If you are looking into opening an ice cream business or about to purchase a soft serve machine and/or batch freezer you’ve probably thought about whether or not to buy a used soft serve machine or a new soft serve machine. What are the benefits of a new batch freezer vs a used batch freezer? It’s a natural question.
A soft serve unit is an investment—a costly investment. More importantly, this equipment is the centerpiece of your frozen dessert operation. It needs to be dependable in performance and efficiency and it needs to produce a product that meets your quality standards on a consistent basis. Remember, your customers don’t care what you invested. They only care about their experience when they visit. Your equipment plays a huge part in that experience.
So what do you do? First, let’s talk some pros and cons of each.
Pros of New Equipment
It’s new! Shiny and beautiful. Newest technology. Newest efficiency. All the bells and whistles to help your product and your operation. Over the years Electro Freeze equipment has made major and minor changes to the equipment to better the operators experience with it. New machines ensure you are taking advantage of all those changes.
Warranty. New units come with a warranty. They come with delivery. They come with startup and training. Your investment is protected and you can be assured of no out-of-pocket costs as you learn about your new toy.
You will get the right piece: When buying a new Electro Freeze machine from Sentry Equipment, we don’t just sell you what you want. We talk to you about what you need. We learn about your business and your vision and educate you on our ice cream equipment line. Then together, we can decide what the right machine is for you. Soft serve machines come in all shapes as do batch freezers and shake machines and slush machines etc. Buying with help ensures you will get the right piece for your business.
Peace of Mind: As a kid growing up I would always ask my father what he wanted for his birthday. He would tell me, “peace of mind.” Well buying new equipment ensures you peace of mind. You have comfort in the performance, support, efficiency and process of buying the machine. With all it takes to run and start an ice cream business, peace of mind in your business is worth a ton.
Lease Options: With new equipment, there is a whole world of lease purchase options to help alleviate the capital expense.
Cons of New Equipment
Price: Let’s face it, there is only one ‘con’ with new equipment. That is the price. If price wasn’t a factor, everyone would buy new. However, ice cream machines and batch freezers last 15-20 years. Amortize it out and the cost is negligible based on the profit it brings you.
Pros of Used Equipment
You save some money. Let’s face it again, the only pro to used equipment is the money you can save. A good used soft serve machine should cost about 50-60% of what a new soft serve machine sells for. The saved capital may come in handy.
But wait. You were searching the internet and found something much cheaper? You found a used machine that is selling for 5k when the new version sells for 20k +? Please excuse this quick commercial break:
Here at Sentry, we do offer used ice cream equipment. However, unlike the buyer beware of the internet, our used soft serve equipment and used batch freezers are certified. They are fully reconditioned both mechanically and cosmetically. Every reconditioned piece we sell comes with a warranty, delivery, startup, and training. We even have lease purchase options on our reconditioned units. Best of all, our reconditioned pieces also include our full line of consultation services: layout and design, menu training, construction consultation, hands on product development and training, and more. Check out the reconditioned section on our website for more information.
Cons of Used Equipment
Buyer beware: So during the commercial you read how to buy used equipment the right way. However, there are still people out there that will buy these machines off the internet or from someone selling it essentially off the street. Are you crazy? You are investing in a new business or expanding your current operation into frozen desserts. One way or another you are creating a new profit center all based around these desserts. Yet you want to buy the machine that produces said desserts from someone you don’t know, haven’t met and can’t trust? That’s a big risk and in business, success comes from minimizing the known risks as much as possible.
No Delivery: You’ve decided to take the chance and buy a used ice cream machine online. You’re feeling lucky. Well how do you get it to your store? These machines weigh 800 pounds. There are many horror stories out there about machines dropped and damaged beyond repair in transport.
No Warranty: You’ve taken the chance and you got into your store. Whew! Now you need to get it serviced. But little did you know the machine has water damage. Now it needs thousands of dollars of repairs to get it going. Unfortunately, we’ve seen it way too often.
The Wrong Machine: You’ve got the wrong machine at a great price. Alanis Morissette said it best…”Isn’t it Ironic?” For the rest of your time in business you’ll be pushing a square peg into a round hole. That is until you bite the bullet and admit the mistake and get the right machine. However, will it be too late by then for your business?
No Frills: Buying new equipment ensures you are buying from a reputable company that deals with these machines and industry on a daily basis. (ahem…Sentry). You not only get taught how to handle your machine and clean your ice cream machine, you also get training and consultative services. This can not only help you with your equipment, it can also help your business. You’re not getting that with a used machine online or off the street.
As you can see there are pros and cons to both new and used ice cream equipment. Bottom line, If you are looking to turn your investment into true profits, do your homework. Talk to the experts in the industry here at Sentry who can help answer any and all questions you have.
Sentry Equipment…..Success Starts Here!