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Buying from a dealer or a broker

One of them owns the machine. The other owns your email address.

Omega Machines · Updated 23 October 2026

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Almost every buyer of used machinery deals with both kinds of seller without ever being told which is which. Both can be perfectly honest. They just cannot do the same things for you, and the difference shows up at the worst possible moment.

What a dealer is

A dealer owns the machine. It is standing in a yard they control. They can walk out this afternoon, photograph the hour meter, start it, film the hydraulics working and send it to you within the hour.

What a broker is

A broker does not own the machine. They pass your enquiry to whoever does, add a margin and pass the answer back. Everything you ask has to travel through them, and so does everything that goes wrong.

How to tell in one minute

  • Ask for a photograph taken today with something dated in the frame
  • Ask for video of the machine running, with the hour meter in the same clip
  • Ask whether you can send your own inspector this week
  • Ask what else is in the same yard
  • Ask who issues the invoice and who receives the money

A dealer answers all five in a day. A broker starts explaining why each one is complicated.

Why it costs you money

A broker adds a layer of margin you cannot see. More importantly, they cannot fix a problem they are not standing next to. If the machine is not what the photographs showed, your recourse runs through somebody who never had the machine in the first place.

When a broker is still fine

When you want something nobody holds in stock and you need somebody to go looking. That is a real service and worth paying for. The mistake is paying a broker price for a machine that is sitting in a yard you could have bought from directly.

Where we stand

We own what we sell. Our machines are in our own yards at Mohammedia in Morocco and Qingdao in China, which is why every listing has its own photographs, its real hours and its price. When we do not have something, we say so and we go and source it, and we tell you that is what we are doing.

How to avoid being scammed Buying through an American company Why we publish our prices How to check a machine before you pay All machines and prices

Questions buyers ask about this

What people want to know once they realise not every seller owns the machine.

Telling them apart

How do I know if a seller owns the machine?+
Ask for video of it running today with the hour meter in the same clip, and ask what else is in the same yard. An owner answers in a day.
Is a broker the same as a scammer?+
No. Plenty of brokers are honest and useful. The problem is paying a broker margin for a machine you could have bought direct.
Why do so many sellers use stock photographs?+
Because they do not have the machine. A photograph taken today, with the yard visible behind it, is the simplest test there is.
What if the seller refuses to send fresh video?+
Treat that as your answer and move on. It costs an owner ten minutes.
Can I just ask them straight out?+
Yes, and you should. An owner says yes immediately. Anyone who talks around the question has told you something.
Does it matter for a small machine?+
Less, but the same test takes a minute either way, so there is no reason to skip it.

What it costs you

Is buying direct cheaper?+
Usually, because you are not paying a layer of margin that was added for passing a message along.
How much does a broker typically add?+
It varies and it is rarely disclosed, which is the point. If nobody will tell you who owns the machine, nobody will tell you the margin either.
Who do I chase if the machine is wrong?+
With an owner, the person who sold it to you. With a broker, somebody who never had the machine, which is a much worse position.
Can a broker arrange inspection?+
Sometimes, but it depends on the actual owner agreeing, so it is slower and sometimes it simply does not happen.
Is a published price a sign of a real dealer?+
It is a good sign. Hidden prices usually mean the number is being worked out after the seller sees who is asking.

How we work

Do you own the machines you sell?+
Yes. They stand in our own yards at Mohammedia and Qingdao, which is why every listing has its own photographs and real hours.
Will you photograph a specific part for me?+
Yes, any part of any machine, on the day you ask. The undercarriage, the engine bay, the cab, the hour meter.
Can I visit your yards?+
Yes, both of them. Message us first so the machine is pulled out and somebody is there to run it.
What happens when you do not have what I want?+
We tell you plainly and we go and source it, and we say that is what we are doing rather than pretending it is in stock.
Who issues the invoice?+
We do. For China stock it comes from Beaumont Investment Group, LLC in the United States, which you can verify before paying.
Can I send someone to inspect it for me?+
Yes, and we encourage it on larger machines. An inspection costs far less than the wrong machine.

Ask us the five questions

Photograph today, video running, your own inspector, what else is in the yard, who takes the money. We answer all five.

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