What to do with tools that just don't sell?

[MushCreek]

I'm in the process of a shop purge. I have a lot of tools that I just don't use any more, and at age 71, don't see me ever using. I've had good luck selling on FB Marketplace, but some things just aren't moving. I have a corded Milwaukee circular saw and SawZall. Lot's of nibbles, but no sale. Both are like new and less than half the price of a new one. I have a strap nailer at 1/3 the price of new. The worst one is a Jointability jointing fixture. You clamp a board in it, and run your router along a guide that gives you a precision edge. Like a jointer, but portable and much cheaper.

What do you do with stuff that just doesn't sell? I'm assuming no one wants corded tools any more. SO- donate them? Toss them? Curb alert? The smaller tools don't 'eat' much, but the jointing fixture is over 8' long, and in the way. I did donate a bunch of hand tools to a Boy Scout yard sale. I've found that some charities are fussy about what they'll take (?) I can just see me dragging that 8' fixture down to ReStore and having them say, "No thanks!"

 

[rockbaron1]

If they won’t sell I just list them as free and put them out by the curb. It’s easier than me or my wife driving to goodwill and it works 90% of the time. If it doesn’t work, goodwill or trash/scrap

 

[Ultradog MN]

If they don't sell at 1/2 the price of new drop the price to 1/3 - and then 1/4.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Seems the market on anything to work with your hands has faded due to the inability and lack of interest of more current humans than us to use them. Attach a dummy pushbutton and circuit board to it and it will fly off the shelves!

 

[gsanvi]

In the past I have bundled tools I didn't need and sold them for a low price. Win win - every time I found a happy buyer, avoided the hassle of selling separately and got rid of them.

 

[zendriver]

Restore

 

[ecotec]

I try to give stuff away first, then I donate it. I only put stuff at the curb if it is damaged.

We have enough scrappers around here that someone will take it.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

FREE section on Craigslist if you can't donate. Someone will want them. If you were closer, I'd be interested in the Milwaukee tools.

 

[OccupantRJ]

FREE section on Craigslist if you can't donate. Someone will want them. If you were closer, I'd be interested in the Milwaukee tools.

First question will be “Can you deliver?”

 

[American Locomotive]

Continue to drop the price until they sell. It's that simple. At some point, someone will want it.

Seems the market on anything to work with your hands has faded due to the inability and lack of interest of more current humans than us to use them. Attach a dummy pushbutton and circuit board to it and it will fly off the shelves!

I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that we've been building power tools for 120 years, so there are mountains of corded tools everywhere for dirt cheap. Not to mention most battery tools are now far more desireable than corded.

I can tell you that my Makita brushless recip is used way, way more than the Milwaukee. The Milwaukee is in a huge heavy steel box, the saw itself is huge and heavy, and then I need to drag out a cord. The Makita is light, compact and while I'm sure it's not as powerful on paper, it seems to work every bit as good.

Honestly I'm not even sure where the Milwaukee is, haven't used it in probably 7-8 years. Even if I didn't have one, I don't think I'd even take a free corded Sawzall.

 

[rust in the eye]

I imagine many corded tools to be a tough sell these days. That said they'll pry MY corded recip saw from my cold dead hands.
While I don't like leaving $$ on the table some stuff just ain't worth dealing with the hassle. Before I donate I'll ask friends and that batting average is over 500.
gsanvl's post above (#5) sounds like a good idea to get something for them

 

[KnurledNut]

Gather up a bunch of stuff you want rid of and head to the flea market. If they use 4x8 tables, the jointer can be set up to show how it works. Including a router and bit may move it faster. I would be tempted to buy that in that setting. Flea markets and swap meets are great for preying on the impulse buying weakness of men.

A lot of times other vendors will ask about buying the entire lot so have a price in mind if that happens.

 

[Roert42]

Old tools tend to be much more appealing when played out in a pile on a table.

In person type evens are good because if it’s there in front of me and a decent price, I’m much more likely to buy it, even if it don’t need it. Vs driving 20 minutes to go buy something I don’t really need.


Corded tools are hard to give away. Most people are wanting cordless nowadays.

 

[WisJim]

We moved to town a few years ago and I went from having 3 buildings to accumulate stuff down to a 24 by 40 building that is part garage. We had garage sales, geared to different kinds of buyers (antiques and collectibles, household, etc.), I sold tools on CraigsList, FBM, took things to Habitat, gave things away, and took things to the landfill and left them sitting by the metal collection bins. And I still have stuff to get rid of. The longer things sit around, the more likely I am to just give it away or toss it.

 

[zimman]

Give them to a kid that needs them. I had a Makita drill, impact 3/8" and a flashlight, I swapped over to Milwaukee. I went to my tire shop and asked for the junior service tech. (oil changer) Gave him the tools and batteries and he almost cried. It was wonderful.
Zim

 

[aquinob]

Anything with a cord is tough. You can drop the price way down but the cheaper the price, the greater the knucklehead factor of the clowns that will be hitting you up. I wouldn't advertise them for free either, same issue with knuckleheads.

If there is a habitat restore around that would be the best place to donate them. Otherwise some type of thrift store that benefits a local charity. Just drop them off and hope they find a home where they will see some good use.

 

[bwringer]

If you truly do want to sell it, then drop your prices and/or offer bundle deals. Half of new is nowhere NEAR low enough. Outside of stationary tools and a few specific examples (very heavy duty drills like a Milwaukee Hole Hawg), no one wants corded tools these days.

Unfortunately, CrackList is pretty much dead; Facebook Marketplace is where the action is.

And unless you literally have no other use for your time, you'll quickly find that it's just not worth dealing with the weirdos that crawl out of the woodwork.

Habitat ReStore will happily take this stuff, even if they have no idea what it is, whether it's complete, or whether it works. And then some geezer will come along and clutter up his garage with it and the cycle continues. Worst case, they'll scrap it along with all the other ancient metal case single-speed drills with cracked cords and get a little money.

 

[Rc_Guy]

I'm in the process of a shop purge. I have a lot of tools that I just don't use any more, and at age 71, don't see me ever using. I've had good luck selling on FB Marketplace, but some things just aren't moving. I have a corded Milwaukee circular saw and SawZall. Lot's of nibbles, but no sale. Both are like new and less than half the price of a new one. I have a strap nailer at 1/3 the price of new. The worst one is a Jointability jointing fixture. You clamp a board in it, and run your router along a guide that gives you a precision edge. Like a jointer, but portable and much cheaper.

What do you do with stuff that just doesn't sell? I'm assuming no one wants corded tools any more. SO- donate them? Toss them? Curb alert? The smaller tools don't 'eat' much, but the jointing fixture is over 8' long, and in the way. I did donate a bunch of hand tools to a Boy Scout yard sale. I've found that some charities are fussy about what they'll take (?) I can just see me dragging that 8' fixture down to ReStore and having them say, "No thanks!"

I had some wood working tools that wouldn’t sell, I ended up talking with a parent of our granddaughters best friend and he does wood working as a hobby, I gave him everything that wouldn’t sell.

 

[Skyman]

Give them to a kid that needs them. I had a Makita drill, impact 3/8" and a flashlight, I swapped over to Milwaukee. I went to my tire shop and asked for the junior service tech. (oil changer) Gave him the tools and batteries and he almost cried. It was wonderful.
Zim

This is excellent advice. Find a young person who is just starting out in their adult life and job. I know when I was young and financially limited, I would have jumped at the chance for free corded power tools, even if the cordless tools of today had been available back then. Having corded power tools beats the hell out of having no power tools.

 

[bonneyman]

I've tried giving tools to family and they don't care about them.

I guess I'm one of the old fogeys who still cling to corded tools. My logic is - if things get tough - batteries eventually quit and they'll be no replacements. Or be extremely hard to get. Whereas as long as civilization is around they'll always be electrical outlets and extension cords. I use cordless tools for the jobs that I need a quick job done but keep corded versions handy just in case.

 

[Kscardsfan]

I got a year old Milwaukee hole hawg for $60 two or three years ago from my electrician because his guys would rather fight over who can get the cordless one to use if that is any indicator of how the corded tool market is going. For a home gamer like me, especially on limited purpose tools like that or a 7" grinder, used corded is the way to go. I can add to the box for pennies on the dollar and get what I need from them. And with a little bit of maintenance and changing out brushes etc. they should outlive me, so my child can toss them in a dumpster in the future when I'm gone.

 

[nicks78camaro]

If not worth your time selling at 10% of retail price, put it on the curb and post a "free - on curb" ad. I usually do that for items less than $50. Not worth dealing with someone online for less and it's not frequent that we're selling things.

 

[pcrov]

I think a corded Milwaukee sawzall should come free with every house. They're too damn useful to have around.

Find someone new to the neighborhood and put a bow on it.

 

[dscheidt]

Continue to drop the price until they sell. It's that simple. At some point, someone will want it.


I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that we've been building power tools for 120 years, so there are mountains of corded tools everywhere for dirt cheap. Not to mention most battery tools are now far more desireable than corded.

I can tell you that my Makita brushless recip is used way, way more than the Milwaukee. The Milwaukee is in a huge heavy steel box, the saw itself is huge and heavy, and then I need to drag out a cord. The Makita is light, compact and while I'm sure it's not as powerful on paper, it seems to work every bit as good.

Honestly I'm not even sure where the Milwaukee is, haven't used it in probably 7-8 years. Even if I didn't have one, I don't think I'd even take a free corded Sawzall.

I found my corded sawsall the other day, as part of rebuilding and rearranging my basement workshop. It was exactly where I would have looked for it, had I ever had a reason to use it. but I haven't touched it since I got a cordless one. I haven't brought myself to give it away, yet.

 

[BroncoAZ]

I gave away a bunch of corded tools and hand tools to a buddy’s son who was showing aptitude. I’m getting to that point in life (48) where I’m not usually chasing the few bucks on small dollar stuff, I’m fine giving it away if it helps someone out. We have consolidated a couple of households in the past 5 years and I’m loaded with triples and quadruples of some tools. I can see having some doubles, but at some point the **** is in the way and just needs to go.

 

[Aaron_W]

I think the problem with corded tools, is new people who could use them, don't appreciate the value of corded tools since everybody goes on and on about cordless. Those of us who appreciate corded tools, probably already have what we need.

 

[bonneyman]

I think the problem with corded tools, is new people who could use them, don't appreciate the value of corded tools since everybody goes on and on about cordless. Those of us who appreciate corded tools, probably already have what we need.

Like with the old calculators. Folks like me learned the long hand way with pencil, paper, and charts. But then we really appreciated the ease of the calculators. Newer folks only know the calculator way, so - if their battery dies - they can't "rough it" like in the old days. Same idea with manual and automatic transmissions in cars.

 

[d.mcfarland]

I have a corded Milwaukee circular saw and SawZall. Lot's of nibbles, but no sale. Both are like new and less than half the price of a new one. I have a strap nailer at 1/3 the price of new. The worst one is a Jointability jointing fixture. You clamp a board in it, and run your router along a guide that gives you a precision edge. Like a jointer, but portable and much cheaper.

Corded used tools that are in useable but well used condition are $30 or less. Nobody is taking the chance nor are corded tools that desirable.

Some jointability thing is a VERY niche item and likely to be a less than $50 item even if it's practically new.

Unless your prices are those ... I can see why nibbles but no sale.

 

[The Metric System]

Any unneeded but usable tools/equipment with a street value of less than $50 gets given away for free on CL/FB, and generally gets snapped up same-day.

It's not worth the hassle to try to sell it, and I figure people just starting out or in a difficult spot will need the tool more than I need the twenty bucks it might eventually someday bring me if sold.

 

[3jakes]

For common stuff like drills and saws, 1/2 of new is 2 times too much.
At yard sales I often see nice looking corded skillsaws priced at 5 bucks.
And there are the other places with ragged out missing insulation saws for $25. Those places are waiting for one of the "born every minute types"

 

[whateg01]

I just took a tote full of tool stuff to Goodwill yesterday. I just don't feel like devoting a bunch of time to it.

 

[MushCreek]

The circular saw only has a few hours on it. I just found myself using the cordless, so it sat. The sawzall has even less use. It is a fancy 75th anniversary edition, and again, I only reach for the cordless. These aren't 'old tools in metal boxes with cracked cords'.

 

[quadrcr87]

The circular saw only has a few hours on it. I just found myself using the cordless, so it sat. The sawzall has even less use. It is a fancy 75th anniversary edition, and again, I only reach for the cordless. These aren't 'old tools in metal boxes with cracked cords'.

Where at in the upstate are you? I am in Travelers Rest. My dad has one of those 75th anniversary sawzall and I would love to get one.

 

[Rc_Guy]

I used cordless tools at work but at home I still have a corded circular saw and sawzall, in fact I just put a new cord on it in March.

 

[cody1325]

I think a corded Milwaukee sawzall should come free with every house. They're too damn useful to have around.

Find someone new to the neighborhood and put a bow on it.

I have a corded Black and Decker Industrial. For basically everything but pruning, it outclasses all the consumer-grade stuff (as I have to have that one awful Craftsman for pruning--the Dewalt 18V croaked and I'm far out of reach from extension cords). Apparently, when Black and Decker started making most of their nicer stuff DeWalt, it was later rebranded to be one of the first tools in that new range back in the '90s. With a good blade (I'm sort of partial to Lenox), it goes through just about anything I need to to in seconds. The Craftsman bogs down constantly.


A decent cordless saw to replace it is a little pricey for my tastes and budget right now. Especially given I'm still confused on what tool platform to stick with going forwards--as Craftsman V20/Hyper Tough 12V MAX isn't cutting it. I have one Bosch 12V drill that I love, and TSC still has a few old-stock items on clearance (jigsaw and mini Sawzall), but I'll probably go Milwaukee M12/M18. I see a lot of stuff secondhand in great shape here cheap. Flex gets great deals, but I am betting it will be discontinued soon. I'm expecting better support with yellow and red (plus Ryobi and Hart--both also TTi brands).

 

[Wrench97]

I found my corded sawsall the other day, as part of rebuilding and rearranging my basement workshop. It was exactly where I would have looked for it, had I ever had a reason to use it. but I haven't touched it since I got a cordless one. I haven't brought myself to give it away, yet.

Worse I have 2 corded ones..........

 

[paulsomlo]

Seems the market on anything to work with your hands has faded due to the inability and lack of interest of more current humans than us to use them. Attach a dummy pushbutton and circuit board to it and it will fly off the shelves!

Better yet - advertise it as an "iSaw".

 

[PugetDude]

I gave away a 6hp 30 Gallon Craftsman air compressor, a Porter Cable 10" sliding compound miter saw, Craftsman 10"bandsaw,
and a Delta Midi lathe with extension last weekend. Don't have enough room at the new place for everything; went from a 3.5+ car garage to 2. Still need to get rid of a 6" Atlas Craftsman Metal Lathe and a 10" tile saw with sliding table.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

Put it at the curb with a "FREE TAKE" sign on it. If nothing else, the scrappers will take it.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

I’m fine giving it away if it helps someone out.

Giving away tools is like sowing the seeds for future GJers. Win-win!