VANCOUVER, British Columbia -

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers revealed recently that it eclipsed a landmark for online equipment sales. After less than 10 years of offering online bidding, Ritchie Bros. passed the $5 billion mark for online sales last month, officials noted.

The landmark sale was in Hartford, Conn., at an unreserved public auction.

Ritchie Bros. first began offering real-time online bidding in March 2002, and these days, almost half of the company’s bidders do so online.

“The idea in designing the online bidding service was to give people an online experience that comes as close as possible to matching the live experience,” said Richie Bros. chief operating officer Bob Armstrong.

“When you’re participating online you can see the assets being sold, you can hear the auctioneer, you can see the numbers changing right before your eyes. It’s as close as possible to being there without the smell of diesel,” he added.