It was your first chiropractic table from when you started out in practice.
You had to scrimp and save (and eat more than a few ramen noodle lunches and dinners) in order to afford that table, but it was worth all the sacrifice. It has served you well and held up like a workhorse, allowing you to relieve the pain, soreness, and stiffness of many grateful patients. In many ways, that table was your first practice partner, even if you had a solo practice.
Now, however, the time has come for you and your faithful friend to part ways. Maybe you’ve decided it’s time to upgrade to a table with more features. Perhaps you need to sell that table because you are downsizing your practice. On the other hand, you may actually be expanding, so need to make room for your new DC partner, who is bringing in their own table.
Whether you are looking to trade in your old table for a newer one, or just sell it outright, you will want to make certain that you are getting the best deal possible. Here are some tips on how to do just that.
Selling Your Chiropractic Table Yourself
You can simply sell your table outright through a private sale. The advantage of a private sale is that you will get the full asking price. The big disadvantage is that you may end up having to pay to have the table refurbished to get it into proper shape before being sold. It is unlikely another DC will be interesting in purchasing a “fixer-upper.”
Another drawback to a private sale is that, just like with selling a car, potential buyers may want to come see your table and test it out before deciding whether or not to buy. Do you really have time in your day to do this between patient visits?
On the other hand, you can also sell your table to a dealer, who will refurbish the table, and then sell it to another DC. Obviously, the big advantage to this route is that you will avoid the refurbishing costs. However, selling your table outright through a dealer does mean that they will take a certain portion of the sale price to cover their costs. This means that you will not get the full amount you may think that your table is worth.
Trading In Your Table
If you are looking to upgrade your table, a trade in might be a viable option to simply selling the old table. If you’ve ever traded in a car, this option for selling your chiropractic table works along almost exactly under the same principles. You would ship your table to the same type of dealer to whom you would also have the option of selling it.
Depending upon your table’s condition and popularity, the dealer will then offer you a certain amount for the trade in that can be used toward one of their other tables in stock. This can be a great way to go if you want to upgrade your table, but don’t have quite enough money at hand to just replace the old one outright.
Obviously, the main disadvantage here is the same as you face when wanting to do a trade-in on your car. Are you getting a good deal? Will the amount you get for the trade in be enough for you to budget for the type of table you want in exchange? How comfortable are you with haggling over the trade-in value for the table? These are all questions you should be asking yourself if you are considering trading in your old table for a new one.
As the song goes, “Breaking up is hard to do.” However, if you are smart and do your research, breaking up with your first chiropractic table doesn’t need to be traumatic.
