business assets. It covers the asset schedule, cataloguing, viewing days, how bidding closes, buyer's premium and VAT, collection and how you get paid.
- What happens to unsold lots
Not every lot sells, but the site still has to be cleared. This guide covers why lots go unsold, private treaty after the sale, lowering or removing the reserve, a later sale, scrap and WEEE recycling, and what disposal costs.