If you’re in the market for a piece of construction equipment, you can do your comparison shopping in one place by requesting price quotes through BuyerZone.com, a site that specializes in business products and services and added construction machinery to its lineup this year.
The industrial section of BuyerZone.com includes excavators and compact excavators, wheel loaders, skid steers, backhoe loaders and aerial lifts in addition to smaller equipment such as air compressors and generators.
To request a price quote, you click on a machine type and answer about 10 questions ranging from what applications you need the machine for to your buying timeframe. The supplier base for the website’s construction categories consists of local dealers that represent brands including Bobcat, Case, New Holland, Caterpillar, Volvo, JCB and Mustang, said Eric Horndahl, who’s in charge of new business development for BuyerZone.
Danny Parker, owner of Parker Construction in Benton, Tenn., bought a new Volvo skid steer after requesting quotes through BuyerZone.com in October. Parker said he had been looking for a skid steer for a couple months before trying BuyerZone, but couldn’t find what he needed. He stumbled across BuyerZone.com while searching for a machine on the Internet and filled out the online questionnaire. He said a local dealer — ASC Volvo in Chattanooga — called him the day after his BuyerZone request with exactly what he was looking for at the right price. He ultimately received four price quotes ranging from $25,000 to $41,000.
Parker said requesting quotes was easy even though he’s not a computer person. “There’s not a lot to do,” he said. “I was really pleased.”
In addition to equipment, you can request price quotes for products such as office trailers, storage containers, construction software and payroll services.
BuyerZone.com was launched in 1992 and offers businesses price quotes for products and services in more than 100 categories. With the addition of steel buildings, the company started an industrial section in August 2003 based on a suggestion from a prospective supplier. “As a result of the success of our steel buildings category, we continued to aggressively expand our industrial section over the next year and a half,” Horndahl said.
The first construction equipment categories – skid steers and aerial lifts – appeared in January.
“We have found that the core needs of any business buyer – regardless of industry – are all the same,” said Sam Zales, chief executive of BuyerZone.com. “Whether it’s a mini-excavator or a phone system, buyers want to quickly find relevant suppliers for their purchase. Clearly, comparison websites like BuyerZone provide a direct solution.”
