Some of you out there are great at buying used machinery
while others of you are not so skilled. My father had a customer named Ronnie
Ridgeway who ran Specialties Bindery in Maryland, both now defunct. He used to
buy machines from my Dad, sell them back, and buy them again. Sometimes maybe
three or four times. He didn’t care that he lost money on the machines so long
as he made more money on the jobs. That’s the problem with binderies—They hang
on to their machinery as if they were family heirlooms. That’s why so many
binderies look like museums.
Sometimes buying on price is the best way to go, especially
if you have an employee with mechanical ability. If you do not, it pays to
purchase machines that are rebuilt or reconditioned. What’s the difference? “As
is” means exactly that, like at an auction. “Good running” means the machine
works but it doesn’t mean that it works perfectly. “Reconditioned” should mean
that it works perfectly and also carries a warranty. “Rebuilt” means that it
should run like a new machine, the machine gets stripped down and rebuilt with
good or new parts.
Also there are some machines that are better to buy used
than others. A good machine to buy used would be a drill or a punch. A bad one
to buy used would be a shrink wrap machine. Recently I called a prospect who
was mad as hell. He had purchased an index tabbing machine, as is, from a
dealer in Idaho. He complained that it didn’t work right and he couldn’t get
anyone to fix it. When I told him I would fix it, he declined. Some people ought to
stay away from used equipment all together.
