FS: Linear Motion Components by THK, Thomson, & Reid-Ashton

[Martin]

Rico,

All the rolling bases were picked up this weekend. I agree they were probably worth a lot more, based on the number of inquiries.

I've taken your advice and put up a small sampling of stuff on Ebay. Some of the items have gotten hundreds of views, but so far no bids. Hopefully I didn't set the prices too high.

If this works, I owe you one - I've got a whole storage unit full of duplicates of these things, plus a bunch more related stuff, that I need to get rid of. I can't seem to resist buying stuff at these "plant closing" auctions, just to sort through the lots and see what I might want to keep :)

I still don't have my own Ebay account but I had a good friend list this stuff for me last week when Ebay had a 20-cent sale on listings. That's why the composite pictures, I was trying to get by on the cheap and not pay for "extras" until I got an idea of whether Ebay was a good way to unload this stuff.

?ViewItem&item=110103295140?ViewItem&item=110103298726 regards,

Mart> Mart> > The latter - you use a wrench to adjust the legs. The bases are

> manufactured by Terradyne to support large heavy test-equipment > > towers. Probably not conducive to a single-lever lift. > That's Teradyne and they manufacture high end test equipment. Here's > something on eBay that looks like it might have a base like you have > on part of the

equipment.http://cgi.ebay.com/Teradyne-973ST-DRAM-Structural-Tester_W0QQitemZ23...> I would suggest that you remove your listing from Craigslist and do a

little more research to determine what the things s are actually > worth. I would not be surprised if a Teradyne base sold new for a > thousand or two. You should also target your audience and post > listings on used test equipment web sites. > R

I've gotten an education on this. The guys (from this newsgroup, I think) that commited to the stuff on Craigslist did so in good faith, so I wouldn't dream of backing out on their deals. But I will, as you suggested, try an Ebay listing for the other two bases that have the X- Y tables attached. I've never sold anything on Ebay myself, just listed some machine parts and miscellaneous stuff through a friend's account. I guess I'll have to get a Paypal account and a throwaway checking account to link it with.

best regards,

Marty

[John]

These suggestions are a little late, since your items are already listed on Ebay, but maybe someone else will find them useful.

My experience selling on Ebay (some from selling old equipment for a consulting company I worked for, some from selling my own stuff as hobbies change):

1. Do an "advanced search" for similar items, looking for "completed listings" to get a ballpark price. If the items *always* sell within

10% of that price, you can start the bidding at $0.99 to encourage more bidders (I always listed the company's used laptop computers at $0.99). If the prices are all over the place, then set the starting price (or a reserve price) at a level you're comfortable with.

1. If an item is worth listing, it's worth at least two good pictures (2. If an item is worth listing, it's worth at least two good pictures ($0.15 for each pic after the first one). If there is a display, controls, etc, include a picture of each. 3. If an item will sell for more than $20 or $30, include pictures of any defects (scratches, cracks, missing knobs, etc). 4. If an item may have application in more than one field, include both in the title or pay for the subtitle to have room to include the proper wording. If the item will sell for $50 or more, pay to have it listed in both categories..15 for each pic after the first one). If there is a display, controls, etc, include a picture of each.
2. If an item will sell for more than or , include pictures of any defects (scratches, cracks, missing knobs, etc).
3. If an item may have application in more than one field, include both in the title or pay for the subtitle to have room to include the proper wording. If the item will sell for or more, pay to have it listed in both categories.

It worked for me - some old ham and photography gear went out, some new woodworking tools came in.

John

[Martin]

Sounds like good advice, John. I just didn't have much time in this case because the 20-cent listing special came up so quickly (about 8 hours notice for me before it expired). I really wanted to try this out, so I had to gather up a few things and submit them to her for listing "right now".

The reason I didn't start the bidding at 99 cents is that I couldn't find much identical material in the linear motion category. It seems they only let you see back about a month. The special didn't cover reserve prices, but there was no additional charge to up the starting bid, so that's what I did to make sure I didn't have to give away my stuff. She normally starts most of her auctions on the cheap side because the fees increase with starting price, but that doesn't apply to the 20-cent specials.

If nothing sells, I'm only out a dollar :)

If everything sells, I'm going to go crazy over the next few months. Maybe downsize from a 10x15 plus a 10x20 storage unit to just one or the other :)

Martin

[Lee Michaels]

"Martin" wrote

I am no expert on selling things on Ebay. But I have worked for a couple guys who have been fairly successful at it. Ane they conducted it like a business. They took the long view. They developed reputations and stores (webpages) so people could contact them independently of the Ebay ad.

If you really have a nose for certain types of products and can get them for a good price, you could do well. But you need to look at in terms of a business if you want to do this long term.

[Martin]

I don't know that I have a "nose" for this stuff. My goal at present is mainly to downsize enough to regain some elbow room without feeling like I'm throwing good stuff away. I'll admit that I have a lot of fun buying lots and then going thru them for the gems, but I don't see myself trying to make a living at it. Having a lot of stuff pass through your hands is really tempting for a packrat such as myself to hoard nice things I don't really need.

Martin

[Martin]

This experiment went pretty well. We sold two of the $150 Thomson linear tables, one to the winning bidder and another via a "second chance" offer to the other bidder. None of the THK linear bearings got any bids, but I think we'll wind up selling four of them to someone who emailed with questions too late to bid.

I'll probably put up a bunch of the other stuff soon, have some large linear tables with gear-motor-powered lead screws. The long tables seemed to sell better than the THK bearings.

best regards,

Martin