Lifestyle of rich and famous machine tool dealers

I have a bit of experience with rigging costs.

I would hope, of course, to have my own trailer big enough to move the machines, and means to unload. So, I would pay riggers only for loading on my trailer.

For a Bridgeport, the cost to load it on a trailer is around $50-75. For a small machining center, the cost of loading is $200 or so. Not horrible.

i

Ah, your business is just like mine. Steady by jerks.

My other quote.

Business comes two ways: Too Fast. Too slow. Too fast is two times better.

karl

Iggy,

30 years ago i was told these is no way you can make a living selling produce locally. Well, I just plain WANTED to do it. Can't say i got rich. But it was a way more fun ride than punching the clock at the factory I was working at.

I say go for it. You obviously have the skills and business acumen. You will have to adjust your business model as time goe on. If you have the desire to suceed, I believe there is a living (not get rich quick) to be made in most any field.

Karl

Thanks Tom.

Great post (and thanks for the private email also).

i

Karl, thanks.

I have been buying and selling for the last 10 years and it always worked out great. I can count the number of disasters on the fingers of one hand. I did military, industrial, and electronics. The model of buying and selling that Tom has described (surplus store selling to local customers) has changed, and a lot of stuff, if not everything, can be sold electronically via websites and ebay, with online reputations to follow. Since I always believed that money is made when I buy something cheaply enough, the online selling venue works fine.

I would really like to try myself at buying at selling higher dollar stuff (CNC machines and other higher end stuff), which I can only do without a day job.

The skills that I would bring to the game, are my 10 year experience, ability to identify good deals, and troubleshooting skills.

In addition, I have a few websites, that are bringing in income that is more than my day job income ever was, anyway, and my expenses are manageable.

i

The "falling bottom" is simply prices of used machines that fall. Lower prices are available for buying, when that happens. 2008-2009 were great years, for me, to make money. Example was Syncrowave 250s bought for $150 each and resold for $750 each. Very typical of the time in question.

i

With that outlook and flexibility, you should do well as long as you have ideas for the next phase of your business career. The down side of being a solo business is that if for any reason you have to stop working for awhile, the business stops. Having employees is a hassle, but it's insurance for you if you manage the business well.

RWL

Gunner has a good hourly rate but he doesn't bill for every hour he puts in at a client's site. I stopped doing that last year and we're all happier, I think. (I hope he sees this, but I won't see his reply unless it's via email.)

I'm not sure how much he makes on refurbing machinery.

-- Win first, Fight later.

--martial principle of the Samurai

That's what I told a nearby machinery dealer when I bought a machine from him for a lot less than he normally sold things for. As long as they have volume of reasonably priced stuff to sell, they'll have a business. If their source dries up they lose out to the imports.

RWL

Yep seen it happen, there was a family business selling used tools to the hobby market in chicago, the owner would go to auctions and buy inventorey and his brother and mom ran the store. Every time i went into his place he was bitching about Enco killing his business. They closed thier doors in 1995. One saturday i seen him kick a guy out of his store when the customer said i can get the same thing at Enco for half price.

In the hobby market the buyers want it cheap, on used stuff thats common you have to offer it at about 1/4 the price of Enco. Hobbyists don't always consider quality just price.

Best Regards Tom.

I look at it very simply, if I cannot make money on something by selling it on ebay, I do not buy it. Thus, I can easily sell to hobbyists.

I do, however, know super cheap people, who like to snoop around my garage, asking a lot of questions, wasting my time, always wanting to get the deal of the century from me. I do not particularly seek such buyers.

i

"Ignoramus11681" wrote in message news:xsGdnTajAOfUhKfTnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com...

Thats a real problem, the time wasters. Your gonna have to find a way to filter them out so they don't have access to you. Selling on ebay is one way to do it. Not dealing with general public personaly is the only way your going to have enough time to run your business properly. When i first started out i had my office in the back of the store. When a customer came in i greeted them and tried to help them myself, that was a big mistake. Within a few months of advertising in the local trading times paper i had aquired some of these time wasters. Most of them are looking for a hang out to shoot the breeze with someone. Others wanna pick your brain and will never buy anything from you. You don't want end up doing the normal paper work until 3am because of some ratchet jaw. I hired a woman to take care of the store and moved my office to my other building next door. I installed a CCTV camera in the store and ran a cable next door so i could see who was in the store. I also installed a sensor in the front door that chimed me when someone came in. I instructed the gal that worked the store to tell anyone asking for the boss or the owner to tell them he is not here right now. If they asked when he would be back she would reply with a i don't know. It worked very well for me and allowed me to filter out the insurance sales men, tire kickers, time wasters and brain pickers. When someone came in that i did want to see i would come in thru the front door and greet them. Never told any customer i was next door. Never put anything on display unless it has a price on it, that keeps the cheapskates at bay. If you like the person thats buying the item give them a discount, that will keep real customers coming back.

If you go thru with your warehouse deal build yourself an enclosed office where cutomers cant see your in the shop unless you come out. After a few months the time wasters will find a new home and won't come around anymore. Also wall of an area and put the stuff you want to sell in that area. Put your new arrivals in the back room where customers can't go digging around. If a customer asks for something you have thats not on display but in your back room, tell them you have one at your warehouse. Give them a price and tell them you can have it brought over in a half an hour. Most of the diggers and bargain hunters won't stick arround. Never Ever take a customer in the back room to dig arround thats one of the things dead beats like to do. Be friendley but be firm. You can always sell your widget on ebay.

Some of the stuff i did when i had a retail surplus stores.

Best Regards Tom.

Ok, again, you're talking about welders. Selling to service businesses may be completely different than to machine shops.

But when you bring up CNC machine tools, you're getting into machine shop territory. There, you can count on the bottom end of the market being very fragile in a weak economy.

Yes. I have done this for years. The timewasters are few and far between.

One guy specifically annoyed me a great deal, he would waste a lot of my time and almost never buy anything.

Altogether, this is not a problem, I just cut the conversation short when I feel like.

Yep.

Like I said,m the business of surplus has changed, and I sell most stuff online.

i

This has not been my experience. I just sold a 8" cross slide rotary table on ebay for $240, for example. I think that it is a great price.

i

This listing (25086254524) has been removed, or this item is not available. Please check that you've entered the correct item number Listings that have ended 90 or more days ago will not be available for viewing.

It looks like that link is missing the last digit. There are only 11 instead of 12.

Is this the item?

I sold $2,303.42 worth of stuff on ebay only, in the last 31 days. This does not count the $2,000 diesel engine that I sold to its rebuilder, $1,000 sandblasting pressure pot, $100 anvil, $150 Miller welder, drill chucks, and more stuff that I cannot even remember.

i

and a $300 Quincy 10 HP QR-25 compressor (cost $25 plus $40 loading).

i