Cost of entry for new equipment — It doesn’t have to be this way. That shiny new x-ray, spacious cabinet or back massaging patient chair just barely out of financial reach. Afraid to take on any new debt or unable to secure the financing, you let the opportunity slip. There’s another way. Each office has the ability to leverage their existing inventory of equipment to off-set the cost of purchasing new equipment. No it doesn’t have to be a long drawn out process involving your entire staff that takes your foot off the pedal of other high priority projects. There’s a company out there that manages that entire process for you, and helps discover the hidden value in the equipment you’re looking to replace or no longer use very often.
As we all know, it takes a lot of capital to begin any business venture. In niche industries like dentistry the price points are exacerbated due to economies of scale. A new SUV or luxury sedan contains as much engineering wizardry and technological whiz-bangs as a comparably priced digital imaging system. But a consumer good benefits from mass production and larger markets which results in a lower cost of entry for the consumer. The apparatuses that drive prices down there don’t exist with dental equipment. There’s a finite amount of dentists and manufacturer’s know it.
Fret not, however, there exists smart and efficient ways to mitigate these costs. While not a complete circumvention, leveraging your existing equipment to make new purchases can dull the sting to your checkbook.
What equipment to leverage? — My dad has a large shop full of tools acquired over the years. Some from pawn shops or yard sales, others purchased new. Some serve great utility, most go unused. But he keeps them for irrational reasons. He got a good deal, has nostalgia for a certain outdated socket driver, or holds onto a specialized and obsolete brass inclinometer that will not be required for any projects in his lifetime. The hobbyist tool hoarder can get away with this. A business like a dental office cannot.
Your office runs on a margin of profit and loss, not discretionary income used for recreational purposes. Walk through your office with an objective eye on equipment and you will see the stagnant value. Unrealized money locked within idle assets and long ago bought and paid for equipment. That hidden value can off-set the entry costs for your sought after new equipment.
There’s no hard and fast algorithm for when to sell what equipment. Paying attention will highlight clues to when it might be time to part ways. Does the equipment still serve a regular purpose? Is it a necessity or does it serve a redundant utility? Have you transitioned from film to digital but still have a Peri-Pro or AT-2000 in storage? Perhaps the most important question; does it make you money? There’s plenty of examples of docs caught up in the hype of some great new technology only to have it collect dust in the corner or take up space in storage. Maybe a laser that seemed like a good idea at the time, but you don’t have enough procedures requiring its use. Or a bleaching light for an office that rarely books cosmetic patients. The equipment should align with the goals and capabilities of your office. If not, time to capitalize.
You may hold onto a redundant unit as a backup or a spare, but can you safely say that it will be reliable when called up to bat? These are just some starters to ignite that objective frame of thinking that will help you seize more money out of your existing equipment.
These never smell like what they say they smell like.
Value of current equipment. — Like any used product, the value of dental equipment fluctuates based on myriad reasons. This dynamic market creates a hard to hit target that often discourages sellers from entering the market. Until Google or Apple creates an app for the iPhone that predicts the future, the greatest predictor of future behavior is past behavior. We have thousands of cataloged sale prices from over the years for the various equipment found in a dental office. Our up-front proprietary appraisal systems help lift the fog of war and give you realistic expectations in the face of market forces. While there’s always the unseen — sudden technology shifts entering the market, manufacturer buy-backs, or changes in the international economy — you have illumination and a guiding hand to keep you from stubbing your toe in the dark.
Maximizing value of current dental equipment. — Time. The great constant (in the literal sense, not the theoretical Einsteinian sense). A young lovers hair turns gray, a stream becomes a canyon and Empires rise and fall. Dental equipment has no special immunity to the changes time bring about. Each year that equipment becomes one year older. Another year departed from that ‘new equipment smell’. Naturally, time has an adverse effect on the value of your equipment making it imperative that you capitalize quickly once you’ve made the decision to part ways.
Functional equipment sells quicker and for higher prices than non-functional equipment. However there’s still value left in non-functional parts units – fire damage notwithstanding.
[Might just write this one off
Scheduling regular maintenance or making slight repairs can have an immense impact on selling price. Drain, clean and properly storing your equipment is a good start. There’s also the curb appeal aspect. Having clean & fresh looking equipment sets it apart in the market. Finally, you have to reach the largest possible audience of potential buyers.
Atlas Resell Management has aligned operations with these value adding factors. Each piece of used dental equipment that comes through our doors enters a value adding process. Sifting money from the equipment through repairs, cleaning, guarantees and making sure the offer gets exposed to a global audience. Finding a CEREC buyer in Australia, however, does little good if you have no way to fulfill that order. Atlas has created a logistical network and expertise for international fulfillment. Navigating the brier patch of import/export documentation and packaging requirements to ensure items arrive on time and safe.
Artists rendition of Australia
Minimize opportunity costs. — If this all sounds like a lot of work, it is. If it were easy Atlas Resell Management wouldn’t exist as it does today. Instead we’d all be digging ditches and buying scratch tickets. There’s a lot of time, resources and industry specific capabilities that go into this process. The dental office caters to patients, not pallets. It’s difficult and costly to process and pack dental equipment, let alone fix it up and make it presentable for the sale. Do you want your hygienist focusing on clean gums on that perio case, or do you want to use their time to fit a GX-770 into a box? Your staff has competencies in taking care of your patients and running a smooth dental practice. Atlas Resell Management can handle the burdensome process of maximizing value in your current equipment.
To recap:
- Determine which equipment to leverage
- Value of current equipment
- Maximizing value of current equipment
- Minimizing opportunity cost of time, resources
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