To buy commercial kitchen equipment, get a quote from a local restaurant supply dealer and check the same model at WebstaurantStore or KaTom. For used pieces, watch auctions and closing restaurants. Buy steel tables, sinks and shelves used. Buy gas ovens and ranges used only after you see them running. Buy new anything with a compressor, a water line or a circuit board, and anything that's hard to get into your building. Compare every option at its price delivered, installed and working, not the price on the tag.
Where to buy commercial kitchen equipment
There are five places to buy, and each one has a catch. The used prices below are a rule of thumb, not a survey.
| Where | New or used | Price | Warranty | Who fits it | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local restaurant supply dealer | Both | Near online prices, ask for a match | Full maker's warranty on new | The dealer, for a fee | Fewer models in stock |
| Online store (WebstaurantStore, KaTom) | New | Often the lowest tag price | Full maker's warranty | You | Dropped at the curb, not inside |
| Online auction | Used | Low, plus a 15% to 20% fee | None | You | Sold as is, short pickup time |
| Closing restaurant | Used | Often a third of new or less | None | You | The seller doesn't always own it |
| Online listings (Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist) | Used | Low | None | You | Scams, hard to test |
Search the maker's site, not "commercial oven near me"
Googling "commercial oven near me" finds shops, but it doesn't tell you which shops the maker trusts. That matters for the warranty. Vulcan, a big US oven maker, gives its warranty only to the first buyer from a Vulcan-authorized seller (Vulcan warranty, November 2025). The warranty also ends if the oven moves away from where it was first installed.
So start on the maker's website. Most makers have a "where to buy" page for authorized dealers. They also have a service locator for authorized service agents, the repair companies the maker has trained. Vulcan's warranty pays normal repair labor, but past 50 miles from the repair company, you pay the travel. Buy a brand with an authorized service agent within 50 miles of your kitchen.
Buy new or used equipment
Restaurant equipment loses value fast. As a rule of thumb, used gear in good shape sells for a third to half of the new price. The question is which pieces survive a second life.
| Buy used freely | Buy used after a test | Buy new, or refurbished with a warranty |
|---|---|---|
| Steel work tables | Gas convection ovens | Ice machines |
| Sinks | Gas ranges and griddles | Dish machines |
| Wire shelves | Fryers | Combi ovens |
| Sheet pan racks | Reach-in fridges and freezers | Anything with a touch screen |
| Pots, pans and hotel pans | Mixers and holding cabinets |
The rule: the fewer moving parts, water lines and electronics, the safer used is. Steel doesn't wear out. A compressor, a pump or a circuit board fails without warning, and hard water leaves scale, a hard white layer, inside ice and dish machines. Vulcan's warranty doesn't even cover scale damage in the steam part of its own combi ovens (Vulcan warranty, November 2025). For the dish machine, renting is often the better deal: here is the lease-or-buy math for a commercial dishwasher.
When your building decides for you
If your kitchen is up stairs, in a basement, or in an old building with narrow doors, buy new. Getting a 434-pound oven inside can mean taking a door off and paying four movers for a morning. If a used oven dies after three years, you pay that bill again: once to get it out, once to get the next one in. The math below shows how much.
The real price: one oven bought three ways
Take a Vulcan VC4GD-1, a full-size gas convection oven. That's an oven with a fan inside that moves hot air, so food cooks evenly. It burns natural gas at 50,000 BTU, a measure of how much heat it makes. WebstaurantStore sells it for $6,229 (September 2026).
Compare it with the same kind of oven, 3 years old, bought used two ways. The rows marked "say" are example costs, so put in your own quotes.
| New, online | Used, auction | Used, closing restaurant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $6,229 | $1,800 winning bid | $1,500 cash |
| Auction fee (15%) | $0 | $270 | $0 |
| Sales or use tax, say 7% | $436 | $145 | $105 |
| Freight, or a truck and helpers, say | $300 | $350 | $350 |
| Gas hookup by a plumber, say | $600 | $600 | $600 |
| Service check by a technician, say | $0 | $250 | $250 |
| Total, working in your kitchen | $7,565 | $3,415 | $2,805 |
| Warranty | 1 year | None | None |
Used looks like less than half the price. It isn't, if it dies early, so spread each total over the years it works. As a rule of thumb, a gas convection oven lasts 10 to 15 years with care. Say the new one lasts 12 years: $7,565 ÷ 12 = $630 a year.
Now divide each used total by $630. That's how many years the used oven must work to beat new:
- The auction oven must last 5.4 years ($3,415 ÷ $630).
- The closing-restaurant oven must last 4.5 years ($2,805 ÷ $630).
A 3-year-old oven has to reach about 8 years old, which is normal for a clean, serviced one. A dirty oven with a noisy fan won't get there. The test in the next section matters more than the price.
Now say your kitchen is in an old building, and each move in or out costs $1,500. The new oven's total becomes $8,765, or $730 a year over 12 years. The auction oven costs $4,565 and must now last 6.3 years. If it dies after 3, you pay $1,500 again to get it out and the next oven in. In a hard building, new wins.
How to check used equipment before you pay
See it running and hooked up, never cold on a pallet. Bring a tape measure, an oven thermometer, a fridge thermometer and your phone.
- Photograph the data plate, the metal label with the model, serial number, gas type and power. Look up the model on the maker's site for its age, the manual and whether parts are still sold.
- Match the gas. The plate says natural gas or propane. If it's wrong for your building, the oven needs a conversion kit from the maker, fitted by a technician.
- Match the power. The plate shows the volts and the phase, the type of power line: single phase or three phase. A 240-volt heater on a 208-volt line gives only about 75% of its heat.
- Find the NSF mark, or ETL Sanitation or UL Sanitation. Health inspectors look for it, and home kitchen gear doesn't have it.
- Test the heat. Set the oven to 350°F, wait 20 minutes, and read your own thermometer. Listen to the fan: grinding or rattling means a new motor soon.
- Test the cold. Ask the seller to switch the fridge on the day before. It must hold 41°F or colder, the FDA Food Code limit for cold food.
- Look inside a fryer at the welded seams of the tank for cracks, and under it for oil. A leaking tank means a new fryer.
- Measure the way in, with every door, stair and turn. This oven is over 40 inches wide and deep, wider than a standard 36-inch door. Plan how it tips or turns to get in.
Ask why it's for sale and ask for service records. If the seller names a repair company, call it and ask about the oven.
Buying from a closing restaurant, an auction or an online listing
Closing restaurants
Closing restaurants sell fast, and cash gets the best price. Nobody advertises a closing early, so tell the people who hear first. That's your dealer's used-equipment buyer, your repair technician and your commercial real estate broker. Local auction houses run many restaurant closeouts too, so sign up for their emails.
Before you pay, ask who owns each piece. Dish machines, ice machines, coffee machines and soda systems are often rented, and they belong to the supplier. A bank that lent the restaurant money can also have a legal claim on the equipment, called a UCC lien. Search the business name in your state's UCC records on the Secretary of State website. The checklist for buying an existing restaurant has the full list of ownership questions.
Bring a truck, a dolly and two strong helpers, and plan to take it the same day.
Online auctions
Online auctions add a buyer's premium, a fee on top of your winning bid. Auction Factory, a national restaurant auction site, adds 15% (September 2026), and some regional auction houses add 20%. At Auction Factory, payment is due within 24 hours and pickup is a few hours on one set day.
Set your top bid before the auction starts. Take the most you'd pay before tax and divide it by 1.15. For $2,000, your top bid is $1,739. Go on the preview day and test the piece, because auction items are sold as is, with no returns.
Facebook Marketplace and other listings
Online listings have the lowest prices and the most risk. Never send a deposit for gear you haven't seen. A seller who can only ship, or who wants a gift card or a wire transfer, is running a scam. Test it at the seller's place, running, and then pay. Look up the new price first, so you know when to walk away.
Buying new: a local dealer or an online store
Ask a local dealer for a quote on the model delivered, set in place, hooked up and tested. Then price the same model at WebstaurantStore and KaTom, with freight, tax and your plumber. Ask the dealer to match the online price. If the dealer is within $500, buy local: one phone number covers the delivery, the hookup and the warranty.
Online stores ship big items by common carrier, a freight truck that leaves the crate at your curb. If you have no loading dock, pay for a liftgate, a lift on the back of the truck that lowers the crate. The driver won't bring it inside. WebstaurantStore gives you 15 minutes to check the delivery. Write any damage on the delivery receipt before you sign, and take photos. If you sign a clean receipt, the store can't promise you any money for damage (WebstaurantStore, 2026).
Check the build date on a cheap "new" unit or a floor model. Vulcan's warranty needs the oven first installed within 18 months of the day it was made, with proof of the install date. Keep the plumber's invoice.
US rules for kitchen equipment (2026)
Health code
Your state health code is based on the FDA Food Code, and each state adopts it on its own schedule. Section 4-205.10 says equipment certified by an ANSI-accredited program meets its equipment rules. On the kitchen floor, that means an NSF mark, or ETL or UL Sanitation. Many health departments want a plan review before you add or replace big cooking equipment, so call yours before you buy.
Gas, hoods and fire
A licensed plumber or gas fitter connects gas equipment, and many cities need a permit for it. Gas equipment on wheels needs a commercial gas hose and a restraining cable, so it can't pull on the gas line when someone moves it.
Equipment that makes grease smoke, like a fryer, griddle or range, goes under a Type I hood. That's the hood with grease filters and a fire suppression system. NFPA 96 and your local mechanical code set the rules, and your fire marshal decides what goes under the hood. If you add or move a piece under the hood, call your fire suppression company to check that the nozzles cover it.
Tax
Section 179 lets you subtract the full price of equipment from your taxable income in the year you start using it. It works for used equipment too, as long as it's new to your business. The 2026 limit is $2,560,000 (IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32), so ask your accountant how it fits your year.
If a private seller charges no sales tax, you still owe tax. Every state with a sales tax also has a use tax, which you pay to the state yourself.
Do this week
- List each piece you need with its size, gas type, volts and phase. Measure every door and stair on the way into your kitchen.
- Find the authorized dealers and service agents on each maker's website. Cross off any brand with no service agent within 50 miles.
- Get one local quote, delivered and hooked up. Price the same model online with freight, tax and a plumber.
- Sign up for emails from two local auction houses. Tell your dealer and your repair technician which used pieces you want.
- For each used deal, divide its total by what new costs you per year. If the piece won't last that many more years, buy new.