Garage

What do they actually do

Garage runs an online marketplace where fire departments, municipalities and dealers list, auction, and buy used emergency vehicles (fire trucks, ambulances, rescue units) and related gear. Buyers can browse fixed‑price listings or join live auctions with detailed descriptions and inspection notes on each item (homepage, listings, auctions used fire apparatus auctions).

Sellers can create listings for free in under 90 seconds. For small shippable items, Garage auto‑generates shipping labels after a sale; for large apparatus, the company’s operations team coordinates freight and manages payment settlement. Listings are sold “AS IS, WHERE IS,” with buyers responsible for removal; sellers must address any misdescription claims before removal. The site accepts major credit cards and PayPal, and offers phone/email support plus an auction concierge/operations service for big‑ticket moves and payments (sell/FAQ auctions policy).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Career fire departments buying/selling used apparatus: They need to move expensive, infrequently traded assets quickly within budget and procurement rules, and prefer not to manage complex freight or payment settlement themselves. (Sell/FAQ — Auctions policy)
• Volunteer and rural departments with small budgets: They need affordable, serviceable trucks or gear without costly travel/inspection or freight hassles, and rely on clear condition info to avoid surprises. (Used fire trucks — Search/listings)
• Municipal procurement or fleet officers: They require documentation, compliant sale processes, and quick answers on title/condition to satisfy public‑sector rules and audit trails. (Sell/FAQ — Auctions policy)
• Equipment dealers and resellers sourcing inventory: They want steady, verifiable supply with fast price discovery, transport, and payment to refurbish and resell without freight or receivables risk. (Sell/FAQ — Auctions)
• Municipal asset managers disposing of surplus: They want low‑effort bulk listing, minimal liability from misdescriptions, and coordinated heavy‑vehicle removal and payments. (Sell/FAQ — Auctions policy)

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Hands‑on pilots with nearby departments and municipal sellers: free listings plus full auction concierge (Garage staff handle freight and payments) to de‑risk first transactions and create case studies. (Sell/FAQ — Auctions policy)
• First 50: Regional push via dealers and procurement channels: 1–2 AEs target fire chiefs, procurement officers, and dealers; run regional demo auctions/webinars using pilot results to overcome procurement/liability concerns. (Careers — Auctions)
• First 100: Product‑enabled scale plus partnerships: use new funding to automate listings, freight quotes, and payment flows; pair launch with PR and paid outreach into statewide surplus portals, dealer networks, and trade shows. (Series A announcement — YC profile)

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Government surplus and heavy‑asset auction GMV is in the billions annually; for example, Liquidity Services (which operates GovDeals) reported $1.203B GMV in FY2023 across surplus categories, indicating large online secondary markets for public‑sector assets (Digital Commerce 360). Emergency vehicles are a focused slice of this broader market.

Bottom-up calculation:

NFPA estimates there are roughly 68,800 pumpers, 7,400 aerials, and 76,300 other suppression vehicles (about 152,500 suppression units) plus 48,800 other vehicles including rescue/ambulance in U.S. fleets. Assuming a 5% annual turnover of suppression units at an average used price of ~$75k, and a 10% turnover of half the “other vehicles” category at ~$50k, yields ≈$570M + ≈$120M ≈ $690M. Adding smaller gear/equipment sales at ~20% of apparatus GMV suggests a U.S. secondary‑market TAM around ~$800M/year (NFPA apparatus counts; used price ranges example $65k–$350k for heavy used trucks (Work Zone Barriers)).

Assumptions:

• Apparatus service life averages 15–25 years; 5% annual turnover approximates used‑market flow for suppression units (USFA/NFPA references on lifespan).
• Half of NFPA’s “other vehicles” are relevant rescue/ambulance units with ~10% annual turnover; average used ambulance/rescue sale ≈ $50k (range varies by condition/spec).
• Average used heavy apparatus price ≈ $75k, consistent with observed ranges ($65k–$350k), acknowledging wide variance by age/spec/condition.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• GovDeals: Large online auction marketplace for government surplus used by municipalities; lists ambulances, fire apparatus and other specialized vehicles among many categories, with timed online auctions (homepage — ambulance/rescue).
• Public Surplus: Public‑sector auction platform where counties, towns and schools sell surplus including police, fire and ambulance equipment; emergency gear appears alongside broader surplus categories (homepage — ambulance category).
• Municibid: Online auction service for municipalities with a dedicated Police & Fire section, enabling agencies to sell surplus directly to the public (police & fire section).
• Ritchie Bros. (GovPlanet/IronPlanet/TruckPlanet/rbauction): Global equipment auction network selling heavy trucks and emergency vehicles via timed and live auctions, with inspection programs and broad buyer reach that overlaps Garage’s inventory at larger scale (Ritchie emergency vehicles — GovPlanet fire trucks — TruckPlanet emergency vehicles).
• GSA Auctions: Official federal surplus auction site where agencies sell vehicles and equipment (including emergency vehicles); competes on inventory availability but lacks a specialized public‑safety marketplace focus and concierge ops (GSA Auctions).