In the cattle business, you need a lot of equipment, and sometimes the budget simply isn't there. But since you can't operate without equipment and supplies, you need to find it somewhere. If you can't find the equipment you need locally, consider using live online auctions. 

What Are Online Equipment Auctions?

Online equipment auctions are a great way to find the cattle equipment you need at a reasonable price. In many cases, people use these auctions to liquidate their farming equipment because they need the money. Most of the equipment is from a farm that's closing down, whether they are retiring or going out of business. Since they don't want to bother with liquidating items piece by piece, they give them to an auction house.

Types of Live Online Auctions

When searching for cattle equipment auctions, there are two types to consider: live online auctions and reserve price auctions.

• Live Online Auctions. A live online auction is exactly what it sounds like. The seller starts the bidding at a certain price and the bidding ends at a certain time. This allows you to see exactly what's going on and how much other people are offering for the same product. This is the ideal way to search for cattle equipment auctions.
• Reserve Price Auctions. With a reserve price auction, you can't see how much people are bidding until the auction is over. Thus, you don't know how high the price is going to go.

Both of these have benefits and drawbacks. What's most important is not to get locked into a bidding war.

Where to Find Cattle Equipment Auctions

It's easy to find cattle equipment auctions; just Google it! There are dedicated farm equipment auction houses (search for "Farm Equipment Auctions") as well as regular third-party marketplaces like eBay.

What to Look out for During Cattle Equipment Auctions

When you win a cattle equipment auction, you generally have to get the equipment yourself within a specific amount of time. Only bid on equipment that's a state or two away; a long-haul trip could burn more money than it's worth.

Always look carefully at the pictures. Usually, there aren't any descriptions for these items. They are sold as-is. So, if something is going to be dangerous to use or if it's too broken to use, you could get saddled with it.

Ultimately, getting equipment through live online auctions is a great way to save money. But you do have to be conscientious of what you're buying. Practice your auctioneering skills before going for large ticket items. Try an online auction the next time you're looking for cattle equipment for sale.