300 to 540

[cardfan4342]

Has anyone worked a trade up deal with a Roland dealer. Have been using my 300 for a little more than a year, very satisfied just wish I would have bought the 54". any feedback on the switch would be appreciated.

 

[Ken]

Same boat.
I was offered about 5K for my 1 1/2 yr machine towards a 540.
I dunno, maybe I should have gone for that , these machines do depreciate fairly quickly. Seemed like a kick in the teeth to lose 2/3 value after a year and a half. Our tax depreciation rules allow me to write down 30 percent first year, 15 percent every year thereafter. By continuing to use the machine I can make way more than 10K in a year and a half. I like the idea of being able to print a 4x8 in one pass but the cost to upgrade to that ability is currently not feasable for me. So I'll keep tiling those projects of that size ( or bigger).
Good luck.
Ken

 

[cdiesel]

We sold our 300 outright privately for 9k and just used that towards the xc-540. Dealer offered us 6k for it as a trade. Kinda like trading in a car or selling it. It's more work, but you usually come out a little better selling yourself.

 

[asignstop]

I agree, sell it to somebody looking to get into the digital printing game, 30" machines are a great entry level, especially at used prices. It will sell nice on ebay.

 

[BobbyFosson]

For a dealer to take a trade-in and resell it later, with any kind of support or warranty, they usually would replace several parts that can run in the thousands.

I know if I were to even consider taking one in as a trade-in for resale, I would plan to replace both heads, captops, dampers, scan motor, linear scale and guides... and this is without even seeing the unit yet.

Add the Roland warranty for another grand or two... resale price on a unit that was given a $6k trade-in value would probably sell for $10-$11k... Buy a new one for $12.5k

Printer Trade-ins usually turn out to be major hassles for dealers with even lower margins than new units. Risky.

 

[Ken]

Thanks for that Bobby.
We don't always see the other side of the trade.
Do you have an opinion on what the best turnover (trade/sell) timeline is?
Lots of variables, of course, just like to hear your thought on this.
There was an article in the SignCraft pricing guide that suggested you better put that print/cut machine to work 'cause if it just sits, you'll lose most of its re-sale value before it has paid for itself.
Thanks...Ken

 

[petepaz]

either sell it or just keep it and buy the bigger one
then you can run both machines at once more jobs more money quicker turn-a-rounds
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[BobbyFosson]

Use the machine as hard as you can, get the extended warranty and when you are ready to fork out the cash for a bigger model, weigh your options and either sell 300 for 5 or 6k with a warranty and put that towards the bigger model.

Dealers are now cutting prices on the 300v and 540v as a promotion to get ready for the new model release.