I'm often asked how much a marquee is worth.

The simple answer is as much as someone is willing to pay for it.

There are many factors that you should consider; here are a few...

Who made the marquee

There are a few factors that I've got to take into account.

1) Unknown manufacturer (The customer has no way of knowing the quality of the marquee frame or covers)
2) They will not be compatible with existing stock (Roder, Tectonics and Custom Covers).
3) I don't know how much they cost new so may assume they are cheaper that they really are.

Imagine you were buying a car, which would you buy... a BMW, or a car made by Guangzhou Automobile group (China). There is no question. They may or may not be of equal quality, however, I know which one I would buy.

Again using the analogy of used cars a second-hand middle range 10 year old Ford keeps more of its value (as a % of new price) than a top of the range BMW. Possibly because there are more cheap spare parts for a Ford or more people want a cheap run-around than a big old gas guzzling luxury cars.

Still, considering buying cars, people will pay much more for a car from a main dealer than a back street garage. And again less if the car is sold privately.

Profile Size

The same width of marquee can be made with different sizes of profile.

It makes sense to have one profile for different number of widths of marquee. This means that for example you can have a 12m marquee on a small profile that is one third of the weight of the heavy profile.

Generally heavy profiles are more expensive to buy new and you receive less money when you sell them second hand.

This is because the heavy profile requires more material to make however is less attractive to a smaller marquee company who generally prefer marquees that are easier and quicker to put up. As well as much easer to transport.

Condition is King!

As an item gets older apparent age is more important that it's actual age, for example if something is 10 years old and looks new then it will be worth more than a new marquee that looks 10 years old!

This also applies to how you present your marquee for sale. If the photos look like they are from a wedding magazine your marquee is worth much more than if you can't be bothered to stack the marquee neatly and it looks like you are looking at scrap parts.

Timing

The price should be based on the price you can buy the equipment NOW not the price you bought it for.

So if prices rise or fall with inflation or exchange rates so do second hand prices.

There is more demand leading up to the summer season than just before Christmas!

However it's just after Christmas when I get the most people looking at the website. However many of them take time to get into the buying mood. I have always said customers have to smell the chocolate of Easter eggs before they buy marquees. However Marquees do sell all year round. And if your marquee is not on the site customers can't buy it.

Service

In my experience the marquees that sell quickly are the ones where the vendor offers just a little bit more....

For example

• Help with delivery
• It will be cleaned before we sell it to you
• Advice on using the marquee
• Training in the correct erection of the marquee
• Complete installation
• Ongoing support running the business
• Offer to take back the marquee if they are not happy with it

The last item on this list may seem extreme. However customers are averse to taking risks, often you will not be able to see the condition of the marquee until you have bought it.

When I was selling marquees I used to give this following offer. "If you don't like the marquee when you put it up for the first time, just give it back in the same condition that you bought it in and I will give you a full refund, less the price of a hire" In 15 years of selling marquees I never had one come back (however all my marques were in as described condition)

The New Price of Marquees

Different manufacturers have different ways of pricing marquees. These are often based on the cost of each component, so as component prices and exchange rates change so do the prices of their marquees on that day.

However, over a number of years the average price of a marquee per sq M has averaged out at about £50 per Sq M. On top of this the extra cost of the first bay (Gables, 2 Legs, End Walls, Uprights etc). This price goes up and down depending on the exchange rate, price of materials, time of year and how much they would like your business.

I have drawn up the following table.

Price per Sq M	£55.00
End bay price	£1,000.00
			Length
Width	3	6	9	12	15	18	21	25
6	£1,990.00	£2,980.00	£3,970.00	£4,960.00	£5,950.00	£6,940.00	£7,930.00	£9,250.00
9	£2,485.00	£3,970.00	£5,455.00	£6,940.00	£8,425.00	£9,910.00	£11,395.00	£13,375.00
12	£2,980.00	£4,960.00	£6,940.00	£8,920.00	£10,900.00	£12,880.00	£14,860.00	£17,500.00
15	£3,475.00	£5,950.00	£8,425.00	£10,900.00	£13,375.00	£15,850.00	£18,325.00	£21,625.00

Lining is about half the price of a marquee. So if your marquee was worth £10,000 the lining would cost £5,000.

This can be used to guess at the price of a marquee you are selling or buying. Please note this does not include extras such as bar tension roofs, windows, doors etc.

Depreciation

I have made the following table.

This assumes you lose 25% of a marquees value as soon as you have bought it. Then 10% per year....

Some sizes of marquees hold their value better than others i.e. 9M wide marquees hold their value better than 3m x 3m marquees.

The age something looks is more important than it's actual age. (if your kit is 2 years old but looks 10 it's only worth 26% of it's original value!)

Conversely - If your marquee is 15 years old, and you have looked after it and it still in a 4 year old condition, then it's still worth 50% of what you bought it for!

Depreciation table -		-25.00%	Then	-10% per year
Price	100	£1,000	£2,000	£3,000	£4,000	£5,000	£6,000	£7,000	£8,000	£9,000	£10,000
Years
0	75	£750	£1,500	£2,250	£3,000	£3,750	£4,500	£5,250	£6,000	£6,750	£7,500
1	68	£675	£1,350	£2,025	£2,700	£3,375	£4,050	£4,725	£5,400	£6,075	£6,750
2	61	£608	£1,215	£1,823	£2,430	£3,038	£3,645	£4,253	£4,860	£5,468	£6,075
3	55	£547	£1,094	£1,640	£2,187	£2,734	£3,281	£3,827	£4,374	£4,921	£5,468
4	49	£492	£984	£1,476	£1,968	£2,460	£2,952	£3,445	£3,937	£4,429	£4,921
5	44	£443	£886	£1,329	£1,771	£2,214	£2,657	£3,100	£3,543	£3,986	£4,429
6	40	£399	£797	£1,196	£1,594	£1,993	£2,391	£2,790	£3,189	£3,587	£3,986
7	36	£359	£717	£1,076	£1,435	£1,794	£2,152	£2,511	£2,870	£3,229	£3,587
8	32	£323	£646	£969	£1,291	£1,614	£1,937	£2,260	£2,583	£2,906	£3,229
9	29	£291	£581	£872	£1,162	£1,453	£1,743	£2,034	£2,325	£2,615	£2,906
10	26	£262	£523	£785	£1,046	£1,308	£1,569	£1,831	£2,092	£2,354	£2,615