Agorastore

Agorastore is an online auction site run by Agorastore SAS, registered at 20 rue Voltaire in Montreuil near Paris and part of the Estela group. It sells surplus assets for French public bodies - town halls, departments, metropolitan authorities, hospitals and state agencies - and for companies and dealers, among them operators such as Keolis and Suez. Around 3,000 lots run at once, each stored wherever its seller keeps it, so a council van and a coach from opposite ends of the country can close in the same daily sale.

What you can buy

• Fleet vehicles: Renault Kangoo and Trafic vans, Citroen Berlingo and Jumpy, Peugeot Partner, Dacia and Renault cars, Mercedes Sprinter minibuses, Scania, Iveco, Heuliez and Temsa buses and coaches, school coaches, refuse trucks, vacuum tankers, road sweepers and trailers.
• Plant and groundcare: JCB backhoe loaders, mini excavators, wheel loaders, graders, Bomag rollers and compactors, dumpers, tractors, mowers, Stihl brushcutters, hedge trimmers and blowers.
• Industrial equipment: welding sets, band saws and guillotine shears, woodworking machines, compressors, lifting columns, forklifts and lifting gear.
• Institutional clear-outs: desks, chairs, school and street furniture, photocopiers, computers, network switches, projectors, canteen kitchens and refrigerated cabinets.
• Public property: houses, apartments, whole buildings, offices and building land on the sister site agorastore-immo.fr, sold by town halls, departments and regions.

How the bidding works

Registration is free and open to anyone over 18, private buyers included, but bidding needs a verified email, a confirmed mobile and a billing address. Lots are grouped into scheduled sales - a rolling daily sale, plus one-off seller sales that can run for weeks - and every lot carries its own closing time, so lots in one sale fall minutes or hours apart rather than together. Listings carry one of two labels. Under "sales brokerage" Agorastore is only the broker, and the seller may withdraw the lot or choose a bidder other than the highest. Under "public sale" a licensed auctioneer (SVV approval 062-2014) knocks the lot down to the top bidder above a reserve. Late bids extend the close two minutes at a time, up to thirty. Many vehicle lots are marked "for professionals" and need proof of trade registration, vetted by Agorastore before you can bid - checks are not instant, so send papers early. Some sales require a card deposit, held rather than charged: 25 EUR unlocks bidding to 500 EUR, 50 EUR to 1,000 EUR, 200 EUR to 5,000 EUR, 500 EUR to 15,000 EUR, and 1,000 EUR removes the ceiling. It lapses after 30 days, and is debited only if you win and fail to pay.

What to check before you bid

Buyer fees are added to the hammer price and vary sharply - live listings showed no fee at all on many lots, a flat 10 EUR or 75 EUR on others, and 204.86 EUR on a 1,176 EUR bid - so read the fee line first. VAT is quoted separately; EU professionals can be invoiced without it against a valid VAT number, exports can be exempted on proof, and lots from non-taxable public sellers carry none. Goods are sold as seen with warranties waived, though descriptions are blunt: one hospital Peugeot listed unguaranteed mileage, a clutch kit to replace and damaged wings. Viewing is at the seller's own site on named days and hours, or by appointment; payment is normally due within 48 hours, collection unlocks only once it clears, and transport and loading are yours. The platform reads in French, English, Dutch, German and Polish, but attached papers - registration documents, roadworthiness reports - stay French.