Britannia AuctionsSurplus equipment sales in Wolverhampton
Black Country workshops do not throw much away. A press that was replaced sits at the back because it still works. The welding sets from a contract that ended are stacked by the door. A guillotine nobody has used since the new laser arrived stands in the corner. On the mezzanine there is a compressor from the last reorganisation. Wolverhampton surplus is like that, useful kit that has stopped earning and is in the way.
We sell it while the shop keeps working. Cataloguing is done where the items stand, on the days you choose. The auction runs online for a week or two, viewing is by appointment with visitors escorted, and collection is booked in slots you agree. On the older estates at Bilston or Willenhall the size of the door and the width of the road decide how a press comes out, so we look at that before anything is listed.
The trade in Walsall, Dudley, Telford and Cannock is close enough to walk the lots on the viewing day, and the rest of the UK bids online.
Pressings and fabrication kit for the trade next door
A power press, a press brake, a guillotine or a spot welder is catalogued first for other Black Country shops. They know the machines and they know what a sensible price is, and they are near enough to view in person. Bidding is online as well, so buyers further away see the same catalogue at the same time.
We describe each machine by make, model, capacity and serial, and we photograph it working where it can be run. Tooling is lotted alongside the press it fits, because that is how buyers want it. Welding sets, extraction, benches and hand tools go in sensible groups rather than one item at a time.
You get our opinion of likely hammer prices before you commit. Those are estimates. Reserves can be set on the main machines, and anything on finance belongs to the funder until it is settled and needs their agreement before it can be offered.
Getting a press out of an old unit
Many Black Country estates were laid out for smaller lorries than the ones that come for a press today. Access roads, shared yards and a single door onto a terrace are all things we check rather than assume, because they decide how a collection here is run.
So we survey the site before the sale: vehicle access and turning space, the door, the floor and the route out. If a lot needs a crane or skates the catalogue says so, and the buyer arranges it, or it can be arranged and charged on where agreed. Collection is in booked slots inside a window you set, one crew at a time, and we tell neighbours when the road will be blocked if you want us to. Isolation and disconnection are done by qualified people, not the buyer.
The newer sites at i54 and Fordhouses are checked the same way before anything is listed. Either way our staff attend and release lots only against paid invoices.
What these sales can 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
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 nobody is moving a machine through the middle of a production run.
Items that are still bolted down, plumbed in or connected to services are isolated by a competent person before collection, with electrical and gas disconnection done by qualified people. Buyers arrange and pay for the removal of their lots, and they do not disconnect services themselves.
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.
The surplus equipment sales page covers what counts as surplus, one sale or a standing arrangement, pricing, reserves and the buyer's premium, after the sale.
Questions about selling in Wolverhampton
- The press is on the first floor. Can it still be sold?
Yes, but the price will reflect the job. A machine on an upper floor is a rigging job before it is anything else, and buyers price the crane and the crew into their bid. We say in the catalogue exactly what the route is, whether there is a loading door or only the stairs, so that nobody bids without knowing. If the cost of getting it out is close to its value, we tell you that before you list it.
- We have a lot of small tooling and hand tools. Is it worth listing?
In groups, yes. Individual spanners and drill bits are not worth cataloguing, but a full bench of hand tools or a rack of press tooling makes a sensible lot for the trade. We photograph the group and describe what is in it. Anything not worth a lot on its own goes into a job lot. We tell you honestly what to bundle and what to send to the scrap merchant.
More questions about surplus equipment
Related services
Guides
- 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.