Grizzly 8x30 G0731 milling machine

[Scott_M]

I am going to sell my Grizzly mill and have no idea what to ask for it. There are none on EBay or Craigslist to compare too. So I thought I would ask here for some ideas on a fair market price for a used machine. Once I come up with a good price I will offer it for sale here first. It will be a local pick up for obvious reasons.
I bought the machine new in 1989 , it has a power feed and a 3 axis DRO. Here is a link to the "New" machine on Grizzly's website. http://www.grizzly.com/products/8-x-30-Vertical-Mill-with-Power-Feed/G0731
I also replaced the cheap switch so many times that I finally got feed up with the cheap switch and replaced it with a proper Allen Bradley motor control. The 4" swivel vise also goes with it. And some additional R8 tooling. I have only used it a couple of times in the last few years since I got my CNC machine. It is just taking up space which I need for another new machine. ( CNC Lathe )
So $3,800.00 new plus a 3 axis DRO and another $100.00 for the motor control brings it close to $5000 to replace new.
I have no idea what used machinery goes for. What do you guys think a fair price would be ?
This one was built in Taiwan not China. It is in very good shape and has been used a lot over the years and has some cosmetic flaws but no rust.
The machine is under power and can be inspected here in Medina Ohio.

Scott

 

[rodw]

Scott, just put it on ebay for $1.00 no reserve. The market will set the price and you will be happy with the price you get. This is what I did with my old Lathe/mill/drill and it worked for me. I included a bit of tooling I did not want to make it stand out a bit.

Just give it a real complete and honest description, heaps of photos and point out all of the extras on it.

People really want to get a bargain and you want everybody interested to bookmark it and have one bid. Then it starts to get noticed. But ebay is so big a marketplace, there are no bargains....

Bit scary for the first couple of days.

 

[RonGinger]

Once I come up with a good price I will offer it for sale here first. It will be a local pick up for obvious reasons.

Dont be afraid of shipping a big item. Truck companies now handle this very well. Have the buyer go to freightquote.com and develop a quote. That will give an exact price and create a shipping document. Then crate the item and take it to the local truck company. I dont know if you can ask for pickup this way.

I have shipped a couple mills, and helped a friend ship a lathe and its quick and easy.

 

[petertha]

Scott, just put it on ebay for $1.00 no reserve.

Maybe I'm not understanding or just conservative, but isn't this a bit dangerous? If it happens to get 'missed' by the crowd for whatever reason & somebody puts in a lowball stink offer for $250, wouldn't he be legally obligated to complete the transaction at that price?

These days with auto-bot bidding tools like auction sniper, perpetual sneaky listing costs (item is 'free' but shipping = item cost), hidden reserve.... IMO ebay-a-holics are wise to the game & ultimately bid what they are willing to commit to. The low starting price rampup/frenzy thing just doesn't seem as popular as when ebay was new. Or... maybe its just the stuff I'm always looking at

Good luck either way, its a nice machine & will make somebody happy. I hope there is a return to that level of affordability & quality because some of the new offerings out there are not nearly as nice in the important areas.
I've had a 90's era Taiwan bench style drill press that sees daily use. When I swapped in a new keyless chuck I put a DTI on the arbor just for curiosity. Its within 0.0006" runout, maybe a lucky Thursday machine. My friend just bought a new Chinese mill drill, almost 0.004" runout & the bearings sound like my coffee grinder!

 

[Cogsy]

The low starting price rampup/frenzy thing just doesn't seem as popular as when ebay was new

I recently listed an old Ipod touch as an auction on ebay, with a $35 starting price (what I would have been happy with to sell it) and 3 day length. It never got a single starting bid so I relisted it and again no interest. So I started it at $29.95 and left everything else the same. 3 days later it 'sold' for $51.00 - but then the bidder did not pay and I had to relist it again, still with everything the same, and it ended up at $61.00 plus postage. I mailed it yesterday.

Similarly, when I sell Victorinox Swiss Army knives, which I do often, I start them at $0.99 and end up with many watchers and bidders and usually make far more than if I start at a reasonable price.

People get sucked into wanting a bargain and then competitiveness kicks in and they don't want to get beaten by $1 or a few cents. Looking at my bid logs on my items shows bidders often increasing their initial bids several times throughout a busy auction.

Of course, in case of a really poor auction there is always the option to either end the item early, or as some rather unscrupulous sellers do, just claim the item was sold elsewhere if the winning bid was not high enough and cancel the transaction after the sale. I don't advocate that and I always honour my sales, but I can see a case for it if a $1000 machine tool ends up at $100 or something.

 

[Scott_M]

I think for safety sake I will list it with a reserve and see what kind of bids it gets, sort of test the market. If it does not sell, re-list it with a lower starting bid and no reserve.
The machine has certainly paid for itself over the years, but I just don't want to "give" it away.

Thanks for your help guys.

Scott

 

[rodw]

Maybe I'm not understanding or just conservative, but isn't this a bit dangerous? If it happens to get 'missed' by the crowd for whatever reason & somebody puts in a lowball stink offer for $250, wouldn't he be legally obligated to complete the transaction at that price?

The more bids you get, the more visible your offer becomes so thank him for his lowball offer as sure as eggs, someone will outbid him. When I sold my last machine, I had some friends ready to put in a bid to set a silent reserve but I did not need them to as it got off the ground fairly quickly. Machine tools are pretty desirable where I live and I had seen plenty of lathes go for 70-80% of new price. I think it is important to do a really good description so people know what they are getting. Show close up photos of any faults etc. and people will know you are honest.

I think Cogy's Ipad example shows how it worked. His first price was too high, nobody bid but when the first bid was made at the lower price, the value was confirmed by the first bidder and then people were happy to bid. He would have got his money even if he started at $1.00

 

[Swifty]

As Rod has said, get a friend to bid with a maximum price, then if it doesn't sell to another you will only be up for a small sellers fee.

Paul.

 

[barnesrickw]

Anybody know what collusion is?

 

[Scott_M]

Hi Guys

I went ahead and listed it on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/151788177545?

Scott

 

[rodw]

Hi Guys

I went ahead and listed it on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/151788177545?

Scott

Scott, great to see it is off the ground and running. Good luck. Sorry, on this side of the world, I can't help push it along :collusion:

 

[Scott_M]

Thanks Rod
My starting bid has been met so it will sell for the minimum price I would accept. I sure hope it goes higher, maybe 2K. In less than a day it has had 81 views and has 8 watchers so I think it will go for more.

Thanks for checking in.

Scott