Sawmill Auction Guide

The Ultimate Sawmill Auction Guide

Choose the right auction company & learn how a sawmill auction works
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Considering an auction for your sawmill? We understand. There may be several reasons why you might be considering an auction for your sawmill: equipment surplus, financial hardship, retirement, market change, health crisis, employee shortage, new business focus, or the loss of a loved one.

If you would like to learn how a sawmill auction works and how it can help you meet your goals, Bright Star Realty and Auctions, can help. We have the right connections, experience, and team of professionals to provide you with exceptional service.

Our Sawmill Equipment Specialist can review your current needs, specific operation, and explain the options. We have helped dozens of sawmill owners navigate the unfamiliar territory of liquidating assets. We offer unique solutions aligned to each circumstance.

This guide will give you the insight you need to ensure you:

  • Choose the best auction company
  • Understand how a sawmill auction works

How to Choose a Sawmill Auction Company

Choosing the right auction company can seem overwhelming. That’s why we work hard to make it easier. The more informed you are the more success you’ll experience. The following three questions will enable you to choose an excellent auction company for your sawmill auction. auction!
1. Is the auction company reputable?
The Better Business Bureau is a good place to check a business’s history. Check for testimonials about the auction company, and if they have done business with reputable companies in the sawmill industry. Hiring an auction company that buyers in the industry enjoy doing business with will add to a seller’s bottom line. Don’t be afraid to ask around in the industry about an auction company’s reputation for honesty, fair dealing, and excellence.
Sawmill Auction Guide
2. Does the auction company have experience in the sawmill industry?
This is highly important. An experienced auction company can help a seller achieve success beyond his wildest dreams. On the other hand, he fastest way to a disaster of an auction is hiring a company who does not understand the optimal way to market sawmill equipment, how to piece it out, and perhaps most importantly, how to market sawmill equipment.
3. Does the auction company have a following among sawmill equipment buyers?
Ask the auction company about the size of their mailing list and how it is updated. Thousands of names on a list who have been out of the market for years do no one any good- but a dynamic list of people who are currently in the market can create a bidding frenzy at your auction!

Why Choose Bright Star?

Integrity

At Bright Star, we place the utmost value on conducting our business with honesty and integrity. Your trust is the foundation of everything we do.

Experience

With many years of combined sawmill and auction expertise, we are poised to market your equipment effectively and strive to achieve the highest value for your assets.

Risk-Free Options

We offer risk-free options that ensure fair market prices with no hassle for you. Choose Bright Star for a seamless auction experience!

How a Sawmill Auction Works

Knowing how a sawmill auction should work can save you a lot of time and help you avoid unnecessary stress. The following outline will walk you through all you need to know to get started with a successful sawmill auction.
Step 1: Initial Contact
Our Sawmill Equipment Specialist gathers information from you via a phone conference – primarily the location and size of your operation and the specifics of your situation. He’ll give you some general impressions and offer to do an on-site visit.
Sawmill Auction Guide
Step 2: On-Site Visit
Our specialist meets with you or your designees at your business site and reviews all assets to be sold. If the business is still running, he watches the equipment in operation, reviews maintenance records, and assesses raw-material inventory and any Smalls. If the operation is no longer running, he inspects the equipment wherever it is stored and notes information on its age, condition, maintenance, and performance when last operated.
Step 3: A Plan and An Agreement
Once the on-site visit is done, the Sawmill Specialist provides final options and terms to consider. Often, this is done at the end of the site visit. Once you select an option, an agreement is drawn up and signed. Then our Team goes to work!
Step 4: Preparing the Assets
First up is our Catalog Crew. They come on-site and begin cleaning and organizing the assets. All major pieces are steam-cleaned and power- washed with our professional-grade equipment. All items are photographed and assigned a Lot Number. Serial numbers, titles, and operating manuals are noted. Videos are taken of machinery or rolling stock in operation whenever possible. These action videos are then uploaded on every bidding platform we use, so buyers can hear and see the machine operate. Once photos and videos are complete, the items are positioned in an organized fashion so the auction will flow smoothly, and buyers can easily view all pieces.
Step 5: Marketing and Advertising
Back at the home office, the Marketing and Advertising Teams go to work on the pictures and item descriptions. They upload them on the Bright Star website and other bidding platforms. Signs and flyers are designed and printed; a Bid Book with all major lots and descriptions is published and sent to everyone on our Bid Book list – over 5,000 constituents. The Bid Book list consists of those who do not have access to online bidding. A color ad of your auction is sent to our entire mailing list of over 17,000 active buyers. High dollar assets are posted on bidding platforms, social media sites, and in trade magazines. Contact information is provided for the Sawmill Equipment Specialist and the Bright Star office, assuring that buyers can get timely information about the auction or a specific piece of equipment.
Step 6: The Week of the Auction
Final preparations are made for Auction Day. Portable restroom facilities arrive on site. The Set-up and Auction-Day Crews often come in a day ahead to organize any last-minute pieces of equipment and make notes of any updates. The online catalog is updated if needed and copies are faxed to buyers who request this most up-to-date information. The quality of cell phone reception and internet speed at the auction site is assessed and special boosters or other electronics are set up as needed for conference line and online buyers.
Sawmill Auction Guide
Step 7: Auction Day
The Auction Day Team and Setup Crew arrive hours before the start time. The logistics team member puts out parking signs, sets up the beverage station and directs incoming traffic. The mobile office registers buyers while auctioneers, ringmen, and clerks greet buyers, set up audience seating and fire-up the electronics. The Setup Crew answers buyer questions and demonstrates equipment if appropriate. When the start time arrives, the auction kicks off with general announcements, terms, and load-out information. Then the first lot is up for bid with subsequent lots following the catalog order.

During the auction, the on-site audience can view bids from all online platforms via large screens at the front of the auction area. Phone bidders hear the bidding live via the conference line. Internet bidders hear and see the auction live and can place their bids through one of several online bidding platforms.

When the gavel falls after the final high bid on each item, that lot is sold. In the case of a lot being part of an Entirety, high bids are taken on each piece. Those bids are then held until the Entirety is offered for a price at least 10% above what all the individual pieces brought all together. If no one offers a price on the Entirety that meets the expectation of 10% above, then the pieces go to the individual bidders. If someone offers at least 10% above on the Entirety, then it is sold as an Entirety. Individual bidders cannot go back and increase their bids once a qualifying bid is received on the Entirety. If the auction goes over a mealtime, we provide free pizza, subs, or other local food fare and beverages for on-site buyers.

At the auction’s conclusion, the Accounting Manager prepares a Priced Inventory Sheet for you, with a listing of each lot, the hammer price, and the buyer’s number, name, and phone number. Team members pack up all equipment while the mobile office finalizes payments from any remaining on-site buyers. Within a couple hours, the Auction Teams head for home.
Step 8: Load-Out
Typically, buyers are asked to remove their smalls within a few days and rolling stock or installed equipment within 14 - 60 days. These timelines can be adjusted based on whatever works best for you. Assistance with load-out can be any of the following or a combination of these: a Bright Star team member stays back and oversees it, you or your designee can handle it personally or an independent rigging company can be hired. Buyers (or their transport company) should show a Paid in Full receipt before removing any items.
Sawmill Auction Guide
Step 9: Sending Out Titles and Consignment Checks
Buyers that pay in cash or cashier’s check can receive titles right away and remove rolling stock immediately. Buyers that pay with credit card or a check without a bank letter will receive any title work as soon as payments have cleared the Accounting Department. Consignment checks are mailed to consignors as soon as buyer payments have cleared the Accounting Department and usually within 10 business days.
Step 10: Seller Settlement
After the auction, the Bright Star Accounting Department communicates with you on a frequent basis regarding the status of collecting all buyer payments. Once your auction proceeds are ready to be dispersed, the Accounting Department Manager will send you a Settlement Statement for your approval. This contains the hammer price and commission on every lot and a list of all auction expenses. Once you sign and return the Settlement Statement, the Manager will contact you to arrange the final Settlement Payment.

The Sawmill Auction Professionals

With a passion for serving sawmill owners and experienced professionals in-house, we can help make your sawmill auction a success. Whether you have one piece of equipment or a multi-million-dollar operation, we can help. Contact us today to start the conversation.

Upcoming Sawmill Auctions

Sep
29
Details
Lake Erie Equipment Auction - Middlefield, OH
16989 Kinsman Rd. Middlefield, OH 44062
September 29, 2023, 9:00 am
Oct
18
Details
IronRing
October 18, 2023, 9:00 am
Oct
20
Details
Schmidt Lumber Company - Sawmill Equipment Liquidation - TN Ridge, TN
60 Old Lockhart Road, TN Ridge, TN 37178
October 20, 2023, 9:00 am
Oct
31
Details
Rock Hill Lumber - Business For Sale - Not an Auction
2727 Leon Rd, Culpepper, VA. 22701
October 31, 2023
Nov
15
Details
IronRing
November 15, 2023, 9:00 am

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A Licensed Auction Company in Multiple States

Auctioneer Licenses

Indiana
Auctioneer Co. Lic. - Bright Star Realty & Auctions, LLC - AC32100007
Auctioneer Lic. - Loren Beachy - AU10500161
Kentucky
Principal Auctioneer Lic. - Loren D. Beachy - 259651
Wisconsin
Auctioneer Lic. - Loren D. Beachy - 2990-52
Illinois
Auctioneer Lic. - Loren Dale Beachy - #441002283
Tennessee
Auctioneer Lic. - Loren D. Beachy - 7154
Auctioneer Lic. - Zach Kittrell - 1959
West Virginia
Licensed auction house
Ohio
Auctioneer Co. Lic. - Bright Star Realty and Auctions, LLC - 2018000007
Auctioneer Lic. - Eugene Hochstetler - 2018000033
Virginia
Auctioneer Co. Lic. - Bright Star Realty & Auctions, LLC - 2908001059
Auctioneer Lic. - Loren Dale Beachy - 2907004635
North Carolina
Auction Firm Lic. - Bright Star Realty & Auctions, LLC - 10455
Auctioneer Lic. - Loren D. Beachy - 10381
South Carolina
Reciprocal Principal Lic. - Loren Beachy - 4795
Pennsylvania
Auctioneer Lic. - Loren D. Beachy - AU0056900
Mississippi
Bright Star Realty & Auctions LLC Firm Lic# 1654F
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