Yoder & Frey Excels on West and East Coasts with Two Dedicated Retirement Dispersal Sales

Two sales in one week on opposite sides of the country. That’s what Yoder & Frey achieved when it hosted two off-site dispersal sales — one in Ohio and the other in California. On July 26, Yoder & Frey conducted an off-site retirement dispersal sale for the contracting and excavating specialist C.I.R. Inc. in Ohio, followed by a dispersal sale on August 1 at Golden Gate Fields, the Pacific-side racetrack in California that has been an institution of flat racing and bloodstock for over 120 years. Once again, this demonstrates the diversity that Yoder & Frey possesses when it comes to appraising, valuing and implementing the disposal of used construction and agricultural machinery.

C.I.R. Inc.

The recent off-site retirement dispersal sale conducted by Yoder & Frey on behalf of C.I.R. Inc. in Ohio on July 26 was a resounding success, marking the culmination of 56 years in operation for this retiring family-run contracting business.

Held on-site at the headquarters of C.I.R. Inc., the sale drew a large crowd from an international audience. However, it was buyers from the U.S. who stole the show, purchasing all but one of the 607 lots for sale.

The 607 lots that went under the hammer included excavators, mulchers, pumps, trucks and smaller tools and ancillary items that one would expect from a company like C.I.R. after nearly 60 years in business.

A healthy hammer total close to $2 million was achieved when the sale concluded, with a large proportion of bidders buying in person on the day, was reflected in the floor total of $1.3 million. The remainder of the bidding was online, with more than 1,000 registered bidder accounts received prior to the sale. New first-time registrations of prospective buyers, bidding with Yoder & Frey for the first time, constituted 60% of the total registered bidding audience. This unprecedented first-time interest was mainly due to the significant local interest in the sale from the surrounding communities of Ohio.

Bidders from 35 countries registered interest in this sale. At the end of the day, successful buyers came from two countries: the U.S. and Honduras. However, overall bidders came from a truly international audience, including the U.S., U.K., South America, Canada, North Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean. Bidding activity in the U.S. was strong in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and the entire eastern seaboard from New York down to Florida, indicating significant local interest.

Golden Gate Fields

At Golden Gate Fields, close to 600 lots of specialist equipment used in caring for the artificial Tapeta racing surface, the infrastructure at the racetrack, and the workshops and maintenance equipment, went under the auctioneer’s hammer, with a total sale price of $1.2 million achieved with an  online total of $670,000.

In all, almost 600 approved accounts were registered to bid at this exceptional auction, with first-time registered approved bidders totaling more than 60% of the bidding audience, and dealing with Yoder & Frey for the first time.

Thanks to Yoder & Frey’s international reach through its association with its sister company Euro Auctions (Europe’s largest privately owned auction house and operating auctioneer) bidders from 32 countries registered to bid for this sale, which was quite exceptional considering this was such a specialized auction. The participating countries included the U.S., U.K., Mexico, Canada, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Cyprus, Romania and Spain. Bidders by state in the U.S. pretty much covered the whole of the western seaboard, Texas, and in the East, the Ohio and Great Lakes area.

“On a general note, with the two sales at C.I.R. Inc. and Golden Gate Fields, Yoder & Frey put on an excellent show, with feedback from clients and buyers alike being extremely good,” said Mike Thurston, senior vice president, Yoder & Frey, USA. “The numbers were stronger than they had been in previous months, despite the June and July fall-off due to vacations. And in the run-up to an election in the U.S., we feel that prices and interest are holding firm, and while there has been a lot of trepidation regarding the economy, prices remain stronger than anticipated generally across the board, which is good for our industry and the economy right now.”