Farm Clearing Sales - A Farmbuy.com Guide

Farm clearing sales explained

If you're looking for good value farm machinery, livestock or farm equipment bargains, farm clearing sales are an excellent place to start. Farmbuy.com has the latest farm clearing sales to help you find the bargain, important accessory or part you have been searching for.

For those new to farming or the rural lifestyle, a 'farm clearing sale' is an auction of the contents of a rural property, held after the property itself has been sold.

These sales are held regularly throughout Australia and often attract a large local contingent of potential buyers. Many participants are prepared to travel far and wide to attend these events as many auctions sell heavy plant and equipment, prime movers, large tractors and high value harvesting machinery.

Farm clearing sales often feature heavy equipment on offer

It is not uncommon for clearing sales to include household items such as furniture, white goods, electronics and even antiques. They are often the happy hunting ground for "pickers"  a term used for those who specialise in finding antiques and collectibles.  It has been known on rare occasions for vintage cars to be sold at clearing sale auctions.

There are two types of farm clearing sales: reserved and unreserved.

A reserved auction is where each item has reserve price, the minimum amount that the owner of an item up for auction will accept as the winning bid in the auction. The reserve price prevents the auction from being won by a bidder who offers a price lower than the item's owner will accept. 

Unreserved means there are no minimum bids or reserve prices set on the items in the auction. Every item is sold to the highest bidder, regardless of price. This type of auction is often the most popular event with buyers.

Farm clearing sales are normally managed by a local real estate or livestock agent. Their expertise and particularly their auctioneer's skill can provide significant upside to the vendor. Some vendors, however, do choose to run the sale privately.