Every year, dental practices and medical aesthetic clinics close, merge, relocate, or upgrade. The equipment left behind is often worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, but recovering that value is painful. Dealer trade-ins offer pennies on the dollar. Local classifieds attract lowball offers. Generic auction sites have no clinical context and no buyer trust. So equipment sits in storage and depreciates.
We built Operatory Auctions to fix that. We are a managed marketplace: we coordinate the entire process from documentation to payout, and we use competitive auctions to find the real market price rather than guessing at it.
Two markets, one process
We focus on high-value equipment in two connected sectors. On the dental side, that means chairs and delivery units, CBCT and panoramic imaging, CAD/CAM and milling systems, and full operatory packages from practices, DSOs, and dealers.
On the medical aesthetic side, that means resurfacing lasers, skin rejuvenation and IPL platforms, body-contouring systems, and the treatment suites med spas and dermatology and plastic surgery practices cycle through as technology moves. Different buyers, same managed process.
How we work
Sellers tell us what they have. We document the equipment, build the listing, and run a timed online auction with anti-sniping protection and an optional hidden reserve so sellers stay protected. When the auction closes, we collect payment through Stripe and coordinate pickup or freight between the buyer and seller.
Sellers pay nothing. There is zero seller commission and no listing fees of any kind. Buyers pay a 15% buyer's premium on top of the winning bid, and that is how we keep the lights on. Equipment stays securely with the seller until the auction closes, so there are no warehouses and no wasted overhead.
Why it matters
Independent practices and clinics are under real margin pressure. Turning idle, depreciating equipment back into cash is capital efficiency that goes straight to the bottom line. For buyers outfitting a new operatory or adding a treatment to the menu, buying proven equipment at auction prices is often the difference between waiting and growing. We sit in the middle and make that exchange simple and trustworthy.
Buying or selling?
We manage the entire process. auction, payment, and logistics. Zero seller fees. Buyer protection on every transaction.