Recently, Greg Peterson, editor and publisher of the F.A.C.T.s Report, asked farmers, auctioneers and implement dealers who use his service how the Internet has changed their operations. Here are some of the responses he received on Agriculture Online's Talk groups:

David B. - Stamford, CT

I thought my story might be of interest. I grew up on a cattle farm in North Carolina. Now I live in Connecticut, but my father and brother still raise Angus in NC. We had been in the market for a used 6400 John Deere MFWD tractor with a loader for our cattle farm in NC. Unfortunately, we had not been able to find one in our price range. I then began a search using www.machinefinder.com and other Internet services. Surprisingly, I happened to find the exact tractor that we were looking for on EBAY of all places (actually it was the first time I ever used EBAY).

I used your auction pricing service as a guide when placing my bid. I ended up being the highest bidder but my bid still did not meet the seller's reserve price. I think I was primarily competing with dealers (based on their email addresses) so I thought I could afford to pay a little more than they did and still end up with a good value. After the auction 'failed,' the seller contacted me directly over the Internet to see if I was still interested to continue negotiating. I decided to drive up to Massachusetts to look at the tractor.

After inspecting and driving the tractor, I felt more comfortable paying a little more for it than I did based solely on a few black and white pictures. The seller and I were able to negotiate a price that worked for both parties after the seller included some additional loader attachments.

Thanks to the Internet, I was able to source the exact used tractor that we were looking for and ship it to our farm in NC for a total cost which was much lower than our local dealer wanted for a used JD 6400 with more hours and no loader. I believe that the Internet has fundamentally changed the way that consumers buy all products, including used farm machinery. The information available permits disintermediation of the dealer networks and thereby allows both the buyers and sellers of used farm machinery to receive a better deal. That truly is a win-win situation.

Carl L. - Lisle, IL

The Internet has changed they way I purchase equipment. I can go online to machinefinder.com and compare prices of what local dealers are asking. Also, I can find machinery all over the country as I may have something specific that I am looking for. Most dealers are willing to deliver for free up to 500 miles. Also, ebay has several tractors on it. I also go to your website (www.machinerypete.com) to compare auction results of equipment I am looking for!

I have found over the years it still makes the most sense to do business locally, however the Internet gives you more options. It also allows me to check local dealer inventories without leaving my house!

Steve M.  Limon, CO

I had a 1984 JD 8450 for sale last year. I live in the center of eastern Colorado and we have gone to larger tractors, therefore I advertised it for sale on the Internet on several free sites and received inquiries from all over the United States. Several of them wanted the tractor, but they could not find reasonable transportation rates to their area.

A man from Missouri called several times and after I arranged transportation at a reasonable rate he came out to look at the tractor. He said it was in much better shape than several he had looked at and he wrote me a check and bought the tractor.

J.W. - Trenton, MO

I'm a farmer with a (true) tale of driving from Trenton, MO to Neepawa, Manitoba, Canada for the "right" small square baler which was found on the Internet. For many years, small square bales of grass hay, alfalfa hay and straw have been a small, but profitable sideline enterprise alongside my primary enterprises of row cropping and custom planting and harvesting. I had never owned a baler however. I had always rented a baler from a friend and neighbor. Over time however, my friend's hay business had grown to the point that he needed his baler most every day the sun was shining.

I needed to buy my own baler. I knew exactly what I wanted. The modesty of my budget was going to make procurement "challenging."

A check of the local dealers, papers, auction bills, etc. lead to exactly zero leads. No surprise, since square balers are not a "hot" item around here and I was interested in only 2 brands/models. Using the Internet, I located a brand and model baler that I was looking for at a price I could afford ... but it was in Neepawa, Manitoba! (Without a map, you know right where that is, right?)

After a whole bunch of currency conversion calculations, and a little haggling, I made a deal and (contingent on first hand inspection) bought the baler. My brother and I made the 1050 mile journey from Trenton, MO to Neepawa, Manitoba in March of this year to get the baler. I found the baler to be in the condition advertised, so I went through with the purchase, put trailer lights and highway tires on the baler and towed it behind my pickup the 1,050 miles home. I have now used the baler for one full season and I'm quite pleased with my purchase.

(Name withheld)  IA

I'm happy to share some thoughts but Id rather not have my name mentioned in any articles. It has taken some time to "mend fences" with a local dealer when I purchased a combine that I found on Iron Search 3 states away, $18,000 - $20,000 cheaper than I could get locally.

Some 20 or 25 years ago, when I was getting started farming and needed several large ticket items, I purchased subscriptions to local newspapers in an area 100 miles south of home. That area had suffered from some back to back bad years. There were lots of farm sales and things were selling for less than close to home.

Now, whenever I'm looking for any equipment I go to my Internet favorites list and check several web sites.

My largest internet purchase so far is the combine mentioned above. I bought a Gleaner R62 from a JD dealer in Indiana. They emailed several photos and I talked to the previous owner, but never saw the machine until it arrived here. That local area had suffered a severe drought and the local Gleaner dealer had closed, so the price was right. This fall I purchased a semi and grain trailer. I ended up buying one less than an hour from home. But, I knew when I'd found the one I was looking for because Id priced dozens of them on the Internet.

Joe M. - Edinburg, IL

I just recently was checking the Agriculture.com classifieds as I do weekly and saw a buster bar w/mounting arms for sale the size I had been looking for at farm sales for a couple of years so I just called the guy up and bought them. I will have to drive a couple of hours to go pick them up on the east side of the state but will wait till there is a sale near by and do both.

Last year I advertised an old GMC tandem grain truck on the same website and after emailing back and forth for a few months a fellow came from Kansas and bought it. You can easily send pictures and answer questions with an email.

The Internet is a wide open marketplace. Ebay is a fun place to shop and sell on too.

(Name withheld) - IA

I have been a subscriber for over two years. The Internet is able to peel the layers of onion skin that "hide" the true value of an item. This summer I purchased a used combine in SE Minnesota. I had studied your data and felt somewhat comfortable going into the auction. I feel that I paid a 10% premium to what I would have "liked to pay," but even with repairs to date I am 30-40% under what dealers are asking. I feel that I did well.

I have purchased a new car and truck "over the internet" and feel well rewarded for the information I gleaned from my intense internet studies leading up to the purchase. Some people rely on the local dealer but new equipment warranties have to be honored at any dealer (automotive). You have to be somewhat adventuresome.

The car was purchased in Waco, Texas. My truck was found on a GM website by indicating that my "home" zip code was in an adjacent state. One can wholesale your used vehicle and come out much better than trading.

While the initial contact was on the Internet, the final negotiation was by phone or in person. In both instances I was firm in that I was price driven, even though local dealers discounted this statement (to their loss). I was also prepared to walk away if the price mysteriously moved upon date of delivery.

With credit cards, UPS, Fed Ex, it is only a matter of time until an enterprising dealer (farm machinery) places his parts inventory on the internet at a discount. It is natural for chemicals and seed sales to follow. Not everyone needs their hand held by area reps driving Expeditions.

Tim N. - West Liberty, IA

In reading one of your articles on wagons and how out of the "home area" you could get some deals. This applies to the planter we bought last winter.

My Mom and I were looking for a bigger planter, we had an 8 row 36 JD 7000 and were looking for a 7000 12 row 30-inch. I looked around at some machinery web sites. We found some real deals on 16 row 7000 planters in Assumption, IL. A lot of 16 row planters were sold THERE in the 80s, not HERE!

I looked at them over the Internet and we traveled 254 miles to Sloan Implement (one way) to look at them between Christmas and New Years 2004. We looked at 3 on their lot and a total of 9 planters that day. We called them on the way home to close the deal for $5,900 plus shipping of $670.

So, I had to do a little work, but I farm 500 acres and do some travel for work, so it's nice to be able to plant a good bunch on the weekends. Without today's Internet we would have gone locally and paid about double.

Jim B. - Watertown, MN

I collect two-cylinder John Deeres, and over the summer, I actually found a 1936 JD B on eBay. It was located in Kansas (I am in Minnesota). I ended up buying it and driving down to get it. It was a good deal, and I normally would have never even known about it. The Internet has really expanded my reach as a collector to buy tractors, equipment, and parts.

I also found a JD 530 on eBay that my dad purchased. This was in southern Minnesota, but it was only offered on eBay.

Gary B - Minto, ND

I prefer to buy near home as good for local economy and get better service. Yet you can not always find what you want near home. I spent a few hours on the net looking for a truck I needed. There were similar models near home, but none met the condition and the dollars to meet the condition and budget I had set for my purchase.

With the few hours I spent on the net and the 12 hours on the road to the sites found on the net I accomplished more in that day plus a few hours then I had in the previous three weeks I spent on the phone and on the roads. Found what I wanted and the price I budgeted for.

Scott S. - Madison, AL

I am on my third year of farming on my own, and a second year subscriber to your service. As you might imagine I have had to evaluate and purchase a number of items in the past 36 months. My experience is purely internet. I was educated in computer science and since 1981 everything I do has been related to computers and now the internet.

I can list a number of experiences that I have had:

• Purchased an Oliver 1650 on the internet from Iowa.
• Used AGCO used equipment web site www.machinelocator.com to locate and evaluate the purchase of a AC 7045 tractor.
• All implements that I have purchased at actions in AL or TN has used www.machinerypete.com.

Bill F. - Paxton, NE

It used to be that if you were looking for a piece of equipment, you would go to the dealers or scour the newspaper, or just hits auctions which were posted locally. The price you decided to pay for it was based on what a new one cost and what kind of shape the used one was in and your own judgment.

Now, when you are looking for a specific piece of equipment, you can go to the web site (yours specifically) and see what a lot of people all over the country would and are paying for that piece of equipment. It is a lot less travel, more input, and a whole lot less time.

We recently bought a John Deere tractor. We found it listed in a farm publication. We checked on your web site to see what they were selling for at auctions and dealers and decided if it was a good deal. We went to look at it, and purchased it on the spot.

Pat H. - Cropsey, IL

Two years ago we purchased a CAT 65A challenger over the Internet using an online, live auction. We had researched the older challenger values and noticed a pretty sharp drop in price for high hour machines. The auction was in Alabama and we live in Illinois and we did not drive down to see the tractor, but based on the service records from CAT (we had the tractor s/n) and what we were told to expect with high hour challengers we decided to bid.

It started at $40K and worked it's way down to $6K before working upward. We had the low bid at $6K and started bidding again at $11K and stopped at $12K. After a pause in the bidding, we decided to put in one more bid at $12.5K thinking it was going to go a lot higher. Right after our bid everything stopped and the auctioneer announced "Internet, you bought it."

The downside to the purchase was the hauling $1,750 (probably more these days). I found a source of used parts in California (via the Internet) and someone with high hour challenger experience (much cheaper and experience is priceless). We've run the tractor 300 hours now and it's been good.

Kyle H. - Williamsburg, IA

I was looking for a used 854 Rogator. I went to Goggle and punched in 854 Rogator and the first thing came up was a guy in the very far west part of Nebraska with a 1997 Rogator. After a few emails some nice digital photos and finally a phone conversation I bought it and he delivered it. The neat thing I really like is my camera on my cell phone. I can go to a sale take a photo of a piece of equipment or an option on a machine and email it to someone then call them to see if it is what that person wants.

Roger K. - Harrisonville, MO

The Internet has made it a lot easier to find equipment. I am sure it has made it harder on local dealers. Once you add in shipping they are competing with everyone. I have purchased pallet forks for a skid steer. It is a mustang old style attachment. So it is hard to find. I found it on ebay for $300. But I got a rude awaking. It cost $300 to ship. $600 was still cheaper than getting a new one and having it converted. So now I check shipping before I do away shopping.

I also purchased a rough terrain scissor lift to build a Quonset hut barn for the farm. On dealer lots they were running around $9,000. I got it shipped in for $4,500 with less hours. Glut of used ones in that area made it cheap.