How to Price Used Restaurant Equipment: A Framework for Dealers and Sellers
Pricing used restaurant equipment wrong costs you money in two directions. Price too high and the piece sits in your warehouse or yard for 90 days. Price too low and you've just handed margin to the next buyer in the chain. Neither outcome is good, and both are avoidable with a systematic approach.
This guide is for dealers, liquidators, and individuals selling commercial kitchen equipment — whether you bought a restaurant's contents outright or you're offloading one piece from a closed location.
The Depreciation Reality You Need to Understand First
Before you look at a single comp, get clear on how depreciation works in this market — because it does not behave like consumer appliances or vehicles.
Liquidation value — what a dealer or auction house will pay you on the spot — is typically 10-30 cents on the dollar against original purchase price. That's not a ripoff; that's the dealer's cost of acquisition, reconditioning, storage, and margin baked into one number. When someone shows up with a truck and a check to clear your restaurant in 48 hours, you're paying for that speed and certainty.
Private sale value — selling direct to another operator, ghost kitchen, food truck, or startup — typically recovers 50-70% of original cost for equipment in good condition from name brands. The tradeoff is time and effort. You're writing listings, answering calls, scheduling walkthroughs, and waiting weeks or months.
Retail used dealer pricing — what established dealers list equipment for, not what they pay — sits between the two. They acquire at liquidation rates and sell at private-market-adjacent rates, pocketing the spread.
Know which role you're playing before you set a number.
Pro Tip: If you acquired equipment as a dealer at liquidation rates (10-30 cents on the dollar), your floor price is your acquisition cost plus reconditioning and storage. Your ceiling is the lower end of what a regional dealer is listing comparable units for. Price in between that range, not based on original MSRP.
How to Research Comparable Sales
MSRP and current new-equipment prices are your baseline, not your target. Here's where to do your actual comp research:
eBay Sold Listings
This is the single best free data source for used commercial kitchen equipment pricing. Go to eBay, search your item, then filter to "Sold Items" under the left sidebar. You'll see actual transaction prices, not asking prices. A Vulcan 6-burner range with 200 watchers and an asking price of $2,800 tells you nothing. That same range selling for $1,450 in a completed auction tells you exactly what the market cleared at.
Search multiple variations: model number, brand + category, and generic description. A "Vulcan V6B range" and a "6 burner commercial gas range" will return overlapping but different results.
Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace
These platforms show asking prices, not sale prices — so treat them as ceiling data, not comps. If every Hobart 20qt mixer in your metro area is listed at $2,200-$2,600, you know buyers are conditioned to expect that range. Listing above it means you'd better have a reason (just serviced, with attachments, clean documentation).
KitchenEquipmentTrader.com
Check active and recently sold listings here for category and brand benchmarks. Marketplace-specific data is valuable because the buyer pool is qualified — these are operators and dealers, not casual browsers.
Dealer Reference Pricing
Regional dealers like WebstaurantStore's used arm, TriMark, and local auction houses publish their asking prices. These are retail-used prices, typically 30-50% above what you'd sell private party. They're useful as an upper bound and as a signal of what your buyer already comparison-shopped before finding you.
The 5-Tier Condition Framework
Condition drives price as much as brand. Assign your piece to one of these tiers before you build your number:
Tier 1 — Like New / Lightly Used Equipment that ran for less than 2 years, shows minimal wear, no repairs needed, and ideally has documentation (original invoice or service records). Price at 65-75% of current new cost.
Tier 2 — Excellent Used Condition Equipment that ran 2-5 years in a working kitchen, shows normal cosmetic wear, functions perfectly, no repairs needed. Price at 50-65% of current new cost.
Tier 3 — Good Working Condition Equipment that ran 5-10 years, has surface cosmetic wear, works correctly but may need a minor tune-up (gaskets, igniters, cleaning). Price at 35-50% of current new cost.
Tier 4 — Functional but Aged Equipment over 10 years, works but shows heavy wear, needs known minor repairs, may have cosmetic damage. Price at 20-35% of current new cost. Be transparent about what's needed.
Tier 5 — Parts / Project Equipment that doesn't run, has major damage, or requires significant repair investment before use. Price at 5-15% of current new cost. Clearly label as parts/as-is. The buyers for this tier are usually CFESA-certified technicians Source: CFESA and refurbishers, not operators.
Pro Tip: Never assign a tier based on how the equipment looks in a dark warehouse. Plug it in, fire it up, and test it. Tier 1 pricing on untested equipment gets you returns, disputes, and reputation damage. Test first, price second.
Which Brands Hold Value — And Which Don't
Not all commercial kitchen equipment is equal in the used market. Brand reputation has a direct dollar value when you're pricing.
High-Value-Retention Brands
Hobart mixers (hobartcorp.com) are the clearest example in the industry. A Hobart 20qt mixer has a rated lifespan of 20-30+ years. Operators know this. A 15-year-old Hobart in good condition sells for more than a 3-year-old Globe mixer. Price Hobart 10-20% above the tier framework above.
True Manufacturing refrigeration (truemfg.com) holds value because of build quality and parts availability. True units have a 10-15 year lifespan and a strong parts ecosystem, meaning buyers aren't gambling on orphan units.
Rational combi ovens (rational-online.com) are the premium tier. New Rational units run $10,000-$35,000. Used units in good condition command $3,000-$15,000 — and the market for them is strong because operators know what they do and the ROI is proven. A used Rational in Tier 2 condition should be priced closer to the top of its tier range.
Manitowoc and Hoshizaki ice machines hold value better than lesser brands because of their parts availability and technician familiarity. A 3-year-old Manitowoc is worth more than a 3-year-old off-brand unit at the same spec.
Commodity / Lower-Retention Items
Generic or house-brand steam tables, prep tables, and shelving units have almost no brand premium. Price these strictly on condition and utility. The buyer doesn't care who made a 2-well steam table — they care if it works and what it costs.
Similarly, ventilation hoods are highly location-specific. A used Type I hood that fits one kitchen may not fit another without modifications. Price accordingly — typically the lower end of the range unless you have custom-fit documentation.
Building Your Price: A Working Example
Say you're pricing a used True T-49 2-door reach-in refrigerator. Current new price: approximately $3,200-$4,500 depending on retailer. The unit is 4 years old, works perfectly, gaskets are good, interior is clean. That puts it squarely in Tier 2.
- Tier 2 range: 50-65% of new cost
- New cost midpoint: ~$3,850
- Tier 2 price range: ~$1,925-$2,500
True is a high-retention brand, so push toward the upper end: $2,200-$2,400 is defensible for a private listing. If you're a dealer selling through a marketplace with volume, $1,800-$2,000 moves faster and still beats your acquisition cost by a solid margin.
eBay check: Search "True T-49 sold." If comparable units cleared at $1,400-$1,800, recalibrate down. If they cleared at $2,000-$2,200, you're in the right range.
The 30-Day Markdown Strategy
Inventory that sits costs money. Storage, carrying cost, and opportunity cost add up fast. Use a structured markdown schedule so you're not making emotional decisions about price drops.
Days 1-14: List at your calculated price. Run it straight, no discounts. Evaluate inquiry volume. If you get zero inquiries in the first week on a well-photographed, well-described listing, the price is likely 20-30% above market.
Days 15-21: If no offers, drop 10-15% and refresh the listing (new photos help, re-title for different search terms). Consider cross-posting to additional platforms.
Days 22-30: Another 10% reduction if still no movement. At this point you're at 20-25% below your original ask, which should be landing close to market.
Day 30+: If still sitting, you have two choices — hold if storage cost is low and the item is genuinely worth waiting on (a Rational combi, a Hobart mixer), or accept that your original price read was off and drop to what eBay sold data actually supports.
Pro Tip: Take 5-8 photos minimum before listing. Show the nameplate/model tag, the interior, the back where connections are visible, and any wear or damage. Listings with honest, detailed photos get more inquiries at asking price than listings with 2 beauty shots. Buyers are bidding with real money; they want to see what they're buying.
A Note on Post-COVID New Equipment Prices
New commercial kitchen equipment prices rose 15-30% post-COVID and remain elevated Source: NRA. This is actually favorable for used equipment sellers because it compresses the gap between new and used pricing. A buyer who would have stretched to buy new at pre-2020 prices is now more seriously considering used.
Use this context when you're negotiating or describing value in a listing. A used 6-burner commercial range that runs perfectly at $1,400 is competing with a new unit that now starts at $2,000-$2,500 and goes up to $8,000 for commercial-grade brands. The value case for used writes itself.
Price your equipment at what the market will bear, back it with data, and move inventory on a schedule. That's how dealers stay profitable in this market.