How used machinery is valued
Sellers often come to us with a figure in mind, taken from the balance sheet or from what the machine cost new. The auction market rarely agrees with either number. This guide explains what moves the price of a used machine, and why the guide price we give you may look nothing like book value.
What buyers are paying for
A buyer of a used machine is paying for what it will do for them, less what it will cost them to get it working in their own building. Everything in a valuation feeds one of those two sides.
On the first side: the make, the model, the age, the hours or cycle count, the condition, the tooling and accessories that come with it, and whether it is a current model with parts and support available. On the second side: the cost of disconnection, removal, transport, reinstallation and commissioning, plus any repair the buyer expects to make.
Make, age, hours and condition
Some makes hold value. Buyers know they can get parts, know the controls and trust the build. A machine from a maker that has gone out of business, or with a control system that is no longer supported, sells at a heavy discount however good the condition, because the buyer is taking on the risk of a fault they cannot fix.
The same applies to obscure imports. If a buyer cannot identify the machine, they will not bid.
Age matters less than hours and care. A ten year old machine with low hours and a service history can outsell a five year old machine that has run three shifts a day and never been maintained. Hour meters, spindle hours and cycle counts are the evidence, so make sure they are readable.
Condition is judged on the day, by eye, by buyers who know what to look for. Worn ways, backlash, leaks, damaged guards and missing panels all take money off. So does a machine that cannot be powered up for demonstration.
Tooling and accessories
Tooling is often worth more than sellers expect. A machining centre with a full set of tool holders, a fourth axis, a probe and a chip conveyor is a different lot from the bare machine, and buyers will pay for the difference because it saves them buying those items new. Keep tooling with the machine it belongs to.
Demand, location and the cost of removal
Prices move with demand in the trade that uses the machine. When a sector is busy, its equipment sells well. When it is quiet, the same equipment may struggle. We watch what is selling and what is not, and our guide reflects the market as it is now, not as it was when you bought.
Location matters too. A machine in a well connected industrial area attracts buyers who can collect easily. One at the end of a single track lane in an upstairs workshop attracts fewer.
Every buyer works out what it will cost to get the machine out of your building and into theirs. Heavy items, bolted down items and anything that needs a crane or a specialist rigger cost more to move, and that cost comes straight off the bid. If a machine is worth less than its removal cost, it has a negative value on your site, and the honest advice may be to scrap it in place.
Reserves and unreserved sales
A reserve is the minimum price you will accept. Set it too high and the lot fails to sell, and you have lost the moment when the most buyers were paying attention. Set it at a sensible level, or sell without reserve, and the competition between bidders does the work. Unreserved lots often make more than the same lot would with a reserve, because buyers commit to bidding when they know the lot will definitely sell.
We will advise on reserves lot by lot. For general kit, an unreserved sale is usually the right call. For a small number of high value items, a reserve protects you against a thin market on the day.
Why guide prices differ from book value
Book value is an accounting figure. It is cost less depreciation over a set number of years, and it says nothing about what anyone would pay. Insurance value is replacement cost new, which is higher still. Neither is a market value.
The auction guide is our estimate of what the lot will make in a sale on your site, over a short marketing period, to a buyer who has to remove it. That is the only number that matters when you are planning around the proceeds. If the guide is lower than you hoped, ask us why. There is usually a specific reason, and sometimes it is one you can fix before the sale.