Hayley Heidler of Riverside bids on a skid loader. She put in the winning bid and will use the loader to help make her first-ever pumpkin patch on 15 acres at Vantana Ranch. About 20% of buyers dont use the equipment they purchase, but plan instead to resell the rigs for a higher return, said Richard Aldersley, a regional manager for Ritchie Bros. The auctioneer gets a commission of about 14% on most sales. More than half of the equipment sold will leave Southern California for healthier construction markets, he said. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Bid catcher Gene Garcia tries to coerce a bidder to raise his bid at a public auction Tuesday in Perris. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
A prospective buyer talks on his cellphone around hydraulic excavators during a public auction at Ritchie Bros. in Perris on Tuesday. Buyers said they were lured by cheap prices, although several expressed reluctance to spend money on equipment that could remain idle for months. These are the worst prices Ive ever seen, said Steve Thompson, 52, who was there to make bids for Chuck Green & Associates Inc., a San Diego County firm that buys and resells heavy equipment. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
