What’s Your Equipment Worth? They’ll Tell You

Sandhills Global, a publishing and technology conglomerate, has served as a central marketplace for selling heavy equipment since 1978. Often considered the auto trader of the industry, it primarily focuses on the sale of used machinery in the transportation, construction, and agriculture sectors.

“Nearly every dealer in the country, be it a Caterpillar, Volvo, Peterbilt, or John Deere dealer, works with us because we’re the hub where they go to move their US machinery,” said Mitch Helman, Sales Manager at AuctionTime.

AuctionTime is one of many used-equipment marketplaces owned by Sandhills Global. Other popular Sandhills brands like AuctionTime include Machinery Trader, Tractor House, and Truck Paper.

“Virtually every wholesale buyer and dealer is our customer, allowing us to showcase their equipment to a wide range of potential buyers, including the average Joe or end user, who are typically found on Machinery Trader and Truck Paper. These buyers are the ones we want to reach, as they’ll often pay the most for the equipment,” explained Helman.

Sandhills strives to educate sellers on setting realistic prices for their equipment, helping them understand the retail value versus the auction value. Their value insight portal tool provides information on the specifics of the equipment, depending on its features and location, as location can greatly influence its worth.

“First and foremost, customers come to us to determine the market value and worth of their equipment. If they have a returned asset, we’re then able to connect them with different buyer bases, depending on the asset, to help them get the most money back in their pocket,” said Helman.

And those customers, it turns out, very often are drawn from Sandhills’ print publications.

“…It’s interesting because you hear print media is dead, there’s no need for print, all these newspapers are going away, but in our industry print has turned into like a physical search engine and it ultimately drives more traffic to the internet for people to look at more pictures, videos, specs and stuff like that,” said Helman. “And so, it’s still very relevant and vibrant in our spaces as of today.”

These publications can often be found at truck stops, tractor houses, and local convenience stores. Once a reader goes to a site like AuctionTime, the craigslist-style homepage (a tab says a new look is coming soon) will guide users to various live auctions or fixed-priced listings with photographs. A 2013 Hamm 3307 smooth drum roller located in Olney, Illinois, for example, is currently up for sale for $56,900. The listing has it all, including an integration to get shipping quotes and a button to apply for financing.

Ultimately, Helman explained that in a way the market depends on them to compile all this information to establish which way the market is going and what’s happening. “They love it,” he said. “Absolutely love it.”