Should You Buy Indramat on eBay?

You can buy Indramat drives, servos, and controls on eBay, no question about it. I checked just a minute ago and found more than four thousand choices for a simple search on “Indramat.”

The question is not, “Can you buy Indramat on eBay?” The question is, “Should you buy Indramat on eBay?”

At first glance it might seem like a good idea. There are plenty of items to choose from, and the prices are dramatically lower in some cases than what you would expect to pay for new or factory refurbished Indramat motion control. Who doesn’t like a bargain?

Here are some things to think about before you make that decision.

First, is the item complete? Do you have the firmware or Personality Modules you need? If not, where do you plan to get them? The hardware alone isn’t enough.

Some of the items list the card and/or module, but some do not. If you get the hardware but the card is wrong or missing, do you have a plan to deal with that?

Second, are they really new? Many of these are legacy units which are no longer being made. We’re a bit surprised by the number that claim to be new.  If they’re refurbished rather than literally new, where did the sellers get the replacement parts to bring the hardware back to like-new condition? Indramat does not sell parts. Bosch-Rexroth does not sell Indramat parts. The only way to get real OEM parts is to have the repair done at the factory.

Third, what’s the lifespan? Sellers typically accept returns for 14 days or less — sometimes not at all. The life span of this type of machinery is decades long, not days. If you get your items for half the usual price, but it lasts one year instead of 20, you’re really not saving anything.

Finally, what are you going to do with the equipment when it arrives, exactly? Often, the people we talk with were literally not even born when the machinery they’re trying to replace was installed. Are you sure you know how to get it back in place and to get your machinery back up and running?

We’ll bring you a new or factory refurbished unit, install and configure it, and leave you smiling. We have chartered aircraft handy, so we’re not messing around. You’ll be back online and running — while the guy who bought his on eBay is still waiting for his to arrive so he can see whether it’s going to work.

Up to you, of course, but we don’t think you should take that chance.

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