Wasted $200 on cheap end mills from an online auction

I saw a lot of 50 end mills on an auction site for a steal, like $200 total. Figured I hit the jackpot, you know? Got them in and half were chipped or dull, and a few were even the wrong shank size (like 1/4 instead of 3/8). Ended up trashing most of them after a single pass on aluminum because the cut quality was garbage. Anyone else get burned buying tooling in bulk like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

markh8513d ago

Used to think bulk tooling auctions were a solid hack for saving money. Had a similar experience with a lot of drills that were all warped and it totally changed my mind. In the end you're just paying for a pile of scrap metal.

davis.noah13d ago

Has anyone else had that moment where you're staring at a pile of junk you just bought wondering what you were thinking? I definitely did after my last bulk lot of sanders. @markh85 you're spot on about it just being scrap metal most of the time. I used to think auctions were a goldmine, but now I'm way more careful and only bid if I can actually see the stuff in person. It's a hard lesson to learn, but better to learn it early than keep throwing money away.

robin62813d ago

@davis.noah you've hit on something that took me way too long to figure out myself. That feeling of regret when you unbox a pile of junk is the WORST, especially when you convinced yourself it was a "good deal" during the bidding. What gets me is how the lighting in those online photos TOTALLY hides all the rust and wobble until it shows up at your door. At this point I'd rather pay full price for something I can test with my own hands than gamble on a mystery box of broken dreams.