I am often asked about restaurant supply auctions as a means of getting top quality under market used equipment. You see opening a food service establishment is extraordinarily expensive. And I do mean extraordinarily! And that means trying to establish the best and most reasonable place to save money in the opening phase. And yes restaurant equipment is one area that money can be saved. But it is not as simple as finding a low priced piece of equipment, unfortunately.
Restaurant supply auctions can be a great way to find high quality used less expensive and even bargain priced equipment. However; it does require some skill and restraint.
For starters, equipment needs to be NSF certified, which means that it is professional rather than household equipment. And then most restaurant equipment is built like a tank. Often not very fancy but truly built to last. For example I have a Kitchen-Aid food processor that I’ve used for 25 years and it is nowhere near the end of its lifespan.
I’d recommend finding an auction house in your area and going to watch one. Just watch. Secondly, I ‘d recommend researching equipment brands so you know ahead of time what you’re willing to pay for a specific piece of equipment and brand. This is important since restaurant supply auctions are exciting and move fast thereby decreasing our inhibitions and then later realize that we spent more than we needed to or even more frequently bought marginally necessary equipment. I have seen people talk themselves into a purchase for the thrill and then have equipment they don’t need.
With those few warning s I’d say that restaurant supply and equipment auctions are fabulous resource for great work horse equipment at a savings.