Heavy Equipment Auction in Carlsbad

By Misty Cryer

Cruising south on Old Cavern Highway from downtown, passers-by may have noticed lines of trucks, trailers, and heavy equipment on a piece of land on the right about a quarter to a half mile after crossing Derrick Road. These items are to be auctioned off on Saturday, June 21. The auction starts at 9 a.m., with items offered to both in-person and online bidders.

Bill Johnston Auctioneers and United Country Real Estate/Burton Realty & Auction are conducting the auction. Scott Burton, qualifying broker, owner, and auctioneer of United Country Real Estate/Burton Realty & Auction, said the auction will feature a mixture of things, including farm equipment, construction equipment, and vehicles.

“We also have trailers,” he said.

Burton said that when the bidders come in, they will register at the office that will be set up and get their bidder’s number. “We will be live at 9 a.m., and we’re going to be online at the same time,” he said, adding that the online part of the auction is on Equipment Facts.

Burton explained that the auction is by consignment, with the equipment coming from several companies and clients. “People bring it in, and they just consign it to us to sell,” he said.

About payment options for winning bidders, Burton said online bidders usually pay by wire on Monday morning. “We also take checks,” he said, adding that on-location bidders generally pay that day by check, cash, or credit card.

Earlier in the week, Burton said, “I have over 50 items. I have more coming in, so we’re looking at approximately 100 items.” He expects the auction to last for about three hours.

“We’re taking only bigger items—large equipment and no small items—so it won’t take as long to sell those,” he said, adding that, usually, their auctions last until two or three o’clock. He estimates that this one will be finished by noon.

Burton said they are an auction company that has been around for a while. “Mike Archibeque is the owner of Bill Johnston Auctioneers. He’s owned it for over 40 years. I’ve worked for Mike for 25 of those years,” Burton said.

Over the last 15 years, Burton said, “I became an auctioneer and got my real estate license, so we’ve kind of been able to introduce all of that and intertwine it all together.

“If we sell your real estate and you have your equipment, we can do it at the same time or separately. We’re kind of a one-stop shop. We can advertise your equipment or your land nationally with a personal touch,” he said.

“We still like to do it live; we like to shake people’s hands and be right there with them to make sure that process is taken care of,” said Burton. “That’s just kind of who we are.”

Burton said he and Archibeque are partners on the equipment side and that the real estate is his through Burton Realty, but they work together on everything.

“Burton Realty is just a little over a year old. I’ve owned three different real estate companies, and we opened up our own this last year,” said Burton.

“We’re very versed in what we do. We’re family-run; my boys are part of it, we have a trucking company involved in it, and we do real estate and auctions also. We travel all over New Mexico and West Texas,” he said.

Burton lives in Elida, NM, and the yard for Bill Johnston Auctioneers is in Portales, Burton said.

The link to the online auction can be reached from any of the websites listed on the Linktree account (https://linktr.ee/burtonrealtyandauction ). The address of the live auction is listed on the Facebook event as east of 6207 Old Cavern Highway. For more information about the auction or services these companies offer, Scott Burton can be reached by phone at 575-760-8088.