used equipment vent

[Justin Rapp]

Just a vent - why do some people attempt to sell used equipment for almost the same price or higher prices than new? I have been looking for a band saw and found an ad on craigslist for an entire shop of equipment, most of it from the 70's and 80's. I emailed for a price list and got back prices that basically were equal to current new model prices with the exception of the rusted out table saw! Go figure!!:confused::confused::confused:

[Todd Burch]

Uhhhh.... greed? I think people are afraid someone will buy it low and sell it high, leaving them left with a feeling of unrealized gains.

I think sometimes people are out of touch with how to price. They think they have a gold mine. Sometimes, I try educating the seller on proper prices. I often ask the questions like "how did you come up with this price?" and, "are you really interested in selling it?" and "how long do you expect it will take to sell it at this price?".

Sometimes I price high, but those are the times I am not in a hurry and I am not certain I want to sell it.

I dislike it when people post items for sale without the price. To me, that's really annoying. Now, I have to invest my time to make an inquiry. And it's even more frustrating when they hem and haw around when asked the price. They haven't done their homework. (Case in point - there's a house for sale near me - the sign went up in the yard last week, but it's not on any listing site yet. I had my broker call about it, and they would not give us a price, and would not even allow us to see the house yet.)

[Joe Jensen]

Used machines actually sell for what they are worth at the moment they sell. Many owners have unrealistically high expectations, but local market conditions vary wildly. Most people want to buy as cheaply as possible and they want to sell for as much as possible. Not sure that deserves a rant, I suspect everyone naturally behaves the same way. When I see a machine I want I go check it out and I leave a business card with the owner and let them know that I'm a serious buyer and if they decide reconsider the price to call me. Some do, most don't.

Used car sales are the same. I bought a new 2009 VW Jetta for our daughters to drive. I paid $18,000 plus tax and plates. Last winter I tried to buy another 2007-2009 VW Jetta. Dealers wanted $19K or more for 3 year old Jettas with 30K miles on them. Was that frustrating, sure. Was it fair, sure, it's their car and they can price as they see fit.

As far as what's fair for a used machine, that completely depends on the specific machine and condition. Festool in really nice used condition usually gets close to 90% of new on ebay. Bosch less then 50% of what I paid as the best possible deal online. Chinese tools don't really hold their value as well as euro or american made. But if you shop well and buy used you should be able to resell for what you pay or more down the road.

[Justin Rapp]

Used machines actually sell for what they are worth at the moment they sell. Many owners have unrealistically high expectations, but local market conditions vary wildly. Most people want to buy as cheaply as possible and they want to sell for as much as possible. Not sure that deserves a rant, I suspect everyone naturally behaves the same way. When I see a machine I want I go check it out and I leave a business card with the owner and let them know that I'm a serious buyer and if they decide reconsider the price to call me. Some do, most don't.

Used car sales are the same. I bought a new 2009 VW Jetta for our daughters to drive. I paid $18,000 plus tax and plates. Last winter I tried to buy another 2007-2009 VW Jetta. Dealers wanted $19K or more for 3 year old Jettas with 30K miles on them. Was that frustrating, sure. Was it fair, sure, it's their car and they can price as they see fit.


I understand buy low / sell high, however I am pretty sure this ad is someone selling off their father's home shop equipment who is no longer able to use it or no longer alive. In my case, I am looking to add equipment to my shop and don't mind paying the correct value for something. I am not looking to pay $150 for a machine that is worth $500 used.

[HANK METZ]

I buy and sell on C/List Justin, and when it comes time to sell, most "civilians", i.e. family estate sellers getting rid of dad's stuff, etc. simply get their numbers from Ebay and stick with it. They care less about condition, age, location, competition, etc., these are things that can affect a price. All they know is this subjective number and think they're golden with it. Sometimes you just have to wait it out and let the market tell them they'd better rethink the price after it doesn't sell. My sales are simply my hobby, I do not supplement my retirement, pay the mortgage, buy shoes, etc. I offer value paid and have made a lot of solid friends by giving them more than they were expecting.

[ken masoumi]

All I know is serious sellers who are motivated to sell put a the most reasonable price tag on their used tools with close up clean pictures in their ads and they either are firm with that price or are willing to go down only slightly.
But I must agree there are more undecided,confused but greedy dreamers who rely on inexperienced buyers with a lot of money to burn to knock on their doors ,but it may take a while before they realize they underestimated the intelligence of buyers around them.

My recent experience was with a seller who was more interested in the idea of opening up more space in his garage than selling his drum sander,I asked for a picture of the tool before I drive two hours to pick it up .
He ignore me twice until I asked point blank and his reply was: it looks the same as the pictures you find in the manufacturer's web site except his has some sawdust on it!he also added he does not need the money enough to pull out and clean up that sander which was buried under a pile of other junk !

He then went on to say that I was just a dreamer who was wasting his time.

[Peter Quinn]

It's worth what somebody will give them at a given moment. See the new I phones? Almost $700 retail, you can get one for $200 with contract, less than that if you switch networks in the process....in two years they will give you that phone for $.99. So what's it really worth? What people will pay for it. It's how the whole economy works. It's the reason apartments in crowded cities cost more than spacious homes in the country. The best you can do is make a fair offer which adds some clarity and dimension to the picture, then wait. If another guy offers close to their price.....you lose. There is no wrong and right in this, and there is IMO no victim, so no reason to get angry. I would not pay close to full replacement for 30 year old equipment.....but I wouldn't pay a person 10 million dollars per year to throw a baseball either. Different people, different values, keeps it interesting to me.

[John TenEyck]

There are enough people who price their used equipment in the right range that there's no need to deal with those who don't. I simply don't even bother with those people. Patience is the key.

John

[johnny means]

I like to make an offer of what I think its worth. In some cases I'll explain my reasoning when I think the seller is unaware of current value. Worst I ever got was a "No". I find that most times a reasonable offer is accepted.

[C Scott McDonald]

I see a lot of people buy a tool to use once or twice for a home remodel then say "I will sell it on craigslist and get all my money back its cheaper than renting!" Then it sits unsold for months because nobody is going to pay retail for a used tool.

[Jerome Stanek]

I see on another web site where someone is selling a used cnc and from what I can tell it is the same price or more than a new one. That said the people on that site think that is is a good deal as you don't have to wait for one.

[Al Launier]

My biggest gripe is when they claim the item is "like new" & to use pictures from online to describe it, yet when showing up to purchase the item it's obviously not like new. In some cases it's badly used & a total waste of my time & expense to visit the seller. Another gripe is when I'm seriously interested in buying the item, the seller doesn't respond to my emails. Go figure!

[Mark Wooden]

Just a vent - why do some people attempt to sell used equipment for almost the same price or higher prices than new? I have been looking for a band saw and found an ad on craigslist for an entire shop of equipment, most of it from the 70's and 80's. I emailed for a price list and got back prices that basically were equal to current new model prices with the exception of the rusted out table saw! Go figure!!:confused::confused::confused:

Ia that an "apples to apples" comparison? A 30 yr old US made 14" bandsaw in good condition could command close to what a new Taiwanneese equilvalent would. Probably last longer too. I actually spent more on a 60 year old 12" jointer(including the rebuild & paint) than a fellow I know did on a new 12" import. And I'm happy with it.

I agree with the others who say make a fair offer. Maybe they just looked at catalogs and priced from there.

[Craig Behnke]

patience and utilizing technology tools to get an edge is the key. if you really want to find a good tool at a very good price, you have a very slim chance of getting lucky by lloking at CL once a day. The more likely scenario is that it will take weeks to months to monitor the offers, in real time, and find the right situation to pounce on.

If you don't do it already, I suggest you use a craigslist rss feed aggregator (like "feedly") or a web-crawler (like "ad hunt'r"). both are free. they allow you to keep an eye on all postings that match certain keywords and some can alert you via text or email when new posts are made.

i searched four months, in a 300 mile radius, for a dust collection system. you have to be patient and pass up the mediocre deals and have cold hard cash ready for the rare time when someone prices a tool at a very fair, or lower, price.

you better start using that method because a lot of other people are, and they have a better chance of beating you to the good deals.

[Justin Rapp]

Ia that an "apples to apples" comparison? A 30 yr old US made 14" bandsaw in good condition could command close to what a new Taiwanneese equilvalent would. Probably last longer too. I actually spent more on a 60 year old 12" jointer(including the rebuild & paint) than a fellow I know did on a new 12" import. And I'm happy with it.

I agree with the others who say make a fair offer. Maybe they just looked at catalogs and priced from there.

Well - I don't want this thread to go in the direction of US vs Taiwan vs China as products coming out of Taiwan, China or any other country these days is not the same as it used to be. Yes, you get 'junk' out of Asian countries, but you also get high end quality as well. You buy a $2000 machine, regardless of where it's made, should be made very well. Look what happened to cars over the 20 years ago or so coming from Asia.

[eugene thomas]

basically when I buy something off craigslist or even off classifieds here I make sure I feel comfortable with the price. not really care what some one else would pay. and if person is asking crazy price thats their choice, but will not get my money. remember watching a reality show while ago. guy was thinking his 20 year old Nintendo system was worth $12000 because seen it on ebay for that.

[Bruce Page]

Jacking the price seems to be the norm on CL. We have one guy selling a used 7000 watt diesel generator right now for $500 more than Amazon’s delivered to your door price. I used to reply to the ads with links to real world prices but after a few not so polite replies back, I stopped. :rolleyes:

[Chris Ludjin]

I DO understand how you feel... that said, the best piece of advice I can offer is NOT to become emotionally attached to something a seller has that you are not willing to pay their price or walk away from. Trying to educate the seller rarely works. Being friendly, having a genuine interest, and maintaining that communication while the seller has an item is important because if what the seller has is truly overpriced, they will discover that and remember you from the beginning... most often.

I have gotten many deals, lost many deals, and accepted the high price I paid for something I really wanted... often.

For your sanity, as others have mentioned... give up trying to prove why their price is too high. I can't think of a single tool I've seen that is so rare that another one won't show up... sometime.

Perseverance and focus my friend, will yield desirable results.

[Keith Weber]

Buying/Selling is all about psychology. If a seller buys something, and then find that they don't use it, they often regret that they bought the thing. To them, they made a mistake in buying it. They wish they had their money back. Eventually, when they decide to sell it, they want to get their money back so they don't feel bad about their mistake. If they bought something for $1000, and then had to sell it for $500, then in the end, they will have wasted $500 for nothing. It makes them feel bad about their mistake. If they can sell it for $1000, then they're happy. They got their money back and all is good.

Enter the buyer. If money was not a concern, he'd just go buy a new one. He's looking at the for sale ads because he wants to save money. He wants to get the item for $500 instead of paying $1000 at the store. Why in the world would he pay $1000 for a used item when he could buy it from the store for the same price. That just doesn't make any sense at all!

Therein lies the problem. The seller will be unhappy if it sells for $500, and the buyer will be unhappy if he pays $1000. One, or both of these people are going to leave this deal unhappy.

The truth is, the market will determine the price. Things will not sell if they are above the market price. Things advertised below the market price will be snatched up before you can hop in your car and make it there. The market price is determined by many factors, including location, condition of the item, ease of moving the item, the number of items available for sale, etc. It all can be summed up in that whole supply/demand thing you learned about in ECON 101.

So how do you know what the market price is? Research is probably the best tool. You find out how much they are new. You watch the want ads, the auctions, etc. to see what similar things are being sold for. Eventually, with experience, you'll get a really good idea what things are worth. I've been watching tools for so long now, that the deals on CL pop out at me like a sore thumb. I've bought things that I wasn't even looking for because the deal was too good to pass up (yeah, I know - it's a sickness). Some of these tools have worked their way into my daily usage, and others have just been cleaned up and sold at a profit. Buyer be ware -- CL and eBay ads/listings are NOT necessarily an indication of market price. They are often much inflated by the seller in the hopes of landing a sucker. A much better indication is to click on the completed listings button on eBay. It will give you the actual selling price of most of the auctions (unfortunately not the best-offer-accepted auctions).

My father is the worst-ever over-pricer. When he buys, he only wants to pay insulting prices. When he wants to sell, he sets ridiculous prices, and doesn't like to give much during negotiations. The result? I don't think he's ever sold anything. I'm contemplating calling the TV show hoarders about him - LOL! He's out of control. Some day, I will inherit a share of an entire farm full of useless junk. Ugghhhh!

I personally hate negotiating. If someone is offering a fair price, I just pay them the asking price, and comment on his ability to set a fair price not in need of negotiating. It he's asking too much, I'll be blunt and tell him that I'm very interested, but not at his price point. I'll pick what I think is a fair (not low-ball) price, and say it's worth $XXX to me. I'll pay cash right now and we'll load it into my truck. If he says no, I say thanks for his time and go to leave. Most of the time, he'll stop me before I leave. The key is the fair price offer, not a low-ball offer.

When I sell, I used to set what I believed was a fair price and quote it as firm, but I later found out that that didn't work too well. The psychology thing comes into play again. The average buyer wants to think that he's gotten a deal. It makes him feel happy. So now I purposely add about 10-20% to my price, and then let the buyer negotiate the add-on away. He's happy because he got his deal, and I'm happy because I got my fair price.

There will always be the idiots that way overprice things. I usually just ignore them and hope they go away and stop cluttering up the ads for months on end with their over-priced wares. They're usually people who are un-experienced in selling, emotionally attached to their stuff, or just greedy and trying to prey on the un-experienced.