No, I need to make money when I sell it, and I can’t do that unless I pay considerably less than retail price.

I’m often asked this question, something along the lines of:

My car is worth 10 grand, it’s not been professionally inspected, valued, has no service history, and I live in another state, but would you pay 15 grand for it?

Business 101: To sell things sustainably, one needs to acquire them for significantly less than they sell for, even more so where significant time, energy and risk are involved.

Every piece of equipment I acquire needs to meet the high standards we set for the pre-owned equipment we sell. Every piece must be scrutinised, prepped for sale and carries some risk, no matter how carefully it is chosen. I can’t pay $700, or even $500, for something that I can only sell for $1000.

Service, repair, QA, prep and listing equipment usually takes several hours per piece. Margins for profit and warranty must be factored in. I’m not going to all this trouble to make a hundred bucks, and I’m absolutely not paying ANYTHING for equipment I haven’t carefully inspected.