rockyridgefarm
Well-known Member
Hey all,
Seems some organic guys hang out down here, so I thought this might be the place to ask.
I have been looking for a [b:8fbfc83ffa][u:8fbfc83ffa]GOOD[/u:8fbfc83ffa][/b:8fbfc83ffa] used rotary hoe. There's plenty out there, but there are more trashed ones than good ones. I just went to sale where the hoe had been sunk in the ground so long that the tines had several pounds of sod stuck to them. Once the spoon is gone, the hoe is just a crust buster.
So, I finally pinned down the manufacturer in Canada that sells weld-on spoons. They're hid so well that most people think they're outta business - no web presence AT ALL, they're number has changed, and they don't do much paper advertising at all. After talking with them, I mentioned I may be interested in becoming a dealer. They seemed receptive to the idea.
So here's the price breakdown - You can buy an entire wheel from the Sloan, THE's, ASAP etc of the world for between $32 and $40 per wheel, plus shipping. You can get them for $54 from Deere and $40+ from Yetter. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find every one of these sellers get them from the same factory in China...
I can get the spoons for $13 a wheel and a bearing for $5 or less a wheel. The manufacturer sells a jig for $125 that he claims I can weld up 5 an hour. At $15 an hour, that's $3 labor. I'd have $20-25 a wheel in rebuilding, depending on if the bearing needs replaced. Since these weld-on spoons are supposed to be "better than new", I thought I'd offer them for $35 a wheel outright or $30 a wheel with a trade-in.
D'ya think this could be profitable? Hoes have gone by the wayside for conventional farmers, but they're still popular in organics. Yetter and Deere still make them new. I didn't price a Deere, but a 30 foot Yetter is $9000 plus.
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Seems some organic guys hang out down here, so I thought this might be the place to ask.
I have been looking for a [b:8fbfc83ffa][u:8fbfc83ffa]GOOD[/u:8fbfc83ffa][/b:8fbfc83ffa] used rotary hoe. There's plenty out there, but there are more trashed ones than good ones. I just went to sale where the hoe had been sunk in the ground so long that the tines had several pounds of sod stuck to them. Once the spoon is gone, the hoe is just a crust buster.
So, I finally pinned down the manufacturer in Canada that sells weld-on spoons. They're hid so well that most people think they're outta business - no web presence AT ALL, they're number has changed, and they don't do much paper advertising at all. After talking with them, I mentioned I may be interested in becoming a dealer. They seemed receptive to the idea.
So here's the price breakdown - You can buy an entire wheel from the Sloan, THE's, ASAP etc of the world for between $32 and $40 per wheel, plus shipping. You can get them for $54 from Deere and $40+ from Yetter. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find every one of these sellers get them from the same factory in China...
I can get the spoons for $13 a wheel and a bearing for $5 or less a wheel. The manufacturer sells a jig for $125 that he claims I can weld up 5 an hour. At $15 an hour, that's $3 labor. I'd have $20-25 a wheel in rebuilding, depending on if the bearing needs replaced. Since these weld-on spoons are supposed to be "better than new", I thought I'd offer them for $35 a wheel outright or $30 a wheel with a trade-in.
D'ya think this could be profitable? Hoes have gone by the wayside for conventional farmers, but they're still popular in organics. Yetter and Deere still make them new. I didn't price a Deere, but a 30 foot Yetter is $9000 plus.
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