danartman
August 30th, 2004, 11:31 PM
Before the internet you could only find "going out of business" gym stuff in the back of trade publications. Running a gym for 10 years I saw lots of these ads. A gym lasts less than 3 years usually so there is a lot of used stuff in good shape floating around. Trust me. There are ware houses filled to the rafters with stuff. It is a BUYERS market.
Now with the internet, forget the trade publications-- you can find used equipment, good stuff, all the time--cheap.
Ebay is a good place to start. Many of these guys advertise one or two auctions but have warehouses of stuff they are dieing to get rid of.
Searching on google has led me to several "used" equipment guys.
It takes time, but if you are patient the piece you want will come through in weeks to months. For me it is all price. I am not rich so it's easy to think cheap. However I like good equipment and will not buy crap.
Amazingly a machine 5 years old is nearly worthless ($300 to $500 dollars) compared to it's new price. This is pretty universal. Of all the things I learned this was the big one. After 5 years it has no real "value" except to a weight guy like me. It's too old for the "modern" health clubs and usually is sold off to a broker and then to someone like me.
If I had money I have seen full lines of cybex and hammer go for $300 to $700 a machine. Sometimes much less! A whole line of 5 year old stuff for $4000 to $9,000. Need to open a gym? Forget buying new stuff--you can save 50%--85% (or more) buying good used stuff.
You really can save big $$$ by buying 20 machines at once. I have a friend that bought a 8 year old Cybex line (18 machines) for $4000.
Of course this is not an option for me. I buy one at a time. Scraping together my dimes etc..
Online tonight (ebay)I saw a HAMMER chest press for $300. That's about my range. Shipping is generally $300 on any normal machine like this.
Generally you can get almost any machine for about this price range.
My next hunt is a HAMMER row machine. The old style combo shrug row one is the one I want. And since it is nearly 10 years old (the model I seeK) it's not worth much.
All of the brokers have been very good to deal with. No bad expereinces. I look at used stuff all the time (it's a hobby) searching for that "deal".
This week my FLEX leg press arrived. 3.5 years old, from a broker that refurbishes gyms in South Carolina. I paid $600, new this same machine is over $3000. It's a little scuffed but in great shape and works fine. A sweet deal!
I got free shipping as I was able to wait till they drove through FLorida to deliver other items to a big gym. They stopped by my house and dropped off the leg press for free. I figure I saved $300 to $400 in shipping--at least.
My ability to wait, call people and chat, and tell them what I am looking for, and search on the internet and ebay, has led me to a host of good deals. LAst year when I bought my POWERTEC work bench I looked at every equipment dealer online and within 80 miles of my house. During week 2 of my month long search, I found a place that had a floor model for $100 off full price. I ended up buying that one.
If you look, you will find.
With the internet brokers can get stuff sold more quickly, and engage in more frequent turn over. This lowers their bottom line. This makes the average machine (that only lasts a week or two in the warehouse) cheaper to buy for people like us. The shorter the time they hold the item, the more profit (over the year) they make. These guys sell 1000's of machines over a years time.
SOme day I will have a near world class gym for less than full price on one new machine. I am close now.
Currently I have in my tiny garage:
Powertec workbench (lat pulls, rows, press, leg curls extentions, etc) purchased locally in Florida. ($680.00 which included Fla sales tax)
Chins and dips station (bought new 8 years ago for $100)
Attached to the chin bar (ab slings to do hanging abs..$30.00)
Wide regular bench (garage sale $30--killer bench for the $$)
Cybex super pullover machine ($300..online broker..$300 shipping)
FLEX leg press ($600..online broker..free shipping)
pec deck (super heavy duty machine--$150..ebay auction..free shipping. The guys wife wanted it OUT of the house--so I got it for deal!)
bars and dumbbells. 500 lbs in plates. (Garage sales for some of it but most plates came from Walmart..cheap and works fine).
I hope this helps someone like me find what they want.
What I need now is a bigger garage!!
:drool:
Now with the internet, forget the trade publications-- you can find used equipment, good stuff, all the time--cheap.
Ebay is a good place to start. Many of these guys advertise one or two auctions but have warehouses of stuff they are dieing to get rid of.
Searching on google has led me to several "used" equipment guys.
It takes time, but if you are patient the piece you want will come through in weeks to months. For me it is all price. I am not rich so it's easy to think cheap. However I like good equipment and will not buy crap.
Amazingly a machine 5 years old is nearly worthless ($300 to $500 dollars) compared to it's new price. This is pretty universal. Of all the things I learned this was the big one. After 5 years it has no real "value" except to a weight guy like me. It's too old for the "modern" health clubs and usually is sold off to a broker and then to someone like me.
If I had money I have seen full lines of cybex and hammer go for $300 to $700 a machine. Sometimes much less! A whole line of 5 year old stuff for $4000 to $9,000. Need to open a gym? Forget buying new stuff--you can save 50%--85% (or more) buying good used stuff.
You really can save big $$$ by buying 20 machines at once. I have a friend that bought a 8 year old Cybex line (18 machines) for $4000.
Of course this is not an option for me. I buy one at a time. Scraping together my dimes etc..
Online tonight (ebay)I saw a HAMMER chest press for $300. That's about my range. Shipping is generally $300 on any normal machine like this.
Generally you can get almost any machine for about this price range.
My next hunt is a HAMMER row machine. The old style combo shrug row one is the one I want. And since it is nearly 10 years old (the model I seeK) it's not worth much.
All of the brokers have been very good to deal with. No bad expereinces. I look at used stuff all the time (it's a hobby) searching for that "deal".
This week my FLEX leg press arrived. 3.5 years old, from a broker that refurbishes gyms in South Carolina. I paid $600, new this same machine is over $3000. It's a little scuffed but in great shape and works fine. A sweet deal!
I got free shipping as I was able to wait till they drove through FLorida to deliver other items to a big gym. They stopped by my house and dropped off the leg press for free. I figure I saved $300 to $400 in shipping--at least.
My ability to wait, call people and chat, and tell them what I am looking for, and search on the internet and ebay, has led me to a host of good deals. LAst year when I bought my POWERTEC work bench I looked at every equipment dealer online and within 80 miles of my house. During week 2 of my month long search, I found a place that had a floor model for $100 off full price. I ended up buying that one.
If you look, you will find.
With the internet brokers can get stuff sold more quickly, and engage in more frequent turn over. This lowers their bottom line. This makes the average machine (that only lasts a week or two in the warehouse) cheaper to buy for people like us. The shorter the time they hold the item, the more profit (over the year) they make. These guys sell 1000's of machines over a years time.
SOme day I will have a near world class gym for less than full price on one new machine. I am close now.
Currently I have in my tiny garage:
Powertec workbench (lat pulls, rows, press, leg curls extentions, etc) purchased locally in Florida. ($680.00 which included Fla sales tax)
Chins and dips station (bought new 8 years ago for $100)
Attached to the chin bar (ab slings to do hanging abs..$30.00)
Wide regular bench (garage sale $30--killer bench for the $$)
Cybex super pullover machine ($300..online broker..$300 shipping)
FLEX leg press ($600..online broker..free shipping)
pec deck (super heavy duty machine--$150..ebay auction..free shipping. The guys wife wanted it OUT of the house--so I got it for deal!)
bars and dumbbells. 500 lbs in plates. (Garage sales for some of it but most plates came from Walmart..cheap and works fine).
I hope this helps someone like me find what they want.
What I need now is a bigger garage!!
:drool: