Dillon Equipment Prices

[Jerry11826]

If you visit many of the shooting “Boards”, one thing you will note is that posters are constantly extolling how Dillon equipment retains its value.

Yeah, well, maybe, but for me it hasn’t been true. I have been trying to sell all my Dillon equipment for about two years. It’s not that Dillon isn’t good stuff, it is. It’s just that about three - four years ago there was a shooter at the local range that was “bad mouthing” a Lee loadmaster, he had recently purchased. Said “what a piece of ****” the loadmaster was. Said he would sell it for $50.00. It came with two caliber conversions I shoot. I opened wallet and gave him $50.00, asked him to bring it to the range next week. He did!

I worked with the loadmaster “on and off” for about a month, before I could get it working correctly. But after I did, I realized I preferred the loadmaster. The simple case feeder still amazes me. It works so well and costs so little!

Anyway, I decided to get rid of my Dillon equipment. I started out asking about 75% of current retail, plus shipping. No” takers.” Then I asked 60% plus shipping. Got lots of PM’s discussing Dillon equipment, offers to purchase if I would take $25.00 off and ship free and promises to send money orders that never arrived. I was able to sell my 550 and my SDB. I basically sold them cheap - well below what I asked and what I thought they were worth!

I would like to sell the remaining Dillon stuff! Please check out my stuff at the swapping and selling page.

Thanks,

Jerry

[RobS]

Well Jerry:

You are going to be bad mouthed here in a short run for selling the Dillon. This thread will open up a controversy of Lee supporters and Dillon supporters. Some will comment that the Lee is scrap metal or it works now, but just wait………….it will be a PITA, *** just wait 10,000 rounds as I have read it from time to time. Let me head this off by saying that I have owned both and for those who haven’t do not comment negatively on either press as your comments are not justified on assumptions. In fact let’s make this thread a positive thread for once and not slam either press.

All progressives have “issues” and the Lee probably more so as they are not set up correctly from the factory most of the time. This is Lee’s #1 problem in my honest opinion as some people are not as mechanical savvy and label the press before they have it working properly. On that note I have set up 9 or 10 of them and they are all working as intended. The presses that I have setup and/or have helped setup have reloaded anywhere from 7,000 rounds to 30,000 rounds and doing it rather well.

Dillon is a very well designed press as well and most definitely is shipped out the door to work straight from the box. Dillon will make anything right if it is wrong and will cut off arms and legs to make their customers happy; a very big plus to owning Dillon equipment. The Dillon presses have a great track record of being solid presses. The 550 I use to own was a press that I used with little fuss.

I say whatever gets you "there" and lets you shoot boolits to your satisfaction then that’s is good enough for me.

[dragonrider]

As I have said in other threads Lee Loadmaster=Junk. JMHO. Elaborating about the faults of that press is becoming tedious for me and I am sure boring for the rest of you as I have done so many times on this forum.

[klcarroll]

Well Jerry, .....I have to ask WHERE you were trying to sell your Dillon stuff.

....One of my big complaints with Ebay is that Dillon items and presses get bid up so high that I have given up trying and bought my conversion parts from a regular retailer!

Kent

[imashooter2]

Well Jerry, .....I have to ask WHERE you were trying to sell your Dillon stuff.

....One of my big complaints with Ebay is that Dillon items and presses get bid up so high that I have given up trying and bought my conversion parts from a regular retailer!

Kent

I have to agree. A guy that couldn't sell his Dillon gear for 60% of retail either didn't try very hard or has no talent for sales at all.

[imashooter2]

LOL! Jerry, you have your want to sell ad posted in the want to buy section. No wonder you can't get a decent price.

[Jerry11826]

Yeah, maybe you are right. I never put the equipment on Ebay. Thought I had to register as a seller and pay 15% as a tax for using the service. I did post the stuff on the Loadmaster board and on this board. Sold them both - the 550 with 5 tool heads and 5 tool head stands for $275.00 That price included the shipping. Sold the SDB on this board for $175.00 with two caliber conversions including the shipping.

Not exactly the premium price I thought I would get.

Anyway, thought I would get a great price - I was disappointed!

Maybe I can get rid of this stuff now. Will accept much less than I paid.

Please go to swapping and selling - if you like Dillon equipment - this is a good deal - I think.

Keep'em in the X ring,

Jerry

[Jerry11826]

Where is the sell sell section? I want to move it.

Thanks,

Jerry

[imashooter2]

Here you go. scroll down past the three sub forums at the top to find the new thread button.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forumdisplay.php?f=18

[Geraldo]

Sold them both - the 550 with 5 tool heads and 5 tool head stands for $275.00 That price included the shipping.

I'd have been all over that had you put it on this board. I'm still regretting selling one of my 550s.


I say whatever gets you "there" and lets you shoot boolits to your satisfaction then that’s is good enough for me.

Absolutely.

[mike in co]

i don't understand this thread......

you made the same statement on another thread...and it was discussed, and i pointed out then, what i considered a simple answer.


you were selling in the middle of a recession.......................................

i have never seen the necessity to sell as low as you went...never....but the economy is the economy.

mike in co

[Edubya]

There's a sucker born every second.
EW

[deerslayer]

At those prices I would have bought a dillon to try so I could compare. If any one else is selling for aproximately 30% of retail let me know. Until then my lees have to get me there it is all I can afford to use.

I ain't knocking either one and I only have lee's and although I have made them work well I can easily see how they get a bad rap. All of mine have required altering in one way or another to get good rates, qaulity product, and less rework. But after a little work I have made it run quite well. But if given the opurtunity I will sip a little blue cool aid and see if I like the taste better.

[Forester]

No kidding, I would have bought a 550 for a fair bit more than that.

Not to say they have not been affected, but I think the recession has hurt shooters much less than some other groups. Witness the sales of primers, powders, bullets and guns.

[mike in co]

No kidding, I would have bought a 550 for a fair bit more than that.

Not to say they have not been affected, but I think the recession has hurt shooters much less than some other groups. Witness the sales of primers, powders, bullets and guns.

check out the sale of black guns in the last couple of months...prices fell thru the floor. big dealers unloading lowers for 50-75 bucks.

primers was a supply demand issue.....same as his dillon, jut at the other end....little demand...lots of gun guys or new gun guys tapped out.

the reccession has guys who paid msrp plus for a black rifle last yr, very disappointed when they come back this year , need cash and cannot sell thier rifle for anywhere near what they paid for it.


mike in co

[jmorris]

I might have been a good idea to have started a "what's it worth" thread before you gave them away. Anyhow if you ever want to get rid of another 550 with 5 tool heads for $275 you can just contact me directly. I won't even make you eat shipping.

[mike in co]

I might have been a good idea to have started a "what's it worth" thread before you gave them away. Anyhow if you ever want to get rid of another 550 with 5 tool heads for $275 you can just contact me directly. I won't even make you eat shipping.

not....again he had his prices right for a normal market...he was selling in a recession....

its worth what some is willing to pay and he willing to sell......

mike in co

[imashooter2]

not....again he had his prices right for a normal market...he was selling in a recession....

its worth what some is willing to pay and he willing to sell......

mike in co

He had his stuff listed in the wrong spot and so it didn't get seen.

[Cowboy T]

As I have said in other threads Lee Loadmaster=Junk. JMHO. Elaborating about the faults of that press is becoming tedious for me and I am sure boring for the rest of you as I have done so many times on this forum.

Oh please. Dillon is overpriced junk that should rot in anybody's scrap heap.

Lee is the ONLY way to go. Anyone who pays that premium for Dillon junk must be smoking something way stronger than Bill Clinton ever did.

:kidding:

[mike in co]

He had his stuff listed in the wrong spot and so it didn't get seen.

that certainly did not help either

[Jerry11826]

Don't know if I am right or wrong about the prices I asked. But I need the money, well sort of and I need to get it out of the garage.

Went to a gun show about 1 year ago - I was asking about 75% of current retail - No takers. Many haglers! Many offered about the same as I am trying to sell for now. Just sold enough stuff to cover the cost ($125.00) of the table. Sure was bummed!

Thought I was going to make a little money. Hell, had the tumbler at $125.00. Could plug it in and hear it run. Works great - but when I was honest and told them it was about 20 years old - everyone laughed at me. Again a bummer!

Anyway, my loss your gain.

Jerry

[Lloyd Smale]

you got another with those assesorys for 275 shipped? Id send you a money order today!

[Crash_Corrigan]

My first press was a Lee Loadmaster with the casefeeder and bullet feeder. The instructions could have been written more clearly and some decent photos could have made it easier for me.

The major problem was the primer device. It was a bear to adjust and I never could get it to work properly for a total of 100 rounds without a problem. The bullet feeding device was very tricky to adjust and keep running well. The case feeder worked great and if the primer thingie had worked more consistently I would still be using that Lee press.

I gave up on the bullet feeder and just did it with my left hand but I had to watch that priming mechanism like a hawk. After two years of this I ordered a single stage Midway press. It was cheap. It was strong. It was slow but it made great rounds. I was not having to take apart a rube goldberg red machine and clean out powder spilled all over creation because the priming device failed again to seat a primer into the round before the powder was poured into the casing.

Maybe I should have stuck with it and learned more about it as when it ran right it was awesome but most of the time I was having to adjust, clean, dissamble or reassemble some part of the silly thing and I just got tired of it.

A couple of months later a friend of mine got bit with the prospecting bug and with the electronic treasure finding equipment and dropped reloading and shooting and he gave me all his reloading stuff.

Did I mention that this was a rich friend? When he decided to go prospecting he bought an ATV and a trailer and a couple of those metal detectors and a new 4 x 4 to haul everything around in. I think he just wanted an excuse to get away from his wife for a few days a week and it worked!

I was happy for him.

I was happier when he gifted me with a buncha Dillon stuff. The centerpiece was a Dillon 550B press with all the trimmings and stuff. Once I figured it out with the help of thier decent website and dowloaded instructions and phone tech help I was up and running.

Amazing....their priming device pretty much worked everytime and you could tell by feel if your primer was seated correctly RIGHT NOW! I did not have to wait and find a case half full of powder and no primer in the loaded round tray before I could make adjustments. Yes there is a learning curve there but if you keep the primer tubes very clean and move at a deliberate speed the excellent results are there. The powder dispenser was excellent and could be adjusted easily and I was not locked into a set amount of powder according to what sized hole was in a disk like on the Lee.

When I bought a casefeeder for the Dillon it really got a lot easier to use and the production rate really increased.

Since then I got a Dillon Square Deal press dedicated to making .45 ACP rounds and it is pretty much foolproof and simple to use.

I still use a single stage for some rifle rounds and I also have a Lee Classic Turret Press which I am still learning how to use but the prospects are looking good for the Lee. It does a great job on 50-90 Sharps BP rounds but is not any faster than a single stage for this loading since I need to use a drop tube for the powder anyway.

I should have started with a single stage RockChucker and then graduated to the Dillon 550B as my original single stage is wearing out. It was made for Midway of Aluminum and the bearings are wearing out now after 13 years of use. Anything it can do the Lee Classic press can do as well or better so no great loss there.

However I still use it for decapping fired rounds before cleaning and to pull bullets from suspected bad rounds with the Hornady Cam Lock collet bullet puller.

I have always had a bad feeling about those impact inecercia (spell?) bullet pullers and they are also so slow and messy.

[Colorado4wheel]

Don't know if I am right or wrong about the prices I asked. But I need the money, well sort of and I need to get it out of the garage.

Went to a gun show about 1 year ago - I was asking about 75% of current retail - No takers. Many haglers! Many offered about the same as I am trying to sell for now. Just sold enough stuff to cover the cost ($125.00) of the table. Sure was bummed!

Thought I was going to make a little money. Hell, had the tumbler at $125.00. Could plug it in and hear it run. Works great - but when I was honest and told them it was about 20 years old - everyone laughed at me. Again a bummer!

Anyway, my loss your gain.

Jerry

Glad your finally getting rid of that crappy Dillon stuff. Of course it's 20 years old, some isn't even in the catolog any longer. Even the 550 has changed a lot in that time. Rather then sell things for a huge mark down you could have just sent the 550 in for a rebuild for next to nothing. Had it upgraded to the newer stuff or at least looking really good. Then sold it on ebay for a much better price.

BTW, Jerry has been telling this oh so sad story for a couple years on other forums.

[Jerry11826]

Now Steve - It's true I have been trying to get rid of my Dillon stuff for about a year, but I never said Dillon was "crappy" stuff. Dillon is very good stuff and maybe works works better for the beginning reloader.

You are again correct when you say the 450 and 550 (it was a 550, not a 550B) are not current production.

And I didn't take a loss of the 450, 550 or SDB. Sold the SDB for $149.00 net, paid $149.00 new plus shipping. Sold the 450 for $200.00 net, paid $202.00 new delivered. Sold the 550 for $225.00 net , paid $175.00 used bought from a friend.

Lost on the 5 Dillon powder measures, probably paid and average of $70.00 plus shipping, not counting the die bodies, or say $350.00 plus shipping. Sold for $190.00 net.

Lost big on the primer tube fillers and conversion kits. Paid $590.00 plus shipping, sold for $300.00 net. Don't know why Dillon users don't like the primer fillers. Nothing short of a case feeder will more increse your production rate. Try one, you will like it.

Anyway, because I enjoy you opinionated but fun posts, I will make you a very special deal. Buy my large Dillon tumbler for $100.00 including the shipping and I will send you the small media separator free asking only $25.00 for shipping. $125.00 all in delivered.

Don't melow out C4W! I like grumpy geezers!

Send me a PM if interested.

Jerry