The same 20 tonne excavator can be bought three ways, and the sticker on each will look completely different. What almost nobody compares properly is the all-in cost, which includes a buyer's premium you did not budget for, a legal position that changes depending on who sold it, and a repair bill that is entirely yours at two of the three.
Auction usually shows the lowest headline number and carries the most cost on top: Ritchie Bros charges an 8.5 per cent transaction fee on Australian lots, plus GST, transport and any repairs, with the machine sold as is. A licensed dealer costs more upfront but is the only channel where Australian Consumer Law guarantees may apply, and only on goods up to $100,000. Private sale sits in between on price and offers the least protection of the three.
The comparison
The Three Channels Side by Side
| Auction | Licensed dealer | Private sale | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline price | Usually lowest | Highest | Middle |
| Fees on top | Buyer's premium plus GST on fees | Usually none beyond on-roads | None |
| Condition | As is, where is | Often prepared and serviced | As is |
| Consumer guarantees | Very limited | May apply up to $100,000 | Do not apply |
| Inspection | Yard viewing days only | Usually flexible | By arrangement |
| Time to buy | Fixed sale date | Any time | Any time |
| Finance clause | None, sale is unconditional | Usually available | Negotiable |
| Transport | Yours, on a deadline | Often arranged | Yours |
The extras
What Sits on Top of the Hammer Price
The hammer price is a starting figure, not a total. Four things attach to it, and only the first is announced from the rostrum.
The buyer's premium. Ritchie Bros applies an 8.5 per cent transaction fee to all lots purchased at its Australian auctions, whether you bid on site, online or by proxy, with a minimum of $100 per lot and GST on top. Other houses set their own rate and announce it before the sale. Across the market premiums range from a few per cent to north of twenty, so the rate for the specific sale is worth reading rather than assuming.
GST on charges and fees. Under the Pickles auction terms GST is added to all charges and fees payable, which catches buyers who budgeted the premium but not the tax on it.
Transport. Getting a tracked machine off a gravel yard and onto your site is a float booking, and the collection deadline runs alongside the payment deadline rather than after it.
Compliance and repair. At auction and in a private sale this is entirely yours, because nobody has prepared the machine. A dealer has usually serviced it and will often have addressed the obvious.
Your legal position
The Protection You Get, and the Protection You Do Not
This is the part that changes most between channels, and it is worth understanding before rather than after.
Since 1 July 2021 the Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantee threshold has been $100,000. Goods supplied at or under that value attract the consumer guarantees regardless of whether the buyer is a business, and regardless of whether the goods are the sort of thing a household would ever buy. Above $100,000 the guarantees generally only apply to goods of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use, which a 30 tonne excavator plainly is not.
So the practical position for machinery buyers:
- Licensed dealer, machine at or under $100,000: consumer guarantees may apply, including acceptable quality and fitness for purpose
- Licensed dealer, machine over $100,000: generally outside the guarantees, so your protection is whatever the contract says
- Auction on behalf of a private vendor: most guarantees do not apply. Cover is essentially limited to title, undisturbed possession and undisclosed securities
- Private sale: consumer guarantees do not apply at all
There is one exception worth knowing. Where a dealer sells through an auction, the dealer generally has to meet the same obligations as if the machine had been sold from their yard. Who consigned the lot therefore matters, and it is a fair question to ask before you bid.
The guarantees also exclude goods acquired for re-supply, or for use in a production or manufacturing process, which narrows things again for some operators.
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The arithmetic
A Worked Example: Same Machine, Three Channels
Take a used 20 tonne excavator, roughly eight years old, mid hours. The figures below are illustrative and the premium is shown at the published Ritchie Bros rate. Your sale, your machine and your transport will differ.
| Cost line | Auction | Dealer | Private |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | $95,000 | $118,000 | $105,000 |
| Buyer's premium at 8.5% | $8,075 | Nil | Nil |
| Transport to site | $2,800 | Often included | $2,800 |
| Inspection and PPSR search | $600 | Nil | $600 |
| Immediate repairs | $6,000 | Nil, prepared | $4,000 |
| All-in cost | $112,475 | $118,000 | $112,400 |
| Consumer guarantees | Very limited | Over $100,000, generally none | None |
The $23,000 gap in the headline price closes to about $5,500 once everything is counted, and the dealer machine arrives prepared. That does not make auction the wrong answer. It makes the headline gap a poor basis for the decision.
Change one assumption and the conclusion flips. If the machine needs no repairs, auction wins comfortably. If it needs an undercarriage, the dealer was cheaper all along. The variable you cannot price from a photograph is condition, which is precisely what you are taking on at two of the three channels.
Which to use
Where Each Channel Genuinely Wins
Auction wins on speed of acquisition and on price when you can inspect properly, when you know the asset class well enough to price condition, and when you can absorb a surprise. Volume helps too: buying three machines in a morning is something no dealer can match.
A dealer wins when downtime is expensive, when the machine has to work the week you get it, or when the purchase sits at or under $100,000 and the consumer guarantees are worth real money to you. Preparation and recourse are what you are paying the premium for.
Private sale wins when you know the seller or the machine's history, often within an industry network where the previous operator is a known quantity. It is the thinnest on protection, so it rewards familiarity.
Whichever way you go, it is worth checking current excavator stock from verified dealers nationally to benchmark the asking price before the sale, and our breakdown of what Australian equipment actually sold for at auction in 2026 shows where hammer prices have been landing.
Finance
How Funding Differs by Channel
The structure is the same in all three cases, whether chattel mortgage, finance lease or hire purchase. What changes is the timing and the evidence.
A dealer purchase can usually be made subject to finance, so the approval and the purchase run in parallel. A private sale is negotiable, though the lender will want the seller's details and will pay them directly. An auction purchase is unconditional, which is why the approval has to be in place before you bid at all.
Lenders also read the channel. A dealer-consigned machine with service history is a straightforward file. A private-vendor machine with a thin paper trail attracts more questions, and the Personal Property Securities Register search matters more, because an undischarged security interest from a previous owner's finance is the buyer's problem to find.
Our guide to how auction finance works in Australia covers the unconditional-sale sequence in full.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a buyer's premium and how much is it?
A buyer's premium is a fee added on top of your winning bid, calculated as a percentage of the purchase price. Ritchie Bros applies 8.5 per cent to all lots at its Australian auctions with a minimum of $100 per lot, plus GST. Rates vary between houses and across the market run from a few per cent to more than twenty, so check the terms for the specific sale.
Is buying machinery at auction actually cheaper?
On the headline number, usually. On the all-in number, often much closer than it looks. Add the buyer's premium, GST on charges and fees, transport, inspection and any repairs, and a $23,000 headline gap can close to a few thousand. Auction still wins on speed and on volume, but the comparison has to be made on the total.
Do Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply to machinery bought at auction?
Mostly not. For goods sold at auction by an agent on behalf of a private vendor, cover is essentially limited to title, undisturbed possession and undisclosed securities. The broader guarantees such as acceptable quality generally do not apply. Where a dealer sells through an auction, the dealer generally has the same obligations as if the machine were sold from their yard.
Does the $100,000 consumer guarantee threshold apply to business purchases?
Since 1 July 2021 the threshold has been $100,000, and goods at or under that value attract the consumer guarantees regardless of whether the buyer is a business or whether the goods would ever be bought for household use. Above $100,000 the guarantees generally only apply to goods ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use. Goods acquired for re-supply or for use in production or manufacturing are excluded.
Can you return a machine bought at auction?
Generally no. Auction lots sell on an as is, where is basis and the sale is unconditional, with risk passing to the buyer at the fall of the hammer. There is no cooling off period and no subject-to-finance clause, which is why inspection before the sale and finance arranged before bidding both matter so much.
Who pays for transport from an auction?
The buyer. The lot cannot be removed until the purchase price is paid in full, and removal deadlines run alongside payment deadlines, with storage fees after that. Book the float before you bid rather than after you win, particularly for tracked machines.
Should I run a PPSR search before buying?
Yes, in every channel, and it matters most in private sales and at auction. Auction terms make the search the buyer's responsibility. If a previous owner's finance is still registered against the machine, you need to find it before you pay rather than after.
Can I finance a machine bought privately?
Yes. The lender will want the seller's details and will usually pay them directly rather than reimbursing you. Expect more questions than on a dealer purchase, particularly around the machine's history and identification, and expect the PPSR position to be checked carefully.
How Equifund Can Help
Most operators comparing channels are really comparing two numbers that are not comparable. Equifund is a commercial finance broker with a wide panel of specialist lenders, and the useful thing we do at this stage is put the three options on the same basis before you commit to any of them.
- All-in, not headline: we structure against the total you actually have to pay, premium and fees included
- Channel-aware: dealer, private vendor and auction each need different evidence, and we tell you which upfront
- Auction finance up to $250,000, with pre-approval in 24 hours on equipment finance once your file is together
- Eligibility: an established ABN and a genuine business purpose, with final eligibility subject to lender assessment
If you are weighing the same machine three ways, run the numbers on the all-in figure before you decide. Pre-approval and quotes are obligation-free; a brokerage fee applies on settlement and is disclosed in writing before you sign.
Sources: ACCC on consumer guarantees and auctions · Pickles Auction Terms and Conditions · Personal Property Securities Register · Ritchie Bros published Australian buyer fees. Worked example figures are illustrative. Auction terms and premiums vary between houses and between individual sales. Figures are current at the time of writing and may change.
A note on the legal position: this article summarises how Australian Consumer Law guarantees generally apply across sale channels. It is general information, not legal advice, and whether the guarantees apply to a particular purchase depends on the value, the goods, the seller and the intended use. Get your own advice before relying on a legal position in a transaction.
Disclaimer: This article is general information only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. It does not take into account your personal circumstances, objectives or needs. Equifund Financial Group is a commercial finance broker, not a registered tax agent or licensed financial adviser. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and current ATO rules. Confirm with your accountant before relying on any tax position. All finance is subject to lender credit assessment, terms and conditions. Rates, lead times and product availability are indicative and current at time of writing, and may change. Market figures, sales data and forecasts cited reflect publicly available data at the time of publication.