We have one late model five axis machine and a shop full of older kit. Should the big machine go in the auction?

Not necessarily. A single late model machine with a good history can do as well or better by private treaty to a dealer or end user, and it can be sold before the rest of the shop is ready. We give you an opinion on both routes after we have seen it. The older kit usually suits the auction, because it has a broader market and the sale puts it in front of that market on one date. Running the two side by side is common and costs you nothing extra to consider.

Our customer's approval covers the machines. Does selling them cause a problem?

Selling the machines is your decision, but it is worth checking the supply agreement first. Some aerospace customers own the tooling, fixtures, gauges or programs used on their parts, and a few have a right to be told before approved capacity is disposed of. We ask about this on the first visit and keep anything customer owned out of the catalogue. The machines themselves are normally yours to sell, though anything on finance, hire purchase or lease stays with the funder until the agreement is settled and can only be sold with their agreement.

Machinery and engineering auctions in Bristol

Two different engineering markets sit in one city here. On the north fringe, the aerospace and defence work at Filton supports a supply chain of precision machining, composites and test firms whose plant is late model and expensive. Around St Philips Marsh, Brislington, Ashton Vale and Emersons Green the general engineering, printing, packaging and construction trades run older, more mixed workshops on tighter sites.

The first group produces the lots that travel furthest. A five axis machining centre or a coordinate measuring machine has a small number of buyers and they are spread across the UK and abroad, so the catalogue has to reach them. The second group produces lots that sell to the local trade, from Bath and Yate round to Weston.

We run both kinds of sale, often in one. Tell us what you have through the contact form.

Approved shops sell on their paperwork

Aerospace subcontractors live on approvals, and their machines come with the records to prove it. Service histories, calibration certificates, probe and laser calibration reports, tool presetter records and the maintenance log for every spindle. That paperwork matters at auction. Condition and evidence of maintenance are among the things a buyer prices, so the records are worth putting in front of them before the viewing rather than after it.

So we scan and attach it. Each significant machine in the catalogue carries its documents as well as its photographs and specification, and the control screen is photographed with the hours and alarms showing.

Composites plant is a smaller market again. Autoclaves, ovens, clean rooms, ply cutters and freezers suit a small number of firms in the UK, with export interest possible, and they need to be described with their working volume, temperature range, pressure rating and the services they run on. We advertise those lots to that trade directly.

Site access, from Avonmouth to the older yards

Where a machine sits decides how it leaves, and that is settled by looking rather than by the address. Avonmouth and Severnside were laid out for lorries and the north fringe units around Filton are modern, while the older sites in St Philips Marsh and Brislington bring narrow streets, shared yards, parked cars and neighbours whose access has to stay clear.

So we survey every site before the catalogue is written. Door heights, floor loadings, the crane in the bay if there is one, and where a mover's lorry can wait. On a tight inner city site we book collection slots so that two movers are not trying to use one yard at the same time.

Bids are placed online and the sale is open to bidders across the country, and the trade in Bath, Yate, Thornbury, Portishead and Weston is well placed to come and look before bidding closes.

What these sales can include

CNC turning centres
CNC vertical and horizontal machining centres
Manual and toolroom lathes
Milling machines
Surface and cylindrical grinders
Press brakes and guillotines
Laser, plasma and waterjet cutters
Bandsaws and cold saws
Radial arm and pillar drills
Welding sets and positioners
Coordinate measuring machines
Tooling, chucks and workholding
Compressors and dust extraction
Cranes, hoists and forklifts

Viewing, bidding and the buyer's premium

Machinery sales run as online timed auctions. The catalogue is published with photographs and specifications. Buyers register, view the machines on the viewing day, and bid online until the lots close. The sale is advertised to the engineering trade, and bidding is online and open to buyers across the UK and beyond.

The buyer pays the hammer price plus the buyer's premium. VAT is charged where it applies and shown separately on the buyer's invoice. Ask and we will go through the specifics for your sale. Where a buyer is overseas, they arrange their own export.

Machines are offered as seen under the auction terms, and buyers are expected to inspect before bidding, which is why the viewing day matters. Machines that can be run safely stay connected for the viewing day so your staff can demonstrate them where that is agreed, and everything else is isolated and left safe.

The machinery and engineering auctions page covers what the buyers want to know, what affects demand, reserves and estimates, removal and access, when a private sale beats an auction.

Questions about selling in Bristol

We have one late model five axis machine and a shop full of older kit. Should the big machine go in the auction?: Not necessarily. A single late model machine with a good history can do as well or better by private treaty to a dealer or end user, and it can be sold before the rest of the shop is ready. We give you an opinion on both routes after we have seen it. The older kit usually suits the auction, because it has a broader market and the sale puts it in front of that market on one date. Running the two side by side is common and costs you nothing extra to consider.
Our customer's approval covers the machines. Does selling them cause a problem?: Selling the machines is your decision, but it is worth checking the supply agreement first. Some aerospace customers own the tooling, fixtures, gauges or programs used on their parts, and a few have a right to be told before approved capacity is disposed of. We ask about this on the first visit and keep anything customer owned out of the catalogue. The machines themselves are normally yours to sell, though anything on finance, hire purchase or lease stays with the funder until the agreement is settled and can only be sold with their agreement.

Related services

All business asset auctions in Bristol

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.
Preparing machinery and equipment for sale
What to do before viewing day. Keep the machines that can be run safely available to demonstrate, isolate the rest, clean but do not repaint, find the tooling and manuals, and sort out access for removal.
How used machinery is valued
Buyers pay for what a machine will do for them, less what it costs to get it out and running. This guide explains how make, hours, tooling, demand and removal cost feed a guide price, and why that price is not book value.

Machinery auctions elsewhere

All areas for machinery auctions