What we look for

You do not need to know anything about the equipment to sell it to us. But a little about how we read a listing will get you a faster and more accurate offer.

The catalogue number is everything

Every industrial unit carries a manufacturer's catalogue number - on the nameplate, the label, or printed on the front panel. That number is what we price from. "Allen-Bradley drive, 10 HP" describes a hundred different products; "20BD014A0AYNANC0" describes one. The catalogue pages are lists of these numbers, by brand, so you can check whether yours is one we see.

Send the whole number, including everything after the dashes. On most equipment the suffix carries the voltage, the size, the options fitted or the revision, and two units that differ only in the last few characters can be different products. A photo of the nameplate is the surest way to get it right - we would rather read it ourselves than have it typed.

Where to find it

• Drives, PLCs and controllers - a nameplate or label on the side or front, usually with the catalogue number, series letter and a serial number. Send the catalogue number, not the serial.
• Motors - the metal nameplate, which lists a model or catalogue number alongside the ratings. The frame size and horsepower are useful; the catalogue number is what we need.
• Valves and instruments - a tag or engraved plate on the body. Rosemount and Fisher build the whole specification into the number, so send all of it.
• Circuit boards - the number printed on the board itself, as well as the number on the equipment it came out of. They are often different, and both are searched.
• Test instruments - the model on the front panel. Say which options, cards or probes are with it; on a lot of instruments those are most of what a buyer is paying for.

New or used

We are mostly after new surplus: units still sealed in the box, or unused pulls from a project that never went ahead. Tell us if it is sealed. We also buy used equipment when the model is one we know sells - a good used servo drive of the right family is worth sending. Say whether it was working when it came out, and send a photo of its condition. We would rather know about a cracked cover up front than discover it at inspection.

What to photograph

• The nameplate or label on each unit, close enough to read.
• One photo of the whole lot, so we can see quantity and how it is packed.
• For used equipment, anything a buyer would want to know about - damage, missing covers, a bent terminal.

What we do not buy

Consumer electronics, automotive parts, hand tools, and equipment with the nameplate removed. Scrap-grade material - crushed, burnt, or stripped for copper - is better sold to a scrap yard. If you are not sure, send it anyway; the worst case is that we say no.

Send a part list