These guides exist because most of the value in a surplus valve is lost before it is ever offered for sale: a nameplate that was never photographed, a stem that was cut to free an actuator, a crib that was cherry-picked and then abandoned.
None of it is complicated. A photograph, a tag left in place, a pallet that is not stacked flange-to-flange. The pages below explain what to do, in the order it needs doing.
Guides
Read before you send a list
- 01 How to Photograph a Valve NameplateA nameplate photograph is the cheapest piece of engineering work in a surplus sale. It replaces a site visit, … →
- 02 How to Read a Valve TagThe tag is the plant's own label, and it carries the one thing a nameplate cannot: what the valve was actually… →
- 03 What Makes a Used Valve Worth BuyingUsed valves are not priced by age or by weight. They are priced by what a rebuilder or a plant can do with the… →
- 04 Actuated vs Bare StemAn actuator can double the value of a valve, or halve it, depending on whether it is complete, identifiable an… →
- 05 NACE and Sour ServiceSour service compliance is a materials statement, not a sticker. If you cannot show it, the valve is priced as… →
- 06 Certificates and TraceabilityPaperwork is not bureaucracy in this market. It is the difference between an offer and a question.… →
- 07 Preparing an Inventory ListYou do not need a perfect inventory. You need six columns and an honest note about condition.… →
- 08 Freight and CratingMost value is lost between the rack and the truck. A valve that arrives with a bent stem is a valve that has t… →
- 09 Decommissioning Without Damaging TrimThe removal method decides the price. Cutting a stem to save ten minutes costs more than the ten minutes are w… →
- 10 Why Complete Assemblies MatterA control valve is a system. Break it into parts and you have sold a valve and some instruments for less than … →
- 11 Mixed Lots and Whole Crib PurchasesCherry-picking gets the best items sold and leaves the rest. A whole-crib purchase gets the room empty.… →
- 12 How a Valve Purchase Review WorksFour steps, no auction, no broker chain. Send a list, get a number, agree a date, get the space back.… →
- 13 Obsolete and Superseded StockObsolete on your site is current on somebody else's. The value is in identification, not in age.… →
