Can I trade in my old gear for new gear?

There are several reasons why we don’t offer a trade-in/second-hand equipment platform.

The first of which is that selling used equipment can actually be even more labor and time intensive than selling new equipment.  Starting with the buy side, we would have to offer prices that are commercially viable, which might not agree with the equipment owner’s views on the value of their used product.  If we did come to an agreement, the time it takes to thoroughly evaluate condition just using photos and email would be very counterproductive.

 Next, the owner would have to go to the extra time and expense of packaging the unit so it didn’t get damaged in transport, along with the expense of shipping the unit to our facility. 

 Assuming everything went smoothly, which isn’t likely, once purchased we would have to divert resources to refurbishing, photographing the unit individually, repackaging, and then answer questions alongside managing expectations of the customer on the sell-side of the equation. 

 Moreover,  that is all assuming we invest the significant amount of resources in an online platform for buying and selling equipment.  In our opinion, the most dynamic trade up program is still selling brew gear you don't want to brew buddies or on Craigslist. It benefits you from both a liquidity and price perspective.

 The bottom line is that it’s just not a business model we are interested in pursuing since it's fraught with risk to both us as the buyer, and to our customers. Instead, we are keeping our efforts pointed toward inventing, developing, and launching new products, which takes laser-like focus on all aspects of the development cycle, from engineering to fabrication.  Ultimately, it’s all about offering new and exciting gear that homebrewers can use to improve the quality of their beer! 

We try and be as honest and open in our customer dialogues, and we do believe in strong local secondary markets for brew gear, after all the more money you get second hand, the more money you have to invest in new brewing gear!