Why not sell redundant fire apparatus online?
Published: 01 September, 2008
Rather than taking second hand vehicles to a traditional auction house, brigades can now manage the appliance-selling process themselves. According to Richard Berry, marketing manager for munie.co.uk, the UK's first online municipal vehicle selling website, there are several benefits to be gained by selling fire apparatus online.
"As soon as you decide to dispose of your vehicles, it is going to cost you money. The auction house will charge for collection and storage as well as taking a hefty sales commission."
Munie.co.uk enables the sellers to take control of the whole sales process, as they can list the items on the website without having to take the vehicles off the premises. This means that appliances can work up until the last moment. Munie does not take any sales commission from this process, just a flat rate listing fee. Sellers can monitor the selling process from start to finish. They log into the account and look at who is bidding on the item, how much has been bid and, how much time is left on the auction.
There are three types of listing available, ranging from simple to advanced. An advanced listing provides more pictures and information for the buyer. Berry is pushing the website throughout Europe, and sees no reason why fire apparatus cannot be sold all over the world via the website.
"The great thing about the website is that international buyers can actually source equipment without having to visit the country where the vehicle is based," he says.
The site also features an e-mail system whereby the buyer can ask the seller questions about the apparatus by simply clicking the designated button. Berry concludes that users need to be able to prove to auditors that they have sold their vehicles through auction, and therefore Munie.co.uk provides all the official auction paperwork and evidence which is legally required – even though Munie.co.uk is not involved in the transaction.
