Shipping equipment bought at Purple Wave overseas
Also searched as Purple Wave Auction, purplewave.com
Purple Wave runs no-reserve online auctions with the equipment left at the seller's location, mostly across the central U.S. Payment is due by 4:00 p.m. on the second business day, and the removal deadline is set for each auction; the buyer pays for loading and must bring the paid invoice.
How Purple Wave works for export buyers
Purple Wave is an independent auction company based in Manhattan, Kansas. Each auction's details set the removal deadline, and storage fees may be charged after it.
Equipment is collected where the seller has it. The buyer is responsible for all loading costs and for bringing equipment and labour suited to loading.
Purple Wave buyer terms
- Payment
- Due by 4:00 p.m. on the second business day after the auction. Source
- Removal deadline
- Set in each auction's details or on the invoice; storage fees may apply after it. Source
- Release
- Bring a copy of the paid invoice to remove an item. Source
- Loading
- The buyer pays all loading costs and provides suitable equipment and labour. Source
- Titles
- Assigned and mailed by certified mail after payment is verified. Source
Checked October 2026. Terms vary by sale, so confirm them on your invoice.
After you win at Purple Wave
- 1Pay by 4:00 p.m. on the second business day.
- 2Send us the paid invoice and the item's location from the auction details.
- 3We call the seller to agree access and a loading plan before the removal deadline.
- 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 Purple Wave
- We send a carrier that can load at a farm or job site without a dock, or arrange loading help where the machine cannot be driven.
- Our driver carries the paid invoice Purple Wave requires at pickup.
- When you win several lots in one region, we schedule them on the same truck or consolidate them at our loading facility.
Purple Wave locations and their best export ports
Purple Wave 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 Purple Wave: 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
- Missing the second-business-day payment deadline.
- Sending a truck that cannot self-load to a rural seller location.
Purple Wave export questions
Where is Purple Wave based?
Manhattan, Kansas. Equipment is sold where the seller has it, across many states.
How long do I have to remove a Purple Wave item?
The removal deadline is set for each auction and shown in the auction details and on your invoice. Storage fees may apply after it.