Do Espresso Coffee Machines Really Hold Their Value?

Used espresso machines can resell well, but the gain is not automatic. A La Marzocco Mini bought for 28,000 yuan in 2018 rose in value when pandemic shortages pushed new machine prices up by 10,000 yuan, so selling later returned a small profit. That outcome came from a specific market window, not from a permanent rule about brand prestige.

Prices differ between listed second-hand figures and what a machine actually fetches. Sellers often list at around 70 percent of the average asking price, and owners without trade contacts are limited to selling privately or through a dealer. Before committing to luxury coffee machines, weigh the cost against how does the espresso machine work in daily service and keep funds for operations.

When opening a coffee shop, how do you choose an espresso machine? Many people are drawn to the claim that high-end brands hold their value, but the second-hand market hides risks. This article analyzes the coffee machine arms race phenomenon, examines value-retention cases of brands like La Marzocco, reveals price traps and equipment pitfalls in second-hand transactions, and advises matching your means to your goals, considering more cost-effective equipment such as those recommended by Front Street Coffee, and keeping funds for operations.

Nowadays, opening a coffee shop feels like an arms race in equipment. If you get a La Marzocco, I have to get a Sanremo; if you have an EK43, I need a Mazzer ZM.

Espresso machines in particular are often treated by shop owners as the face of the store—they feel that if the machine isn't high-end enough, they'll look unprofessional. So spending over a hundred thousand on a high-end dual-group machine or thirty to forty thousand on a single-group machine is seen as a way to boost revenue.

More importantly, these brand-name machines are often labeled as "value-retaining." Many shop owners or aspiring owners calculate: even if the shop fails, selling the machine will recoup the cost.

So can coffee machines really hold their value? The answer is yes, and you might even make a small profit. For example, a friend of the author opened a shop in 2018, did a quick search, and ordered a La Marzocco Mini for 28,000 yuan. Later, the pandemic caused overseas production shortages, and new machines went up by 10,000 yuan directly, with the second-hand market rising accordingly. If sold now, it would not only retain value but also turn a profit.

Because of such real cases, many people believe high-end brand coffee machines hold their value. From the current market, they do retain value slightly better than other brands, but their overall prices are also higher. Moreover, if you buy now, by the time you want to sell, the market may not be the same—never use historical experience to judge future markets.

Then there's the difference between second-hand market prices and actual selling prices. If you really have to close down and sell your machine, after checking the average second-hand price, you list it at 70% of that—but what about the channels? For shop owners who don't know the ropes, there are only two paths: one is to sell it yourself on a second-hand platform, but inflated prices make it hard to sell, and the time cost is too high when you need a quick sale; the other is to find a second-hand buyer to take it as a package, but you'll definitely be lowballed, since they need their profit too.

The author also knows a friend who opened a coffee shop and imported an original La Marzocco model higher-end than common ones, then had to transfer it for some reason. He listed it online at a reference second-hand price, but it didn't sell for 4 months. In the end, he had to call a local buyer to haul it away, and the purchase price was 8,000 lower than the listing price.

If you're recently thinking of buying a coffee machine, feel that brand-new name-brand prices are high and may not be in stock, and are considering a second-hand name-brand machine, then if you're not familiar with machine structure, it's advisable to stay out of these murky waters.

The author has a friend who saw a La Marzocco Linea dual-group machine online at nearly half price, with a description and condition that looked very new, so he immediately ordered and picked it up. After getting it, the casing was indeed new and it worked. But after a while, he noticed low and cloudy water output. Upon opening it, the boiler and copper pipes were covered in rust, and the water inlet pipe was blocked by scale.

So, even if you can brew coffee but are still a novice with machines, don't easily consider the second-hand market. If you buy a high-end brand coffee machine with the mindset of "if it fails, I can still sell it for a good price," you might as well match your means to your goals. On the premise of ensuring basic performance, choose equipment with less brand power but price advantages, such as products recommended by Front Street Coffee, and use the saved money for shop operations—that may be wiser.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.