By Guest Blogger: Bob Padula, Eye Care Alliance
Eye Care Alliance is a partner of Local Eye Site and powers the Equipment Exchange
One of the difficulties in selling preowned eye care equipment is determining a value. As they say on a familiar cable show about real estate…”what’s it worth?”
First, forget about what you originally paid, that is old history. The market value is the current price that is paid for that model and age equipment. The older it is, the more it has depreciated in value. It may have been the latest and greatest at the time, but now it may be way behind the curve in terms of technology. Remember that if you have a good accountant, you have depreciated the equipment and written off all of its value against your taxable income.
One suggestion is to figure out if you want to move it quickly at wholesale or put in a bit more effort and get a retail price. Here are what the terms mean to you…..
Wholesale: This is the lower price point in which a reseller or equipment broker will purchase the equipment. The bad news is that it will be a fraction of what you originally paid, the good news is that the equipment will disappear quickly and you will get a check and never hear about it again. The price needs to be low enough to allow the broker to package, ship, refurbish, resell and then warranty the equipment when it is placed into service in its new home. Often, that requires a great deal of investment, particularly for a reputable broker who will stand behind the equipment.
Retail: This is the “doctor-to-doctor” price or the price that a wholesaler or equipment broker would ask for a unit. Usually the equipment has been refurbished and given some sort of warranty or guarantee of being in good working order. It may be a local doctor who can come by and see the unit in operation and can pick it up and move it to their office vs. having to package and ship the unit. This will be a higher price than wholesale and represent the current market value of the equipment as posted on web sites and offered by dealers.
Trade In Value: This is an option worth considering in which you can ask the company selling a new version of the equipment if they offer a trade in value for it. Of course, this works like an automobile trade in because ultimately it would be better to sell the equipment outright and negotiate your best price. However, if you do not want the hassle, most manufacturers and brokers will offer you a trade in.
Determining Value and Price: This is the tricky part. Of course, there is not as much information regarding eye care equipment pricing as in consumer industries, but you can still use the internet to your advantage. Plug in the manufacturer and model number and see what the unit is being offered for currently. Make sure that you find a timely post. For example, you may see a unit offered at a certain price but the post was from over a year ago. Market values change dramatically in that period of time. Unfortunately, usually moving down.
Another option is to use the resources here at the Equipment Exchange. Ask the administrators and one of us will give you a range of market values for the equipment. Make sure you know the manufacturer, model, age and serial number (which is usually on the back of the instrument, near the plug or located on a label). You may also find this information on your original invoice. Although the price may not be relevant, the original invoice will make a buyer feel comfortable that you are the only owner and have a record of the age of the equipment, etc.
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