Inside a Used Appliance Store - How They Operate
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- Опубликовано: 16 дек 2019
- Every house has appliances in it, and eventually they need replaced. But does every unit go to the junkyard? At my store, we bring old, tired units back to life - well, some of then.
In this video, you'll learn and see a few things that happen in the used appliance industry. There is good money in running the business (or potentially), but what makes a good machine to sell?
Appliance Store Business Insurance (get insurance if you choose to do business, I'm paying $29/mo thru this company): bit.ly/3bZqI8x
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Wow you’re doing good. Instead of throwing off the junks you make them works again.I appreciate people like you.
Well if. Air-conditione. Repair
Thanks for keeping all that out of the landfill by you efforts...everyone's a winner!
In my area you can pick up appliances like you have there for pretty much free all day long. People buy new sets and want the old stuff gone. I enjoy watching all your videos, keep em coming.
More than a few times, I've found my appliances on trash-day. In 2007, I replaced my still-working (barely) 1977 GE washer with a 1998 GE super-capacity - curbside rescue. Finally needed a tub drive-disc in 2014 - $80 in parts. Still going strong today!
I've just started doing this myself. What I've noticed and what surprised me is that most of the appliances I have fixed so far just needed either cleaning or replacing a basic component to fix. I bought a Samsung dryer for $10 and all I needed to do was hook up the drive belt (the drive belt was just hanging there) and clean the moisture sensors with a ScotchBrite pad.
I would venture to say 50 - 60% of all repairs are going to be something either easy, or cheap. You can have a major problem with a simple solution - but until you tear into the machine, you have no clue 'til you find the problem.
Hey Ben nice showroom. I’ve been tinkering around with appliances mainly washer & dryers. The older machines are the way to go and I see plenty older models for sale cheap or free.
Love the hat. Without getting into politics, it's a decent parody and sums up your business nicely.
Haha I finally just noticed the hat!
Thank you. I am sick of political crap
I totally forgot about that hat. I think you have some for sale for a little while. Do you still have any? I meant to buy one like last year.
Ben I’m just starting the appliance repair and sales business myself. I’m glad I’ve found your channel. It’s informative and inspiring. Continued Success to you.
I subscribed to your channel also. Thanks for the repair tips you show on your channel, they are really helpful.
I'm going to do a new video soon on a new part of the business I've been doing - truckloads of scratch & dent stuff. There are a lot of ways you can do business in this field, and lots of good money to be made.
Awesome! We did $1.2 million last year in appliances!! love it!
Appliance repair is a Gold Mine
Big money, little competition. Lots of work, but you get paid for every minute you're in it.
Very helpful and informative. Integrity is the most valuable asset you have in this type of business. The new appliance world is shameful these days but the used/repair/salvage option opens a world of opportunity for folks on both sides of a transaction.
Just came across your channel and learning alot.. For appliances with dents in them, you might look into paintless dent repair techniques. Especially using a glue puller.
I have the same problem.... if I sell everything over the weekend, it can sometimes take awhile to get a lot of things ready again because as other machines are being tested, cleaned and painted, people are wanting to buy them. So most of the time it is hard to keep up with demand.
Yes, VERY cyclical. I'll get a row of 20 laundry units and think "Oh no, we're running out of room on the sales floor!" I'll promote the units on FB marketplace and end up selling every single one on a Saturday then wonder when am I gonna get more units to the floor lol.
On the circuit board, 2 things that usually go out: capacitors and relays. I fixed my washer circuit board and installed all Nichicon capacitors. These are quality capacitors from Japan (unlike the cheap ones from China which they had). It's been about 4 years now and no problems. The capacitors costed me around $10.00. A new circuit board would have costed around $75.00 (and had cheap capacitors). The other thing that goes bad are the relays because the innards click open and close and sometimes weld themselves closed.
It's a lot bigger than I expected. Great job.
Thanks! Its about 8,000 square foot. Its not an efficient layout yet due to the huge # of units we still have to test/scrap. Eventually, I want to branch out into scratch & dent appliances, so I definitely need the room for it all.
Hello Ben I recently purchased an existing furniture and refurbished appliance store in northwest indiana my brother and good friend who's a tech were working for the old owner before he retired to puerto rico this past November 1st i paid a reasonable amount for the business I feel. The past month has been insane we grossed almost 50k in november alone, this business is amazing I know my area we sell at a higher price point, but my question Ben is I'd love to speak to you or email you I have a lot of questions and would love to get your feedback, also were trying to utilize all of our parking lot and are now renting uhaul were hoping that uhaul rentals will cover our building rent, I'm so glad I came across you and your brothers youtube its given me a lot of encouragement and excitement moving forward with all of my business endeavors and investments.
Send me a message and we will talk!
Great video Ben!! Your store looks nice.
Awesome video. Thanks for sharing, Ben!
Watched a few videos now. I like the channel. Its obvious you enjoy it and are doing good work
Thanks for sharing your journey! Love your channel
Very nice video, no problems hearing or seeing what's going on. And a lot more than I personally ever knew about the used appliance business.
Thanks!
i like you dude , you are a hell of a good dude and i love your self accountability and honesty and self awareness...... that is the best character trait one can have , don't let life change that about you, there is nothing more that people respect in a boss or to do business with and that is honesty and integrity. i would bet my paycheck that there isn't a whole lot of anything bad people have to say about you. I've been working on appliances for 8 yrs and i love the content you create and i will say that i am impressed with your thorough knowledge and understanding of the actual theory of operation and clear quality narration !!!!
keep doing it just the way you do ....take care
This channel fascinates me for some reason.
Thanks!
You are thoughtful, conscientious. Need more like you. I'd shop if i wasn't way across country.
Very insightful and honest presentation
Tnx
I have a Kenmore gas dryer that would sometimes shut off mid cycle while the clothes were still wet or there were times where it wouldn’t come on at all. After cleaning it and checking a few parts, I found that the control board had cracked solder joints. I had to use a magnifying glass as they were very tiny joints. I re- soldered the board and it’s been working great with no problems for about 3 months now.
Awesome.. thanks for showing the details! You have got a new Sub.
Thank you for this video, I've been flipping appliances for about 6 months and have heard all sorts of opinions. Glad to hear from someone who actually owns a business. Great info and I agree, I love working on appliances, it's fun to me... And profitable.
SO APPRECIATE UR VIDS. So informative.
Hey Ben! Awesome video! I’m looking to sign a lease for a location to open a used appliance store and I’m so nervous about it. I’ve been doing this out of my home for awhile and running out of space. This will be cool to share with my wife as she’s terrified to take the plunge!
You can make as much money in it as you're willing to work. There's no real limit to what you can make... Its just an input of time vs. reward.
@@bensappliancesandjunk I agree. I’m going to keep updated with your posts. We decided to take the plunge after I showed my wife your videos and we sign for our shop in two weeks. I’ve already started to load up on more product than I’ve ever had just to prepare
Great video iv been doing this on the side making a killing I work at a scrap yard and people were scraping on a regular basis appliances for to talking to them they came from apartments in wanting to expand and actually get a warehouse and repair the ones that are not working been running it out of a storage unit for now
Nice! I hope it works out for you!
Hey Ben, you’re living my dream . Great job.
Hey, thanks! Its not too hard to get into. Just find one on the side of the road and start from there!
Yea hopefully I’ll get there soon. I do appliance repair right now but I am leaning towards having my shop. Thanks for the inspiration.
@@samp.8117 ah I see, neat! There is a lot of arguing out there if its better money just to run calls or do a shop like this. I imagine running calls is more money, but this is less stressful
The minimum on my top load washers is $249 with a 90 day warranty
Those electrolux ice in door fridges never worked even when brand new, we retrofitted them again and again they ended up in the crusher
Great video! Thanks so much.
Glad it was helpful!
This is very cool and exciting too! Love your channel! :)
Ben 👍 it's a great thing we do . great Video 👍🇨🇦
Good Job Ben 👍
Nice job experience by the bucket full.
I’m interested in your video and the subject thanks for making this video.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for posting.
You're welcome
Very interesting
Hey Great channel. Do you have a warranty video.
I sell new appliances but I often tell people to put their old whiteware on an auction site for $1 reserve. I have done this myself to get rid of old whiteware instead of paying somebody to take it away it takes all the hassle away as somebody buys it, takes it away and you get some beer money so win-win situation. The stove I sold I got $40 for and the guy even uninstalled it for me as well, he refurbishes them for the rental market.
Hello Ben thank you for share this videos they very helpful , thank you for all the info , I start watching them and I was wondering if you have a video were you can show us how to start hiring help and what are you criteria to pay ! Thank you hope you doing well!!!
I'm going to work on that over time for sure. I am considering adding vending machines to my business, but I am thinking of starting that business from scratch and documenting it all for people to see and understand how it works
Very interesting.
Hi Ben. Just curious, is there a way to bench test those control boards, or do you simply assume they work if the machine works? Been trying to find a video or website showing how to bench test those control boards.
We try to test them on the appliance we take them off of. There are hundreds of different style boards which makes a testing rig near-impossible. However, one HUGE thing you can buy is a good ESR meter to test capacitors. I want to do a video on that soon, because the ESR meter can usually pass/fail 90% of boards out there in a matter of minutes.
Do you sell your units to Brandon for his rentals? I like your "test" area.
I do. I sell to him on what he supplies to tenants as well as the tenants directly as its become apparent that they will trash certain landlord-provided items (mainly washers and dryers)
Make appliances work again! Haha nice hat Ben
Hat is now available! Link: bit.ly/3dtHHjE
What is the best area of the used appliance business to begin with
Stoves and dryers are very easy to fix. Not always cheap due to control boards, but basic Whirlpool dryers with lint traps on top are extremely cheap to work with.
@@bensappliancesandjunk awesome thanks for the quick response
Nobody wants a CABRIO, Ben. When they break, they get junked. The labor to diagnose them makes repairing high. I probably service 4 Whirlpool World Washers - MOSTLY MAYTAG version - per week.
Hello was wondering how would you go pain grabbing the stuff wholesale? I had a couple incidences with some people but it was just really sketchy. Also I was wondering what is the overhead and would you suggest any tax write-offs in any particular things you might know of? Keep up the great work man love the content
If you have the money and want real wholesale, buy truckloads of scratch & dent from Lowes, Home Depot, or the like. They run about $10-20k per truckload. BStock.com does offer them, I think.
@@bensappliancesandjunk thanks man im going to look into it. Keep up the hard work man 🙏
@@483924jmg Thank you sir. On the wholesale trucks, what you will do is get a certain percentage off of the retail price and it's usually a really good discount. Like 15 to 25% of retail. You do roll the dice on how dented the product is, but you are going to double your money on anything. You just have to have the cash to get into the game.
Ben I need to get in contact with you asap. I love the idea that your buying these appliances and refurbishing them at affordable prices for the poor.
My Email should be in the About section
Do you buy refrigerator & stove . I bought new ones , but the house came with them . Want to see them good condition
Well done very helpful however I would like to know exactly how you did started how much money invested, how did you approach the new customers, how to improve the clientele or to get more customers, what did you already have when you started ? what kind of knowledge about the business you did have at start etc TKS
Jose
I started with $500 and bought 2 appliance sets from a broker that was dealing w/ a university. In hindsight, wish I put about $5,000 so I coulda bought the university out, ha ha!
I literally started with no knowledge of how appliances work at all... Zero. Barely functional with hand tools either. 100% of my learning has been online, hands on w/ my own machines, or such. I didn't have any mentors, because they basically all retired when I got into business (which was also why I started - no competition, lol)
@@bensappliancesandjunk I see so many responses and guys interested here why\ how about we do a messenger group and we exchange or sell each other parts or interchange knowledge, tips etc we are not obliged anyway to respond this days we can even use ZOOM that d be cool .. right ? money among us !!
Do you deal with vacuum cleaners too
Is it generally safe to buy from a used appliance store? I’m looking to get mid grade used washer/dryer combo and refrigerator. Will these used/refurbished appliances last a good amount of time?
Man, that's a good question. Its hard to say without knowing the store, because I feel like some stores would try to screw you over. I think the BIG question is what kind of warranty the appliances have. I do 30 days parts&labor and another 30 on parts (which literally no one has used since I started with it). Some stores do 90 days.
I think if I were going to a used appliance store, I'd ask what they do to refurbish them. Some places do nothing but clean them. Others test them, replace anything bad, then clean them. Some test, replace all wear parts, then clean them. Others may not even clean them at all, and sell as-is-where-is. The prices are going to vary between the levels of service as well.
The refrigerator in my house is a used appliance. I bought it in 2010 and it was made in 2002.... Still works, but I figure the compressor has another 3-4 years before it gives out. My stove was one from my store, and it still runs (and I have no clue how old it really is, never checked). So used appliances can run fine for quite some time.
If it were me, I'd try to find a used store and go with appliances that aren't fancy and should have a long, stable life of non-high-efficiency. ... Kenmore/Whirlpool Direct Drive washer and dryer. Basic top or side by side fridge w/o a touch screen or anything digital. Stoves are pretty decent almost no matter what as long as mouse or roaches haven't permeated the units.
Hello, I just started the used appliances business 4 months ago and Its been good mostly washers and dryers Where do you get your inventory from? Thanks, good content by the way 👌
I found guys that work w/ major retailers installing the brand new appliances and haul away the old ones. I buy the old ones from them.
Omg my amana Electronic dryer at 8.34 I have it next to my speed queen top load and it looks very similar
In one of my alternative lives, I would have opened "Harry and Larry's used appliances" 40+ years ago and been richer than Musk today. I was doing punch out work on crappy condos in South Carolina and bought a bunch of appliances from them for $50/ea or so, shleped them out and resold them for ~$200, including install. I vaguely remember that I had to fix some of the refrigerators timer thingies and dragging them around was a pain. But I was young, had a pickup, and I made a lot of money, at least compared to the $5/hr I was getting paid for fixing the shitty condos.
(Most of that work was undone the one day in winter when it got really cold and all the improperly installed copper water pipes froze) But that is another story.
How do you keep track of all your parts and know whats for what?
Spreadsheet + Ebay inventory management + shelves for listed parts, and bins for stuff to-be-listed
I prefer working in shop over going to homes to fix them due to my age 😊
How did you start learning how to fix appliances? Im looking to start flipping some on the side but have a very basic understanding of how they run. Did you have somebody teach you?
Nope. 100% self-taught via RUclips. One of the reasons I got into appliances was because everyone else retired so I figured if there's no competition, it'd be hard to fail, right?
The other thing is, buying or otherwise getting free appliances means you have no cost of failure if you screw up... you aren't in someone's house screwing around and where failure costs you. If you cant get a unit figured out, you scrap and move on. That makes the job easier to tackle than you'd think.
Nice for selling parts. Do you test these parts before shipping out?
Yes and no. The used parts are always pulled from machines that we have to write off. When we scrap a machine, we note why we had to do it - on a washing machine, its usually because the bearings/gearcase are shot. In that scenario, we know we've tried the board and ran the machine (to determine the failure), so the board in 98% of cases is good. I can't guarantee its perfect, but its worked well for us both to re-use parts, but also to sell them online.
@@bensappliancesandjunk Nice vid and operation. How is business during covid? I think people always need appliances and more so outlook should be good.
@@jamescc2010 appliance sales are crazy. Cant keep up. Parts took a beating, but mostly for other reasons
I'm just curious where you get all the appliances? Where do the old appliances go when a dealer delivers a new appliance?
I'm planning to shoot and release a video on that in the next few days
What is the name of the place where people get ride off them appliances
Do u sell refrigerators?
I’m trying to do the same thing in Texas can you tell me what I can do to get them whole sale
I keep promising to make a video. I'll do it, I swear!
Anyways, local ads for broken pickups is a good start. If you don't have a truck, find someone with a truck you can pay to get 'em.
What kind of paint do you use on these appliances. I just sold my first refurbished dryer, but it could've used some touch up paint.
A number of years ago my wife painted out 1970's Maytag washer and dryer with appliance spray paint from a big box store. Horrible idea. A lot of the paint is flaking off, especially on the washer that gets detergent drips. Id rather look at the old paint than the new flaking stuff.
I’m looking to sell some parts. I had a fisher Pagel dishwasher and some of the parts that were on. It were in good shape. I was wondering if you could give me some direction as to how to sell these parts dishwasher is DS603 IH it was a double drawer, thank you
Id look a schematic up on that model, so you know exactly what the parts are. Then search on Ebay and see if any are listed, and if so, what the sale price is. I use watch count dot com to search, as it will bring up actual sell prices/volumes of parts so you only list the valuable pieces.
Wish they had a store like this in my area. Save $$ and landfill
I could do this but the only problem is, how do you get the heavy front loaders up from a basement. It won’t be worth it, braking your back for it.
Pay someone else to do it. Otherwise, why are you pulling a frontloader from someone elses' basement?
You definitely have a lot to do - good that you involve more people into it. Have you thought about putting up some sort of wall between the sales part and the fixing part of the bulding?
We have a wall that is supposed to separate it, but we have so many appliances that need tore down it prevents us from corralling all the units into the right area. Hopefully we can get it taken care of soon though!
I have been selling washers and dryers out of my house for 6 months. Looking to open up a location and start buying wholesale instead of individual buys. Where is a good place to find wholesalers? I'm in FL
las vegas ?
That's part of being a business owner.... digging and finding what you need. Just because I tell you where 1 is does not mean that you wouldn't need to dig and find more. Use google and make lots of profit.
The Frist Maytag you opened the lid is not clean to me around the lid hinges and the. Plastic tub ring .I make my washer s like new condition . and I don't have a shop yet. Soon 👍
Where do you get your shipping boxes @?
USPS for free, generally.
What brand was the fridge at 5:13?
Should be a WHirlpool
That's what I was thinking, but the label inside the freezer almost looked like it had the old Frigidaire logo, the one that was written in cursive.
Oh my gosh I'd love to work here!
What do you do with the disgusting worn appliances? Clean and sell or part out?
Depends on how disgusting it is. We've done some pretty crazy jobs if we think it's worth it. Having said that, I want to put a video out on how to repaint/refinish the appliances because the things you can do with a $4 can of paint are crazy.
@@bensappliancesandjunk expecting the video now !!
Here is what I do with them..... make $200 profit from them. lol
$50 the max you'll buy washers / dyers and fridges max 100? thanks
Good afternoon, what is your strategy for Marketing? Is it offerup,craigslist, social media or just word of mouth?
He said on his brothers channel. He used Facebook Market place. To do most of his sales. Other than selling used parts on ebay
I do almost all advertising via Facebook Marketplace. If I have a nice Washer/Dryer set, I post it on Marketplace. Get a lot of sales that way + walk-ins even if the set sells.
Total overhead costs?
Well I would say that if people drop many units off and its 30-60 to fix ........150 - 200 per dryer is a decent return . . . . . buying machines is a crapshoot.
How did you learn how to know what the problem is
So the guy @ washer & dryer money channel is your brother?
What is your address? I looked up "bens appliances" in google and couldnt find it
WHERE R U LOCATED?
Insurance refferal link is no longer working...
Looking for a good electric dryer
Congratulations, you made it without really knowing anything about service. It's rare luck. You certainly have what it takes.
Can you explain?
@@bensappliancesandjunk You mentioned you did not have repair skills at first. It's like oh. But you learned the rope pretty quickly, it's impressive at least you surrounded yourself with the right people. When you start a business they would not lent money to someone that has no experience in the market, because it's too risky. I lift my hat.
What area do you live in ? Im from edinburg tx
Central Ohio
i used to have a maytag bravos and that broke last year my mom got it since 2014 or 2015
do you have a wtw4855hw1 whirlpool board
p/n W10857313
I think I'm out of those at the moment
I really wanna see what your $100 washer looks like.
Where do you buy from?
Factory installers w/ the units hauled away from customers houses, among other places
Any suggestions on who to talk to at the factory?
@@adrianmeza3640 find the drivers when they are out working
people buy dented appliances? given those parts prices why even sell complete machines, I'd just go into parts business and try to optimize for value over volume
A lot of people want dented ones because of the sizable discounts. On parts, it's hard to say what the value of something newer is regarding reliability. I hope to get I to that though
@@bensappliancesandjunk recycling the reclycled that s very interesting
Nice place! Just a thought while your testing you could do your wash and test the dryers. But the wife probably wouldn't like that......
Need maytag maxima front laoder motor control board
Where is your store?
Central Ohio
it seems to be profitable to strip for parts. That Frigidaire has a Air Handler kit that will fix the ice maker issue. Part number 5303918784 Repairing them is not a challenge finding customers that want to buy used seems difficult.
U have a ebay account?
2
Used parts can save you those every year