BidSpotter UK

BidSpotter is not an auction house — it is the platform on which a large part of the British industrial auction trade runs its sales. Dozens of independent auctioneers list here, so a single week's calendar mixes established insolvency specialists with regional houses clearing a factory. Names appearing when we checked included Gordon Brothers, Landwood Group, William George, Supreme Auctions, Select Assets and H&F International. The site describes itself as the home of industrial and insolvency auctions, and the catalogue backs that up.

What you can buy

• Plant and machinery: the core category, from single machines to complete production facilities.
• Commercial vehicles and cars: vans and trucks from fleet disposals, occasionally luxury cars in dedicated events.
• Food and beverage processing: production and packaging lines released when a food business closes.
• Metalworking: tooling and machine tools sold as their own auction stream.
• Lifting and handling: specialist lifting equipment and accessories, often as overstock lots.
• Tools and general trade stock: power tools, pressure washers, garden furniture and similar volume lots from clearance sellers.

How the bidding works

Sales are timed online auctions with a published closing time — lots close from a stated moment rather than all at once, and the calendar shows several sales ending on the same day. You register once with BidSpotter, but approval to bid is granted per auction by the auctioneer running it, so allow time before a sale you actually want. An auction alert service notifies you when matching lots appear.

What to check before you bid

The crucial point is that BidSpotter hosts the sale but does not set its terms. Buyer's premium, VAT treatment, viewing arrangements, payment deadlines and removal windows are decided by the individual auctioneer, and they vary widely between the houses listed here — an insolvency specialist clearing a site to a court deadline will impose much tighter collection terms than a regional house selling from its own premises. Read the terms attached to the specific auction, not the platform's general pages, and confirm where the lot physically sits before bidding: it is at the seller's or auctioneer's location, not at BidSpotter.