Source to purchase used implements

[JeremyBX2200]

Hi,
I am looking to purchase some more implements for my BX2200. Is there a good resource for used implements? They wouldn't be used a ton, so I have a hard time paying full/new price for them.

 

[bmblank]

Craigslist is probably your best bet, really. And implements hold their value pretty well. You'll want to compare the prices of implements available to you to the price of new implements. Everybody has a different number, but it may be worth an extra so many percent to get a brand new one vs. used.
I frequent the craigslist farm&garden section pretty often.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Maybe 'farm auctions' ? Though be REAL careful, there's usually a 'buyer's premium $$', taxes ($$$) , 'tahanks forcoming fee....'
Up here, local auction place sold for a $1, cost you $1.35 before it's yours.....

 

[Creature Meadow]

I look for farms that appear to be idle. If work does not appear to be going on, grass and weeds growing through implements and the yards around barns look little maintained I'll stop in.

Been lucky to find some things I could use. Going today to look at a 6' disk, old school real steel. I'm planning to offer him $500.00 for it.

In my opinion much rather in most cases buy older implements and tools. Seem to be made better. My old tractor supply brush hog is a beast the newer ones made from tin cans.

I don't mind paying good price for old used implements if in decent shape.

So look around old farms as you travel, may find someone willing to get rid of some jewels.

Jay

 

[Henro]

Craigslist is probably your best bet, really. And implements hold their value pretty well. You'll want to compare the prices of implements available to you to the price of new implements. Everybody has a different number, but it may be worth an extra so many percent to get a brand new one vs. used.
I frequent the craigslist farm&garden section pretty often.

I think there is also opportunity to find things on facebook marketplace, or something like that. I do not have experience with facebook (turns me off for some reason), but have heard this somewhere. You might try that in addition to Craig's list.

 

[ctfjr]

I'm a big believer in Craigslist also. My 1st post hole digger was bought there several years ago. It was cheap but was a no name implement that looked 'weathered'. I had it for 3 years, used it a lot and sold it for what I originally paid.
Just recently I found a really nice, hardly used Landpride PD15 digger. It had been used 1 summer and looked great. Got it for 1/2 the price of a new one. This spring I'm going to do a lot of plantings with it and I expect to again get what I paid when I sell it.

 

[UpNorthMI]

Jeremy,
I have had good luck in the past with Craigslist for certain buys. It seems activity in tractor attachments has dropped off severely, I'm guessing just due to covid and people not wanting to interact with strangers. I think the attachment market is changing at a rapid pace. A significant amount of activity is now direct sale from manufacturer to end user. I believe this gives us a more competitive and innovative market place.

One issue is users buy attachments through their dealer, maybe with a finance package and believe that the resale price should strongly relate to what they actually paid. My advice would be to investigate and know exactly what a similar new attachment would cost you before you go looking at items on Craigslist, make sure you are an informed knowledgeable buyer.

If you are in the market, you need to review Craigslist several times a day, because good attachments at reasonable prices sell quickly. You need to show up right away with cash in hand. Good luck with your hunt for attachments.

 

[random]

Here in NC, we have a local weekly called "Carolina Bargain Trader". When I lived in SoCal there was the "Pennysaver" - look for something like that in your area, local independent gas stations or general stores are most likely to carry them.

 

[bmblank]

If you are in the market, you need to review Craigslist several times a day, because good attachments at reasonable prices sell quickly. You need to show up right away with cash in hand.

This...

You'll find a listing that just popped up that looks good, give the guy a call and head out there with cash in hand, and if he's not as a-hole, he'll inform you that you were lucky cause he's got 2 or 3 other people that were willing to take it off his hands but he held it for you since he knew you were coming.
If he IS an a-hole, then you just made the hour and a half drive for nothing.

I purchased a 52" snowblower from somebody on craigslist for $1200, used it for 5 years or something, then just recently sold it on craigslist for $1200. The ability of implements to hold their value is both good and bad...

 

[GeoHorn]

bmblank’s description of a Craig’sList sale might be typical. I had never-before done anything with CL and frankly, didn’t trust it.
When I bought my tractor, I found it on CL the day it was listed. I drove 25 miles to look at it on the next morning, a Friday. There was another, identical model for sale yet another 25 miles away similarly priced I wanted to see also... bu the first seller would not accept a check. Not even accept a check and me wait until it cleared before picking up the tractor. NO CHECK. CASH ONLY. (OK, ...I thought...that’s his prerogative.)
So I tried to see how firm his price was and he told me ”I’ve already been offered my asking price sight unseen in Cash by another buyer... but I told him you were already driving over to look at it and if you didn’t buy it that he could have it on Monday.”

I figured that statement was purely-Fiction... designed to intimidate me... and it worked, I guess. I told the seller I couldn’t have the cash until Monday because I would need to convert an IRA to cash to pay him. He was firm- “If you can’t pay until Monday,.... I’ve already told the other buyer it’s HIS on Monday for Cash.”

I still don’t know if I was hoodwinked or not... but the next morning, Saturday, I was in my bank talking to the manager and taking out a short-term, 90-day loan of $17K.... drove over and paid the seller and picked up my new-to-me-tractor.

On Monday I transferred the $17K from my IRA to my bank and paid off the note. (I’d had the $17K loan for 48 hours.... the interest for that was $19.).

Sure enough, that other identical model was also sold within 3 days. So I think I did the right thing by acting quickly. Several other Craig’sList transactions I’ve participated in recently transpired almost identically. (I listed one of my boats, it sold overnight for Cash at asking price ....and I put up with calls on it for another week...each caller expressing frustration with CL because everything they call on is already SOLD for CASH.)

 

[D2Cat]

Many folks who place CL ads do not keep the email sent to the seller by CL to confirm the address is real. That address is required to delete the ad when the seller chooses. No email, no cancel and calls keep coming.

I use Cl frequently and always cancel the ad quickly after the item is gone.

 

[NHSleddog]

I love craigslist. If it is a deal it will go fast. Same hour/day. If it is a real deal, there are dealers and flippers with cash in hand for a deal, so the once a day craigslist steal is hard to be first in line for.

Cash, and Only Cash. I have heard every excuse in the book.

My favorite is "its a good check and the bank is local, right down the road....."

I will say, "is it your bank"?

They always say "yes".

I follow up with, "so you go there regularly"?

Again, they answer "yes".

"Great, go there and get me cash. I never go to your bank".

I will put right in my add "to keep the payment simple for everyone, I accept cash".

My main advice about attachments, if it has moving parts, make sure the company is still around. Old iron is great and usually heavier than market current.

 

[bmblank]

I tend to prefer cashiers checks for some reason. As a seller it's nice cause you don't need to worry about a check bouncing. And it's also not cash that you need to worry about counterfeits or anything. As a buyer, it's nice to not be rolling around with well over $1k in your pocket. Though, to be honest, I don't really know what security you get against it being stolen...

But I digress. Kinda straying from the original topic.

Dealers often have used equipment as well, but from what I've seen they usually have quite the mark-up on it.

 

[old and tired]

I've done Craig's List way too often. Somethings that I've bought - I have never used but maybe some day I will. Since I've gotten more than my fair share of deals here's the Tricks that I've used. Best one, Offer $10 more for the item - put that in the subject.

$50 for a spike aerator AND 6' blade - The kid put it on CL in the morning and he had literary had hundreds of replies and I offered $60 in the subject line (about lunch time). I also have given extra money after the deals... Ended up after talking to the kid for a while, giving him an extra $20. Sold the spike aerator for $260. Still use the blade.

$200 for a cutting torch, 50' of hoses; goggles; strikers; 2 acetylene tanks; and an O2 tank - This one I wrote; "NC State wants to buy your tank"... which was true, I use it at work. I also gave him and extra $20. So many people wanted to buy the tank. I told him that most of those people were only going to resell it at a higher price, Thankfully, He did graduate from NC State (took a shot in the dark!!) Would have backfired if he went to UNC!!!

I have over 15 or so purchases from Craig's List - One warning, If you do not know how to weld, you better learn how to. Most of the equipment needed some TLC... $50 for a 5' rear blade - the connection was a hack weld job. My repair was only slightly better but has held and I still use it.

One last one, Got this for $150... sweet old guy. I love talking and meeting people that I've done business with from CL... many times, I've spent an hour or so talking about old times. I end up giving him $180 for it... You do need to drop everything to chase after the deals.

 

[D2Cat]

I know a guy who farms and also buys and sells items he gets at farm sales. He has quite a yard and barn full of various items. If he has something to long by his standards he will let it go at a very reasonable price. If looking for something, I can ask him to find it within a price range.

You might know such a person in your area. Watch bulletin boards at feed stores, or talk to the guy at the scales of the salvage yard. You'd be surprised what folks haul off a junk because they don't know what it's use for!

Some implements like a rear blade, post hole auger, harrow, cultivator do not wear out they just get rusty and grow mold/mildew on the rust. A bit of clean up and paint and you have something as good as or better then something costing 8-10 time more then what you can buy it for!!

 

[MNVikingsGuy]

I definitely agree that sellers on CL should demand cash for all the obvious reasons. But depending on where you are, I would be thoughtful about going to a complete stranger's location with thousands (or tens of thousands) of cash on hand. You might want to "forget" the cash and see the item first and assess the situation and then "run to the bank" real quick to finish the deal.

I sold a boat once to a guy who drove up from OK with $40,000+ in cash and met me after dark at a vacant lot where I was storing the boat. He came alone. I had a buddy with me. All went fine. After the fact, I thought about it and realized that it was probably not particularly prudent of him and reminded myself not to act as foolishly as he.

In MN there was a guy who raped a number of young girls by offering babysitter jobs on CL and directing them to vacant houses where he waited. And this was in a fairly nice suburb.

Not crying wolf and am not a particularly worried person myself, just a reminder the world isn't what it used to be. Be careful out there.

 

[D2Cat]

I definitely agree that sellers on CL should demand cash for all the obvious reasons. But depending on where you are, I would be thoughtful about going to a complete stranger's location with thousands (or tens of thousands) of cash on hand. You might want to "forget" the cash and see the item first and assess the situation and then "run to the bank" real quick to finish the deal.

I sold a boat once to a guy who drove up from OK with $40,000+ in cash and met me after dark at a vacant lot where I was storing the boat. He came alone. I had a buddy with me. All went fine. After the fact, I thought about it and realized that it was probably not particularly prudent of him and reminded myself not to act as foolishly as he.

In MN there was a guy who raped a number of young girls by offering babysitter jobs on CL and directing them to vacant houses where he waited. And this was in a fairly nice suburb.

Not crying wolf and am not a particularly worried person myself, just a reminder the world isn't what it used to be. Be careful out there.

Now days, no matter what the price is, I let the CL seller know I need to take a look and then go get the money. This let's them know there is nothing to GET from me! I also ALWAYS have someone with me, (as a witness and backup).

 

[NHSleddog]

I tend to prefer cashiers checks for some reason. As a seller it's nice cause you don't need to worry about a check bouncing. And it's also not cash that you need to worry about counterfeits or anything. As a buyer, it's nice to not be rolling around with well over $1k in your pocket. Though, to be honest, I don't really know what security you get against it being stolen...

But I digress. Kinda straying from the original topic.

Dealers often have used equipment as well, but from what I've seen they usually have quite the mark-up on it.

In the US ANY cashiers check can have funds stopped on them. A certified bank check can not.
I have some nice fancy printers I could print you up some nice "certified" checks on.

I have been personally burned by a legit "cashiers check" that had the funds stopped on. Live and learn.

 

[JeremyBX2200]

Thanks for all the feedback. I will have to stay on top of the listings when it is time to purchase.

 

[old and tired]

Get to know the prices so you can identify a good buy... also, so you know what the scams are. Prices that are too good to be true! You are up against LOTS of other people trying to make an extra buck. Learn to stand out from the run of the mill crowd.