When you’re shopping for welding equipment, consider buying used welding equipment. Buying used equipment is a great money-saving alternative to spending a ton of money on brand new equipment. You may want to especially consider buying used equipment if you are a beginner to welding or if you are just starting out in the professional welding world.
Don’t be turned off by used welding equipment. If you ask the right questions and do a thorough enough inspection of the equipment you can be sure you’re getting a quality piece of equipment for a price that’s unbelievably lower than the equipment would be if brand new. Don’t think you need to break the bank to get decent, working equipment.
When looking at a piece of second hand welding equipment it is very important for you to thoroughly inspect the item you are considering buying to ensure it is in good working order and also fits the specific requirements of the type of work you’re going to be doing.
Make sure to ask the seller of the equipment any questions you can think of about the past uses of the equipment, ways it has been maintained, whether there have been any performance issues or formal repairs in the past, and just how old the equipment is. Find out if the equipment has been reconditioned or is original.
You may also want to ask how long the current owner has been in possession of the equipment and if not the original owner, ask when and from whom he acquired the equipment. Also see if there are original manuals or packaging available for the equipment by chance.
If there isn’t a manual available, make sure you keep in mind and try to find out important specs of the equipment such as what voltage the equipment uses. Check to see how portable the equipment is for the purposes you will need it for.
When trying to find used welding equipment to purchase, the internet can be an excellent resource. From personal sellers listing on auction or direct sales websites to large companies that deal exclusively in reselling used welding equipment, you can find a ton of used welding equipment online.
Some specific websites that are great places to find used welding equipment are Ebay, Amazon, and Craigslist. Craigslist is great for searching for local sellers as well as national, however keep in mind that some Craigslist sellers will not want to ship but would rather just do a pick-up only transaction.
When you are looking at a piece of equipment online, remember that you should ask more questions than usual since a visual and physical inspection of the equipment might be impossible if you live on the other side of the country from where the equipment is being sold from. Ask for extra pictures of the equipment and schedule a phone call with the seller so you can have a more thorough conversation about the specifics of the equipment.
Ebay and Amazon are the top websites to find used welding equipment. The only problem is shipping, if you are purchasing a large welding plant. In this case, if the shipping costs are out of line with your budget, try Craigslist.
If purchasing used equipment over the internet makes you nervous and you wish to avoid it altogether you can always check out the local classified sections of your local newspapers to see if anyone is selling anything locally. Another great option is to contact local metal fabrication businesses and local welding companies to see if they are currently selling any of their older or used equipment to make way for upgraded newer equipment.
By asking the right questions and conducting a thorough inspection of a used piece of welding equipment you can find a great, high-quality piece of equipment for a fraction of the price that you would have spent if you bought the thing brand new.
