Used Cerec technology......cost, truth, value, resale and when to buy?

COST: Cerec technology......a fad, a phase or the future? No matter what your thoughts are it's expensive and the sales are growing! The cost of new Omnicam with MCXL package will run you over $144,000.00 new off the lot. That's a rather steep investment that will run you about $2,400 a month for 5+ years. Which just doesn't sound good no matter what the sales pitch and promises sound like.

TRUTH: What if the sales pitch sounded like this....you can own this Cerec technology for $2,400.00 a month for 5-years. If you decide in the first 3-months it's not for you and want to give it back, you owe us $15,000.00 and we'll take it back. If you don't want to pay us the restocking fees and training fees you can sell it on your own. However, the real value on a resale depending on how long you've had it is about 45-50%! Hmm, bet this scenario never crossed your mind! As we never intend on getting divorced the day we get married to something we "think" were in love with. These are the hard truths to the after thoughts 2-3 months after you take delivery. The seminar, the hype and all the good stuff you heard and envisioned on how this technology was going to be implemented in your practice becomes a mere memory, when it's mono-e-mono in your own office with this technology. It takes work, commitment, patience and time to become proficient. Unfortunately, many dentist run out of gas before seeing they pay-off. The pay off is not making money, the "pay-off" date is what I'm referring too. If you head into any CAD-CAM technology with plug-n-play mentality, you and I will be doing business in the near future. Which is not a bad thing and I'm here to help you pay-off most of your debt. The good news is that for a fee Patterson will honor service, support and warranties to the next owner.

VALUE: CAD/CAM technology is the MOST depreciation piece of equipment you'll ever own - lease - buy in your dental office. It's also the ONLY piece of equipment that can provide you substantial dollars to your bottom line "if" your implementing it religiously. This is the only way to be maximizing it's potential when you pay the new sticker price! Sirona spends millions of dollars on re-inventing or improving the technology that will leave you in the dust in 12-short months if your not paying that monthly service club money to stay current. Patterson get's their share of the market in CAD/CAM sales from the show-n-tell seminars and do a great job at selling this technology to anyone that will listen. The seminars are intended to get you hyped up and there's always a few people in the room that like to flex as being the "technology leaders" and have to have that new car smell and jump to sign the dotted line. I might sound like anti-Cad Cam person, but I do believe there is much more value in quality Pre- Owned Cerec Technology than buying new. I believe there is significant value when you can buy this technology a the right price, you don't have to be married to loan for 5+ - years and when you can have it "paid for" in months, not years.

RESALE: Being a re-seller of Cerec technology for that last 13-years, I've had the opportunity to see and experience all the design changes from Cerec 3/ Compact to Bluecam /MCXL to the latest Omnicam / MCXL, software changes at the tune of 2-3 changes per year and have seen the prices going up and up! I predict by 2020 this technology will reach the $160,000 - $180,000 price tag. One thing I do know for sure, this technology is not going away anytime soon and I don't expect the prices to ever go down, unless their is a liquidation sale. If this technology is NOT for you and your buy it new out of the box, it's going to cost you dearly to get out from under this ill advised decision. I have personally purchased over 600 pre-owned Cerec units of all vintages since 2004. I can tell you with certainty, that NOT one dentist that I've ever worked with has ever made money from selling their Cerec. Unfortunately, I don't make up the prices and the truth is this technology is only willing what someone is willing to pay. I may be the founder of the "used market" in the USA, but the value is dictated buy the buyers. The resale market changes by the month and every independent seller has a "different number" in their head of what they think it's worth or what they are willing to "let it go" for. The depreciation value is very alarming to say the least! Especially when a new design / version hit's the market, you can bet value disaster is on the horizon. With having the opportunity to experience the trends first hand over the 13-years, I can't think of ONE reason why anyone would purchase a brand new Cerec unit or any CAD-CAM technology for that matter. Especially when a quality pre-owned unit has the same software as a brand new unit, functions the same and the end result is identical. Because you paid more doesn't mean your going to have a "better result". I like to compare this technology to golf! The pro's make it look so easy and making "millions"! We get hooked, buy the best gear money can buy, take lessons and practice, practice, practice. It doesn't take long for us to figure out why there's only a "few hundred" golfers in the world can make a living at it! You either succumb to being a hacker / recreational golfer or your frustrated, cut our losses and sell all of or gear and move on. Like golf gear, the resale value on a $400 Titleist driver is about 50% if your lucky and you hope a newer model has not been released.

GOOD TIME TO BUY: This leads me to my final opinion of when to buy. A good deal is when opportunity meets your "value" of what you think something is worth. I only buy equipment when I know I can pass on a "good-deal" to the next person and I'm NOT going to loos money! I consider myself an expert buyer with purchasing as many units as I have over the years. I've even made a few bad purchases with over-paying and being stuck with a loss. It's the nature of the beast and timing! I sell it for a loss and move onto the next deal. I say it's a good deal when you find a "seller" that has minimal use, well maintained, has some factory warranty left on it and the price is a can't lose! What I mean by can't lose....meaning, if wanted to turn around and sell it in 3 - 4 months, I know I could break even and not take a $70,000 / 50% loss on my initial investment.

CLOSING: CAD-CAM is a love/hate relationship with the technology and the dealer. I've dealt with over 600 - Cerec dentist over the years and everyone has a story. We could be talking about a cell phone.....I bet you can find the same or similar percentages of people who love/hate the iPhone and love/hate Verizon, the service and the support. Nothing changes here, only the product has changed. Do your due-diligence when buying! When selling, be sure to come to the ONLY person in the USA that has over 32-years of dental experience and 13-years of pre-owned Cerec experience. Who else do you know that has bought and sold over $13+ million dollars in pre-owned CAD-CAM technology?