A year ago my woodworking husband passed away and now I am forced to sell the tools our son and son-in-law couldn't use. Any idea on how to price used tools. Fortunately he has an inventory of purchase date and price of large tools. Example Delta Lathe, bought 1993 for $575 from neighbor, to most recent 2006 Delta Shop Master B.O.S.S spindle sander for $200. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Look at ebay. For equipment in very good working condition expect
50-80% of new cost. In general, the lower the price the faster it will sell. Delta is considered a decent brand, although less so in recent years (made in Taiwan/China is not the best). You might give a better deal for someone buying more than just one item. Quality hand tools can be expensive and will generally hold their value better than electrical machines. You may want a trusted woodworker to take a look at these tools, evaluate the condition, and provide a value guess that will help give you an idea. Use the local paper classifieds or Craigslist to get buyers, or you can use an auction.
Forget eBay and consider craigslist instead. What difference does it make what the equipment might go for in BF, Egypt when you're interested in the prices in your neck of the woods? The other advantages include:
1) No shipping costs 2) No shipping effort 3) No internet scams 4) It's freeI've bought several things off craigslist. In each case, I read the ad, contacted the owner via email, made arrangements to inspect the merchandise, paid them cash for their stuff and then loaded it up to take it home.
Craigslist has a sales category called "tools"... that's where I'd advertise it. Also, if you look over to the right hand side of their home page, you'll see a listing of individual states. If you select your state, you'll then see a list of cities. Each city listed will have its own "tool" category for you to investigate. That's an easy way to look through a lot of ads; more than just in your area. Also, make free use of the search function to zero in on lathe ads so you don't have to wade through all the compressors and table saws to find what you're really focusing on.
Accept cash only. Avoid any fishy conditions of sale. Make it where is / as is but demonstrate it works first. Then it's their problem.
If that neighbor is still around and able, I'd suggest asking him to assess stuff--if he had a lathe, there's a good chance he's got some knowledge. The thing I see here is that if your husband bought it used
15 years or so ago, it could easily be another 15 years older and be a very heavy, high quality machine.I agree w/ others that the eBay thing is difficult to deal with for large equipment--shipping is a hassle. I've no experience at all w/ the craig's list phenomenon as in too small a location; there isn't one, but local would be better.
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To writer,
To writer:
First off, sorry for your loss. Second - I have bought tools off Craigslist and was most satisfied with transaction. Just be aware of what is happening in your area. By that I mean, prices. You can search for tools and see what people are offering for similar items (if it's possible).
Can I suggest two other possibilities; Look for a woodworking group/club in your area. Not sure where you live, but in my area of the SF Bay, there are 4 or more clubs. Those folks would probably be a good place to sell items. They have newsletters, email lists that let members know what's going on. The other possibility, if you can afford it, is to look to see if your local high school has a woodworking class and see if they might be able to use those tools. You could get a tax deduction for the gift. Also, those instructors might be helpful in pricing the tools for you.
Good luck and if you need help, stop back here. Perhaps if you would give a general location of where you live, others can be more specific with suggestions.
MJ
Sorry to hear about your loss. Setting the price is always a trick. My general rule of thumb is that a used piece of equipment in good shape should fetch in the neighborhood of half of it's current price. You might get more, you might get less, depending on the particular tool, brand, etc.
Ask around if there's a woodworking club in your area. A local hardwood dealer would know how to contact them. Most woodworking clubs have several people that make a good part of their lively hood buying and selling tools. The price they set would generally be on the low side as they're looking for a bargain, but then again, who isn't?
You have to ask yourself if you want to move the tools quickly with little fuss, or whether you're willing to take your time and have people coming around kicking the tires and not making a sale.
eBay is not a problem for selling larger tools as there are local people who scan eBay religiously. Just stipulate up front that the item is for local pickup. If you list a lot of the tools at the same time, you might find that someone would be willing to drive quite a distance if they're getting enough tools at a suitable bargain. Craigslist is another good avenue. You can post on both eBay and Craigslist at the same time, but you'll have to mention in your eBay listing that the tool is available locally and you reserve the right to end the auction if the item sells outside of eBay.
Good luck!
R
If you post a list, we can help. Make, model, and condition will be fine. The group will probably chime in, and you can use the consensus.
Did he post as nospambob? I remember someone here by that name, and I'm sorry to hear he's passed on. My condolences.
My condolences on your loss, m'am.
I think how I'd approach this is in a number of different ways.
I'm sure the other guys have many different ideas, but maybe these will be able to start you off.
Tanus
Also, posting the general area you are in might spark some interes right here. You could also do local auctions on eBay, start it at $1 with no reserve and let the Gods decide.
My condolences as well.
-Jim
You can do a local pickup only auction on ebay.
Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote:
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Success of all those options is dependent, of course, on being in a large enough metro area there's either a craigslist operating and/or enough bodies looking at ebay who are in a reasonable distance...
Neither of which condition holds here; no idea about where OP is...
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You mean it's not clear if those conditions hold. I'm betting a six pack they do. ;)
R
I can assure you they don't...out of idle curiousity I've looked to see if there were a local craigslist (wasn't) so even if there are a few locals who are woodworkers I don't know of, at least one isn't... :)
Actually, the local way I'd suggest is the morning AM station free call-in buy/sell/swap show. It draws from surrounding communities as well up to 100+ miles and where they're all even smaller, coming here to the "big city" is fairly routine.
Not likely the OP is in such a small community, but one just never knows (and I was bored this AM)... :)
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I was referring to the OP's situation, not yours, buddy! You've posted enough for people to know that you have to drive half an hour to find tire tracks. ;)
RRicodJour wrote: ...
OK, I misread... :)
And them found are at least a week old... :)
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Her ISP is located in Oxnard, CA. That would make the appropriate craigslist URL
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