Bronto’s Blind Spot · Case B
Net to you. After what?
Two offers, the same headline figure, different terms. Which is better?
- 3 questions
- “I don’t know” is a valid answer
- Nothing is sent
The case
What is on the table.
A fictional owner is selling a used lathe. Two offers arrive, and both promise the same figure, described as “net to you”.
Offer 1 is an auction consignment: the commission is deducted from the proceeds. Offer 2 is a buyer who will collect the machine. Neither offer says the same things about fees, removal or when the money is paid.
Answer 3 questions about what you need to know before comparing them.
The explanation
The 3 issues, and why they matter.
Read the explanation (it gives the answers away)
1A deduction is only clear once you know its basis and what else is deducted.
Best answer: What the commission is calculated on, and every other fee or charge taken before you are paid.
A percentage means little until you know what it is a percentage of, and which other charges (listing, cleaning, transport, storage, a minimum fee) come off before you are paid.
At an auction, also ask whether the machine is sold with or without a reserve and when the sale counts as complete: that changes what can happen to the figure you were shown.
2Removal is a cost and a risk until the terms say whose they are.
Best answer: The written terms should say who disconnects, rigs and removes the machine, who pays, and who carries the risk until it has left your building.
Disconnecting power and coolant, rigging, loading and making good the floor all cost money and carry risk. If the terms do not say who does each one, who pays and who is responsible for damage, the “net” figure is not yet a figure.
3“Not enough information” is the right answer.
Best answer: Not enough information yet. Compare them only once both are on the same basis: deductions, removal, when you are paid and on what conditions.
Two equal headline figures with different deductions, removal terms and payment timing are not equal offers. Put both on the same basis first; until then, neither one is better.
Tax on a sale of business equipment can also change what you keep, for example where depreciation was claimed. That is a question for your tax adviser, not a reason to pick either offer.
“Net to you” is a conclusion, not a figure. Before comparing offers, write down for each one what is deducted and on what basis, who removes the machine and carries the risk, and when and how you are paid. The seller net calculator keeps every unknown line visible as unknown.
Sources
Where the explanation comes from.
- UCC § 2-328: Sale by auctionLegal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Publication 544: Sales and Other Dispositions of AssetsU.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- Seller net calculatorThe Machine Blue Book
- Selling guideThe Machine Blue Book
Sources and technical copy last reviewed:
Every scenario here is fictional. No real manufacturer, dealer, auction house or financier is described.
Next step
Use it on a real machine.
The calculator lets you mark each line entered, unknown or not applicable, and shows the result as a range while lines are unknown.
Beyond the Net is MBB’s free field guide for sellers, with the detailed worksheets. Its landing page is open to read; the PDF is sent to the email address you give when you request it.
More cases: The machine arrived. The project did not. · The splendid spindle comparison
General educational information, not engineering, safety, legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm the requirements of your own machine, site and agreement with qualified people.