Cost of Secondhand Brewing Equipment

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jmp138

jmp138

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I just wanted to seek some others opinions. Does it seem that people have a rather out of touch opinion of the value of the equipment they are getting rid of.

I keep an eye out, as many of of us do, on craigslist for good deals and regularly see ball look cornys for 70 dollars, carboys for 45 dollars, and sankes for 100 dollars or more. I was just wondering if that was the norm.

It just seems silly to me that people don't do a little research to determine a reasonable price for their offerings.
 
I think it is about maximizing profit rather than being out of touch. If I thought I could find a buyer for my equipment at 2x what I think the market value is, I would take it.
 
A ball lock for $70 isn't totally out of touch. They're $60+ tax here in Raleigh. I usually start my ad with $10 off what I paid. If it sits for one week I'll knock $10 more off.

I say if you see a ball lock for $70, offer $60 and see if they bite. You'll save on paying tax and help a fellow home brewer out. :)

I've seen beginners kits for $150 and other stuff priced too high. Best you can do is make an offer. Are you looking for a ball lock keg?
 
Hello said:
A ball lock for $70 isn't totally out of touch. They're $60+ tax here in Raleigh. I usually start my ad with $10 off what I paid. If it sits for one week I'll knock $10 more off.

I say if you see a ball lock for $70, offer $60 and see if they bite. You'll save on paying tax and help a fellow home brewer out. :)

I've seen beginners kits for $150 and other stuff priced too high. Best you can do is make an offer. Are you looking for a ball lock keg?
Click to expand...

It seems to me that your logic of ten dollars less than what you paid for something used is reasonable if the article is in good shape. My point was really that if I wanted to pay retail price for something I would buy it new.

And yes, I am always looking for ball lock kegs! I picked up four from American Brewmaster last week. They will do 4 for $200 which I don't think is a bad deal in the current market.
 
I think some items like stainless and glass hold their value pretty well, but I agree that if it's only a few buck more, I'd rather buy new and have a company I can go back to if there is any problems.
 
Just FYI cornys "new" are closer to $110. The ones you get at LHBS for $60-$80 are used.

Also if you were selling it would you start low or start high? I know my answer...
 
"Starting high" is especially true on Craigslist... Seems that CL buyers and sellers expect to haggle over price, and so sellers list high and buyers always seem to start with a lowball offer.
 
jmp138 said:
It seems to me that your logic of ten dollars less than what you paid for something used is reasonable if the article is in good shape. My point was really that if I wanted to pay retail price for something I would buy it new.

And yes, I am always looking for ball lock kegs! I picked up four from American Brewmaster last week. They will do 4 for $200 which I don't think is a bad deal in the current market.
Click to expand...

Agreed on the $200 for 4. They're basically reconditioned actually. They buy them from a guy who basically demos Pepsi warehouses or something like that. They said they have a lot and I'm trying to see what a broken water heater will cost before I put down $200 for 4 more.

I happen to be the seller of the converted pin lock (pin to ball lock) on CL if you're interested. I actually would love to just get min $60 for it so I can buy the regular ball lock. With my new setup, the height is not an issue any longer but now width is.
 
I think that's true of many ads I see on craigslist and other places.

Some people think because they paid $800 for a couch that it's worth $500. Well, it's just not. If I was going to spend $500, I'd probably spend the $800 and get brand new in the exact color I wanted and not worry about someone else's "cooties".

Same with cars. Look at the Blue book- your $30000 car just isn't worth that today. I don't care how "nice" it is. Items depreciate.

Brewing equipment seems to either go for almost retail (crazy) to super cheap. I rarely see really decent and fair prices.
 
You just have to be patient with craigslist, like a crouching lion in the tall grass.

Don't worry. Most of the animals will run right past, but that one sweet, innocent looking gazelle will stop for a drink of water and... WHAM!!! $25 Ball Corny!!!


Sorry... a little too much Grand Marnier today.


I check craigslist at least twice a day, and I don't even need anything right now... but I might find something I can't say no to. For example, I bought a 5# co2 tank yesterday for $10... I have 3 already and a 20#'er too.

Craigslist is an ugly addiction.
 
Hi, my name is Luke, and I am a craigslist addict.

I do the same thing, have about 15 keywords I search every morning. Usually things are close to retail asking price. I have done the same though- ask more than what you are willing to take. Cause I have never paid what someone is asking, and I anticipate guys doing that when I list something.

And the worst thing someone can do is to tell you to f*ck off when you low ball them. Sometimes they say ok.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
 
Yooper said:
I think that's true of many ads I see on craigslist and other places.

Some people think because they paid $800 for a couch that it's worth $500. Well, it's just not. If I was going to spend $500, I'd probably spend the $800 and get brand new in the exact color I wanted and not worry about someone else's "cooties".

Same with cars. Look at the Blue book- your $30000 car just isn't worth that today. I don't care how "nice" it is. Items depreciate.

Brewing equipment seems to either go for almost retail (crazy) to super cheap. I rarely see really decent and fair prices.
Click to expand...


And this is really my point. Why would I ever pay retail or even a few dollars less than retail for a used product? Is it the idea that I'm helping out the homebrew community? Depreciation is a real economic factor. Maybe people are scooping up retail priced used items left and right, but I just don't see the value.
 
k1ngl1ves said:
Craigslist is an ugly addiction.
Click to expand...


I hear that. This was my damage last weekend.



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And some misc. tri clamp stuff.
 
A wine maker that over bought on the hobby scale and decided to downsize. That makes me the next person to over buy, but at least it was at a fraction of the cost.
 
It sucks even worse when you see a steal of a deal and find yourself broker than crap. Today on CL down in Birmingham Ala, a guy is selling a almost new full size fridge/freezer with a 15 gal keg, sank tap, another keg that looks to be about 10 gallon, 5lb Co2 tank and reg, with hoses and a single door shank and tap, compete with beer glasses. 350 bucks. The fridge alone would cost that.

If anyone on the list is from Alabama and interested, let me know and I'll go back and hunt the link for ya.
 
If you aren't already, use ifttt (if this then that) on the App Store. You can save searches from CL and when something is posted that falls within your custom search, it will automatically e-mail you with a link to the ad.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
brett1341 said:
If you aren't already, use ifttt (if this then that) on the App Store. You can save searches from CL and when something is posted that falls within your custom search, it will automatically e-mail you with a link to the ad.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
Click to expand...

Nice thanks! I'll try that.
 
bwarbiany said:
"Starting high" is especially true on Craigslist... Seems that CL buyers and sellers expect to haggle over price, and so sellers list high and buyers always seem to start with a lowball offer.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I always inflate my bottom line price by 50% to account for the Craisglist lowball. The offers I got for my car when I was selling it were entertaining to say the last. I wanted to get 3500 out of it, so I listed it at 5k... got offers from 1200 to 2200 for the damn thing. Ended up unloading it at Carmax because people are so damn cheap...
 

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