520 low $$

tcbetka · Post by **tcbetka** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 9:27 pm

Well, we're talking about a $1000 difference here (maybe more) between this asking price on eBay and the value claimed by that fellow on CL in the Twin Cities. I'd say the true value lies somewhere in the middle.

I'd think this 520, unused, would be worth $1300-1500. I mean, so it doesn't have any SPTs. Go buy a new 520 from Shopsmith. You'll pay like $3900 without any SPTs. Sure there may be some sort of a warranty, but HOLY COW...$500-800? I'll bet he doesn't get too many calls for people itching to dump their 520s for that kind of money.

backhertz · Post by **backhertz** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 9:46 pm

Holy cow. That is a lot of money in my opinion. The 520 system I bought in Maryland last April was all assembled, rust-free, & included a new bandsaw, a biscuit joiner, and two large boxes of other accessories- blades, arbors, etc.

http://www.shopsmith.net/forums/showthr ... t=maryland

Algale posted the link for the 520 above on this CL advertised 520 on April 5th & it was still there on April 29th. I figured it was long gone, but the seller told me I was the first to contact him. I had all I could do to hide my excitement while on the phone and honestly didn't expect it to be as good as it was. It looked new & also included the new model bandsaw.

I've paid no more than $150 for a used 510 except for one. This 510 was manufactured in 1992 & included every SPT, a bench-mounted planer, and an Incra system; but for some reason, no bandsaw.

I remember prior to 2008 trying to rationalize buying an Incra ultimate fence system whenever the Shopsmith catalog came out on Father's Day & Xmas time.

A new Incra system plus shipping now goes for more than I paid for the entire 510 system above which also included extra planer & jointer blade sets, several new TS blades on separate arbors, an unused biscuit jointer and more. I couldn't resist.

The seller was anxious to get rid of it in order to purchase Saw Stop TS system because he felt the Shopsmith was not 'safe' to use. This 510 system was given to him by his father and hadn't cost him a nickel. I simply made an offer and he accepted it. This 510 had no rust as it was used in a room next to the seller's family room without the use of a dust control system.

I found the best deals are on CL. They are typically sold by family members of the original Shopsmith purchaser/user who have no desire for a large thing taking up space. They will typically list the only large items in a pic and often times include a box or two full of "extra" Shopsmith items with the purchase. I often try to encourage sellers to recognize what they have and use their Mark Vs, but the words fall on deaf ears.

I've also come across systems in terrible condition where sellers see the price of a new Mark V on the Shopsmith website and simply divided it in half and wouldn't take a penny less for Greenies or Brownies with severe rust issues. They actually believe their Mark V is worth much more than their asking price. I wish them luck as they have no clue.

dgale · Post by **dgale** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 10:10 pm

Bottom line is the market is saturated with used machines, more often then not being sold by folks who either have no clue on the value or more likely they just want the huge hulk of metal they inherited out of their garage and will take whatever is offered to make that happen. Definitely a buyers market and with some patience and some diligence watching CraigsList, you can find some killer deals out there. I'm heading down to the Sacramento area in a couple weeks for a work meeting and I'm already eyeing all my possible options for a 3rd machine. I'll only pull the trigger for the right price and condition but it's fun to look. Virtually every machine I've seen listed on the plethora of CraigsLists in Northern and Central CA are all still listed after a month+ of being on there - some cheap, some beat to hell, some nice, and some from folks who are wishfully hoping to recoup some of the thousands they invested once upon a time...time will tell if the truck comes home loaded or unloaded.

letterk · Post by **letterk** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 10:13 pm

tcbetka wrote:Well, we're talking about a $1000 difference here (maybe more) between this asking price on eBay and the value claimed by that fellow on CL in the Twin Cities. I'd say the true value lies somewhere in the middle.

I'd think this 520, unused, would be worth $1300-1500. I mean, so it doesn't have any SPTs. Go buy a new 520 from Shopsmith. You'll pay like $3900 without any SPTs. Sure there may be some sort of a warranty, but HOLY COW...$500-800? I'll bet he doesn't get too many calls for people itching to dump their 520s for that kind of money.

That's the thing everyone always posts $3900 for a 520. That isn't correct - go to a Lowes demo and for that same money you'll get a Powerpro with dual tilt plus a free dust collector or bandsaw. Now that used 520 doesn't look so great for over $1,500.

Based on what is for sale in the Twin Cities there is only one unit I'd consider reasonably priced, the 510 for $550 an it looks like it sold. Everyone prices as new and while 520s don't come around often 510s can be had for $500 quite often. After spending about $500 for the upgrade from Shopsmith, why would you pay more than a $1000-$1200 for a used 520.

On a side note there is a person trying to sell the OPR for $225. I remember looking at the thing last summer and passing when another selling had it listed for $100. I have a PDF of the original listing and all they did was clean the table. I can still see the remnants of the Gorbachev stain on the table.

dgale · Post by **dgale** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 10:56 pm

One thing I noticed on CraigsList is the machine you find by searching for "Shop Smith" tend to be cheaper than the machines that come up if you search "Shopsmith"...maybe it's only the case out this way but my guess is anyone who writes Shop Smith isn't as familiar with Shopsmiths and maybe this results in more folks looking to dump the thing...hard to say but I definitely have noticed a trend of cheaper machines under Shop Smith...so don't forget to diversify your search criteria.

backhertz · Post by **backhertz** » Thu Dec 20, 2012 11:28 pm

I just sent the seller message in wondering why a Feb 2002 Mark 520 would be left unused for almost 13 years.

Why was it even assembled? Must of been turned on. It's 50th year badge 520. I would love to get ahold of 50th Anniverary Badge for my 1992 headstock. Just because. I think it looks cool.

Tony

dgale · Post by **dgale** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 12:04 am

Here's a 510 in Bakersfield with a Bandsaw and a DC3300 for $500:
http://bakersfield.craigslist.org/tls/3388773600.html

Unfortunately that would be a 4 hour trip each way from where my meeting will be...more driving than I'll want to do for a deal.

dgale · Post by **dgale** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 12:17 am

Here's a $20 10ER that won't be too far out of my way...pretty rusty but I've seen worse:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/tls/3462691531.html

If I got a 2nd 10E/ER, it would become a dedicated drill press and this one wouldn't be a bad candidate for that if cleaned up.

dgale · Post by **dgale** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 1:13 am

Here's a 520 with band saw (aluminum table), jointer, belt sander, and accessory table for $1000:
http://salem.craigslist.org/tls/3425342338.html

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Fri Dec 21, 2012 4:22 pm

An outstanding buy. Too far to travel for me. Some member should surely grab this one. I never found any 520 with the SPTs listed any where close to this price.