What Do You Think of Warehouses Selling Used White Goods (Fridges, Washing Machines.)

Arese on 08/01/2020 - 08:03
Last edited 08/01/2020 - 08:10

Hey everyone,

Sometimes I drive past these wharehouses often found in suburbs that sell hundreds of fridges and washing machines.
I never stopped and went in but now that I'm on the market for a fridge I'm wondering what's exactly their business model and if they can be trusted? Where do they get their items from? Do they get broken units, repair them and sell them?
Have any of you tried buying from one of those 'stores'? What was your experience?
Any thoughts? Would you buy a used/repaired fridge or is it too risky and would rather go brand new?

For those who don't know what's I'm referring to here's one of those warehouse advertising on Gumtree
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/ashfield/fridges-freezers/fr…
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/bankstown/fridges-freezers/-…

Home & Garden Dishwasher Refrigerator Washing Machine

Comments

  • Ugly on 08/01/2020 - 08:26

    One link has 1 month warranty and the other 3 months? Not worth the risk to me.
    I'd want at least 12 months before I'd even consider it.

    • HighAndDry on 08/01/2020 - 08:37
      +2

      Depends on the price and the buyer. If you know your way around an appliance and it's cheap as chips, might be a decent deal. Still would be a bit of a gamble but a lot of broken appliances only need minor repairs/replacements.

  • brad1-8tsi on 08/01/2020 - 08:34

    If it's cheap, comes with a fair warranty and gets delivered I'd be in it

  • try2bhelpful on 08/01/2020 - 08:44
    +2

    It depends, is the answer. If the fridges have been serviced properly, aren’t too old, and a reputable brand it might be worth it. If they are grabbing them off peoples lawns, tarting them up and selling them then not so much. The question is why did something decide to get rid of the fridge in the first place? I buy stuff from Op shops but I tend to go new for appliances.

    Have you looked at something like Costco or the scratch and dent areas of reputable stores. We got our freezer from Costco and have got some decent deals from scratch and dent sections, over the years

    • Arese on 08/01/2020 - 17:17

      Correct but we don't know if that's the answer.
      To assess if it's worth it or not we need to know what's business, like you said do they grab them off people lawns and fix them? In that case the risk is really high.
      Or do they buy working second hand fridges at low prices and resell them with a markup?

      I was just hoping someone knew someone who had that kind of business and could tell us what's the behind the scene business but so far everyone replied with only guesses.

      Interesting how no one knows how exactly they operate.

      I'm gonna ring them and see ask them how they get their items and see what they just out of curiosity

      • try2bhelpful on 08/01/2020 - 17:41
        +1

        From my personal experience. We have a second hand place in Gertrude St, Fitzroy that has been there quite a few years - so they are, probably, pretty reputable. Otherwise they would've gone out of business by now. However, they aren't that cheap.

        We has a 13 year old Miele washing machine that would've cost us too much to repair, but the repair guy who took it away was intending to recondition it for resale. Me, I would start by ringing round a few of the "authorised" repair guys to see if they have any reconditioned stock they want to get rid off.

  • pyramid on 08/01/2020 - 08:52
    +2

    I have bought washing machines and refrigerator off gumtree but from private sellers. Washing machine was delivered for $120 lasted 2 yrs, next one was delivered for $150 lasted 5 yrs and now on third one which is delivered for $150 and going strong. Refrigerator was bought for $200 and lasted me 6 yrs before i sold it on gumtree for $100 and bought new one.

  • whooah1979 on 08/01/2020 - 10:12
    +1

    These knows how to MS paint.
    https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/bankstown/fridges-freezers/-…

    • c64 on 08/01/2020 - 10:31

      no, that's the wrong way :)

      • godofpizza on 08/01/2020 - 11:29
        +1

        buying a fridge from a cemetery,lol

    • whooah1979 on 08/01/2020 - 10:36

      What is wrong with me? I meant to type.

      These guys knows how to use MS Paint.

    • Arese on 08/01/2020 - 17:21

      Yeah right? It just looks so sketchy. I'm sure they could disappear overnight as well.
      To be honest personally I think they are running a sketchy business, grabbing junk off people lawns fix them up and resell them.
      Though It's based on nothing but assumption and I was hoping someone had inside information

  • Gronk on 08/01/2020 - 11:11

    No different to buying a used car in my books…

  • godofpizza on 08/01/2020 - 11:28

    you get what you pay for, you have a warranty claim. i wonder what their service is like.
    it's kinda like dealing with dodgy pc part stores. Thee;s little to no after sales service.

  • emblurr on 08/01/2020 - 11:56

    I'm pretty impartial to it myself

  • nephilim on 08/01/2020 - 12:00

    Same trick as people buying cars but fridges on gumtree isn't it

    Hey I will pay $2000 for your car
    Sorry your car is only worth $500
    1 day later: Same car on gumtree for $1800

    All your doing is supporting some scummy dude.

  • Love a bargain on 08/01/2020 - 12:28

    If the price is right, why not?

    When an item stops working out of warranty, it often costs too much to call someone out to diagnose the problem, let alone the unknown cost of the actual repair. However, for someone who knows how to fix the item, it might be an easy and inexpensive fix.

    In this instance, offering the item to such a person would means:
    - I don't have to get rid of the item myself
    - that person can make a profit by using his skill
    - the item gets a second life instead of going to landfill (& hopefully that'll also lead to one less item being manufactured) which is better for mother earth

    • Arese on 08/01/2020 - 17:24

      This might be as close as possible to the truth about what type of business these are.
      Thanks for your input.

  • Snake 4 on 08/01/2020 - 12:48

    I spent 20 years in the domestic white goods industry. Servicing, buying, repairing and selling. The crooks I saw in it then were bad enough but the individuals involved in it now are far worse. Out of the ten or so I new only 3 or 4 were trustworthy. Two of them are still operating.

    One individual I new when he did a service call on a fridge asked if they had contents insurance with electric motor insurance.If the answer was yes he told them the compressor needed replacing. He would take the fridge away, remove the compressor, clean up all the solder joints, repaint the motor and refit it.

    Today's appliances are not worth repairing and that's even if you can.

    I also repaired the old mechanical timers in washing machines for other repairers. Now the timers are throw away.

    You do realise the two companies you listed are one and the same.

    A GENUINE garage sale is not a bad place to start. My daughter sold a full working top load washing machine for $40 recently.

    • Arese on 08/01/2020 - 17:32

      Whether they are the same company or not is not really my question or the point.

      The question is how do they operate. I'm curious to know what's going on behind the scene and how do they source their items.
      Do they grab then off people lawns, fix them up and resell?
      DO they buy them as working second hand units at a really low prices and then resell them with a markup for a profit (This is common in the car industry for example)
      Or something else?

  • Snake 4 on 08/01/2020 - 13:26
    +1

    @Love a bargain. the item gets a second life instead of going to landfill (& hopefully that'll also lead to one less item being manufactured) which is better for mother earth

    Most scrapped appliance as do scrapped cars end up in Japan and come back as a Toyota, Mazda, Nissan etc.

    • Love a bargain on 08/01/2020 - 19:56

      Reuse is typically more environmentally friendly than recycle - perhaps with the exception of very old appliances that are not energy/ water efficient.

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