Surplus equipment sales in Preston

Vintage Industrial Machines in Abandoned Workshop

Surplus equipment for businesses in Preston and the surrounding Lancashire area, including Chorley, Leyland, Blackburn, Blackpool. We catalogue and sell on your premises, so nothing has to be moved before the sale.

Every business accumulates kit it no longer uses. The machine replaced last year that still sits in the corner. The tooling from a contract that ended. Racking from the mezzanine you took down. It takes up space, costs money to insure and slowly loses value.

A surplus sale moves it on without interrupting the parts of the business that are still working. We catalogue the items where they stand, sell them online and manage collection around your operation. Send us a list through the contact form and we will tell you what is worth selling.

What these sales usually include

Machine tools and CNC equipment
Forklifts and access platforms
Pallet racking and shelving
Compressors and air tools
Welders and fabrication kit
Vehicles and trailers
Test and measurement equipment
Site accommodation and containers
Packaging and labelling machines
Obsolete stock and components
Office furniture and IT
Catering and canteen equipment

What counts as surplus

Surplus is anything that is not earning its keep. Replaced machines, spare capacity, duplicate tooling, obsolete stock, and the equipment from a department or product line that has been wound down. It also covers the aftermath of a project: temporary racking, site accommodation, plant bought for one job.

Some of it is worth more than you think. Older machine tools with a known make and a solid frame still sell well to smaller workshops. Some of it is worth less than the book value suggests, particularly IT hardware and anything built for a single purpose.

What it cost is beside the point. The question is what someone else will pay, and whether that beats the cost of keeping it. We can give a view on that from a list and some photographs.

Selling from a live site

Most surplus sales happen inside a business that is still trading. That changes how we work. Cataloguing is done around your shifts. Viewing is by appointment or on a single day, with visitors signed in and escorted. Collection is booked in slots so that riggers are not moving a machine through the middle of a production run.

Items that are still bolted down, plumbed in or connected to services need to be disconnected before collection. Buyers' riggers will lift and load, but they expect the machine to be isolated. Your own engineers or a contractor usually do this.

Tell us about anything that affects access: weight limits on floors, door heights, crane availability, restricted hours. It all goes in the catalogue so buyers plan the removal properly.

One sale or a standing arrangement

A single sale suits a business clearing surplus once. If your business generates surplus continually, from fleet renewals, tooling changes or project completions, a standing arrangement can work better. Items are consigned as they come free and sold in the next suitable auction.

For a single machine or a handful of items, we usually place them in a collective sale alongside lots from other vendors. That puts them in front of the buyers already bidding on that type of equipment. A dedicated sale only makes sense when there is enough volume to draw its own audience.

We advise which route fits when we see the list. There is no minimum, but small consignments are only worth the effort if the items have real resale value.

Pricing, reserves and the buyer's premium

We give you an opinion of likely hammer prices before you commit, based on what similar items have made recently. These are estimates. Used equipment sells for what the market will pay on the day, and the market moves.

You can set reserves on higher value items. Reserves protect you from a bad day, but a reserve above the market simply leaves you with the item. We suggest reserves that are achievable and leave smaller lots unreserved so that the sale clears.

The buyer pays a premium on top of the hammer price. That is our charge to them and does not come out of your proceeds. VAT is added to the hammer price where you are VAT registered. Our seller's commission and any cataloguing or marketing charges are agreed in writing before we list anything.

After the sale

Once bidding closes, buyers pay and collect within the window we have agreed with you. Our staff attend to release lots against paid invoices. Anything not collected on time is chased, and the terms allow us to resell a lot if the buyer defaults.

Lots are sold as seen. Buyers have had the chance to view and cannot return an item because it is not what they hoped. That protects you from disputes after the event, provided the catalogue description was honest. We write the descriptions and we keep them factual.

Unsold lots can be re-offered in the next sale, offered to the underbidder, or returned to you. We settle with you after collection, with a statement showing each lot, the hammer price and the deductions.

Businesses in Preston

Preston has a mixed industrial base with aerospace as the largest sector. Samlesbury to the east is part of the Lancashire Enterprise Zone and supports a supply chain of machining, composites and tooling firms in the city. Red Scar Business Park at Ribbleton is a large estate with distribution, manufacturing and storage units. Walton Summit is the main logistics area to the south. Roman Way off the A59 has food production and trade businesses, and Riversway at the old docks has smaller commercial units.

The M6 passes the east side of the city, with junctions 29, 31 and 31a most used for freight. The M55 to Blackpool and the M65 to Blackburn and Burnley both start near Preston. Preston railway station is on the West Coast Main Line. Access for heavy vehicles is good on all the main estates.

We regularly handle surplus equipment in Preston and across Lancashire. Sales are run on site, with viewing and collection at your premises, and the online catalogue reaches buyers well beyond the area.

Questions people ask

Is there a minimum quantity?: No. A single machine can be consigned into a collective sale alongside lots from other vendors. The practical limit is value rather than quantity. Cataloguing, photographing and administering a lot costs the same whether it sells for hundreds or thousands, so very low value items are usually grouped together or left out.
Can you sell from a site that is still operating?: Yes, and most surplus sales are exactly that. We catalogue around your working hours, run viewing by appointment or on one controlled day, and book collection into slots that suit you. Buyers and their riggers are signed in and escorted. Tell us about restricted hours, floor loadings and anything else that affects access so it is in the catalogue.
How do I know whether something is worth selling?: Send us a list with makes, models, ages and a photograph of each main item. We will tell you what we think each is likely to make and whether it is worth the effort. As a rule, named machine tools, handling equipment, vehicles and racking hold value. Single purpose equipment, old IT and anything built for one product line tends to be worth far less than its book value.
Who disconnects the machines?: You do, or a contractor you appoint. Buyers' riggers lift, load and transport, but they expect the machine to be isolated from power, air and coolant before they arrive. Disconnecting is usually a job for your own engineers or an electrician. Do it before the collection window opens so nothing is held up on the day.
What if I need the space cleared by a specific date?: Tell us at the first call. The sale timetable is built backwards from the date you give us: cataloguing, the auction period, viewing and the collection window. Anything unsold is dealt with before the deadline, either by a follow up sale, an offer to the underbidder or a clearance buyer. What we cannot do is promise a date without knowing what is being sold.

All questions people ask

Related services

Guides

Preparing machinery and equipment for sale
What to do in the days before viewing so machines fetch what they should. Isolate and make safe, clean but do not repaint, find the tooling and manuals, sort out access, and avoid the mistakes that cost sellers money.
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.