Shipping equipment bought at Alex Lyon & Son overseas
Also searched as Lyon Auction, lyonauction.com, Alex Lyon, Lyon Auction Live, Sales Managers & Auctioneers, Inc.
Alex Lyon & Son runs live, unreserved on-site sales at Bushnell, Florida, at a new Houston-area site in Highlands, Texas, and at travelling sale sites across the Northeast. Cash, certified checks and cards are taken only on sale day, purchases usually have to leave within 7 days, and Lyon does not load self-propelled machines, so the carrier drives or winches them on.
How Alex Lyon & Son works for export buyers
Alex Lyon & Son is a family auction company from Bridgeport, New York. Its fixed Southern sites are 716 CR 475 in Bushnell, Florida, where it holds an annual winter sale, and 2027 E Wallisville Rd in Highlands, east of Houston, which opens with a sale on 10 November 2026. Its other sales move between temporary sale sites from Maine to Ohio.
Everything sells as is, where is. Lyon charges an administration fee on top of the hammer price that falls as the lot price rises and is 3 points higher when paying by card. Bidders can preview each sale site from 5 days before the sale and bid online through Lyon Auction Live or Proxibid.
Alex Lyon & Son buyer terms
- Administration fee
- 12.5% on lots up to $5,000, 10% from $5,001 to $55,000 and 5.99% from $55,001, paying by cash, certified check or wire. Card payments carry 15.5%, 13% and 8.99%; online bidding may add a further fee. Source
- Payment
- Cash, certified checks and cards are accepted on sale day only. After sale day, payment is by wire or card, and card payments cannot exceed $10,000. Source
- Removal deadline
- Usually 7 days from the sale date, after full payment; some sales allow 14 days, with $50 per lot per day after. Source
- Loading
- Lyon will not load or unload self-propelled equipment and does not secure loads. Source
- Exporters
- To avoid sales tax, export purchases must be removed by a trucking company with a bill of lading. Source
- Preview
- Each live or timed sale site can be previewed from 5 days before the sale. Source
Checked October 2026. Terms vary by sale, so confirm them on your invoice.
After you win at Alex Lyon & Son
- 1Pay on sale day if you are at the sale; otherwise wire the invoice. A card payment above $10,000 will be refused.
- 2Send us the invoice, the sale site and the lot numbers, and tell us whether the purchase is for export so the bill of lading is issued by our carrier.
- 3Confirm the removal date printed in the sale terms. Most sales give 7 days.
- 4We collect the machine, load it with our own carrier and take it to the port, or first to our facility if it needs partial disassembly to fit a container.
- 5We file the export declaration (EEI) in the Automated Export System. It is required when any Schedule B line is worth more than $2,500 or needs an export license, and its ITN confirmation goes to the carrier at least 24 hours before the vessel loads.
- 6For titled machines and vehicles, the original title and the EEI go to U.S. Customs at the port at least 72 hours before export. Without them the unit cannot sail.
- 7We send you the bill of lading and the documents your customs broker needs to clear the machine at destination.
How we work with Alex Lyon & Son
- Our carrier collects with its own bill of lading, which is what Lyon needs to treat the purchase as an export and leave sales tax off the invoice.
- Because Lyon does not load self-propelled machines, we send a driver who can drive the machine onto the trailer, or a winch truck for machines that do not run.
- Travelling sale sites are open only for the removal days, so we book the truck inside that window before the ocean booking is final.
Alex Lyon & Son locations and their best export ports
2 yards, each with the closest port that takes containers and flat racks, and the closest RoRo port, by road miles.
| Yard | Container and flat rack | RoRo |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Lyon BushnellBushnell, Florida | Port of Jacksonville (JAXPORT)161 mi, about 3 h | Port of Jacksonville (JAXPORT)161 mi, about 3 hOr Brunswick, the busiest U.S. RoRo gateway: 198 mi |
| Alex Lyon HoustonHouston (Highlands), Texas | Port of Houston18 mi, about 0.5 h | Port of Houston18 mi, about 0.5 h |
Alex Lyon & Son lots sit at seller and agency sites across the country, so the best port depends on where the machine is. Closest ports by pickup region: Shipping from Alex Lyon & Son: pickup and ports
| Pickup region | Container and flat rack | RoRo |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific Northwest (Yakima, WA) | Port of Seattle145 mi, about 3 h | Port of Tacoma155 mi, about 3 h |
| California (Fresno) | Port of Oakland177 mi, about 3.5 h | Port of Hueneme230 mi, about 4.5 h |
| Southwest (Phoenix) | Port of Los Angeles / Long Beach382 mi, about 7.5 h | Port of Los Angeles / Long Beach382 mi, about 7.5 h |
| Mountain West (Denver) | Port of Los Angeles / Long Beach1,033 mi, about 20.5 hContainers: usually railed from the Denver intermodal rail ramps, 6 mi away | Port of Los Angeles / Long Beach1,033 mi, about 20.5 h |
| Northern Plains (Sioux Falls, SD) | Port of Houston1,108 mi, about 22 hContainers: usually railed from the Kansas City intermodal rail ramps, 391 mi away | Port of Houston1,108 mi, about 22 h |
| Texas (Dallas–Fort Worth) | Port of Houston267 mi, about 5.5 hContainers: usually railed from the Dallas–Fort Worth intermodal rail ramps, 17 mi away | Port of Houston267 mi, about 5.5 h |
| Corn Belt (Des Moines, IA) | Port of Houston961 mi, about 19 hContainers: usually railed from the Kansas City intermodal rail ramps, 227 mi away | Port of Houston961 mi, about 19 h |
| Great Lakes (Indianapolis) | Port of Baltimore599 mi, about 12 hContainers: usually railed from the Chicago intermodal rail ramps, 185 mi away | Port of Baltimore599 mi, about 12 h |
| Southeast (Atlanta) | Port of Savannah249 mi, about 5 h | Port of Brunswick (Colonel's Island)278 mi, about 5.5 h |
| Florida (Orlando) | Port of Jacksonville (JAXPORT)146 mi, about 3 h | Port of Jacksonville (JAXPORT)146 mi, about 3 hOr Brunswick, the busiest U.S. RoRo gateway: 201 mi |
| Northeast (Harrisburg, PA) | Port of Baltimore85 mi, about 1.5 h | Port of Baltimore85 mi, about 1.5 h |
Road miles from OSRM (OpenStreetMap), calculated October 2026. Truck hours assume a 50 mph average for a loaded lowboy, including stops.
Container is usually the cheapest option, and we do the partial disassembly needed to make the machine fit. How we containerize heavy equipment
Container, flat rack, RoRo or breakbulk?
We quote in this order because it is usually cheapest first. Most machines that look too big for a box fit once our crew takes off the bucket, boom, cab or wheels; larger ones are taken further apart across several containers, and pieces too big or heavy for a flat rack or roll trailer go breakbulk.
01Container
Best fit- Work needed
- We partially disassemble when needed (bucket, boom, cab, wheels), or take larger machines further apart across several high-cubes and open-tops, then crate, block and lash every part.
- Destinations
- Widest: almost every port worldwide, plus inland delivery by rail.
- Typical cost
- Usually the lowest, with no out-of-gauge surcharges.
- Protection
- Sealed steel box; loose parts and attachments travel locked inside.
- Best for
- Most machines: compact ones as they are, others after partial disassembly, and large ones split across several containers.
02Flat rack
- Work needed
- Ships assembled, blocked and lashed. Surcharges apply when wider than 2.4 m or taller than about 1.95 m.
- Destinations
- Most container ports, on the same vessels as containers.
- Typical cost
- Moderate; rises with every centimetre out of gauge.
- Protection
- Open to the weather; we protect cabs, electronics and hydraulics.
- Best for
- Excavators, dozers and loaders too wide for a container door.
03RoRo
- Work needed
- Drives on assembled; non-runners go on a roll trailer.
- Destinations
- Fewer destinations: regular lanes to Europe, West Africa, the Middle East, Oceania and parts of Latin America.
- Typical cost
- Often competitive for large self-propelled machines where a lane exists.
- Protection
- Below deck, but loose items and attachments cannot ride inside the cab.
- Best for
- Running machines going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
04Breakbulk
- Work needed
- Lifted aboard piece by piece by ship’s or shore cranes, on its own skids or cradle, then stowed and lashed in the hold or on deck.
- Destinations
- Ports with breakbulk berths and heavy-lift cranes; sailings are booked voyage by voyage.
- Typical cost
- Usually the highest for a single small machine; often the only option for the largest pieces.
- Protection
- In the hold or lashed on deck; we crate, wrap and protect exposed parts.
- Best for
- Pieces too large or heavy for a flat rack or roll trailer: transformers, process modules, mining trucks, crane sections.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Collecting with your own vehicle, which loses the export sales-tax exemption.
- Paying a large invoice by card after the sale. The card limit is $10,000 and the card fee is 3 points higher.
- Assuming the yard crew will load a drivable machine. Lyon's terms say it will not.
Alex Lyon & Son export questions
What is the Alex Lyon administration fee?
It depends on the lot price: 12.5% up to $5,000, 10% from $5,001 to $55,000 and 5.99% from $55,001 when you pay by cash, certified check or wire. Paying by card raises each tier by 3 points.
Where does Alex Lyon hold its sales?
At Bushnell, Florida every winter, at the Highlands, Texas site east of Houston, and at temporary sale sites across the Northeast, from Maine to Ohio. Each sale page gives the address.
How long do I have to remove a machine from an Alex Lyon sale?
Usually 7 days from the sale date once it is paid for; some sales allow 14 days. After that Lyon charges $50 per lot per day.