Interested in selling used tanks to local Pawn Shop(s), any tips/experiences?

[rjack321]

So, what would be your price premium that YOU (if you were in the market) would offer between hydroed vs. non hydroed in this case?

Hydros are $35 here
I do my own VIPs

Not knowing the condition of the insides is a big problem. If they were in VIP the buyer has some confidence they are reasonable inside. No hydro, no current vip, and no way to open them to even check? I would pay about $125-150 for a set of doubles depending on the bands and valves. In hydro, in vip, double 85s are worth about $400 here assuming the bands aren't flimsy POS and the valves aren't the angled genesis type which are basically worthless here.

 

[runsongas]

LP85s also have better value in cave country where you can get reliable overfills. if you can only get 2640 or even worse 2400 psi fills out of local dive shops, hp100s are just all around better tanks.

 

[scubafanatic]

I recently purchased a Blue Steel Faber LP 85 Steel Tank HD Galvanized for $289 (inc. delivery + valve)

Ok that helps provide a reference point/context so Thanks!

 

[tmassey]

Ok that helps provide a reference point/context so Thanks!

$716, brand new, galvanized (way better than the paint/epoxy yours have), with manifold and bands, relatively fresh Hydro and brand new VIP. Shipping is like 40 bucks.

My rule of thumb is: used stuff shouldn’t cost more than half new. With a brand new Hydro and VIP, there’s no way I’d pay more than $350, with no travel, because of the epoxy. As yours are? 300 bucks.

Scuba gear is not like wine, it does not get better with age. Tanks tend to hold their value over time better than most other gear, but like any scuba gear, it’s worth 50% what you paid for it as soon as you drive it off the lot. And if you overpaid for it to begin with, as you state, of course it’s even worse.

And the Internet amplifies this. You bought your stuff in the early 2000s, when it was common to get things from a local dive shop, with the local markup. Today, there are so many options where the stuff will just magically appear at our door, and for a lower price

 

[scubafanatic]

$716, brand new, galvanized (way better than the paint/epoxy yours have), with manifold and bands, relatively fresh Hydro and brand new VIP. Shipping is like 40 bucks.

My rule of thumb is: used stuff shouldn’t cost more than half new. With a brand new Hydro and VIP, there’s no way I’d pay more than $350, with no travel, because of the epoxy. As yours are? 300 bucks.

Scuba gear is not like wine, it does not get better with age. Tanks tend to hold their value over time better than most other gear, but like any scuba gear, it’s worth 50% what you paid for it as soon as you drive it off the lot. And if you overpaid for it to begin with, as you state, of course it’s even worse.

And the Internet amplifies this. You bought your stuff in the early 2000s, when it was common to get things from a local dive shop, with the local markup. Today, there are so many options where the stuff will just magically appear at our door, and for a lower price

I appreciate the insight, I noticed you'd pay a $ 50 premium ($ 350) for hydro vs non-hydroed ($ 300) and hydros would cost me more than that differential, so that supports my thought that getting them hydroed makes no financial sense.

 

[tmassey]

I appreciate the insight, I noticed you'd pay a $ 50 premium ($ 350) for hydro vs non-hydroed ($ 300) and hydros would cost me more than that differential, so that supports my thought that getting them hydroed makes no financial sense.

yeah, but for me personally, right now I have more time than money.

I think you’re kind of missing the point. You want what in reality is a premium price for your used goods. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But in order to get that premium price as a seller, you’re going to have to put in the legwork. If you don’t want to put in the legwork, that’s no problem either. But you won’t get your premium price.

The problem with not having the Hydro is: someone who is willing to do the Hydro themself, like me, won’t be willing to pay a premium for you having done the Hydro. Someone who is willing to pay a premium price most likely will not be willing to do the Hydro.

So you can sell the tanks without Hydro. But if there’s any chance of you getting a premium price, it will be because they are in Hydro and have a viz. because without them, I can guarantee that you will not get your premium price minus the raw cost of the Hydro. Because the people willing to pay that premium price Will not be willing to take any risk, or do any work. And why should they? They paid the premium price!

I have sold a set of double scuba tanks for 2/3 the price of new. And these were 20-year-old tanks. Why did the buyer pay that much? Because when he picked them up, they were perfect: brand new Hydro, brand new viz., O2 cleaned, all valves rebuilt. He was buying in effect new tanks at a small discount. but the only reason why he was willing to do that was because I did all of the legwork and making them perfect. otherwise, I would have only gotten 1/3 of new.

 

[tursiops]

yeah, but for me personally, right now I have more time than money.

I think you’re kind of missing the point. You want what in reality is a premium price for your used goods. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But in order to get that premium price as a seller, you’re going to have to put in the legwork. If you don’t want to put in the legwork, that’s no problem either. But you won’t get your premium price.

The problem with not having the Hydro is: someone who is willing to do the Hydro themself, like me, won’t be willing to pay a premium for you having done the Hydro. Someone who is willing to pay a premium price most likely will not be willing to do the Hydro.

So you can sell the tanks without Hydro. But if there’s any chance of you getting a premium price, it will be because they are in Hydro and have a viz. because without them, I can guarantee that you will not get your premium price minus the raw cost of the Hydro. Because the people willing to pay that premium price Will not be willing to take any risk, or do any work. And why should they? They paid the premium price!

I have sold a set of double scuba tanks for 2/3 the price of new. And these were 20-year-old tanks. Why did the buyer pay that much? Because when he picked them up, they were perfect: brand new Hydro, brand new viz., O2 cleaned, all valves rebuilt. He was buying in effect new tanks at a small discount. but the only reason why he was willing to do that was because I did all of the legwork and making them perfect. otherwise, I would have only gotten 1/3 of new.

He wants the premium price without doing the work to get it. Good luck with that.

What he might do is offer to pay the hydro/vis charges that the buyer incurs, and to buy the tanks back if they don't pass both. That way the buyer assumes no extra risk, and the seller spends none of his precious time. He might get 90% of his premium price that way, with the 10% loss being that the buyer has to do some work rather than just go diving. If he wants 100% of his premium price he cannot expect to pass any work over to the buyer. So the seller gets to decide: how much is his time worth? He apparently thinks it is worth a lot. So he has to pay the buyer to do some work.

I'm actually laughing as I write this, because the OP has probably spent more time on SB saying his time is too valuable to take the tanks apart than he would have spent just taking the damn tanks apart.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

LP85's are $280 a piece brand new, a thermo manifold is $250 and DGX Premium bands are $100 but I imagine that another brand would be double so $200, or around $1,005 with 7% sales tax. Granted, some stuff has come down in price and DGX tends to be low price, I guess I would find $1200 a reasonable price but I still think $1500 was a bad deal they gave you.

As I mentioned, doubles sell for $400-$500 in hydro all day long. You might be able to sell out of hydro for the $400 price, it's a range after all, but it does line up well with the 50% value another poster posited.

If the OMS manifold is the face seal type, that's no good.

I personally don't have a big problem buying them out of hydro at all as long as there's a refund plan in place incase they fail. But that's rare, probably inside they are fine, and I don't think you will have anyone asking for a huge discount for that, but some will. Now, I did just pass on a tank that I knew was used in salt water, and the seller refused to take the boot off to check paint condition. But, I bought another identical tank under the same conditions last year, because the price was $20 and the seller was down the street. This time the price was $50 and the seller is an hour away, so I'm not going until he takes the time to take the boot off.

 

[scubafanatic]

He wants the premium price without doing the work to get it. Good luck with that.

What he might do is offer to pay the hydro/vis charges that the buyer incurs, and to buy the tanks back if they don't pass both. That way the buyer assumes no extra risk, and the seller spends none of his precious time. He might get 90% of his premium price that way, with the 10% loss being that the buyer has to do some work rather than just go diving. If he wants 100% of his premium price he cannot expect to pass any work over to the buyer. So the seller gets to decide: how much is his time worth? He apparently thinks it is worth a lot. So he has to pay the buyer to do some work.

I'm actually laughing as I write this, because the OP has probably spent more time on SB saying his time is too valuable to take the tanks apart than he would have spent just taking the damn tanks apart.

Due to Covid I've worked at home for about 6 months now so replying to this thread doesn't waste my time as I can do that bwtween calls, during breaks, luch, etc. I have to be near my computer anyway either way.

 

[scubafanatic]

LP85's are $280 a piece brand new, a thermo manifold is $250 and DGX Premium bands are $100 but I imagine that another brand would be double so $200, or around $1,005 with 7% sales tax. Granted, some stuff has come down in price and DGX tends to be low price, I guess I would find $1200 a reasonable price but I still think $1500 was a bad deal they gave you.

As I mentioned, doubles sell for $400-$500 in hydro all day long. You might be able to sell out of hydro for the $400 price, it's a range after all, but it does line up well with the 50% value another poster posited.

If the OMS manifold is the face seal type, that's no good.

I personally don't have a big problem buying them out of hydro at all as long as there's a refund plan in place incase they fail. But that's rare, probably inside they are fine, and I don't think you will have anyone asking for a huge discount for that, but some will. Now, I did just pass on a tank that I knew was used in salt water, and the seller refused to take the boot off to check paint condition. But, I bought another identical tank under the same conditions last year, because the price was $20 and the seller was down the street. This time the price was $50 and the seller is an hour away, so I'm not going until he takes the time to take the boot off.

Ok then , my $500 initial pricing is 1/2 the new price = 50% value , admittedly mine are out of hydro though. So far I've received 2 SB member inquiries, so I'll see how those develop, see what offers/counter offers I get and move forward accordingly.