Auction sales have changed over time and reduced risks for the buyer.
Rural auctions are no longer a dumping ground for a shaky tractor with some sawdust slipped in to quiet a noisy differential.
In recent years, due to aging farmers and the decline of the agricultural economy, more farm auction bills list nearly new or even new equipment. Issues regarding exact model year and transfer of warranty are now important parts of bidding decisions.
Risks have risen along with the prices paid for average pieces of farm equipment on the block.
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Grant Hodgins’ family has a long history in front of an auction microphone. The Melfort, Sask., based auction service Hodgins operates sells across the Prairies and into the northern United States.
“Times have changed. People need not fear that when placing a bid that they aren’t getting all the goods on their item. (Auctions) have evolved,” he said.
“Auctioneers are required to stand behind the bid. If I get the year of a tractor wrong, the judge says, ‘Hodgins, adjust that price. Make up the difference out of your pocket.’
“If we market an item, in print or person, we are required by consumer protection and fair trade acts in each (provincial or state) jurisdiction to live up to our claims. But it’s more than law, it’s just good business practice,” he said.
Joe Belland of the Canadian Auctioneers’ Association said the industry found that it needed more credibility to grow and the group has encouraged better business practices in the last decade.
“Our association has a strict code of ethics and member auctioneers are expected to follow it. It’s hard to convince someone to plunk down thousands of dollars for larger items, especially on stuff like heavy equipment if they don’t trust you,” Belland said.
“Auctioneers can’t even rely solely on the word of their consignors. They need to know the products and markets and be able to assess the veracity of anything they are claiming,” he said.
Hodgins said the days of hyperbole in an auctioneer’s patter are over.
“Ten years ago you’d have heard this: ‘boys, just look at her. She’s as dependable as she is pretty. She’s not new, but she’s better than new.’ And the auctioneer might have been talking about a 10-year-old combine,” he said.
“Today if something is new, and we do see more new equipment than we used to, we make sure it’s new. If we say it has a warranty, it better have a warranty,” he said.
Chris Lawrence of the Northern Alberta Better Business Bureau said her organization works to achieve settlements between consumers and businesses when there is a dispute.
“Businesses that are not members aren’t bound by our mediation process, but if a settlement can’t be arrived at, we will make their report public. We usually get results,” she said.
When farmers feel they have been unfairly dealt with by suppliers or dealers, they can seek assistance in Alberta from the Farmers’ Advocate’s office. That province’s Farm Implement Act says that new machinery is guaranteed for a “reasonable period of time not to be less than one year from the date that the farm implement is first used in the first normal season of use by the purchaser.”
In Manitoba, the Farm Machinery and Equipment Act provides similar protections along with a clause offering producers compensation for travel up to 80 kilometres.
Saskatchewan’s Agricultural Implements Act provides further compensation, up to $10,000 for losses incurred by producers when dealers or manufacturers fail to provide warranty coverage.
In that province, at the request of a farmer, an equipment dealer is required to refund the purchase price of a piece of equipment if it fails in the first 10 days or 50 hours of use, provided the machine cannot be made to perform to the producer’s satisfaction within seven days of the request.
Each province also has a consumer protection act in case of misrepresentation of goods and services.
Hodgins said new or used, auctioneers will be selling more high value quipment than ever. While buyers need not beware, they should be informed about their rights as consumers.
For more information, go to www.producer.com and type “farm equipment acts” in the go box.
