‘No surprises’: How a customer used Guaranteed Payout option to retire on her own terms

After 21 years building Vaya Trucking from the ground up, Victoria Petrenko knew exactly what she wanted from the sale of her fleet: no surprises.

When the time came to retire and liquidate her entire operation — 12 Freightliner Cascadia truck tractors and 15 Utility van trailers — Victoria wasn’t looking for the flashiest pitch or the most aggressive promises. She was looking for someone she could trust. She found that in Dan Hood, her Ritchie Bros. Territory Manager based in Chicago.

“Sometimes people’s personalities match,” Victoria recalled. “I like directness. He was always on time, which I always appreciate — you say it, you do it kind of thing.”

That first impression stuck. Dan met Victoria early one holiday morning — 6 a.m. — and showed up on time. For someone who runs a business on precision and accountability, that mattered more than any sales presentation.

Certainty over everything

When it came to choosing how to sell, Victoria didn’t hesitate. She opted for Ritchie Bros.’ Guaranteed Payout option, which provides a confirmed minimum price before the Midwest Regional Auction began.

“This is our retirement money,” she said. “We want to know exactly what to expect. I don’t like wishy-washy stuff, period.”

The guarantee gave Victoria something that 21 years of trucking hadn’t always offered: predictability. While the auction ran and early bids came in low — “I was like, damn, I hope you guys are doing fine,” she laughed — she wasn’t anxious. She already knew her number. The process confirmed what Dan had promised from the start.

Learn more about how sellers choose the right path to market.

What the Midwest Regional Auction results showed

The market responded. Victoria’s equipment drew 22 unique buyers from across 9 states and provinces — Illinois, New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Georgia, Washington, and Ontario, Canada. Of those buyers, 86% were end users, meaning real operators with real need for the equipment.

Online engagement told the same story. Her truck tractors averaged 456 page views per lot — nearly three times the 2026 Midwest regional average of 155. Trailer watchlists came in at 3x the average. The fleet was professionally detailed and acid-washed before the sale, and the decision to list photos and inspection reports well in advance drove strong pre-auction interest.

Ritchie Bros. also framed the sale as a retirement auction from the start — presenting the fleet as a cohesive, well-maintained collection built over two decades, rather than a series of individual lots. That storytelling elevated buyer trust and competitive bidding across both trucks and trailers.

A process built on no surprises

What stayed with Victoria wasn’t just the outcome — it was how the whole experience felt.

“Everything was explained to me so thoroughly that there was no surprise, which is my favorite part. Lack of surprises makes it more enjoyable for me.”

She admitted she hadn’t realized the full scale of Ritchie Bros.’ reach going in. “I didn’t even realize you guys cover not only the Midwest but other regions and internationally.”

Now, with the sale complete and retirement underway, Victoria is focused on travel and, as she put it, “some quiet time in peace.” The business that ran on precision for two decades ended the same way it was run: on time, as promised, no surprises. “If somebody asked me for a reference,” she said, “obviously I would refer them to Ritchie Bros.”

Interested in selling your equipment?

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See also

Lessons from a ‘Textbook’ sale: How TerraPro trusted the Ritchie Bros. process and won big