Why the secondary market decides who can export
This directory lists 266 Bangladeshi supplier records, of which 16 sit in light engineering and 153 in handicrafts. Read the founding years in the registry column and a pattern shows up: a large share of these firms were incorporated with a workshop, not a factory. Capital equipment came later, if at all.
That makes the domestic second-hand market a real constraint on export capacity rather than a footnote. A press, a stitching machine or a small CNC bought used is often the difference between quoting an order and declining it. It is also the cheapest way to add a second shift without adding a second building.
Inspect the machine, not the listing
Photographs tell you about the seller's photography. Assume nothing about the machine until you have stood next to it while it runs.
- Run it under load, not idle. Idle noise hides bearing wear, belt slip and spindle runout.
- Check the wear surfaces: ways and slides on a lathe or mill, platen flatness on a press, feed dogs and tension assembly on industrial stitching machines.
- Ask what it was making and for how long. A machine that ran one part for a decade wears differently from one that changed jobs weekly.
- Confirm the electrical supply it expects. Three-phase equipment that needs a converter changes the real price.
- Establish spare-part availability before you negotiate. An orphaned control board is a scrap sale with extra steps.
- Photograph the nameplate — make, model, serial. You need it for parts, and it is your only handle if provenance is later disputed.
Verify the seller separately from the machine
Equipment fraud in a domestic classifieds market is rarely about a bad machine. It is about advance payment for a machine that is not there, or one the seller does not own.
Two rules cover most of it: never pay in advance for industrial equipment, and never complete a handover anywhere other than the site where the machine currently runs. If the seller will not let you see it in place and powered, the price is irrelevant.
- Ask for the original purchase or import documentation. Not always available on older equipment, always informative when it is.
- Match the seller's identity to the site. A machine on someone else's factory floor needs an explanation you find satisfying.
- Agree who pays for de-installation, rigging and transport in writing before money moves. This routinely costs more than buyers budget.
What to walk away from
A seller who will not name the reason for sale. A price far below the market with a deadline attached. Any request for a deposit to hold the item. A machine stored rather than installed, with no way to power it. Each of those on its own is a reason to slow down; two together is a reason to stop.