Appelboom Veilingen

Appelboom NV is a Belgian auctioneer at Kontichsesteenweg 42, Aartselaar (VAT BE 0898.509.416), liquidating movable assets online for insolvency trustees, banks, companies and public bodies such as the City of Antwerp. Almost everything listed comes out of a bankruptcy or a seizure, and lots are knocked down before a bailiff — the site labels them "executie veilingen". Sales are staged where the goods stand, usually the failed company's own yard, across Flanders in places like Olen, Lubbeek, Antwerp and Linkeroever, and the site runs in Dutch, French, German and English.

What you can buy

• Vans, trucks and trailers: ex-fleet Ford Transits from the City of Antwerp — two tippers and a double cab, 2012-2014, Euro 5, registration parts I+II, damage all round — plus a 2020 Terberg YT222 terminal tractor with 1,325 hours and a Schmitz Cargobull tipping semi-trailer.
• Construction plant and site kit: Kubota KX080-3 tracked excavator, Schäffer 2336 SLT and Zettelmeyer ZL 502 loaders, an Ammann ARX26 tandem roller, scaffolding, shoring, concrete skips, ladders, material and office containers, LED site lighting.
• Workshop machinery and power tools: metalworking machines from sign and facade builders, Makita grinders and saws, DeWalt planers, Festool plunge saws.
• Business and retail stock: the complete fitting-out of a bicycle shop (Orbea and Bemoov children's bikes, Gudereit e-bikes on Bosch Performance Line drives, helmets, locks, Bicisupport racks), job lots of sunglasses, roller-door archive cabinets, and untested computer kit — HP monitors, and Apple iMacs flagged as possibly still iCloud-locked.
• Boats: the odd marine lot, such as a 1982 Rushcutter Cortessa 43 sailing yacht at Linkeroever.

How the bidding works

Registration is free and open to private buyers as well as traders. You confirm by e-mail, and a first bid from a Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo address triggers an SMS check, so sign up well before closing. Auctions are timed: lots begin closing at a fixed hour, usually 16:00. Every bid is binding and cannot be retracted, and amounts are exclusive of premium and VAT. Payment is by bank transfer only, cash refused; the general conditions allow 48 hours from confirmation, but the sales currently running all ask you to settle the order within 24 hours of the close. Viewing is a single announced slot at the location of the goods, typically an hour or so in the morning, and no alternative viewing date is offered. Collection is either a second fixed slot about a week later or, on some sales, strictly by appointment.

What to check before you bid

Buyer's premium is 19%, and VAT is charged on the hammer price plus that premium unless the lot states otherwise. Private buyers and Belgian companies pay it; an EU business avoids it only if its number passes a VIES check, and a non-EU buyer needs customs export proof — until it arrives nothing leaves the yard unless you lodge a deposit equal to the VAT, refunded on filing within ten days. Nothing is tested: running hours, mileage and build years are indicative only, and goods from a bankruptcy or judicial sale carry no legal warranty and no 14-day right of withdrawal, while a sale run for a professional seller such as the city can carry both — each auction says which applies. Appelboom itself neither ships nor delivers, though some sellers arrange it; otherwise budget for dismantling, lifting gear, permits, your own transport and a possible damage deposit.