9 Useful Photos & Video Tips for Selling Used Machinery

When selling used machinery online it is vital that clean clear quality photographs and video are taken. Initially the only way to convey value and condition is through the photos you supply to advertise and describe your machine. Believe it or not, buyers “buy” photos before the look any further into machine specifics, including features and options, so the better these photos can be, the easier your equipment is to sell, and for more value. If there are no photos with a listing or if the photos provided are of poor quality it conveys to the potential buyer that either the machine is worn out or it has very little value to you the seller so it's very important to take the best pictures you possibly can, showing the most detail of a used machine in operation

Below we have provided some top tips from the professionals in the used machinery industry on how to properly photograph used machinery for sale. These guys look at hundreds of photos of machines every week in order to place resale value, provide a used machinery quotation and market them.  These suggestions are a culmination of all the quick ways you can better your position when selling used machinery.

1) Clean the Machine - Remove all chips, Scrap Material, Tooling, Notes, Charts, Graphs, Work Orders, Signs, Pictures, etc, etc.  try to make it look as close to what it did as when it left the factory. Although you may be a Metallica Fan proudly displaying posters of your band with pride, your buyer just wants to see the machine, so peel that poster off for your machines photo shoot.

2) Clean the Area - Remove all the carts, tables, tool boxes, boxes and pallets that would prevent or block photos from being taken that show a clear shot of all the features of the machine. Make sure you don't have brooms/mops leaning up against it that can suggest the machine is no longer in use and thuis a problem

3) Remove What Your NOT Selling - If you have tooling, fixturing, vises, etc that are NOT included with the sale of your machine then remove them from the photos as buyers have a nasty habit of assuming everything they see ids coming with, even if its noted opposite.  This includes Radios, TV’s and Monitors etc that operators sometimes love to sit on top of the controllers (Note: TV’s and Monitors can sometimes give the impression that the machines display is damaged, definitely remove these)

4) Lighting - Get as much light behind you as the photographer, and the machinery in subject as you can. The more the better, as most shops are dimly lit and any light in front of the camera will cause the image to be drastically darkened. Often we will recommend sellers go to their local Ace, Home Depot or Lowes and purchase Flood Lights as the low investment in lighting is well worth it in quality and return on machine pictures.

• Note: if you can’t add lighting to the area most cell phones and cameras can automatically adjust for low and poor lighting by turning the flash off. The difficulty is the camera “records” the surrounding light for a bit longer than a quick snap and thus many pictures tend to turn out blurry from motion as it is hard to hold perfectly still for the several seconds needed. To avoid this simply set the timer on your cell phone or camera and place it on a stationary object to capture the picture.

5) Take This - If your ready now to photograph your used machinery for sale, start with a full frontal of the whole system (we call this the money shot!). Gradually photograph your way “IN” and around towards the machine photographing areas of importance such as load/unload, tool changers, coolant tanks, chip conveyors, operators panel, control and any other areas of importance such as barfeeders, pallet changers etc, etc. Take the pictures YOU would want to see. Take 20-30 pictures.

6) Serial Plate and HOURS - When your all done photographing and videoing your used machine machine make extras sure you captured a clear photograph of the operating screen showing HOURS of use, all voltage tags and serial plates showing the machines primary serial number (There may be many serial numbers on accessories arounds the machine such as transformers, pumps etc but the machine will have a primary serial number included from the machine manufacturer)

7) Photograph Everything - Get the tooling, Manuals, Spare Parts, Accessories, etc etc.  If its going with the machine, take a photo of ity as the more detail you can provide the more thorough your buyer sees you have been in the care, operation and maintenance of the machine.

8) Video 3X - Now that you have taken photos of your used machinery for sale, take at least 3 Videos of at least 30 seconds to 2 minutes showing the machine in operation, not exclusively, but definitely include the main area of machining, control in operation and a system walk around.  If you are planning on decommissioning the machine take the extra time to make these videos detailed as it could save you from reinstalling and powering it back up for a curious buyer.

9) Share - Now you need to share all these great pictures and video. You can use Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud and many other ways to share large files. Most email programs will not allow you to email attachments larger than 10MB and with todays Hi-Definition cameras that is just a couple photos. If you need help we are just a phone call away.

If you practice these methods to get quality photos of your used machinery for sale you can rest assured that you will sell your machine faster and for more money then similar offerings available.

At Southern Fabricating Machinery Sales , we are experts in buying and selling used machinery. We know the secrets to making your sale successful and profitable as well as how to avoid the problems that can be associated with selling older used machinery. If you would like to discuss how a we can help you sell your machinery at top value just contact one of our experts at 813-444-4555 

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