IronPlanet now offers online demonstrations from Autodemo to assist customers in buying trucks and heavy-equipment over the Internet.

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IronPlanet president & CEO Bob Alleger told Fleet Owner during an interview that his company has been using two modules from Autodemo for about four months now. One module deals with how to find quality used equipment, the other with how to complete the purchase.

The online tutorials are designed particularly to help those using the web to buy heavy equipment for the first time.

IronPlanet also has staffers available to assist customers over the phone if there is anything they don’t understand in the help modules. “Autodemo has allowed us to continue to grow without adding personnel to field routine questions,” Alleger said. “In fact, in some areas we’ve actually reduced staff.”

Alleger said that what distinguishes his auctions from others is that before any equipment is posted on the internet, IronPlanet contractors go to the seller’s site and perform detailed inspections, thus ensuring quality. If a buyer finds any inaccuracies as stated in the inspection report, he/she is fully refunded for the purchase price, including the cost of transportation.

“We recognize that people are buying big ticket items here and they want a guarantee that goes beyond just the opinions of the seller from other buyers,” Alleger noted.

IronPlanet, which has been doing online auctions since April 2000, has support staff in Pleasanton, CA, and Ft. Worth, TX. Smaller numbers of personnel work out of various locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Truck and heavy-equipment operators can buy or sell equipment over the company’s website, www.ironplanet.com.

Autodemo, based in Louisville, KY, was established in the 1990s as a multimedia producer for Microsoft, Intel, HP, Symantec and other companies. Due to a high demand for demonstration modules, it branched out to building automated demonstrations “autodemos” that are designed to help companies market their products online.

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