bLIQUID
We're thinking this stands for "business liquidation," but we've been wrong before. Consider, though, that these folks are touted as the "first-ever, self-listing, industrial Web site," and you can see why we jumped to such a conclusion. And you must forgive us further after you've visited this site: there's an abundance of listings here, representing many manufacturing disciplines and markets. Of course, you'll find metalworking and machine tool equipment here (why else would we even mention it?). All listings are free, and sellers pay a 5% commision when (if) they sell. Simple to use and understand.

DoveBid
DoveBid is an auction business, dealing primarily in capital equipment and liquidated assets. They are a "bricks and clicks" organization -- that is, they are a traditional business (they've been around for over 60 years, thank you very much) with a most rocking online element to support their core. What that means to you are experience coupled with expanded online support, complimented by an active selection of machining-relevant goods. All this—along with with their established relationships with large firms looking to sell capital equipment and their recent purchase of TradeOut.com—position them as real players.

The site is event-driven (like an actual auction) and extremely well-conceived. Metalworking is well-represented, and ancillary services (valuations, purchasing support) are available, as well.

eBay
That's right, we said eBay. And you can stow all that bunk about baseball cards, pocket watches and golf clubs. Because while no one was looking, eBay has become quite the source for professional grade metalworking and machine tool equipment. Still doubtful? Consider that more and more of the big used machinery dealers are turning to eBay as their sales channel. Or that some new equipment has begun moving into their auctions. Or even that eBay offers your business a channel to sell equipment that's been gathering dust in the corner for a few years.

Fact is, eBay's Metalworking Equipment section is one of their fastest growing. Trust us on this one: eBay may offer you some options you never would have expected from them. And now, very quickly, new equipment and accessories are finding their way onto eBay, as are higher-technology machines, cells and ancillary equipment. On a recent day, the metalworking section represented over 1500 newly posted items. For that day. Alone. No kidding.

Add to all this the fact that vibrant sections exist for manuals and documentation, replacement parts, and raw materials, and you have a growing, extraordinarily active resource for buying or selling machining and metalworking equipment and machinery.

emachinetool.com
These folks do a whole lot of stuff, so it's hard to categorize them briefly. emachinetool.com is part distributor (they represent and service specific machine tool lines), part used equipment site (their lists are extensive), and part "industry portal" (they host "find a shop" utilities and other industry services). They facilitate all services surrounding the purchase of machine tools, and they comply with the VeriSign payment, validation and security system. This is an interesting mix of services, commerce and information. AND, they're a survivor, having been online since way back in the day.

GE Capital's Commercial Equipment X-Change
As you may recall, GE Capital's Commercial Equipment X-Change was purchased by TradeOut.com a few years back. Well, TradeOut has become yet another victim of the "dot-combobulation" and GE Capital is looking to get back in the game. For now, their site deals mainly with the financing side of capital equipment purchases. But word is they're "putting the band back together," and will be offering machine tools and other capital equipment through their substantial asset management and procurement channels. A powerhouse returns.

GoIndustry
This site is what was formally know as AssetTrade, and it has been relaunched under a new name with the same purpose. This site provides access to capital equipment primarily through auctions, as well as through "private treaty" and marketplace categorizations. Other services such as finance, valuations and rigging/shipping are available.

Government Liquidation
Government Liquidation says they are the exclusive partner of the U.S. Department of Defense for the sale of surplus property. Their site helps surplus buyers find and purchase available assets from the "Gub'mint" through an online auction model. And these cats aren't just "vaporware" -- they claim to manage over 2 million square feet of actual warehouse space and maintain outposts on over 150 military bases throughout the world.

There are several equipment categories within Government Liquidation, with Industrial Machinery & Equipment, Electrical and Electronic Equipment, Furniture and Office Equipment, and Building Materials hitting closest to the metalworking professional's heart.

Locator Online
Another used machinery site, this introduced and maintained by the Machinery Dealers National Association (MDNA). This service-rich site allows the user to track down used equipment, identify MDNA-approved dealers, and a "Fax-cast" system—whereby a request for a machine is faxed to MDNA and they broadcast it to over 1,000 used machinery dealers in their network. A must bookmark for any shop owner.

MachineTools.com
Looking to buy or sell used machine tools? Well, sure... this site has always had the goods as far as that goes. And they were one of the first to offer associated services around the sale and auction of metalworking-related capital equipment (rigging, shipping, financing, and more). But there's a lot more to MachineTools.com these days. They've expanded to include comprehensive databases for new equipment, forums and other community services, and the list keeps growing. A fresh and simple-to-use format round out a great online metalworking site. This is one huge online Daddy-O.

Mfgx
Mfgx is currently (04/07) in the beta stage and, as such, much of it is being refined at this point. The current phase offers some relatively standard online fare, including forums, job posting utilities (you can post or review as an employer or prospective employee), and a marketplace for posting equipment for sale. What distinguishes Mfgx from previously launched manufacturing sites are its community tools that allow for the creation of personal or corporate profiles (think MySpace for manufacturers) and a manufacturing Wiki, wherein technical content is submitted, edited and policed by the Mfgx community at large. (Not familiar with what a "Wiki" is? Check out Wikipedia for the perfect example of this model.) According to sources at the company, Mfgx was launched and is maintained as a free service by Mfg.com.

S/R Auctions
Surplus Record is a leading business directory of surplus, new and used industrial equipment, machinery, and machine tools. These guys have recently launched a retooled, impressive online auction service for capital equipment, including a Machinery & Machine tools section. This site really delivers the goods in terms of up-to-date transaction technologies. And there's a good deal of metalworking goodies to be found here. Keep your eyes (and bookmarks) on this one, folks.

Update: S/R Auctions has been purchased by FreeMarkets.com. We'll keep this link up until S/R is absorbed into the FreeMarkets site. -editor