McDougall Auctioneers: successful auctions, liquidations and consignment sales across North America
The hamlet of Langbank was the backdrop of what would eventually become one of the largest auction houses in the country. In 1982, brothers Terry and Loren McDougall began holding farm auctions in their hometown in southeastern Saskatchewan, and before long, they were doing 30 farm auctions a year. In 1985, Loren decided to move to Regina to pursue commercial auctions as well as farm auctions.
Today, McDougall Auctioneers has upwards of 90 employees with facilities in Regina, Saskatoon, Brandon, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. It is one of the leading auctioneering and appraisal companies in Saskatchewan and has developed a solid reputation for reliable appraisals and for successful auctions, liquidations and consignment sales.
Chad Guay, vice president of sales, says the company stems from humble origins, with consignment sales in various industries and has grown and developed into a broad spectrum of categories ranging from commercial equipment, business inventory and liquidations to real estate and industrial equipment.
“Regina is still our headquarters, and I would say that a lot of our sales still come from the Regina office. We just started Alberta about two years ago. Does Alberta have the potential to surpass Regina? It might someday because there’s much more equipment. That being said, Toronto has a lot of equipment, so that could become more important. But as of right now, Regina is still the predominant leader in our locations,” said Guay.
He says that McDougall is pleased to be an SHCA member and has managed numerous auctions of heavy equipment in the province. Most construction auctions are usually in the $6 million to $7 million range, but the company has had sales of up to $20 million. However, that large of a sale is rare, as a company with that value of equipment would likely be merged or acquired into an existing company rather than sold piecemeal.
Online auctions provide the company with the option to sell equipment where it sits. This enables McDougall to serve customers in remote locations as well as urban centres, regardless of whether or not McDougall has a physical location there.
The biggest change in the industry has been the development of online auctions. Guay says McDougall was a pioneer in this development and introduced its own software in 2011. At that time there was no commercially-available online auction software, so the company had to develop its own, which McDougall maintains.
“Loren was the first one in Canada to use online bidding,” said Guay. “He always jokes around that he should have patented it, as he ended up paying for the software, which made quite a big difference. There are lots of other auction houses out there that use software that is not their own and there will be thousands of companies using that software. We use our own bidding software on our own website.”
Online bidding has continued to increase in popularity since its inception and the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this approach. As each generation becomes increasingly attached to virtual events, the demand of in-person auctions has diminished. In fact, Guay says McDougall has not held an in-person auction since 2018.
“It’s hard to get people to commit to an entire day for a sale, let alone a five-day sale,” said Guay. “Right now, we are prepping for a five-day sale and it’s almost impossible to get people to commit to attending a sale that is that long. People just don’t have the time or attention to attend that long of an event.”
Online auctions provide the company with the option to sell equipment where it sits. This enables McDougall to serve customers in remote locations as well as urban centres, regardless of whether or not McDougall has a physical location there. In the case of heavy construction equipment, which can come with a steep price tag, Guay says the company makes every effort to ensure that buyers have every tool at their disposal before making a decision. That means providing photos, pertinent information and, if necessary, buyers can still come in-person to see the equipment first-hand.
“We take about 75 pictures per asset, and we also have video. Obviously, our video of a backhoe is the backhoe driving forwards, backwards and lifting, but it doesn’t show it digging a hole or a ditch, but you can see if it works or not,” he said.
The other recent significant issue for the heavy construction industry has been high prices due to supply chain issues. As new equipment was difficult to obtain, the demand for used equipment has grown considerably, leading to increased prices at auction sales. Although this appears to be levelling off, Guay says that the numbers will likely remain strong for the coming months. With oil and gas prices remaining high, and U.S. shale oil production on the rise, the demand for equipment should continue.
With online bidding now the norm, the number of international buyers has also been increasing. Even with shipping costs, Guay says the company is selling equipment to buyers from as far away as Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. McDougall will help facilitate the shipping, but the buyer is ultimately responsible for making their own arrangements. Although there are a number of auction houses in the province, Guay says that McDougall stands apart because of its transparency.
“Anyone can be an appraiser, or sales broker or an auctioneer,” he said. “However, not everyone is transparent, or they won’t back up their appraisals with proposals. We pride ourselves on doing that. When we jot a number down, we’ll back it up.”
Guay says that the company also provides plenty of advice and counselling to customers, especially those who have not gone through an auction process before. There are also various issues and circumstances that can come up and customers often turn to McDougall for their suggestions. “We pride ourselves on providing an answer. A lot of people don’t know what to do in certain situations, so we like to consult as best as we can with the skill sets we have available,” he said. Over the years, the company has been involved in several unique auctions. For example, it auctioned vehicles from the popular television series, Corner Gas, and it sold the giant Saskatchewan Roughriders sign that was removed from the old Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
As for the future, Guay says the company intends to concentrate on expanding its Alberta operations, increasing its presence in Ontario and Quebec, strengthening its market share of the agricultural sector on the Prairies and potentially expanding into the U.S.
Pat Rediger is a journalist, author, public relations consultant and entrepreneur.