How to Sell or Trade In Your Skid Steer Attachment in Canada

Understand What You Have Before You List It

Before you put anything on Marketplace or call a dealer, answer three questions:

1. What coupler system is it? Universal skid steer plate (fits most machines), Bob-Tach (Bobcat proprietary), or something else. An attachment on Bob-Tach has a smaller buyer pool — only operators running Bobcat machines with matching couplers, or those willing to buy an adapter plate.
2. Does it have hydraulic functions? If yes, it needs to work. A grapple that won't close, a breaker with a dead circuit — these aren't minor issues. Fix them or disclose them and price accordingly. Buyers who discover problems after purchase are the worst kind of situation.
3. What's the actual condition? Not "good used condition" — a real assessment. We'll cover condition grading below.

Also find the original purchase receipt or invoice if you have it. Provenance helps — a buyer knows it was purchased new in Canada, not imported from a US dealer or auction.

Condition Grading: Be Honest

The used equipment market has rough but consistent grading language. Knowing these grades helps you price accurately and avoids mismatched expectations:

Most attachments coming off a working machine land in the Good to Excellent range. Don't call something "Excellent" when it has cracked cutting edges and evidence of a torch repair on the frame — that's Fair. Buyers know what to look for, and overgrading destroys trust.

When to Replace Cutting Edges Before Selling

Fresh cutting edges on a bucket can meaningfully increase sale price. A worn edge down to 20% of its original thickness makes a bucket look neglected. New edges cost $200–$500 CAD installed depending on bucket width. If replacing them lets you price the bucket $800 more and sell it faster, it's worth doing. If the bucket is so worn that new edges don't save it, don't bother.

Same logic applies to quick-attach wear plates. A fresh set of wear plates on the coupler plate signals to the buyer that the previous owner maintained the equipment — which affects their confidence in buying the whole unit.

Channel 1: Dealer Trade-In

The fastest way to move an attachment is to trade it into the dealer where you're buying your next piece of equipment. The trade-in value will be the lowest possible number — dealers need margin — but it's immediate, there's no listing effort, and you avoid having to deal with buyers yourself.

What dealers typically offer for trade: 30–50% of what they'll retail it for. On a $10,000 retail attachment, expect a $3,500–$5,000 trade-in credit. That number is negotiable, particularly if:

• You're buying a significant piece of equipment at the same time
• The attachment is in excellent condition and moves fast in their market
• The dealer's used inventory is thin for that attachment type

Get competing trade-in quotes from multiple dealers. A Bobcat dealer and an independent attachment dealer may have very different valuations for the same piece.

Channel 2: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

Ritchie Bros. is the dominant heavy equipment auction platform in Canada. They run major auction events in Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, and other centres throughout the year, plus continuous online bidding through their IronPlanet platform.

Ritchie Bros. works best for:

• Higher-value attachments ($5,000+ CAD) where the auction commission is worth it
• Specialty attachments with a national buyer pool (mulching heads, large breakers, specialty grapples)
• Situations where you want certainty of sale and don't want to manage buyer inquiries

The commission structure for sellers varies. Ritchie Bros. typically charges sellers 0% commission (they earn on the buyer's premium — currently 15–18% on top of hammer price for most lots). You don't pay commission, but you also don't control the final price. An attachment worth $12,000 might sell for $8,000 at auction. Or it might sell for $13,000 if two motivated buyers want it.

Consigning to a Ritchie Bros. event typically means delivering the attachment to their yard or having it inspected on-site, listing cutoff dates 2–4 weeks before the auction, and waiting for a sale date that may be 4–8 weeks out. Not ideal if you need the money fast.

Channel 3: IronPlanet (Online Only)

IronPlanet is Ritchie Bros.' online-only auction platform. The buying experience is different from a live auction — items have inspection reports, set bidding windows, and buyers can inspect directly or rely on the IronClad Assurance guarantee (which covers items inspected by IronPlanet and guarantees they're as described).

For sellers in Canada, IronPlanet can reach US buyers easily — which matters if you have an attachment category that's in demand south of the border. USD exchange rate advantage can work in your favour if you're pricing for Canadian buyers but US buyers show up wanting to bid.

Note that cross-border sales through IronPlanet trigger import/export considerations for the buyer. Most US buyers factor this in. For you as a Canadian seller, you just get paid in whatever currency the deal closes at — IronPlanet handles the buyer transaction.

Channel 4: Facebook Marketplace

For attachments under $8,000–$10,000, Facebook Marketplace has become the most active used equipment platform in Canada. The buyer pool for skid steer attachments on Marketplace is large — small contractors, farms, landscapers, homeowners — and the listing effort is minimal.

What makes a Facebook listing actually work:

• Photos that show wear honestly. 8–12 photos minimum. Close-ups of the cutting edges, coupler plate, pins, hydraulic connections, any welds or repairs. A listing with one wide-angle photo of a dirty attachment generates suspicious inquiries. A listing with 12 clear photos of an honest-condition attachment gets qualified buyers.
• Quick-attach plate type called out clearly. "Universal skid steer plate — fits Bobcat, Case, Cat, Kubota, John Deere, New Holland, etc." This eliminates the #1 question buyers have before they even message you.
• Hydraulic connection details. Flat face couplers or poppet style? How many circuits? What GPM range? If you don't know, say so. But knowing is better.
• Weight. Buyers transporting an attachment on a trailer need to know what they're dealing with.
• Location. Being specific (e.g., "near Lethbridge, AB" not just "Alberta") reduces wasted conversations with buyers who can't or won't drive the distance.

Cash and local pickup is the norm for Marketplace transactions. If someone asks you to ship and pay via e-transfer before pickup, that's a scam pattern — particularly common for attachments. Don't do it.

Channel 5: Kijiji

Kijiji remains relevant in some Canadian markets — particularly Quebec, where it outperforms Facebook Marketplace for local listings in French-speaking communities. For the rest of Canada, Kijiji's equipment listings have thinned out as Marketplace absorbed them. Still worth cross-posting; it costs nothing.

Channel 6: Industry-Specific Forums and Groups

Don't overlook niche channels. Private Facebook groups for specific trades and regions move equipment quickly among buyers who know what they're looking at:

• Alberta Heavy Equipment Operators groups
• BC Landscape Contractors groups
• Saskatchewan Farmers groups
• Skid steer-specific groups (search "skid steer Canada" on Facebook — there are several active ones)

A posting in the right group can move an attachment in 24 hours without any auction fees or dealer margins. The buyers in these groups are typically qualified — they own machines, they understand attachments, they're not going to ask "is this the same as what Home Depot sells?"

Pricing Strategy: Where to Start

Price research is straightforward if you're systematic:

1. Find the current new price from a Canadian dealer (or manufacturer website). This is your ceiling reference.
2. Search completed Ritchie Bros. / IronPlanet auctions for your specific attachment type. Their public results are accessible on their websites. This gives you real transaction data, not asking prices.
3. Search Kijiji and Marketplace for comparable listings in Canada. Note asking prices, not necessarily transaction prices — people often overlist and then negotiate down.
4. Apply the condition grade from earlier. Be honest.

A common mistake: pricing to what you paid rather than what the market is. Equipment depreciates. A hydraulic breaker you paid $18,000 for in 2018 may be a $9,000–$11,000 item today depending on condition and how the used market has moved. Buyers who are doing their homework will know this. Sellers who won't accept it will sit on their equipment for months.

Cleaning Up Before Listing

Power wash. Seriously. An attachment that looks like it was just pulled out of a mud pit is hard to accurately assess from photos and creates doubt. A clean attachment shows buyers what they're actually evaluating — real wear patterns, actual welds, true condition. This isn't hiding anything; it's making the honest condition visible.

Touch up with paint if there are rust spots forming on bare steel. A can of implement paint is $15 and prevents further oxidation. Don't paint over cracks or welds — that's hiding damage, which will cost you the sale when the buyer inspects in person.

Canadian Cross-Border Sales to US Buyers

US buyers watching Canadian listings on Kijiji or IronPlanet are real. With a historically favorable CAD/USD exchange rate, Canadian-priced attachments can look attractive to American buyers — particularly for lower-volume specialty attachments where US supply is thin.

If you're selling to a US buyer, you're responsible for export documentation (bill of sale, possibly NAFTA/CUSMA origin documentation). The buyer handles US import and any duty. This is straightforward for most used attachments — they're typically duty-free under CUSMA if manufactured in Canada or the US. Encourage the buyer to work with a customs broker at their port of entry.

Get payment in full before the attachment leaves your property. Wire transfer or certified bank draft. No exceptions.