🎯 The business: used industrial woodworking machinery (panel saws, edgebanders, CNC routers, moulders, wide-belt sanders) bought from U.S. cabinet and furniture shops that close or upgrade, and sold to furniture factories and cabinet makers in Bogotá, Medellín and Lima, who hunt for exactly what American shops auction off.
Furniture manufacturers, kitchen cabinet companies, door and window makers and vocational schools. A used edgebander that costs $8,000 to $20,000 at auction sells for $18,000 to $40,000 delivered; a CNC router similar. Buyers pay in advance or by letter of credit, and many want a container of mixed machines to set up a whole line.
| LLC and insurance | $1,200 |
| Auction registration, listings, Spanish-language site and WhatsApp catalog | $1,200 |
| Travel to inspect and a technician for test runs | $2,000 |
| First machine or a brokered first deal | $0 to $15,000 |
| Gold Key in Bogotá or Lima, or a visit to the regional woodworking show | $4,000 |
| Total: broker ≈ $6,000 · inventory ≈ $20,000 to $25,000 |
Learn the brands that factories there trust (SCM, Biesse, Homag, Weinig, Altendorf) and the voltage and phase differences you must explain. Register with woodworking machinery auctioneers and liquidators. Photograph and video machines running, with serial plates. Contact the Colombian and Peruvian furniture industry associations and the U.S. Commercial Service in both capitals. Quote landed, including rigging, container loading and estimated duties.
A mixed container with four machines bought for $45,000, prepared and shipped for $12,000 and sold for $95,000 leaves about $38,000, two to three months after you paid for the first machine. Brokered deals at 10 to 12 percent bring in $2,000 to $5,000 each without capital. Factories that buy one line come back for the next machine.
Used machinery imports in Colombia and Peru are generally permitted but may require import registration and safety labeling; your customs broker and the buyer’s import agent handle it, but quote with their fees included. U.S. trade agreements with both countries reduce duties for U.S.-origin machines (origin matters: a German machine resold from the U.S. does not qualify). Electronic export filing. Wood-packaging rules (heat-treated pallets and crates) for everything you ship.
A machine that needs a transformer the buyer did not budget for. Rust from a container that crossed the equator unsealed. A buyer who wants training you did not price. Port strikes. The dealers who last ship with professional crating, include a start-up visit or a remote training session in the price, and build a reputation among a close-knit industry that talks.