Why Should You Use Consignment Sales for Your Used Equipment?

When selling your excess machinery or industrial equipment, there are several methods you can use:

• Trade-In: Let the new machinery provider handle it.
  • Result: They will dump it for the fastest offer to a used machinery dealer.
• Inventory Purchase: Find a local or qualified used dealer to purchase immediately.
  • Wholesaling to a used machinery dealer results in anywhere between 10-70% of retail value (That purchase value varies widely but is all based on time-to-sell rather than value). Return on the value but can be very quick if time is of the essence.
• Auction: Typically used when multiple pieces (whole plant or division) are being considered. Buyers show up and bid on the pieces they want—so the final price can vary greatly based on demand or need for specific pieces of equipment.
  • An auction can be viable solution, but does not work well for selling just one or two pieces of equipment.
• Consignment Sale: In a consignment sale, the used equipment is sent to the “buyer” before being fully paid for. The seller retains ownership of the used machinery until the price is paid in full.
  • Consigning your equipment through a quality reputable dealer like Southern Fabricating Machinery Sales is, in most cases, the best way to get the highest return on your investment.

While Southern Fabricating Machinery Sales fluidly works with all methods of machinery sales, we are finding more and more buyers opting for higher return on investment for their excess machinery—and thus are opting for a consignment sale.

Considering a Consignment Machinery or Used Equipment Sale?

All used equipment has an appraised market value, and our team at Southern Fabricating Machinery Sales can provide that for you. The other costs in selling your used equipment can include:

• Decommissioning the machine,
• Preparing for shipping,
• Rigging out and loading it onto a truck, and
• Freight expenses to ship the machine to the purchaser.

To get the most dollars for your equipment directly into your pocket, consider what the best method would be—such as selling on consignment while it is still in your facility and under power for inspection by potential buyers. Why? If we purchase your machine, we will need to deduct the costs of decommissioning, prepare the machine for shipping, rigging the machine out of your facility, loading it on a truck, and freight to our facility. From there, our team can recommission, power up, clean, paint (as necessary), and prepare the machine for inspection by potential customers.

The Benefits of Selling Used Machinery Under Consignment

If we purchase your machinery for resale at our facility, we will need to factor in these costs and that means less for you as the seller. The best solution to gain the highest return on your investment is for us to advertise, handle customers calls, answer the capacity and control questions, and negotiate expenses and final purchase price. Then, we arrange everything from financing the purchase to decommissioning, prep for shipping, rigging and freight straight from your facility.

Example: Let’s say you are looking to purchase a used shear. You get quotes on two identical shears at the same price—one is still in plant and under power and the other is in a warehouse and not under power. Which one would you rather purchase? Might you even offer a little more for a machine that you know works well because you inspected it while it was under power?

Another benefit is that machines which are still in your plant and under power for inspection tend to sell faster than machines sold from our warehouse. We see this time and again as buyers want to see not only the machine they are purchasing, but the environment it was in for all (or a good portion of) its life.

When Should You Consider Use Equipment Consignment Sales?

Selling on consignment should definitely be considered if:

1. The machinery being offered requires more than one truck for shipping (such as for very large or complex systems).
2. It will take more than one technician and/or one day to install and power up the used equipment.
3. The used equipment requires special resources to demonstrate under power (ex: water and abrasives for waterjets, gases for lasers and plasma systems, etc.).
4. You desire to gain the highest return for your investment.

At Southern Fabricating Machinery Sales, we assist both buyers and sellers to get the best value on used equipment and help avoid the added costs associated with removing and reinstalling machinery—netting you, the seller, the most value for your investment while maintaining a great value and experience for our buyer’s as well.  

Visit our website to learn about more ways we can help you save money on the next machine tool upgrade your considering. Or, better yet, just call us directly at 813-444-4555 to discuss all of the details.