How CaterBids Works: The Five Questions Sellers Ask Every Week

The same five questions come in every week. Different sellers, different kit, near enough the same wording every time. So here they are, answered properly, with the actual numbers.

"Is it really free, or what's the catch?"

Your first listing is free. One per account, while the launch offer lasts, and the offer is capped at the first 100 listings across the whole platform. When those hundred are gone, that is the end of it.

After that, listings are paid, and the prices are these:

• Single listing: £5
• Three listings: £12
• Ten listings: £35
• Trade plan: £49.99 a month for 30 live listings

That is the whole of it. No commission. No final value fee. No success fee. Not now and not later.

Sell a £4,000 combi oven and you keep £4,000.

The catch, if you want to call it one, is that you pay up front rather than out of the sale. Most sellers work that out in about ten seconds. A percentage of a £4,000 machine is a great deal more than £5.

"How does this work?"

Plainly, and there is not much to it.

• You put the listing up. Title, description, price, category, location, and up to 6 photos.
• Buyers find it and message you. They contact you through the site.
• You and the buyer sort the rest out between you. CaterBids does not hold your money and does not handle the handover. Payment and collection are arranged between the two of you, the same as any other trade sale.
• The price is the price. Fixed price only. You set it, it stays there until you change it.

If you want the listing to work harder, there is a Featured upgrade at £4.99 for 7 days or £14.99 for 30 days. That puts the listing on the homepage and lifts it in search results. It is optional and plenty of stock sells without it.

"Can you list it for me?"

Not at the moment, and I would rather say so than pretend otherwise. There is no listing service and no bulk upload. You write your own listings.

What there is, is CaterBot. Photograph the data plate and it comes back with the specs, the dimensions and a pallet delivery quote, so you are not sat there typing out a spec sheet for every machine. On a van load of kit that is the difference between an afternoon and half an hour.

If you want the listing itself to do more work, our guide on how to write a used catering equipment listing covers what buyers actually read.

"What happens when the free offer ends?"

Nothing changes except that you start paying to list.

The fee structure above is the whole structure. £5 for one, £12 for three, £35 for ten, or £49.99 a month for 30 live listings if you are shifting stock regularly. Featured stays optional at £4.99 or £14.99.

What does not change is the part that matters. There is still no commission, no final value fee and no success fee. Whatever your machine sells for, you keep. That is not an introductory offer, it is the model, and it is the reason the site exists. If you want the comparison against what a percentage actually costs you, we went through it in the piece on what selling catering equipment really costs.

"Can I put my logo on my listings?"

This one comes from dealers, and the honest answer is a bit of both.

• Your business name is on every listing you put up. Buyers see who they are dealing with.
• Buyers can open your seller profile and see all your stock in one place. So a buyer who likes one machine can look at everything else you have got.
• There is no separate logo slot. Not yet, and I am not going to tell you there is.
• Branded photography does the job in the meantime. If your unit or your workshop is in the background of your photos, or your kit is photographed against a consistent backdrop, buyers recognise it. Six photos is enough room to build a look.

Before you list

• Photograph the data plate, not just the front of the machine
• Use all 6 photo slots, including the tired corner
• Put the price on it, because a listing without one gets skipped
• Say where it is and whether it is collection only
• Decide whether Featured is worth £4.99 on this particular item
• Be ready to answer a buyer direct, because the message comes to you

That is the whole platform in five answers. No percentage, no surprises at the end, and the money that comes out of a sale goes to the person who owned the machine. Buy, sell, save is not a slogan we made up for a poster, it is just what happens when nobody takes a cut.

Ready to Put Something Up?

Your first listing is free while the launch offer lasts. Start a listing, or have a look at what is already on there before you decide.