A salvor is engaged by the carrier, adjuster or insured rather than buying the property itself, which is the distinction that matters: the salvor runs the market test, and the buyers bid into it. Soliciting a single offer is not a market test, and an award without a documented solicitation is difficult to defend later.
Bidders are given specifics — counts, models, condition, photographs, removal constraints — because a bidder guessing at condition bids low to cover the guess. See competitive bidding in salvage recovery.