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Ray McAlister
11-08-2006, 7:10 PM
A many thanks for all the info. I had a demo of the epilog at engraving concepts, Universal at engravers network and the Pinnacle at sign warehouse. Good demos with all 3, I am in the process of pricing and hoping to get the best deal. It appears that all 3 are "about" the same, with minor differences. I hope to post this weekend with my new laser and hope to be able to help everyone else as much as i've been helped.


THANKS:D

Ray

Joe Pelonio
11-08-2006, 7:26 PM
It sounds like you did your homework, good luck on whatever you choose.:)

Mike Hood
11-09-2006, 10:39 AM
Ray... make sure you press them on the price and features as well. Some things they'll try to sell you in a package deal can be had elsewhere at MUCH reduced costs (air assist compressor, exhaust fan, clipart, etc)

Get them to send you written quotes and you'd be surprised how good a package deal you can get (free shipping, etc) if you share your available price quotes with them.

John Esberg
11-09-2006, 7:48 PM
When we shopped for our laser, we found that we liked the controls in the print driver the best between Epilog and Universal. It gave the best flexibility between the two. Since you've seen all 3 machines, what do you think?

DAK

Rob Bosworth
11-10-2006, 3:59 PM
I keep reading these posts about how price is the most important thing in everyone's decision. I am not hearing one person talk about resale value. If you buy a machine and it is the cheapest around by $1,000, you save some money. How much is that system worth compared to other systems if you decide you either want out or need to buy a bigger or different machine. So what is your true cost of ownership?

Dave Jones
11-10-2006, 4:39 PM
I personally don't consider resale value for virtually anything I purchase. When I buy something like a laser I go into it thinking like I do about most power tools I have bought. That I'll use it until it is worn out, then throw it away and buy another one.

I guess the reality is that many people need to, or want to sell them before that. In fact my laser came from one of those people. I bought it used about 1 year after the original buyer, who outgrew it and bought a larger one. He wanted a quick sale, so I got a good deal.

Since you sell a lot of used lasers, do you see any specific brands that seem to lose their value faster than other brands? For example, if brand A and brand B have lasers with comparable features at a comparable price, do you find that after 3 years you have to mark one of those brands down much lower than another brand in order to sell it?

Keith Outten
11-10-2006, 7:31 PM
I keep reading these posts about how price is the most important thing in everyone's decision. I am not hearing one person talk about resale value. If you buy a machine and it is the cheapest around by $1,000, you save some money. How much is that system worth compared to other systems if you decide you either want out or need to buy a bigger or different machine. So what is your true cost of ownership?

Rob,

Price is a major point for me when purchasing a machine that cost as much as a Laser Engraver. I think that support from the manufacturer is the single largest issue as most who own engravers will probably agree.

I recently did a comparison of various machines and developed a specification for our purchasing department at CNU to send out quotes for a new laser. I found the prices of comparable machines to be very close, even the more prominent name brands were surprisingly close in price. Knowing how important driver and maintenance support has been to me on my first machine I placed them at the top of my list or important features.

I don't think I have ever considered resale value.

.

Mike Null
11-10-2006, 8:13 PM
I made resale value a strong consideration when I bought my new machine. In doing that I had to make a subjective evaluation of the various brands which included things like interface, software, speed, leading edge technology, support, etc.

I was very lucky, I think, to sell my 8 year old machine for 42% of my original purchase price. Pro-rated that equates to about $110 per month actual cost including maintenance over the 8 year period. That helped to finance the kind of machine I bought this time which I believe will give me a similar return.

I am in business for profit, not as a hobby or craft, so this kind of thinking is quite important. If you are interested in my brand I will respond to a PM as I don't know that I should mention the name.

Rob Bosworth, sells used machines and I suspect he can tell you how many old machines are out there which aren't good for anything but scrap because they're old technology. Parts either aren't available or the repair cost exceeds the cost of a new machine.

Ray McAlister
11-11-2006, 12:02 AM
I just got back from signwarehouse and bought the Pinnacle M-25, I feel that all the lasers will do what i want at this point, I bought the Pinnacle because of two reasons, 1. price --- this is a new adventure and saving 2000-5000 dollars made a lot of cents. I hope to be busting out within a year and be able to buy a larger, more powerful laser. This is a huge expense and i had to stay with in my budget. 2. location --- laser in stock 90 miles away, the universal and epilog 2-4 weeks away. at this time of year(Christmas) 2-4 weeks could mean a bit more profit. I believe all the lasers a good machines with each having it's own merits. just like cars, i'd love a bmw or lexus, but it doesn't make sense at this time.
I would like to say that I would've loved to buy from Roy Brewer at engravingconcepts.com due to his knowledge, helpfulness and passion about the business of laser engraving. If all goes well in the next year and i buy a larger laser i will contact him first......

Here's to future post and picts to follow
Ray

Keith Outten
11-11-2006, 5:55 AM
Congratulations Ray,

Everyone here knows how tough the decision can be and I'm sure you are glad to have it behind you. Good luck with your new Laser Engraver and we hope to see some very cool pictures of your work very soon.

Keith
.

Bruce Larson
11-11-2006, 9:53 PM
I have found that used lasers have worse resale value than Yugos.
Example would be 26M 2 year old laser with 8M offered on trade up to a larger system. This makes them not a good investment if you are worried about resale value.
Just plan on using them and don't worry about resale values.

Dave Jones
11-11-2006, 10:16 PM
I could be wrong, but I would guess you'd get more on the used market than you would as a trade-in on a new laser. It's like taking a used car to a dealer to trade in on a new car. You might get twice as much simply advertising the car in the paper as you would from the dealer as a trade-in.

Mike Null
11-12-2006, 9:14 AM
Dave is correct. Selling it yourself will return much more than trying to trade it in.

On the resale value issue, I wish I were rich enough not to care about resale. It should be a consideration for nearly everybody.