Recommendations on pricing/selling used equipment

It's not ethical to say a machine or components of a machine are in good condition when in fact the seller knows they aren't. In that case it's better to say nothing and is buyer beware. However, having a complete service history shows pride of ownership and how the machine was cared for. It could certainly justify a higher price. Some companies sell off machines when they reach a certain age or number of hours. I've seen many machines at RB auctions that list additional info available in the office. This includes maintainence records, repairs, receipts, manuals, etc. The Cat and JD dealers here (probably others too) will do thorough inspections to help potential buyers. It helps answer questions like how come the 7 year old machine is $5000 more expensive than the 5 year old machine with less hours. You have 2 similar machines and one has maintainence records and the other doesn't. I don't think most potential buyers would dismiss the service history or an inspection report from a dealer. Hoses and other things can fail on a brand new machine. That a risk anyone operating a machine takes. I saw an original D10 sell at auction and it was completely rebuilt by the company selling it. They had a custom plaque made that was attached to the side of the cab, "Proudly Rebuilt by Gregg River Resources". All the receipts and work done was available for viewing and went to the high bidder. I doubt all the documentation would result in a lower price.

I say buzz off. You lied to us initially. And I hope whatever thing you're trying to produce, fails.

That's a little harsh.

Welder Dave said:

That's a little harsh.

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Perhaps. But I got a little frustrated reading this thread, thinking we could help this person out. Then realize she's just using us.

I think sometimes you have to give the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they thought know one would answer a research question?

From your first post it appears ethics is not your strong suit.

Look at Machinery Pete on the ag equipment side. The man has been doing this for at least a decade.

skata said:

I say buzz off. You lied to us initially. And I hope whatever thing you're trying to produce, fails.

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Welder Dave said:

That's a little harsh.

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I agree with skata. “She” tried to deceive us with the pics of machines, the initial purpose of her post, even her profile pic and then backhandedly insults us.

“She” tried to catfish us.

boone said:

I can't reveal my secrets... Just kidding.

I just right clicked on the profile picture and there's an option to search google images. About the third link that came up was about an immigrant who'd moved from Brazil to Tasmania. Pretty similar to what Colson did.

Not a good way to gain trust with the members here. But guess you figured that out.

I wish there was a blue book for equipment, but like said, too many variables. I have a hard enough time making a good purchase when I see it, much less sight unseen.

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Your method was way faster than mine. Thank you for sharing a feature I didn't know existed.

John C. said:

There are companies here that run pay of information sites that send me their propaganda and some updates. I don't recall their names right now as my brain cells are old and tired. Equipment Watch I think is the one that keeps sending me materials lately telling how to handle my business. Green Guide used to brag that they could appraise any machine sight unseen. There were or are some others that I stopped paying attention to a long time ago.

As far as ethical reasons go, consider a sales agent having a history report showing a trend in oil sample reports and there was one of two bad reports. Do they reveal those or hide them? Most won't even acknowledge that any history exists. Let's say someone purchases a wheel loader and a month after the sale the boom breaks and drops the bucket on someone. Who is liable? Maybe there was a report of an engine rebuild at a certain point shortly before a sale. Was it done by a competent mechanic or was it just a throw together to get a machine sold? What if the machine has 15,000 hours of use, would a maintenance history make any difference? Used equipment is almost always sold "As Is, Where Is with all obvious and inherent deft." Any warranties provided are usually short term and a lot of times verbal. This industry has always been buyer beware.

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This is very informative, thank you. It sounds like both Equipment Watch and Green Guide didn't leave a very good impression. I'm familiar with both of them, specifically Equipment Watch which we learned about early on but, as you've stated, didn't meet the need of several people we interviewed for various reasons. Maybe a stupid question at this point, but is there something that could be provided to help you in the search for new equipment? Is it the fact that they charging for a service, that the service isn't meeting your needs, or both?

I'm totally following you now on the 2nd paragraph. Those are really good questions and I think you've pointed out a main concern/issue. It sounds like there are people standing between the buyer and seller. These folks (salepersons let's say) have their own agenda to sell it "as is" to make their commission regardless of the ethics used. From that perspective, the potential buyer need to be equipped with some sort of appraisal skill for the item they are buying. Does that sound right?

Welder Dave said:

I think sometimes you have to give the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they thought know one would answer a research question?

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Thank you, this is certainly the case but I can understand why many folks on here feel negatively. All the information is helpful nonetheless.

terex herder said:

From your first post it appears ethics is not your strong suit.

Look at Machinery Pete on the ag equipment side. The man has been doing this for at least a decade.

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I looked up Machinery Pete thanks for the recommendation. What make you suggest his site as opposed to others?

How many are in your group and do any of them have much experience with heavy equipment? I remember probably 25 years ago there was a new outfit that set up shop across from Ritchie Bros. auction site. They claimed to be experts in sales and appraisals of equipment and had some used machines, mostly bought from across the street. Their prices on used equipment were higher than major dealers. They touted all this experience, their machines were inspected and better than gambling on machines at the auction, etc. They forgot to consider the customers aren't stupid.

When a customer see's a machine on their lot a week after it sold at the auction with a 60%+ mark up raises some questions. Yeah, it's normal to mark up auction machines but the customer could have inspected the machine at the auction and repaired any issues for less than what these "experts" were charging. Inspection reports are nice but not when your customer realizes they're being charged 25K for them. Remember a D6 that sold at RB for $40,000. Saw it a week later across the street. Looked in the Equipment Trader, where they had a full page ad, and it was listed for $69,000. They didn't even bother taking the construction companies stickers off it. They say location is everything in real estate. Setting up shop across from RB's largest site in N. America maybe isn't the best idea for selling machines you bought there. Might be OK for appraisals/inspections but they charged a lot for those too. They were only there about 1 year and a half at the most. All their expertise and then didn't consider their customers likely attended the auctions too.

"They forgot to consider the customers aren't stupid."
There are 4 of us in the core team and 1 or 2 part-time in-industry advisors (1 small business which has been operating for 7 year and 1 broker who's been in the business for about 10 years). To me, that sounds like a classic "I don't know my customer or their needs" scenario. From our perspective, the goal is solely to provide quality and transparent data about the equipment and to try to connect buyers and sellers. What I've seen thus far is exactly what you are describing and it's nice to have the validation from another source. We are not going to get into the buy/sell/rent business at all because we are not experts. I think there's a way to connect many dots to help people and businesses make better decisions but for now... we are still trying to understand the dots i.e. the needs of customers. Thanks again.

EquipEval10 said:

I recently inherited several pieces heavy equipment items from a relative who passed away and I'm looking to understand how to accurately price and sell them since I have no experience with the industry. When you are looking for equipment to purchase or sell, how would you go about finding it's value and listing it for sale? I've obtained offers from locals, but I can't tell if they are just trying to rip me off because I don't know what I'm doing.

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terex herder said:

From your first post it appears ethics is not your strong suit.

.

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skata said:

I say buzz off. You lied to us initially. And I hope whatever thing you're trying to produce, fails.

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I'm with skata and terex herder, but my opinions of this person are unprintable.

Someone died and left you equipment- I'm all over helping someone like that out.

You're doing research and want some answers? You aren't the first one to show up here and the community helped with some quick answers.

You lie about inheritance issues all in the name of "business" interests? Sorry, I just lumped you in with telemarketers, TV preachers asking for $$$ and people who torture puppies for fun, and a couple of those categories outrank you.

I guess I was brought up different- that my word was one of the few things I have that was worth anything. You lie online, you'll lie in business, you'll lie in court, you'll lie to your kids and you'll lie to your family.

At least tell us your real business name so we can avoid you like the plague. If you were my employee you'd be my ex employee.

crane operator said:

I'm with skata and terex herder, but my opinions of this person are unprintable.

Someone died and left you equipment- I'm all over helping someone like that out.

You're doing research and want some answers? You aren't the first one to show up here and the community helped with some quick answers.

You lie about inheritance issues all in the name of "business" interests? Sorry, I just lumped you in with telemarketers, TV preachers asking for $$$ and people who torture puppies for fun, and a couple of those categories outrank you.

I guess I was brought up different- that my word was one of the few things I have that was worth anything. You lie online, you'll lie in business, you'll lie in court, you'll lie to your kids and you'll lie to your family.

At least tell us your real business name so we can avoid you like the plague. If you were my employee you'd be my ex employee.

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Me reading crane operator’s post

skata said:

Perhaps. But I got a little frustrated reading this thread, thinking we could help this person out. Then realize she's just using us.

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"She" lol

Was it mentioned that "her" profile pic is fake too?

skata said:

Was it mentioned that "her" profile pic is fake too?
View attachment 232594

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Yes, Boone pointed that out with a link to that article

And three pages later they're still conversing with this person's stolen identity.

My suggestion, going forward, to those of you who feel put off by EquipEval's initial deception, is to exercise your right to not be of any further help. I completely understand and agree with how offensive it is to feel used by somebody who pretends to be something that they are not.

On the other hand, I give some credit to EquipEval for coming *mostly* clean when challenged. Some people would have run away and hidden. (There are things I can see in the Admin Control Panel that lead me to believe there's more to be shared or clarified.)

One of the things I've always liked about HEF is that this community represents a vast reservoir of knowledge--ground level knowledge--that *can* be accessible to those with the wisdom to recognize it.

To EquipEval, I recognize it as a compliment that you sought to access our input, but my suggestion would be that being completely straightforward from here on out will get you optimal results.