Heavy-equipment dealers are increasingly steering clear of the beleaguered auction market and seeking more lucrative ways to liquidate used gear while bolstering the retail market.
Lincoln, Neb.-based Iron Connect, an inventory management provider, is instantly connecting dealers with buyers on its Last Call business-to-business digital platform, allowing dealers to wholesale used equipment while “protecting the retail market,” co-founder and President A.J. Neifert told Equipment Finance News. Last Call does this by removing transactional information, he said.
“Let’s say a dealer has 20 combines on their lot. If they send one to auction, they have now set a price so that an end-user can say, ‘Well, you’re asking $400,000 for that unit. I just saw you auction one for $250,000.’ And then it’s hard to get that value back out of those other ones.”
Purchasing equipment privately gives dealers more control over asking prices and increases the likelihood of turning a profit, Neifert said.
“All of these units that sell at auction just drag everything down,” he said. “Their values go through the floor. So, the more we can keep this stuff private, and the more we can avoid end-users understanding what those machines are actually transacting for is a huge win for the industry as a whole.”
Other companies that offer B2B sales platforms include IronPlanet, Machinery Trader, Boom and Bucket and Ritchie Bros.
Auction market woes
Auction values for used heavy-duty and medium-duty construction equipment fell 9.3% year over and 6.8% YoY in December and have been dropping continuously for several years according to Sandhills Global. The gap between auction and asking values for used agriculture equipment reached historic highs in 2024, despite prices steadily dropping in both categories, according to Sandhills.
While auctions can be effective for dumping stale inventory, dealers are starting to pivot away from them amid plummeting and unpredictable auction prices, Tim Walden, used equipment manager at Chickasha, Okla.-based Parallel Ag, told EFN.
His dealership has begun to favor Last Call due to its stable prices and lower fees, Walden said, noting that auction houses charge 5% to 10% of the final price. Meanwhile, Iron Connect charges a 1% fee.
“When we start looking down the road at auctions, you start talking about the volatility in the auction market,” he said. “Currently, not everybody can put their best guess on the table of what it’s going to bring. What are those auction fees going to be?”
Last Call can save dealers at least $100,000 annually by reducing fees and increasing the bottom line for used-equipment sales, according to a Jan. 13 release from Iron Connect.
Reducing fees while instantly connecting with in-market buyers is a “game changer” for dealers, Adam Richardson, director of sales at Clinton, Okla.-based Western Equipment, stated in the release.
“The ability to connect directly with buyers and close deals in a streamlined manner allowed us to retain more value for our equipment while saving both time and money,” he said.
Benefits for lenders
Elevated retail prices also benefit lenders as they generally lead to increased loan demand and interest income, Iron Connect’s Neifert said. The service provider has started to incorporate financing into its platform.
“We do let lenders participate now,” he said. “We do have a lease-financing component on some of these lease returns. Even the OEM finance arms can participate along with the dealers because that is a value-add. That does help them liquidate some of those units without having to go straight to auction, which certainly helps protect the market, which is ultimately what we’re after.”
The third annual Equipment Finance Connect at the JW Marriott Nashville in Nashville, Tenn., on May 14-15, 2025, is the only event that brings together equipment dealers and lenders to share insights, attend discussions on crucial industry topics and network with peers. Learn more about the event and register here.
