Flip A Machine R&r Resale ?

kennyv

kennyv

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Recently purchased a brand new used lathe and a new mill ..n a bunch of tooling pretty much 6k in the hole . Been doin some tool swap buying and selling but thats only helping my tool habit. I need to start thinking bigger less get some work to do that will produce a profit . Any ideas ?


Wanted to bounce something off of you all experts. Flip a machine


I was wondering what you guys think about flippin this machine . R&R and than resale. What do you think I can get for her .. I can pick her up for $700



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lathe-Logan-11-x...1794743771



Description is wrong its a Logan its a 10x24
came out of basement guy that passed Its apart only to get out of basement and to ship . Says runs good . says ways good and head is tight . I did take a quick look at machine when I was buying my SB 10 Heavy . Looked ok from what I saw .As you see dud 3 jaw chuck and collect chuck /collects as accessories.



What do you think I can get for her after shes checked out cleaned up and running tight ?


All Opinions welcome
 
Around here (central PA) $800-$1200. Be very careful if you're trying to make a buck. I recently restored a Logan 1825 (10" on cabinet mostly complete) for fun. It took 120 hours and $600 in consumables and parts - and I bought most of those used. I have about $1400 in the machine total and I just saw an 1875 (same machine, different cabinet) for $1200. I'm happy with mine and have no plans to sell any time soon. But, even if I get top dollar when I eventually sell, I know I'll ever get the cost of labor back. Your mileage may vary.

John
 
My experience in flipping anything is that you need to be a minimum of 30% off of retail to have a chance at making a profit. I have flipped tools, vehicles, sports equipment, appliances, and homes. 50% back of retail is where you can make some cash. Just my $.02. YMMV
 
I looked into doing the same thing for fun and a little $$. After taking into account the fuel cost, forklift and all the things John mentioned it is hard to make a buck or two. Being in NJ is similar to PA, and these type of machines pop up all the time and are not that expensive. It can work but it is difficult and you can lose out often- John is correct in that $700 lathe repaired will not bring that much money as the market in your area won't support a ~$2,000 logan lathe with little to no tooling.

I don't want to be a nay-sayer, so give it a shot. But write all your cost down with the Logan lathe from start to finish and do a little market research to see what a realistic price for resale would be. Balance it out and see if you can live with the end result. Your time spent on the lathe needs to be accounted for.
 
One option would be to sell in machine deserts such as Phoenix, Vegas, and Southern California. A worn out BP with no tooling goes for 5K here, same thing for lathes. And hobby size machines are pricey too. A few month ago a HF 7x12 lathe went for $450 used, and only came with a couple HSS tools.
 
I thought about buying some of the machines I see up north and drag them down here to south Texas. But by the time I pay shipping to get them down here, I'd be lucky to break even on the sale. And that would be before any clean up work is done. Oh,if repairs were needed..... I just buy them, fix them up, play with them for now. I know later, some of the machines will get sold, for much less than I have tied up in them.
 
theres no way to make it worth it, unless your in it just to restore machines for the sake of preservation, where your labor is basically free, but you get your money back at least, which is the way it is with most anything thats old, cars tend to be an exception sometimes, but old machines, nah, unless you get it free! the guy above said it took 120hrs PLUS 600 in parts and what not, thats $4200 at 30 bucks an hour, @20 an hour your still 3 grand, i wont work for less than that
 
Thanks any other ideas? .. the buying selling tools on e bay is costing me more im eating up all the profit
 
I bought a car at auction once for $50, rebuilt the trans(300) and brakes, and an electrical part, sold it for 1600, so bout 1000 profit but I probably had 15hrs in it or more
 
kennyv said:
Thanks any other ideas? .. the buying selling tools on e bay is costing me more im eating up all the profit
Click to expand...

Make or repair items for people in the local area. A home shop has a lot less overhead, but a lot less tooling and capability.
 
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