# Second hand buying



## lol65 (Dec 9, 2020)

Hello everyone. I'm new here. Is it worth buying a Sage barista Express second hand. I've seen on asking for £300 for a 5 year old machine? TIA


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## damo6925 (Jul 26, 2020)

lol65 said:


> Hello everyone. I'm new here. Is it worth buying a Sage barista Express second hand. I've seen on asking for £300 for a 5 year old machine? TIA


Welcome!

Each to their own, but... My personal opinion is I would stay clear. You don't know how it's been treated, you don't know what water has been used, if it's been regularly descaled/cleaned etc etc

5 years is a fair while too, some people won't touch sage because of their reputation for breakdowns when they are new, so at 5 years your chances surely increase of a breakdown. Then there is the issue that they are notoriously difficult to repair yourself, with not many repair places in the UK...maybe one notable I think it's called coffee classics but I may be mistaken.

You can get these half decent prices new, I think Amazon had a black Friday deal on for between 4 and 500 new. If it were me, I'd hold out and isy the extra. Warranty included.

Hope that's not too negative and helps, again just my opinion... I'm sure others will give you there's too!

Sent from my PCT-L29 using Tapatalk


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

lol65 said:


> Hello everyone. I'm new here. Is it worth buying a Sage barista Express second hand. I've seen on asking for £300 for a 5 year old machine? TIA


 That's a lot of money for not a lot of machine... Not a 5 year old machine of that class at least!


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

lol65 said:


> Hello everyone. I'm new here. Is it worth buying a Sage barista Express second hand. I've seen on asking for £300 for a 5 year old machine? TIA


 Why has this particular machine caught your eye? Price? All in one machine? New to making espresso?

As mentioned above, unless you know how the machine has been maintained over the last five years - whether it's been run on hard water etc.


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## lol65 (Dec 9, 2020)

The price has caught my eye and I'm sort of new to making espresso, I used to make about 150 a day as a waitress, but probably a bit rusty now. Can anyone recommend a good (not quite) starter machine in the £300 - £600 range. Thank you


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Guessing, if you were looking at the Barista Express, you don't have a grinder? If so, you need to factor in price of one if you want to consider a stand alone espresso machine.


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## lol65 (Dec 9, 2020)

The Systemic Kid said:


> Guessing, if you were looking at the Barista Express, you don't have a grinder? If so, you need to factor in price of one if you want to consider a stand alone espresso machine.


 I grind with my nutribullet at the moment (is that really bad)


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## lol65 (Dec 9, 2020)

damo6925 said:


> Welcome!
> 
> Each to their own, but... My personal opinion is I would stay clear. You don't know how it's been treated, you don't know what water has been used, if it's been regularly descaled/cleaned etc etc
> 
> ...


 The price has caught my eye and I'm sort of new to making espresso, I used to make about 150 a day as a waitress, but probably a bit rusty now. Can anyone recommend a good (not quite) starter machine in the £300 - £600 range. Thank you


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## damo6925 (Jul 26, 2020)

lol65 said:


> I grind with my nutribullet at the moment (is that really bad)


That's really bad 

Sent from my PCT-L29 using Tapatalk


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## Coffeenoobster (Nov 24, 2018)

Btw you could get a brand new barista express for £350, don't look at RRP.

I got mine for £380, so I wouldn't buy a 5 yr old second hand machine to save maybe £80.

Also depends on source, people say it's you tend to get better looked after equipment here but YMMV.


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## lol65 (Dec 9, 2020)

damo6925 said:


> That's really bad
> 
> Sent from my PCT-L29 using Tapatalk


 I'm going to grinder hell!!


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## lol65 (Dec 9, 2020)

Coffeenoobster said:


> Btw you could get a brand new barista express for £350, don't look at RRP.
> 
> I got mine for £380, so I wouldn't buy a 5 yr old second hand machine to save maybe £80.
> 
> Also depends on source, people say it's you tend to get better looked after equipment here but YMMV.


 I've looked everywhere and can't find one for less than £549, where did you see on for £350? Thanks


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## Coffeenoobster (Nov 24, 2018)

lol65 said:


> I've looked everywhere and can't find one for less than £549, where did you see on for £350? Thanks


 Someone else recently said they bought there's for £350. Not sure where though. But you can defo get it for less that £549.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Seems one consequence of Covid has been the increased interest in making coffee at home. Barista Express, prior to the pandemic onset, were retailing well under the current price.


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## Coffeenoobster (Nov 24, 2018)

https://www.hotukdeals.com/tag/sage

Their was still some chances for offers. £399 the most recent. Albeit Black Friday. But looking at the threads even in October there was an offer. Also if op is lucky there might be a 20% off voucher up for grabs and that could be £480.


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## lol65 (Dec 9, 2020)

Coffeenoobster said:


> https://www.hotukdeals.com/tag/sage
> 
> Their was still some chances for offers. £399 the most recent. Albeit Black Friday. But looking at the threads even in October there was an offer. Also if op is lucky there might be a 20% off voucher up for grabs and that could be £480.


 Cheers, I'll take a look


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## facboy (Dec 13, 2019)

Coffeenoobster said:


> https://www.hotukdeals.com/tag/sage
> 
> Their was still some chances for offers. £399 the most recent. Albeit Black Friday. But looking at the threads even in October there was an offer. Also if op is lucky there might be a 20% off voucher up for grabs and that could be £480.


 bit late to the party, covid has had a huge effect. as a point of reference for when (if?) things go back to normal, these were everywhere the previous black friday for £360-£370. black friday being what it is, i bet that price was available periodically all year round.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

lol65 said:


> I'm going to grinder hell!!


I think you might already be there! 
Smarty pants comments aside, a burr grinder is pretty much essential for getting decent results from whole bean coffee, especially espresso. A blade grinder will give you an unholy mix of boulders and fines as it smashes the bean into fragments rather than give a (comparatively) even spread of particle sizes. This matters because smaller particles extract faster than larger ones, so you'll end up with a mix of over- and under extracted coffee. (All grinders realistically produce a range of particle sizes but with a burr grinder it's narrower and more controlled).

The double walled 'perfect crema' baskets let you get away with any old coffee, but will disguise everything.

Rocket R58, Ceado E37S, Aeropress, Aergrind, Osmio Zero, Torr Goldfinger flat and convex.


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