Looking at a used saw mill

[Anthony Whitesell]

I'm looking to buy a used sawmill. I am looking for information on value and sale pricing for Wood Mizer mills. I've looked at Craigslist and eBay. Anyone have any experience, information, or know any good sources for information?

[Bill Bukovec]

You may want to try looking at the Forestry Forum. They like to talk about sawmills there. Bill

[Jim Andrew]

I bought a slightly used Cooks mp32, and ran into it for sale on the forestryforum. It is a very sturdy manual mill and have had practically no problems. Problem is all the other things you need once you get a mill. Logs are heavy, and you need to dry lumber, handle it etc.

[Danny Hamsley]

Woodmizer has an "Orange Book". Call them and they can give you a value.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Woodmizer has an "Orange Book". Call them and they can give you a value.

The web beat you to it. I was able to call them and get their price. So I have WoodMizer, CL, and eBay for reference. Any other places that may list 'sold' prices for sawmills? I'm looking for as many sales as I can find to justify my offer.

[Rob Robinson]

You could take a look here. http://sawmillexchange.com/ Usually plenty to choose from. Good luck in your search.

[Mark Bolton]

I have a hard time thinking you'll have to do much justifying of your offer. It'll either fly or crash and burn. Just throw out your price and see what happens. Around here If the mill is of any count, and there arent any extenuating circumstances, sellers have realized that sawing wood is very far from profitable for most. They will either want to recoup a majority of the investment (in which case likely have a hard time selling) or are willing to entertain any offer just to get out from under it.

That seems to be the two predominant scenarios around here but thats just my area.

It seems if your doing a lot of research on price your likely going to low ball/go for a deal, in which case you should just do it ;) If you lose it, keep looking, if you get it, you win.

[Anthony Whitesell]

I have a hard time thinking you'll have to do much justifying of your offer. It'll either fly or crash and burn. Just throw out your price and see what happens. Around here If the mill is of any count, and there aren't any extenuating circumstances, sellers have realized that sawing wood is very far from profitable for most. They will either want to recoup a majority of the investment (in which case likely have a hard time selling) or are willing to entertain any offer just to get out from under it.

That seems to be the two predominant scenarios around here but thats just my area.

It seems if your doing a lot of research on price your likely going to low ball/go for a deal, in which case you should just do it ;) If you lose it, keep looking, if you get it, you win.

I agree with you wrote....right up until the last sentence. I'm actually trying not to low ball, but I also don't want or need to spend 30% more than the 'orange book' price. Unfortunately, the number I am thinking of throwing out sounds like a low ball because the asking price is so high. For example, if you ask $15,800 for your car. Then an offer of $10k sounds like a low ball number. Unfortunately if you were to look in the book, $10k is all that it is worth. The issue will be letting the seller know that the offer is legitimate and not too low, but their asking price was too high to start with.

[Richard Coers]

I had a Baker manual mill for 3 years. I was able to sell it for more than I paid for it. I bought it at a trade show, on the final day, last two hours, and got a really good deal so they didn't have to ship it home. So current pricing, or orange book, may not even reflect what he bought it for. Offer what you think will be a good value for you, and don't second guess yourself. Get the serial number and talk specifics with Wood-Mizer. Ask them for areas of concern that you should look at. They had electrical problems for a while on some models. My friends machine would backfire and loose power. You had to quick cycle the key switch to get power back. Machines stored outside much are famous for having mouse nests in the electrical box. Do register and read on The Forestry Forum for all things Wood-Mizer.

[Mark Bolton]

I see where your coming from. I have a feeling the "orange book price" is already XX% too high :eek:.. Woodmizer would be very unliked by their customers if they offered a "real world" re-sale value for band mills, especially small and mid sized ones. I am a bit biased in that I have known many who have jumped on a zero percent interest loan on a brand new hydraulic mill thinking they are going to saw out a house for themselves, make a bunch of money on the side, then sell it. Reality quickly settles in once they open the first log. Then it becomes an issue of recouping as much of their investment as they can (which will be little).

When your buying anything like this your low balling. My point was not to intimate that you are being facetious or underhanded, but rather to just own your offer. There of course may be a little banter but they seller is either going to talk to you, or hang up the phone/slam the door in your face. Either one gets you where you need to be.

[Jacob Reverb]

If you're halfway mechanically inclined, you can make one for a fraction of what they sell for:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzrxHjCRpJE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo6gSG3p0Vg

[Anthony Whitesell]

I see where your coming from. I have a feeling the "orange book price" is already XX% too high :eek:.

I think two factors place into that. One is the unit being in 'typical' condition. Anything else they cannot account for. The second is that I have found only one reference to anyone paying even close to book. All of the others I have found have been below my offer.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Some pics of the potential.


272092

272095

272094

272093

[Danny Hamsley]

The machine does not look like it has been maintained very well.

[Anthony Whitesell]

The machine does not look like it has been maintained very well.

I'm thinking stored outside, under minimal cover (maybe the motor, maybe). It is all I would be able to do until I mill some wood to build a mill shed.

[Jim Andrew]

If the owner has unreasonable expectations about what his mill is worth, there are others for sale. You can buy a new manual mill for much less.

[Mark Bolton]

I agree with Jim, I would low ball one and make sure the guy has your number. Play it cool and just present your offer, phone, and thats it. Perhaps when a handful of people (or no one) walk away from this mill, or even take the time to respond, you may get a call back.

A lot of this is regional as is everything. Some locations will be more prone to moving used sawing equipment than others however I have a gut feeling that all markets are pretty similar. When you have a mill like that, that looks like that, your expectations had better be pretty low.

[Scott T Smith]

Woodmizer's mills retain their value better than most other brands. Right now the used prices are lower because there are not as many buyers as there were a few years ago.

Anthony, what model is that mill and what are they asking for it? Typically used LT40's go from 10 k for a high hour, high wear mill up into the 20's for a low hour mill. Hydraulic's play a factor in the price as well.

[Anthony Whitesell]

It will be mine on Saturday. The seller accepted my offer. He was asking $8900. Woodmizer suggested a price of $6600 for this unit. The used Woodmizer site had a similar mill for sale expect it was 3 years newer with a replaced (100 hours noted) 20HP electric start Kohler. Subtracting the differences and finding all but one mill that sold for less than $5000. My offer was $5000.

Thank you all for your help and input.

[Mark Bolton]

Congratulations.... Happy sawing..

[Tom Walz]

American Lumber & Pallet www.amlumber.com (http://www.amlumber.com) has lots of equipment for sale. it is a little bigger than your Woodmizer but will give you a good idea of the market.