Where home appliance lots come from
Home appliance lots come mainly from three sources. Zoll-Auktion offers refurbished equipment from administrations, the Länder and municipalities, as well as seized items. Justiz-Auktion sells devices seized by bailiffs and courts. Add to that bankruptcy and liquidation stock, often sold in lots of several appliances. Liquidation platforms and private auction houses complete the offering. These sales are scattered and little known outside Germany, which explains why many lots go without a single bid. Bidorado's Radar is precisely for spotting these opportunities.
Checkpoints before bidding
Read the German description carefully. "Ungeprüft" or "defekt" indicates an untested or faulty device. "Ohne Netzteil" or "ohne Ladekabel" means without charger, and "Akku defekt" a dead battery. For connected devices, "Aktivierungssperre" or "iCloud-Sperre" indicates a lock on the previous owner's Apple account: the device is unusable. "MDM" or "Geräteverwaltung" indicates a device enrolled in a company fleet, and "SIM-Lock" a lock to a carrier. Also check for "ohne Festplatte" and the keyboard layout, often QWERTZ. An auction generally offers neither warranty nor right of withdrawal.
Collection or delivery of devices
Many lots are to be collected on site, marked "nur Abholung". Lithium batteries restrict shipping with many carriers, which reinforces on-site collection for devices containing them. Some sellers ship within Germany or the EU. For private sellers, buyer's premiums generally range from 15 to 20% with liquidators and industrial platforms, often 25 to 33% with art auction houses. German VAT of 19% is added depending on the regime indicated on each lot. An EU business with a valid VAT number can often buy without German VAT by providing proof of transport, depending on the seller.