GL Lost Surplus Contract

[porkysplace]

GL lost the Truck contract for several reason... including HUGE amounts of complaints for false advertising, misleading listings, damages by Gl staff before recoveries, etc. They got greedy... GP seems to do a better job, WAY more accurate listings... but the prices are crazy high!! For those of us in the Surplus sales market... It's almost impossible to turn a profit with GP prices being at close to retail. By the time I add in their % fees, and recovery expense... It's very little meat left.

AS with most things now days.... the big boys will get bigger (with less competition) ... us little guys will be out of business!!

With the way GP is doing the rolling stock stuff isn't getting stole off other trucks after they are sold either.

 

[98G]

GL lost the contracts because the gov put them out to bid and GL was outbid. GL could have stepped up and bid higher.

I speculate that GL got outbid on the truck contract because someone knew that the hmmwvs would be able to be sold as trucks and not as scrap. (Sheer speculation on my part and labeled as such).

Wil, as I'm sure you know better than I do, "winning" a bid is only winning so long as there's margin left in it. Once it goes beyond reasonable value, "winning" consists of letting the other guy get it. (Case in point, a 2014 model year Bobcat 250 sold at auction today for $4500 + fees, RUNNING CONDITION UNKNOWN. You can buy a new 2018 Bobcat 250 with zero hours and a warranty, DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR, for $4475.)

Perhaps GP can extract more final value than GL and thus have margin where GL had none. GP has certainly done that with the trucks. Remains to be seen on the nonrolling stock.

Economy of scale. Efficiency of operation. Size of market. All of this plays into it.

I watch with interest. I grab a crumb falling from the table here and there as opportunity presents. Mostly these days i wave off and someone else gets it.

 

[Suprman]

One of the GP reps I just spoke to, that covers multiple smaller sites, told me his per site days were recently cut down to less. Presumably to save GP money. GP is good at selling the rolling stock. They give the gov the majority of the profit though. And a big operation like that has big overhead. Now they have the non rolling stock also. Look at all these big businesses today. I think a lot of them don’t make any money. Companies burn a few hundred million of investors money every year and their stock keeps on going up. Toysrus just filed bankruptcy. 5 billion in the hole. At that point did they ever really make any money? Creative accounting only gets you so far.

 

[porkysplace]

I don't see GP (RichieBros) going belly up they been it the auction business a long time and realize you have to change with times. Everyone buying surplus thought the world was going to end when they quit having live auctions at the local bases . Nothing ever got moved from the base to sell , you went ,you bid and if you won you loaded it up and took it with you. And then the internet auctions came along because and people still bought because they couldn't get stuff for pennies on the dollar , but there was no shortage of others buyers willing to pay 10 cents on the dollar . And the same will happen with GP they will have no shortage of buyers.

 

[Suprman]

I’m not saying they will go under. Just saying that looks can be deceiving. I don’t think they are making as much on this stuff as everyone thinks. I think they have big overhead and they give the gov a good part of the take.

 

[Tinstar]

GP 10% Auction premiums vs GL 12.5%.

I doubt it’s pure profit but it adds up.

 

[ltrpd]

So My question is " Is all the non rolling stock just piling up until Gov planet direct can get it ready to sell?

 

[PHasty]

There is a Non Rolling Stock Auction Every Tues...and has been for a while now

 

[Jspec]

They just feel like they are selling gold. charge 4x the price the GL did.

 

[PHasty]

I am guessing that my auction management team feels that as long as they continue to liquidate 85% + of the auction weekly that the current prices are supported by the market. Once the market no longer supports the price, the price drops. Unfortunately, that is called economics.

 

[Jspec]

I am guessing that my auction management team feels that as long as they continue to liquidate 85% + of the auction weekly that the current prices are supported by the market. Once the market no longer supports the price, the price drops. Unfortunately, that is called economics.

That statement just baffles me... But like someone always says there is an ASS for every seat. You just gotta find that ass.

 

[ltrpd]

Yes but they cannot be moving as much Inventory as govliquidation did


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[PHasty]

No we are not, not even close...but we are also 3 months into the contract, not 18 years...All of our sale avenues are not in place as of yet, our automated warehouse inventory system is still being fine tuned, and we are working on breaking down lots into more realistic numbers to appeal to a broader buyer base. What you are currently seeing are the items that are easy to turnaround and get out to everyone, as well as keep track of. Is it perfect, nope. Do we claim it is, nope. Do we brag it is, nope. Do we know it needs improvements, Yup. Are we working our collective A*&%S off to make it happen, Yup, but does anyone actually really care, Nope!

 

[porkysplace]

That statement just baffles me... But like someone always says there is an ASS for every seat. You just gotta find that ass.

GP has to have a better marketing strategy since they are receiving a much lower percentage of the sale than GL .
GL was taking 75% of the sale price , GP is getting around 25% , so they dirt cheap deals of GL are gone . But the upside is the government is getting more money back to waste.

 

[NV555]

Not really impressed with gp non rolling stock so far.

 

[juanprado]

Not really impressed with gp non rolling stock so far.

ditto. Really nothing has made my my interest level to even bid and nothing close by either means my $ go somewhere else.

Volume and depth/variety of inventory has to maybe 10% of what GL offered. Almost zero parts except the occasional stuff they had sitting outside in a yard like tires, junk engines and trannys. In the monthly threads here on "what you have won" I see very little reporting of members buying stuff that is not rolling stock. It is Aug and you would think this contract would be rolling along. No pun intended
Can't believe I am saying I miss the GL days....

 

[ltrpd]

Thank you for the explanation, that clears a lot up for me. With such a large amount of surplus, It will take time to get fully up and running. Thanks for the timely response.

 

[FloridaAKM]

I had an issue today with Gov Planet today during the morning auction that was almost a disaster for me. I will not put it out there as they fixed the issue as promised, so it is now not a problem; I did lose the auction that I so sorely wanted to get, but that is just my loss & another will come along one day. Thanks guys @ Gov Planet for understanding the problem & being true to your word.

 

[gottaluvit]

I am guessing that my auction management team feels that as long as they continue to liquidate 85% + of the auction weekly that the current prices are supported by the market. Once the market no longer supports the price, the price drops. Unfortunately, that is called economics.

In economics we see success and failure.

 

[sandcobra164]

GP has a fairly large site near where I work and I'm pretty good friends with the site manager. One thing I can say for sure is GP puts a little bit of effort into getting equipment running and somewhat operational prior to listing. They'll charge or put in new batteries, change fuel filters, top off fluids, PMCS, etc. They get quite a good return on their investment if you ask me. If you see something from Albany, Ga listed as a non runner, it's a real gamble. I'm sure GP has a cap on what they will spend on getting something running to bring a better auction price depending on what the items historically bring in running condition. It's probably a pretty low amount but then again, that's exactly what alot of us are bitter about. I thought life was awesome 10 years ago when I purchased a M35A2 from GL listed as Not Running for $1,045 after fees and taxes. 1 set of batteries later and I drove it home. Years and years later I sold it for $5,500. No one seems to think there is anything wrong with such a scenario and neither do I. I didn't "flip" it, I used the truck for years and maintained it but my wife wouldn't let me keep a Deuce and a 5 ton once the M923 showed up. GP replaced the flippers that I've seen many a member on here fuss about. Simply put, running trucks / generators etc. draw higher prices at auction and like any business, they are profit driven. If you were on their management team, you'd get the equipment running if economically feasible and it resulted in a higher profit margins.