rdendy Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 OK before I jumped in I did a lot of research and priced equipment off a ton of sites. I think I made some good choices, with a mistake or two, but not very costly ones. After reading a lot on TVF I really want to try my hand at getting good used equipment, but I keep running into the same situation, and it goes something like this: I find an ad on CL, I call and talk to the seller, they have no idea what I am talking about when I ask them about the manufacturer or model, all they ever say is I bought them new for $XXX (always way overpriced), I drive the 30-50 miles to check them out, I get there and they are all old, rusted, plastic machines from china on crappy flimsy stands and the seller basis there resell price off what they originally payed, making what they are asking still higher than if I bought new machines... OR I find an ad on CL, It's a pawn shop, I call and talk to the seller, they have no idea what I am talking about when I ask them about the manufacturer or model. Again they are way overpriced for what they have and I know they probably payed to much for them and are just trying to get their money back because they won't negotiate at all. Again for an extra 10-15 dollars per stand and machine, for what they were asking, I could get new comparable machines. The first scenario has happened three times, the second twice now. I feel bad for these guys but is this typical, people who got ripped off and thinking they should still get more than the machines are worth? I make a fair offer and they act offended and go into this spiel about how much they paid. How do you guys handle that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 well I bought some machines for 800 and have sold them for 80! But I also bought machines for around 150 and am now trying to sell at about 80. I think you just have to explain to them that they are going to have to take a loss or they may not be able to get anybody to buy it. Did you tell them you could get a better product cheaper that is new? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bravo Duck Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 9 out of 10 deals like this just can't be done, "right now". The thing to do with these guys is to wait them out. They will try for months/years to get what they think the machines are worth, eventually the price will drop to the actual value, buy the machines then. There was this one guy with 2 kiosks for sale for 2 years on Craigslist before I finally bought them. He started at $1500 each, I wound up paying $700 for both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdendy Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 @JLM Actually I didn't, maybe I should have, but I felt funny telling them they were suckers. @tstrong good advice! Keep they advice coming guys, I really appreciate all the input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapreachaman Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have had my conversations with them and let them know what I thought I could afford and said, "Don't be offended by my offer I know it is low, but if after a little while you can't sell the machines I will be glad to take them off your hands at this price." It requires patience and so far has only worked twice, but has been helpful. I bought 58 machines for 700 sold 35 for 700 and have made money with the other 23 machines. They are lousy vendstars but they are free to me and make money each month and if one ever walks away oh well not cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetstop Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have bought and sold alot of vending machines via CL tstrong is right, you need to wait it out most of the time. I would start by low balling them, i have got some great deals this way. you would be suprised what people will take when you have cash in hand. there is a guy right now in my area that has 21 untravends for less than $20 each. I dont like them so I ain't going to bite. A couple years ago I went to look at 22 double head t-picos he was asking $400, not a bad deal in it self. I wasn't desperate for them so I offered $200 figureing I would get a laugh. He took the offer and said get them out of here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendsmarts Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I sold an ultra-vend for $40. I made out pretty well because I got it for free when I bought a metal triple head for $35. The most I paid for a machine was $50 and that was for a 5ft spiral. I only have 1 rack and I paid $85 for it. I bought a ap-snackshop 4000 for $150 and sold it for $500 a few weeks later. What I really want to find is a vendesign for under $50. I never owned one but they seem better than uturns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bravo Duck Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 What I really want to find is a vendesign for under $50. I never owned one but they seem better than uturns. I ended up with 30something Vendesigns from an aquisition last week. They are probably better than Uturns, but that ain't saying much. So far I'm not impressed, vend portioning seems to be poorly designed, and no gumball wheels. I haven't gotten the key situation sorted out yet, but when I do I'll sell them for $50 ea in "straight off location condition" meaning they are dirty and need to be cleaned up. If you're in N Texas and interested, PM me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I'm full line but I just wanted to throw out my 2 cents. The first two machines I bought were a USI 3015A machine (I can get these for about $700 from a distributor selling used equipment) and a polyvend 6632 (Probably $500 from a used distributor). I paid $750 for the pair. Just recently, I paid $1,000 for a pair of machines that are probably worth about $1,700 if I were to get them from a distributor. Both of these were due to craigslist. What I have found is that many people will look at the brand of a machine and then search the internet for the highest price they can find (lets say... $300 for a gumball machine). Then, they will claim their machines are "like new" and give all kinds of claims and say they will take $150 for it... even though you could get a brand new quality single-head for what... $75? I do think it's the mentality that "I got ripped off and now I have to rip someone else off to get my money back." These people will either NEVER fold or they will eventually fold so much you could probably get this same item for $30 because some people just give up and would rather get something than nothing. My overall mentality about it is simple.... if they have an attitude problem about taking a fair price, it's because they got ripped off and you aren't willing to bare their burden. If they have this attitude, I usually just walk away. It's simply not worth my time to deal with people with attitude problems. Some of the best deals I have made were with people with nice attitudes. Note, the WORST thing that I have EVER seen was an ad on either craigslist or ebay where someone was trying to sell a used 10-15 year old snack vending machine for $2700!!!!!! The ad listed that it was "like new" and was only on location for a few years. I about got sick at the idea of someone so willing to rip someone off THAT BAD!!! I've gotten the same machine, twice, for between $400 and $500 each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Like most of these guys have said, patience is key. Find them, offer them a price, and if they go into how much they paid for it (I've sat through about 50 of those spiels) wait it out. Typically, I'll thank them for their time, wish them luck selling it, and give them my card with my offer written on it. I've gotten results in as little as two weeks. I'm not sure when it strikes them, but at some point many of these guys have the epiphany "This machine is taking up space I need. I cannot sell it for the price I want. Any money is better than having it sit in my garage, storage unit, etc. I hope such and such is still interested." You don't win every time though- some guys will hold out for a long time (I'm stalking one ad that's been active for about 4 years now) and sometimes someone without any experience will buy them at the sellers price. That's what they're hoping for. That works for you too though, I've found. I followed one machine in one sale, then waited and the new owner listed it for less a year later. Good luck rdendy, with a little patience you'll have lots of profitable (and varied) machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will.vend Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I drive the 30-50 miles to check them out, I get there and they are all old, rusted, plastic machines from china on crappy flimsy stands and the seller basis there resell price off what they originally payed, making what they are asking still higher than if I bought new machines... I would ask them to email or text a pic of the machines before I drove that far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdendy Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Good advice guys, patience does seem to be the trick. @will.vend great suggestion as well, I did ask a couple of times but they didn't have one ;( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendsmarts Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I really hate it when someone lists a used machine on craigslist for way more than it cost new. Ive seen a $175 listing for a cheaply made double head with a chute door missing. I bought 2 on the same doubles for $25 each in good condition. There is a guy near me who listed 10 vendesigns, but he wants $200 a piece.I wont even make an offer when the price is unreasonable. So Ill wait and see if he ever drops the price. Tstrong, I am im Ohio. Your price on a vendesign is good, but the shipping would be too high. Thanks anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Good advice guys, patience does seem to be the trick. @will.vend great suggestion as well, I did ask a couple of times but they didn't have one ;( Seriously? Doesn't every electronic device have a camera on it these days? My stand on that is that if I'm going to buy their equipment with my hard earned money, then they are going to get off their duff and take a picture of it. I don't care what sort of machine it is, or how good of a deal they claim it is. If they can't get a picture of it to me in a weeks time, then they don't deserve my money. I give you props rdendy, you must have the patience of a saint! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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