Pm3520

[Dale Gillaspy]

I recently started a thread about the value of my used PM3520. It was removed because someone made an offer on it, and therefore the thread was considered a classified. I don't know who replied, but if it was you, could you send me a private message? I don't want to violate the rules of the forum, but would like to talk with whoever has an opinion on this. I didn't post it in classifieds as the moderator suggested, because I don't know for sure that I want to sell it. This is currently just a fact finding mission.

Thank you.

[charlie knighton]

Jack.........

[Marty Tippin]

Long and short, I think 80% of the current market price for a new 3520B is a fair price for a 5-year-old lathe in good condition.

You could certainly ask 80% of retail, but I really don't know who would pay that much regardless of condition. Given the current new price of $3999, that 80% figure would be $3200. If I'm in the market to buy a lathe at that price point, spending an extra $800 for a brand new lathe with full warranty and no dents, dings, scratches or paint chips missing is a no-brainer.

A price closer to $2500-$2750 seems much more reasonable to me and I think reflects common asking prices.

As a point of comparison, I bought a ~5 year old 3520B about a year ago and paid approximately the going "retail" price. But my purchase included an literal truckload of accessories - OneWay coring system, Monster hollowing rig, a bunch of high-end chisels, vacuum chuck system, Wolverine sharpening jigs and a grinder, and on and on. I valued the 3520B's portion of the package price at around $2500 and still got a great deal considering all the extras that came with it.

Good luck selling your lathe - when you decide you're really ready to let go, list it in the Classifieds here on SMC and it'll get a lot of attention. Craigslist is also an option, depending on whether you're close to a large population.

[Steve Peterson]

I would have to agree that 80% of full retail might be a bit high, especially considering that Powermatic offers 15% off sales a couple of times per year. 3520B's in good condition would certainly sell for higher than the typical CL expectation of 50% original price. I would expect it to be fairly priced at around 70-75% of MSPR, possibly higher if you have a few accessories to sweeten the deal.

btw: where are you located?

Steve

[David Walser]

I would have to agree that 80% of full retail might be a bit high, especially considering that Powermatic offers 15% off sales a couple of times per year. 3520B's in good condition would certainly sell for higher than the typical CL expectation of 50% original price. I would expect it to be fairly priced at around 70-75% of MSPR, possibly higher if you have a few accessories to sweeten the deal.

btw: where are you located?

I suspect we're pretty close on a suggested starting price. My suggestion of 80% was based on actual retail price, not MSRP. So, if the price the lathes are commanding at the store is 10-15% less than MSRP, I'm suggesting an asking price of 80% of that number for a lathe in very good condition. That's pretty close to 70-75% of MSRP. I agree that many would be willing to buy new if the savings of buying used is "only" $800. You're not trying to sell a lot of used lathes, just one. All you need is one buyer for whom $800 of savings is worth more than the new lathe warranty. Since Dale's lathe is already broken in, and has been well maintained, (knowing Dale, I'm very confident he's not abused his lathe) the right buyer might assume that anything that was going to go wrong would already have gone wrong. A lathe is not like milk -- there's no expiration date. If there were a gremlin in the VFD, it would have shown up by now (would be the reasoning).

Dale is in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. When he's not turning, he runs into burning buildings for a living. (You'd have thought our summers were hot enough! Not for Dale!)

[Mike Peace]

I know of one selling in the Atlanta area recently for $2900 between two knowledgeable turners. For most folks there is also the local sales tax savings which could be about $300 here. They tend to be sold by word of mouth around here so one is unlikely to find a PM3520 on Craigslist.

[Brad Adams]

For what it's worth, I just bought a 7 year old 3520b in almost new condition for the asking price of $2800. I thought it was a pretty fair price. I then sold my 7 year old Jet 1642 for $1800. The buyer didn't balk at that price.