Looking for advice: Where do you look for used test equipments (beyond eBay)?

[CHO]

Hi.

I'm a test equipment dealer based in South Korea. Our team handles a wide range of electronic test and measurement instruments—such as oscilloscopes, power meters, current probes, electronic loads, power supplies, gaussmeters, and LCR meters.

Since the domestic market size is too small on its own, we have recently started selling overseas as well. Currently, we are only listing our products on eBay, but the fees are quite high, so we are also looking for other sales channels to sell without going through eBay.

I'm hoping to find ways to connect and build direct relationships with overseas buyers.

I’d love to get some friendly advice from the community:

1. For individual or corporate buyers who purchase used electronic test instruments from overseas, what platforms or channels do you use besides eBay?

2. Where do you look for trusted selling companies?

Any tips, recommended marketplaces, or advice on how to get started with international selling. Thanks in advance for your help!

[nctnico]

Ebay is a great place to build a reputation. The feedback system is a good indication whether a company is worth doing business with.

OTOH, I have bought test equipment (for business) from test equipment dealers through their websites. So basically my advice would be to create a website with a webshop. Make sure to have prices in various currencies (dollar, euro, yen) and calculate shipping quickly. Do me a huge favor and state prices (maybe add a 'make offer option' ). When I look for test equipment I don't want to be bothered to ask for a quotation. I want to know the price. If I see an asking price, I can buy it for that price or choose to make a sensible offer.

If your website is search engine friendly, your listings will turn up in search results when people go looking for equipment. This is what I do when looking for equipment. Search for the manufacturer, model number and the word 'price' to get to equipment for sale.

[tom66]

^Strongly agree there.  If a website says "ask for a quote", I won't (in most cases) ask for a quote.  Be upfront about the price!  Let me compare others rather than waste your precious time sending me emails when it's too much anyway.

[armandine2]

some personal examples of mine other than ebay:

Found my HP3400A RMS AC Voltmeter through eevblog forum - link to a test equipment auction.

My Keithley 2015 THD Bench Multimeter was advertised on eevblog buy/sell/wanted sub-forum.

And my Kikusui PMX350-0.2 power supply from Telonic UK was a discounted ex-display model.

So none relevant to a commercial seller I guess. 

[Brumby]

^Strongly agree there.  If a website says "ask for a quote", I won't (in most cases) ask for a quote.  Be upfront about the price!  Let me compare others rather than waste your precious time sending me emails when it's too much anyway.

Another +1  here

My reaction to this is the same as "If you have to ask the price, you cannot afford it".  Even if the price were to be quite reasonable, odds are that the time and effort to find that out just doesn't stack up.

[Smokey]

Equipment recyclers.  There are a few I know about in Los Angeles area.  They buy old test equipment and other stuff from aerospace and other industries and resell/scrap it out.  They have a physical warehouse you can go and inspect.   

[CJSouthern]

So basically my advice would be to create a website with a webshop. Make sure to have prices in various currencies (dollar, euro, yen) and calculate shipping quickly. Do me a huge favor and state prices (maybe add a 'make offer option' ).

Well said - I agree 100%.

@CHO

For many years I didn't have a website. I then tried, a couple of times, to create one myself. It didn't go well. Eventually I surrendered and spent around NZD $5K on a website built by people who actually knew what they were doing.

Before getting to that point, I'd sworn that I'd never spend that kind of money on a website. Interestingly, I've also tracked the additional profit I've made because of the website, and it currently sits at NZD $62,372. I'm sure people can do the maths.

I learned a few things along the way.

1. A good website costs a lot of money. A bad website, or no website, costs a lot more.

2. When you create a good website, there won't be a proverbial queue of customers lined up at your door the next day. It takes time, and it takes work.

3. People won't buy unless they perceive that the value they'll receive is equal to, or greater than, the value being asked from them. Part of that is, of course, the price. But there are many other things that determine perceived value:

* Do they trust you to ship the item promptly? (or at all!)

* Can they get support from you after they've bought it?

* Will you look after them if they have a problem?

* Do you appear professional and established?

* Do you make the buying process easy?

* Are you prepered to invest time in the relationship by communicating with them?

4. Understand the lifetime value of a customer; ie their value to your business if you keep in touch - get to know their needs - provide value to them repeatedly.

That's where a lot of businesses let themselves down. Badly.

The buyer doesn't know you from a bar of soap, so they have to do their due diligence and make a judgement call. In my view, the website is a big part of that judgement.

Businesses undermine that trust in several ways:

* By having low-quality websites with spelling, punctuation, and grammar issues. If they don't care enough to present themselves professionally to the world, why would a buyer assume they'll care about service after they have the money?

* By not following through on promises. When I make a commitment to a customer, I consciously register that I've promised to do something for them by a particular time, and I put procedures in place to make sure it happens. Calendar entries, task lists, reminders, whatever's needed. On the occasions when something unavoidable gets in the way, I communicate with the customer, apologise, and reschedule. Honouring commitments and communicating well are key parts of building trust. Often I'll test a seller by asking them a question; if they can't be bothered answering in a timely manner - or only reply with boilerplate text that often doesn't even address my question then I'm probably not going to be buying from them. Many fail this test.

* By failing to cultivate an online reputation for honesty, prompt communication, flexibility, and the sense that “we've got your back”. Those things don't happen overnight. They take time and consistent effort.

So yes, I'd absolutely recommend a proper website with a webshop, clear pricing, sensible shipping options, and a professional presentation. It's not a magic bullet, but done properly, it can become one of the best investments a business makes IMO.

Hope this provides some food for thought.

[u666sa]

1. For individual or corporate buyers who purchase used electronic test instruments from overseas, what platforms or channels do you use besides eBay?

Use B2B platforms, such as Alibaba and 1688.

How eBay works. Chinese sellers purchase equipment or use drop shipping option and list it on eBay, Amazon, Aliexpress, etc.

What you want is to buy from company that resells old, used, and remmaned stuff. You'd need to search Alibaba for what you want, and then use Ai, such as Microsoft Copilot, to analyze sellers.

You should be able to find most of the stuff that is sold on eBay, directly from supplier, without middle man.