Used Stationary Tool Prices

[Rich Riddle]

What do you think is a fair price for used stationary tools? I typically thought 50% was a good fair price but many on the internet seem to be advertised at 80% or higher than new cost.

[CPeter James]

Unless they are like new, I use a 40% rule. Sometimes I do go over that, but not often. When you consider that things go on sale from time to time and that when you buy new you get a warranty, 40% is a fair price fro used tools. I follow CL pretty closely and wonder if some of these sellers really thing that there are that many fools out there. I see well used and abused tools selling for more than new. Patience pays off and there are still a few good deals out there, but you sometimes have to wait.

CPeter

[Stephen Cherry]

It all depends on what it is, anywhere from 5 percent to 100 percent. I've been looking at radial arm saws, and a nice saw that went for 2800 new can be had for around 200.

[Dan Hintz]

If it's very lightly used, I may go up to 75%, but generally I'm in the 50% range, plus or minus. Heavily used / abused tools completely lose my attention, so it's not often I pay much less than 50% unless the seller is happy to give stuff away.

[Joe Jensen]

I personally think rules are silly. Say you are going to buy and you know you want a Laguna LT16HD and the new price delivered is $2600. You've made the decision that you are getting a Laguna is say the next 6 months. You see one locally for $2000 and it looks great, not new but lightly used. Me, I'm buying the $2000 machine. I would negociate but to assume that all used tools are worth 40-50% of new is too simple. Now, say you don't see a used Laguna but you see a well used Rikon in a commercial shop. Not a lot of love. It's new price is $1100. Since it's not what I have my heart set on, I would pay maybe $400-500 assuming that if I bought it I could resell when I find the Laguna. For me, price all depends on condition and if it's exactly what I am looking for. What's the 1 year warrant worth on most tools? 20% of $2000 no, but 20% of $400 maybe?

[Dick Brown]

Depends a lot on age, condition, and what it is. 70's Craftsman RAS, maybe 25% or less of new price, Nice 50's Vintage Unisaw, 125% of it's new price? Bottom line, not what the market says, but what is it worth to you? Is this something I need or something I "want"? If you are going to say every time you look at it, "I paid too much for that" then you did. Some tools I have were near free but I still paid too much after I found I never use them. No magic formula. Only you can answer by how bad you need them or how bad you want them what they are worth.

[Jay Rasmussen]

The only rule I use on used equipment pricing is:

“You can always go down but you can never go up”

[Kevin Bourque]

I am shocked almost daily at the ridiculous prices people are asking for tools on craigslist.
One guy has been trying to sell a piece-of-junk wood lathe for weeks now and is asking over $300.
He advertises it as, "new in box". Brand new it's maybe $100 at Harbor Freight.

That said, you will be hard pressed to find a nice used Unisaw for 50% off list price.

[Rich Riddle]

I personally think rules are silly.
Rules help keep my prices in reference. While there may be sliding scales based on the tools, those tend to be statistical outliers more than the majority. For instance Festool used prices are exorbitant is one outlier, radial arm saws are boat anchors and valueless is another outlier. Just like most people will fall within two standard deviatons for height, weight, etc., most used tool percentages likely will. It's simple mathematics, but I am trying to figure out where the "median" percentage for used tools exists. That offers a good starting point for selling and buying.

Most of us have examples of someone "stealing" a great tool and just as many or more stories of some uniformed buyer paying 400% for a used tool at a live auction that he could have gone to the hardware store and purchased. Hopefully, I can figure out a "fair" range on the endeavor to upgrade to better used tools while also setting prices for my tools soon to be re-homed.

[Frank Drew]

Rich,

Following up to what Joe said, if this is a machine that you actually need, then getting it at a decent price and putting it to work is better, IMO, than waiting and waiting and waiting for the absolutely lowest price.

[Geoff Barry]

Rich,

I go with half to two-thirds as my rule of thumb (depending on age and condition). As a previous poster mentioned, you see a lot of craziness on CL -- google is your friend for determining (a) what is listed, and (b) what it actually is worth. I don't tend to respond to ads that have, at best, unrealistic expectations. OTOH, if something is priced right, I don't spend a lot of time trying to haggle over a few dollars. (And when I sell on CL, I use similar guidelines). Both help me avoid wasting a lot of time. Now, if I KNEW that somehting was almost new, lightly used, and had no defects, I might deviate, but it'd have to be a case where I had personal knowledge, i.e., the owner was a friend of mine. Otherwise, for a few %, I'd rather avoid the risk and buy new.

[Rich Riddle]

Geoff,

From 40% to 67% seems to be the going rate on what people call fair. It also seems to relate to the current selling price for a new machine, not the price they paid for the machine when it was new. I could whittle that down to 40% to 65% and feel comfortable in that range for a used tool both buying and selling. The more one reads the more one begins to believe the notion of fair has evaporated over time.

[Paul McGaha]

For used tools I try not to pay more than 50% of the current pricing on the tool.

The buyer is usually responsible for the costs to move the tool, this will vary but maybe another 10% of current pricing (just to plug a number in). The buyer is now up to probably at least 60% of the costs of a new tool.

Just me, but any more than that and I'd prefer a new one (with a warranty, shipping by others, you can pick the exact manufacturer and model you want rather than settle for something someone else picked, you can pick which vendor the tool is purchased from).

Most of the tools in my shop were bought new but I've bought a few things used (Delta Shaper and 16/32 Drum Sander, JET Benchtop OSS).

Just me, just my $.02.

PHM

[Dan Hintz]

It also seems to relate to the current selling price for a new machine, not the price they paid for the machine when it was new.

I see no issue with this. As a buyer, I can either select the new unit at 100% price or the used one at 50% price... what the seller paid for the unit originally is irrelevant.

[David Kumm]

The ranges you have been given are in line. Some other important points. Talk to the seller, find out the details, the usage, if he knows the machine or machines in general. Many don't have a clue but some are very knowledgeable and you learn a lot talking to them. Ask them about how they would prep for shipping. Some know how to do it and are concerned that the machine gets to you intact. If I don't feel warm and fuzzy after talking the price goes way down or i walk away. I've only been burned a few times and every time I felt it in my gut but ignored the feeling in my greed. If you ignore the really high priced guys and are willing to jump quickly on something you want you can have a shop of great stuff. SMC, FOG, and MM guys tend to be pretty straight up to deal with too. Dave

[Rich Riddle]

Dave,

FOG and MM guys? In my limited capacity, the SMC was discernible.

[Scott T Smith]

If it's very lightly used, I may go up to 75%, but generally I'm in the 50% range, plus or minus. Heavily used / abused tools completely lose my attention, so it's not often I pay much less than 50% unless the seller is happy to give stuff away.


+1. My philosophy is similar. It also depends upon how much the items costs new. I'm less likely to buy a $500.00 item for 75% of new as opposed to a $2,000.00 item.

[John Lanciani]

Two months ago I bought one Delta 14" bandsaw for $75 and sold another Delta 14" bandsaw for $500. There were two happy buyers and two happy sellers when all was said and done.

The problem with "rules" with used items (tools or whatever) is that there are so many variables as to make them almost useless.

[David Kumm]

Dave,

FOG and MM guys? In my limited capacity, the SMC was discernible.

Felder Owners Group, and Minimax yahoo group. Both have provided leads to nice used stuff. Dave

[Jim Andrew]

There is usually a lot of difference between 1/2 of what someone paid and 1/2 of the current price of equipment. When I bought my unisaw new in 05, I paid about 1000. Of course, it was the least expensive model 3hp, and doesn't have the ci extension on the right, but does have long rails and a table board. Haven't priced a current model, but 1/2 of the current price should probably get me my money back.

[Dan Hintz]

Jim,

Sold me Jet lathe a year after I purchased it to put a Robust in its place... made several hundred $s on the sale. Stockmarket rarely comes close to that ROI.

[Joe Angrisani]

....Stockmarket rarely comes close to that ROI.

Speak for yourself. Made 34% on Caterpillar this morning between 9:30 and 1:00 Mountain time. :D

[Mike Heidrick]

What I sell my tools for is not in line with what I want to pay for them for sure.

[Joe Angrisani]

Speak for yourself. Made 34% on Caterpillar this morning between 9:30 and 1:00 Mountain time. :D

Dangit. If I had waited until today, it would be over 100%. Just didn't think the politicians were going to accomplish anything on Tuesday....

[Jeff Duncan]

I'm another in the camp of not trying to use "rules" in buying new equipment. If you want to know how much something is worth you have to do the homework to get there. I peruse several sites daily even when not actively shopping to get a feel for what things are going for. Prices are all over the map, but after a while you start to develop an idea what machine x is selling for in a certain condition and age in your area.

Here's where I believe %'s and rules fail.....say you want to buy a table saw, let's even get specific and say you want a Unisaw....how much is it worth? Are you assigning a different percentage value on a 54' Unisaw than on a 84'? How about a 2004? Are you basing your percentage on the original selling price of the machine or the current price...if still available? What if the 54' came out of the original purchasers basement where he used it sparingly for hobby needs, and the 2004 came out of a production shop used 8 hours a day? What if the 84' comes with a Beis fence, a miter gauge, and 1/2 dozen blades, and the others are bare bones? What if one is 2 hours away and the other is 5 minutes away? You should have a different value for all these and countless other scenarios. Now if your looking at multiple options from various manufacturers you really have a wide margin of price ranges to deal with. I bought my first Unisaw for $200 but it needed a fence and a really good going over. I bought my second Unisaw for IIRC $235 and it came with a 78" Beis fence and was plug and play, I bought my last saw....a Wadkin 12" for $500, also plug and play. None of these are anywhere close to 50% of original value, probably not even 30%, but were bought knowing what the market was in my area for these machines in their condition, and taking advantage of specific opportunities as they presented themselves.

So in short, start observing whatever machine your thinking about and see what they're selling for....and you'll be a smarter shopper with a better chance at landing a bargain;)

good luck,
JeffD

[Dan Hintz]

I don't generally buy ancient machines, so for me it's a moot point. I'd consider a used 2004 machine, but never a 1954 machine, even if it was still in the original cosmolene...

[Homer Faucett]

I understand the point of having a basic guideline to consider pricing for buying and selling, but I think that setting a hard and fast rule like this tends to undervalue used equipment. First, if you buy a used machine from a conscientious owner, you have probably saved yourself 3 hours of setting up the machine. That has to be worth something . . . even if I have to work a little to get it dialed in perfectly for my foibles. While I agree that it is nice to have a warranty, if the tool has actually been used and maintained well, and you get to see it in operation prior to buying, that might actually be a better sign of how reliable the tool will be for you than some piece of paper that let's you call the manufacturer to send you replacement parts. After all, how many of us have seen post regarding, or been a part of having to tear down a new piece of equipment to replace something that was faulty from the manufacturer?

In my opinion, we overvalue warranties on woodworking equipment and undervalue the time that is involved in setting up a machine for the first time. After it's been used for a while, there is not a lot to go wrong on most of this stuff other than bearings, belts, and obvious wear parts. Just something to consider the next time you don't want to pay more than 50% of new value on a piece of stationary machinery.

[Jeff Duncan]

I don't generally buy ancient machines, so for me it's a moot point. I'd consider a used 2004 machine, but never a 1954 machine, even if it was still in the original cosmolene...

Even if the 54' was a better machine than the 2004? Having owned Unisaws from multiple era's....newer is not always better;)