Used Dies ? ? ?

[WNTFW]

Do any of you guys buy used dies?

I'm just curious because I seldom see any worth buying used as they are nearly what I can get new ones for. I speaking about common mainstream calibers. Nothing rare for me.

I have bought some in a package deal that were just fine. (.45 & .38/.357)

Other than that I got a good deal on 4 case guages & a media separator.

I want to get all the dies for common calibers and some nice used dies would be great, just not that lucky yet.

 

[Walkalong]

I have bought a couple of things at gun shows. Odds and ends that might come in handy, but not sets of dies.

 

[SASS#23149]

used dies aren't cheap it seems,but if I save ten bucks,tha'ts ten bucks worth of primers,or...
I would not buy them for any less savings than that most likely.

 

[Oro]

Used dies cost about as much as new because they don't really wear out under anything approaching normal use.

They usually are OK deals at guns shows vs. buying on-line and paying shipping.

 

[Galil5.56]

Yeah, I like to buy quality used dies if they are substantially less than new. I recently bought a nice set of RCBS steel .38 Special dies to use for nothing but test loads in the single stage. Now I don't have to remove my carbide set from my 550 tool head, or go through a caliber change just to work up a few loads.

Of course these dies scratched cases when I first got them, but a few minutes with a cordless drill, WD-40, and 600-1500 grit wet-dry sandpaper fixed that.

 

[GaryL]

Look them over carefully before purchasing though. I picked up a set at a show that looked really nice at only $10, but when I looked inside, they were severely corroded and should have just been tossed into the recycle bin.

 

[Jimfern]

I've bought used from the trading forum here and felt that I got very good savings over new, but if you look at what dies go for on ebay, you're probably better off just buying new.

 

[MMCSRET]

I've probably bought 40 sets of used dies if the price was right. Find the guy that has the largest # of dies for sale, plck out several and make him an offer. I've saved as much as 90% in some cases. I buy dies that I don't already have whether I need them or not. I have $100.00 custom dies that I paid $5.00 for. I do the same thing with bullet molds.

 

[evan price]

I've never bought new dies. If they were taken care of, reloading dies will outlive the original owner, like most quality reloading gear.

You just need to inspect before you buy. Not always possible online. I bought some reloading gear at a tag sale. There was a new in box Redding powder trickler for $3, and a Lee AutoDisk powder measure new in box for $9.50- what a deal.

I've been getting deals on eBay by carefully looking for specific things. The odder the caliber, the better the deal.

I got a set of Lee 3-die carbide .357 Mag dies, in a Lee 3-hole turret plate, for $14 shipped. Dies were like new. Now I don't have to keep adjusting between .38 special and .357 Mag.

My 6.5x55 Swede dies came from eBay, $11 shipped.

The deals are there, you have to be patient.

 

[charby]

All my dies were bought 2nd hand. I paid about 2/3 average price of new if you include shipping. I have bought a few off ebay and the rest from friends.

My initial reloading purchase was I bought a guy out, lock, stock and barrel. Stuff I didn't need I sold to other shooters to recoup the cost of the purchase.

 

[ranger335v]

I don't hesitate to buy used dies if the price is right. As mentioned above, it's usually easy to clean and polish sizers back to like new.

I refuse to pay more than half the street price for used anything. On the auction sites, that must include shipping. I used to get quite a few dies on ebay but bidders these days are willing to pay retail for used stuff, sometimes even more! Therefore, it's been a few years since I've "won" a bid!