At a glance
| What's sold | Surplus vehicles, machinery and equipment from French public bodies and companies |
| Lots located in | France |
| Who can bid | Individuals aged 18+ and companies; many vehicle lots are trade-only |
| Buyer's premium | Set per lot, from 0% to about 35% |
| VAT on premium | 20% French VAT on buyer fees |
| Payment deadline | Usually 48 hours; some lots allow 7 days |
| Pickup deadline | Usually 7 calendar days after payment; see the lot page |
| Verdict | Real stock and some bargains, but high, unclear fees and weak support |
What's sold
Agorastore is a licensed auction operator selling surplus from French councils, hospitals, other public bodies and companies. Typical lots are vans, cars, buses, trucks, machinery, scooters, workshop tools and furniture. Lots sell as seen (en l'état) with no warranty, and many vehicles have faults or do not run (non roulant).
Who can bid
- Private buyers: You must be 18 or older and hold only one account. You must pass an ID check with a passport or both sides of a national ID card, and leave a card hold as a bid deposit. Foreign buyers can bid, but follow-up emails are in French.
- Businesses: You must upload proof of company registration (Kbis or a foreign equivalent), company bank details (RIB) and the account holder's ID. This proof unlocks trade-only lots, marked with a yellow banner. Declare your VAT ID or special VAT regime, with proof, before bidding.
Registration
- Sign up with a verified email, a confirmed mobile number, your details and a billing address.
- Upload your ID, and company documents if you buy as a business.
- Wait for the manual check, done on working days; blurry, one-sided or expired documents fail.
- Pick a card hold tier (cautionnement par empreinte bancaire): EUR 25 to bid up to EUR 500, EUR 50 up to 1,000, EUR 200 up to 5,000, EUR 500 up to 15,000, EUR 1,000 for no limit.
- Declare your VAT status, with proof, before your first bid.
- For trade-only sales (ventes réservées), click "Demander l'autorisation d'enchérir".
Fees and real total cost
| Fee | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer fees (frais acheteur) | 0% to about 35% | Set per lot; shown in euros beside the bid, with no breakdown |
| Transaction-security fee | 3% excl. VAT | Listed in the terms "unless stated otherwise"; whether it is inside the shown fee is not confirmed |
| VAT on buyer fees | 20% | Charged even when the hammer price carries no VAT |
| VAT on hammer price | 0% or 20% | 0% from public sellers outside VAT; 20% from VAT-registered sellers |
| File fee per lot | not confirmed | Mentioned in older council contracts; no current figure |
| Payment fees | none found | Card or bank transfer, paid in full at once |
| Loading and transport | your cost | No loading help and no delivery |
| Storage after day 14 | not confirmed | Charged at the seller's rates; no amount published |
| Non-payment or very late pickup | 25% of price excl. VAT | Taken from your card hold, up to the amount held |
Worked example, council seller, buyer fee of 17.02%:
| Line | EUR |
|---|---|
| Hammer price | 1,000.00 |
| Buyer fees 17.02% | 170.20 |
| VAT 20% on fees | 34.04 |
| VAT on hammer (public seller) | 0.00 |
| Transport and storage | not confirmed |
| Total paid (excluding transport and storage) | 1,204.24 |
On the most expensive lot seen, with 35.17% fees and 20% VAT on everything, the same EUR 1,000 bid cost about EUR 1,622.
How bidding works
- Bid by hand, or set an automatic bid (enchère automatique) up to your ceiling. How ties are decided is not confirmed.
- Each seller sets the bid steps (pas d'enchère) for its lots.
- Soft close: a bid in the final 2 minutes adds 2 minutes, up to 30 minutes of extra time. Lots end a minute or two apart.
- Every bid is firm and binding; you cannot withdraw it.
- Reserve prices (prix de réserve) are hidden. If the reserve is missed, the seller may still accept your bid days later; how long it stays binding is not confirmed.
- In a public sale (vente publique) the top bid wins. In a brokered sale (vente courtage) the seller can pull the lot or choose any bidder.
Watch out
- The most common serious complaint is missing registration papers (carte grise) or transfer certificates (certificat de cession); without them you cannot register the vehicle.
- Hand over the pickup code only once the lot matches its listing and you hold the papers; giving the code closes the sale.
- Support is hard to reach: email or chatbot only, mostly in French.
- Buyers report sales cancelled after payment, with refunds taking 30 days or more.
- One unpaid or mistaken bid can block your account; on "Réservé à l'export" lots, failing to prove export doubles the price.
Verdict: A genuine, licensed source of cheap ex-council vehicles and machinery. Check each lot's fee, arrange transport before it closes, and demand the papers at pickup.