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small rant: why do used machine dealers not list prices

wheelieking71

Diamond
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Location
Gilbert, AZ
I am going to put this out there for two reasons:
1) Maybe there is a good reason for this? And, I don't understand why it is the way it is? If so, please enlighten me.
2) Maybe used machinery dealers browse these boards, and might just see it.

But, why on earth, do dealers not just post their damn price in the listing?
Personally, when I am shopping, if I can not easily figure out how much somebody is asking for anything, I'm out!
If I have to inquire? Request a quote? Send an email? I'm moving on!

I'll join your silly mailing list to unlock prices, and let you spam my inbox. Whatever.
It wastes a lot less of my time to hit delete than having to inquire on every single item I may be interested in.
But, I can't be the only guy who wont even browse listings that don't disclose the price.

I am about as far from a salesman as one can get. I'm sure that is part of why I don't understand this.
But, C'mon, do people really have the time to dick around to find out how much somebody wants for something? I don't.
 
I'll join your silly mailing list to unlock prices, and let you spam my inbox. Whatever.
It wastes a lot less of my time to hit delete than having to inquire on every single item I may be interested in.
But, I can't be the only guy who wont even browse listings that don't disclose the price.


Aye, I'm with'ya all the way on that!
Though I may not be a frequent browser for used equipment, I have spent in the 'hood of $50K over the years on various things from used dealers ( not talking about owners selling off stuff )
In every single instance there was a price attached to the item in question, and that was the absolute only reason I've contacted them.
If you aren't willing to disclose even a ballpark, I have no interest finding out anything from you.
 
You would think they would wise up by now?! That is why I feel like there is more to this I don't understand.

Along the same lines.
I would be willing to bet: the amount of potential sales some of the bigger, even higher-end, machine builders loose to haas because of haas's price-builder feature on their website is staggering.
 
AFAIK only two truck rental companies post their prices. The others want me to give them my email and phone number so they can get back to me. This is why I rent U-haul or Enterprise and not budget, penske or ryder.
For some reason tractor scammers on c-list ask 0, 3999, or 4000 making them easy to spot.
Bil lD
 
I think a lot of guys are like my self and don`t really have the time or want to deal with some salesman ,,, 99% of the machine salesman I have talked to over the last 35+ years did not have a clue about there product line. I think machine dealers need to post up more info online about there product and post prices ,, Hell even my aluminum suppler gives me set prices every few months ,,, I know all my 6061 well be one price for over 1K pounds and 10 cents higher under 1k pounds ..

The best salesman I have is the Haas emails I get every week or two ,,, why other dealers are not sending me emails when machines go on sale I just don`t understand.

Its like machine dealers are living in the dark age before internet.

Hell I was reading about costco being the largest auto dealer in the US and when you stop and think about it the only thing they offer you is a "PRICE" . They don`t stock auto`s ,, they don`t have a salesman ,, they don`t have anything but a "PRICE"
 
Because most used machinery dealers are stuck in the mid 50s, where they had all day to lite their pipe, do some phone chatting up customers while wearing their Ward Cleaver business attire.

It you are serious about buying used machinery you learn to find machines via Craigslist, Ebay, Facebook or even the scrapyard and not waste time and money with the Request a Quote yahoos.
 
You would think they would wise up by now?! That is why I feel like there is more to this I don't understand.

Along the same lines.
I would be willing to bet: the amount of potential sales some of the bigger, even higher-end, machine builders loose to haas because of haas's price-builder feature on their website is staggering.

Not only do I like Haas as most of you know, I have the most experience with them (cnc machine) AND the online pricing is a huge plus to me. We are getting ready to buy 3 new Haas vf's and it is soooo nice to go on their website, look at options, and see exactly what list (you usually get a discount after actually speaking with a sales guy etc) price is for that option.

And agree with others, not just machines, but anything I have to ask price for I'm going to pass up...
 
I totally agree with the whole "if you have to ask you can't afford it" mentality. I like to deal with people that post their prices. For that reason I like Advanced Machinery out of Dayton OH. They post up a lot of their machines on Ebay with both "buy it now" prices or "make an offer". They're good people. I'm not related and this is not a paid endorsement. I am, however, a happy customer of theirs.
 
Ones that doo:
1. McKean Machinery (will wire & set up the machine up if you call ahead, to test run)
2. HGR (more of a warehouse than a true dealer, as you can't test run anything there)
3. "Procyon Machine"
 
Both K.D. Capital, and ResellCNC will "unlock" pricing on their website if you register.
Minor pain in the ass. But, I see enough of you guys are on the same page as me that I bet it greatly increases their traffic/exposure over the other guys!
And, semi along the "if you can't afford it......." line. And, definitely in alignment with Limi Sami's comment:
Last year when I first started trying to sell one of my haas mills. davidn brought it to my attention that it was listed on Premier's website.
The funny thing was, I had never even talked to them about brokering it. I checked out the listing. And, quickly deduced that they stole the info/pictures from my Craigslist listing!
So, I did what anybody would do. I requested a quote on it, LOL
They came back at me with a price of $72k :eek: :crazy: (I was asking $50k) and talked like it was on their floor ready to go.
So, yes Limi Sami, I'm going to wholehearted agree with you. Slimy little pricks.
 
This isn't a problem isolated to dealers in the US either, here in the UK the majority of used machine dealers are now not listing prices and you have to contact them.

Some of them used to list prices on most machines such as the dealer I got one of my CNC lathes from, now they list nothing. I'm always on the look out for additional machines if they come up at the right price but it's basically impossible to browse these days, if I want a price I have to waste MY time filling in a contact form or emailing them and waste THEIR time by them having to reply, and 99 times out of 100 I'm not going to actually buy the machine because I don't consider the price reasonable for the machines age and condition.

As above at least one nice thing with dealers that also list on eBay is they have to put a price, any price, a ballpark price, something I can assess whether or not it'd fall into my budget from.

There are some exceptions, one local dealer does list prices, they have a Bridgeport Interact I'm semi-interested in but they have a price listed which falls into the "Not paying that for a machine with a no longer supported control" bracket, so I don't waste their time asking for a price but know to keep an eye on it to see if they drop their advertised price to a point where it might be worth the risk with a bit of haggle room.

I suspect in some cases the reason might be that they don't actually have the machine and it's still in use at the owners shop and they're trying to hide how much they're trying to ask for it so the machine shop doesn't shop around other dealers to get as much cash as they can for it.

On a related rant, used machine prices in the UK on the whole seem absolutely insane, there are some good deals to be had but I've been given daft prices for lathes around 10 years old which haven't been much lower than the new prices, I understand the owners and dealers want to get as much for them as possible but for what they want it'd be silly to not raise that little extra and go buy a brand new one with a warranty and option to extend said warranty!

I seem to recall one dealer gave me a price of around £18k for a 2004 Haas mini mill, at the time Haas were offering the bare bones modular mini mill for £24k brand new with options to upgrade it later on, madness.
 
This really gets me as well.

Most don't have inventory.

The same machine is listed on opposite sides of the country.

Some have the audacity to steal photos and descriptions.

I have mostly looked at eBay to get ballpark pricing and then watched the videos to see indicators of machine location. For instance, a machine I may buy for a project is still at the manufacturer in Michigan based on the stickers on the machine and the video, but the machine is listed as being in Chicago. WTF? Pretty big difference in price for me when my riggers can go get it versus needing rigging at both ends and transportation. On the phone the guys confirm it is still at the plant.
 
Not sure which is worse, no prices and having to call or email, or all the dreamers on Ebay. For a mere $9500 you can get a retrofit b-port with milltronic controls..... or a Fadal vmc40 for $6800? I wouldn't really know if the Fadal is worth that much or not, but I can easily see it is going to be the FAR better value between the two!
 
I notice that many of the homes for sale in New Zealand do not list prices. At best they mention a price range like 150,000-200,000.
Same thing with Tv's. "24 inch class". Meaning 22-26 inches probably means less then 24 inches. I get that they are metric, just use decimal inches.
Bill D.
 








 
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