Help needed to price a Myford lathe going for sale

[Mick DurkinParticipant @mickdurkin69889]

Hi All,

 

I hope this is a reasonable forum to ask this question. I apologise if it isn’t.

 

I have a Super 7B which I will shortly be putting up for sale, but I have no real idea of its worth.

 

I will include a list of what I have to sell below and would be grateful if the forum would be able to give me an idea what I should be asking for it.

I am not sure where best to offer it for sale. I am a bit wary of the big auction site, even though it has the best coverage. I am also aware of the http://www.lathes.co.uk “For Sale” site, which has a smaller, more savvy clientele. Are there other places I should consider?

 

BR

 

Mick

—————————————-

 

Myford Super 7, B model with quick change gearbox, non-power cross feed

Myford industrial stand with splashback

Newton Tesla VFD and motor

Metric conversion gear set

Fixed and travelling steadies

3 jaw S/C chuck, 4 jaw S/C chuck, 4 jaw independent chuck

ER25 and ER32 spindle mounted collet chucks

Hard, soft and live centres

Keyless drill chuck on 2MT shank

German AXA Multifix style tool post

10 plain toolholders and 5 v-slotted boring bar toolholders (AXA)

Myford swiveling vertical slide with small vice

Rear mounting G H Thomas parting tool holder with tool blades

2 Myford supplied oil guns

Hemingway carriage lock

Hemingway “Tubal Cain Gibraltar” toolpost

7” and 9” faceplates

2 drive dogs with dog drive plate

Spare chuck backplate

2 spare change gear bush/spindle/studs

2 spare 2MT blank arbours

Spindle hand winding handle

Spare Carriage wipers

Spare spindle Brammer belt

Myford spanners and spindle bearing C-spanner

Through spindle drawbar and brass nosed through spindle extractor drift

Cross slide mounting ball turning tool

Set of 3 taps plus circular die to cut/clean 1-1/8” x 12 tpi BSW threads to suit the spindle thread

 

 

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

It’s difficult to give an estimate because the value is almost entirely dependant on condition – whilst ‘extras’ will sweeten a deal, or help swing a buyer’s decision between several lathes at similar price-points, it’s the amount of wear, tear, and care that the lathe has seen that sets the value particularly with Myfords where cossetted examples are not uncommon.

A picture or serious discussion of condition would be helpful…

EDIT; apologies does that read a bit ‘funny’ – it wasn’t meant to! 😊

[Mick DurkinParticipant @mickdurkin69889]

Hi,

 

I appreciate that condition is important. I have an exensive set of photos which I intend to include when I place a For Sale advert, but thought that not appropriate here.

 

The lathe was bought as a factory rebuild at Beeston in about 2002 and has only seen light hobby use since, so it is in fair shape having never been abused. The list is extensive as that is all my Myford stuff and I don’t want to mess about selling in batches.

 

Some of the stuff is “sweetner” for sure, but I would consider things like the motor, stand, genuine Myford accessories and the high quality toolpost as of real weight in the sale.

 

I am mainly insterested in what ballpark I should consider and which would be the best way to sell.

 

BR

 

Mick

[Adrian R2Participant @adrianr2]

Well as this hasn’t attracted much attention I’ll state my untried opinion:

– lathes.co.uk seems good value for advice on price and hopefully would attract a more discerning buyer.

– The big auction site works best for things that can be delivered, so consider uplift/transport, ideally you make it so all your buyer has to do is click and pay. Buyer now pays fees and offers are a thing so you can start high and test the water, still a lot of scammers and timewasters.

– You could send your list to a dealer to establish a base price and then add your own margin.

Or you might get lucky and someone will message you on here with an offer (not me).

An interesting thread _might_ be “what have you sold recently and how?” – there are periodic queries on here as to how to dispose of workshop equipment, follow-ups with what they actually did and how it worked out are less common.

[Clive Brown 1Participant @clivebrown1]

There’s a fairly active Myford owners group on Facebook. This type of question seems to come up regularly. Alternatively, Ebay shows prices of “completed” sales which can be helpful.

Looking at some s/h prices, I get the impression that the present market is not too strong.

 

[Mick Durkin]

On Mick Durkin Said:

…

I am mainly insterested in what ballpark I should consider and which would be the best way to sell.

…

It’s worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it, so the problem isn’t the “ball-park” value, it’s finding a customer.   There are several scenarios:

• You are the executor of a will who needs to close an estate quickly, and it includes a workshop full of mysterious tools, materials and half-finished projects.  You have no idea what it’s worth and don’t care!   Fast exit options:
  • Dump the lot in a skip and pay to have it removed  (yes, this happens!)
  • Sell it as scrap. (value of the metal by weight only)
  • Sell to a house clearance firm.  (they pay rock bottom prices)
  • Sell to a dealer.  (Mildly better prices, up to half what might be got privately.)
• You want to maximise the payoff, but need a reasonably quick sale, and don’t want to put much effort in.  Best way is to auction it, and the more people who see it the better.  That means ebay, amazon, gumtree etc.   There’s no need for a “ball-park” value because the bidding will take the price up.  How high depends on the state of the market, which varies wildly, but I’d expect this Myford with accessories to do well.  People who buy Myfords are generally happy to pay over the odds!  I’ve no idea what the “state of the market” is at the moment – things like the threat of tariffs make people nervous of spending money, whilst the threat of inflation encourages them to swap money for goods.   In May 2025. should a 55 year old man spend his redundancy money on a lathe or should he save it because his financial future is bleak?
• You want to maximise the payoff and are happy to put effort in.   The answer is also an online auction, but break the sale into many parts.   Most customers want just a lathe, or just one of the accessories, than those wanting an entire workshop.  But maximising the money requires the seller to run many auctions, which is time and hassle.
• You want to maximise the payoff, don’t want to pay auction fees, and don’t care how long it takes to sell.  Advertise on this and other websites, in the magazine, and anywhere else you can think of.   This does need a ball-park value.   I suggest checking dealer and lathes.co.uk prices for similar equipment and add 10 or 20%.  This chap deals mostly in Myfords.   Expect to have your patience tested – dealers and others are likely to offer much less in hope your nerve has broken!

In considering “ball-park”, remember buying retail has many overheads.  Dealers pay wages and tax, auctions charge fees, and they all take a profit.   That the government takes 20% in VAT doesn’t add to the value of the product!  If you set a ball-park value, don’t get upset if customers refuse to pay : expect to negotiate.

I won’t suggest a price because I’m in the group who think Myfords are overvalued.  They’re good, but not that good!  But that’s just me, plenty of Model Engineers happily cough up big money for a Myford. I bought a lathe to cut metal, not as an investment or to celebrate Britain’s industrial heritage.   And, I deliberately don’t care if my workshop ends up in a skip when I’m gone – I’ve told my kids not to worry about it’s value when I’m gone.

Dave

 

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Dave hits the nail on the head.  Ebay is your friend even though they charge the seller.

[Clive IndiaParticipant @cliveindia]

Mick, i would compare it to ones on sale.
As Dave says, it depends on the condition and your circumstances.
Compare it against the one on this site….
http://quillstar.co.uk/

I have found this to be a genuine trader but who knows?

Yes, ebay is the best option for selling at auction on the web because of the exposure.

For me – I would sell it to a trader if possible – it’s usually cleaner and swifter.
Bear in mind a trader can only give you two thirds at best of the figure he is going to sell it for – less if it needs work.
He has to make a living. VAT complicates that but it’s the reality.

[John Haine]

On John Haine Said:

Dave hits the nail on the head.  Ebay is your friend even though they charge the seller.

eBay does not charge private sellers atm.

Tony

[Tony Pratt 1Participant @tonypratt1]

As always my advice is to look at eBay sold listings to get a ball park figure for current prices, dealers are quick but rock bottom prices. Facebook market place, also Lathes .UK are an option.

Tony

[Tony Pratt 1]

On Tony Pratt 1 Said:

On John Haine Said:

eBay does not charge private sellers atm.

Tony

Strictly true, but it perhaps depends on one’s perspective. eBay adds 4% + 75p to the  price which is called “buyers protection”, so the seller gets less than the buyer pays.

[Andy StopfordParticipant @andystopford50521]

Tony at Lathes.co.uk will give you advice on asking price and how to phrase the advert – I found it worth the fee advertising there when I sold my Harrison.

edited to add: I see you have advertised it there already

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

Mick look at your messages !

[Adrian R2Participant @adrianr2]

For the record this Myford is now marked as sold on lathes.co.uk.

[Chris CrewParticipant @chriscrew66644]

If you elect to list it on eBay, make the starting price for the auction the very minimum you will accept for the machine or insert a reserve price, otherwise you may well end up being very disappointed if there is only one bidder.

I learnt a very hard lesson when I sold a Boxford CNC in excellent condition by listing the starting price too low in the hope of attracting several bidders. In the event there was only one bidder who got an absolute steal from me. But I have also benefitted from others making the same mistake and have won a couple of items at far below what I consider them to be worth or what I would have been prepared to pay.

I recently sold a Raglan mill and didn’t make the same mistake twice and again there was only one bidder but at least I got what I wanted for the machine.

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