Article Written By: Clayton Arnold
Warehouse and material handling equipment is used to transport, control, and store assets, products and materials within commercial and industrial facilities. These include the manufacturing plants where production occurs, as well as job sites where it ends up. Large material handling equipment may include trucks, lifts and cranes, whereas smaller equipment may include storage bins, shelving and furniture.
Aucto’s material handling category features a variety of used industrial equipment, such as augers, conveyors, forklifts, order pickers, jacks, scales, lifting tables, shelving, racking and more.
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The purpose of material handling equipment is to assist in moving materials, assets and products. From shelving to forklifts to pallet jacks, material handling equipment comes in many different forms, and there’s warehouse and material handling equipment and machinery for nearly every asset moving requirement.
Our guide explains the benefits of used material handling equipment, and how your business can save money by purchasing used material handling equipment via online industrial auctions.
Purchasing used material handling equipment is significantly less expensive than purchasing new equipment. Generally, used industrial equipment is 30 to 70 percent less expensive than newer models.  Over time, the Business Development Bank of Canada suggests that this can cut overall business outlays by more than 40 percent. For industrial equipment and machinery, the price differentiation equipment normally depends on its quality and condition.
To illustrate this price differentiation, featured below is a chart that compares the prices of new and used material handling equipment.
When purchasing new material handling equipment, it is normal to be faced with inconsistent lead times. This is due to many reasons including, but not limited, to the manufacturer not having certain parts or materials on hand, shipping delays, and not deploying enough staff to maintain order deadlines. Since used material handling equipment is usually available immediately, gaining possession of it is normally quicker. From purchase to installation, the typical lead time(s) on used industrial machinery ranges from two to three weeks. In comparison, the typical lead-time(s) for new industrial equipment can be up to six months.
As soon as a business assumes possession of material handling equipment, it will immediately begin to depreciate in value. In fact, for material handling equipment, depreciation will reach its peak at approximately the one-year mark. After an initial drop of 20 to 40 percent in value, the equipment’s price will normally stabilize. Insofar as the equipment or machinery is maintained, its value should remain the same for at least five years.
As explained above, used material handling equipment’s value doesn’t significantly depreciate after the first year of ownership. Due to the relative lack of depreciation, used material handling equipment, such as forklifts, can normally be resold at, or near, the price it was purchased. In this regard, used material handling equipment presents a unique opportunity in that it can be resold, later, for a similar price at which it was purchased.
There are many online options to source used material handling equipment and machinery. These include used industrial equipment suppliers, auction platforms, as well as online marketplaces. Below is a list of the primary options available to a business when sourcing used warehouse & material handling equipment, as well as a brief analysis of their benefits.
Industrial auctions are increasingly shifting to online platforms. The main benefit of online auctions is remote bidding, which allows buyers to participate anywhere they have a reliable internet connection.
Price and convenience are two of the general benefits relevant to both online and onsite auctions. Since industrial auctions are hosted when a seller wants or needs to sell a large amount of inventory in a short period of time, the equipment’s starting bid will be set to cover cost, thereby providing buyers the opportunity to purchase material handling machinery at less than retail value.
Buying material handling equipment from machinery reseller is a convenient way to source equipment and machinery. The benefits of purchasing used warehousing equipment, such as forklifts, from a reseller include: limited warranty, transportation, setup, as well as financing services. Although these benefits make the purchasing material handling simple for buyers, they typically come at a cost. As a result, machinery dealers are usually the most expensive way to source used material handling equipment.
Earlier, we explained how used material handling equipment and machinery is normally 30 to 70 percent cheaper than new equipment. When purchasing used material handling equipment in an online industrial auction, the price typically skews toward and is closer to the 30 percent figure.
The table below compares the prices of used material handling equipment sold via private treaty to what it sold for on Aucto, in an online auction. It illustrates the point made above – that online auctions present an opportunity for businesses to save even more capital when sourcing equipment in an online auction.
Online auctions, due to their remote bidding capacities, allows buyers to participate in an online auction from anywhere and at any given time. This provides incredible ease of access and removes geographic barriers once associated with used material handling equipment auctions.
While online industrial auctions are a simple to way to save more money, especially when purchasing material handling equipment, they are still growing in popularity and as a result, are not saturated with buyers. In terms of purchasing used material handling equipment, this means that the market is not as competitive, meaning sellers and auctioneers are more likely to begin bidding at a lower amount to guarantee a sale.
If you’re interested in purchasing used material handling equipment, our online marketplace is frequently updated. Warehouse and material handling equipment is regularly added.
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