Becoming a Skillful Appraiser: 3 Ways to Determine How Much Your Used Equipment Is Really Worth

Used equipment can often be sold to recoup money spent on it, to fund new equipment for the business, or simply to make more room in the warehouse for other equipment. No matter why you’re selling the equipment, understanding the value of it and determining the right price to ask for is crucial. Ask for too high of a price and potential buyers will walk away. Ask for too low of a price and you’ll lose out on the money. So how do you determine the value of your used equipment? These three methods should give you a good idea of how to price any equipment you plan on selling.

Use a Value Guide, If Available

Most people are familiar with the Kelley Blue Book for used cars. This is a great way to determine the value of a car using the current condition of the car. There are other value guides just like this, but for other types of equipment. Bizfluent.com recommends checking to see if there is a valuable guide for the type of equipment you’re selling. This could be a quick and easy way to tell not only how much your equipment might be worth, but how much a potential buyer may be willing to spend on it.

Check Auctions and Other Recent Sales

One of the best ways to determine the value of used equipment is through finding out how much recent equipment has sold for. It is important to make sure you look at the equipment in the same condition as the equipment you want to sell, but recent sale prices can show you how much buyers are willing to pay. Check out auctions like https://www.equifyauctions.com/ to view equipment that’s sold recently and check out how the condition compares to your equipment. If the equipment sold is comparable to what you want to sell, you can use the selling price to determine how much you want to sell your equipment for.

Use the Cost to Determine Value

One of the most accurate, but more elaborate, ways to determine the value of used equipment is to use the purchase price of the equipment. According to NorCal Valuation, a buyer isn’t going to pay more for used equipment than they would to buy it new, so knowing the new cost is crucial. This works well for equipment that’s still in production and being sold as new. Once the new cost is known, it’s possible to reduce that price based on the condition the equipment is in. Newer equipment in fantastic shape can often be sold for a price just below the new purchase price. If there is a lot of paint missing, scratches, and other cosmetic issues, the cost will lower a bit. If there is anything damaged that will need to be repaired, the price can drop significantly. How far it drops might depend on how difficult the repair is, how costly the repair is, and even how necessary the repair is.

Selling your used equipment can enable you to clear out space or raise some extra funds. Pricing it properly, however, is crucial. Use the tips here to look into the potential cost for used equipment like your own so you can price your equipment competitively. This will give you a better chance of being able to sell your equipment quickly and get as much as possible for it.