Are used tools loosing their value these days?

[Davefr]

More recently, around Jan. or early Feb. she listed a super clean 13pc combination wrench set, 1/4 to 1" long profile, Snap On chrome wrenches on fleabay. When I saw she listed them at only $100, I cringed thinking she was going be giving all his stuff away by starting the bid so low. But they didn't sell. Not a single bid. The sale was auction style, with no reserve, and she started it at $99.99. (I dug through his receipts and he paid $720 for that set back in 1995. It was still in its original plastic box and likely never used).

I'd love to see the original listing. Something was seriously wrong with it.

 

[cjarvis]

The short-short version of the problem is that people are losing the ability to pay for the tools. Gas prices, inflation, etc.

 

[CallumRD1]

I was on a Snap On truck this morning, a 7 pc set today is $400. The drivers wasn't sure if they made all the sizes
in that original set anymore. Apparently they dropped the smaller sizes in the long wrenches sometime ago.
He did say they were on sale a while ago but the sale price sets sold out and he was only able to get one of them. The truck was pretty bare , lots of empty spaces and lots of used tools vs. shiny new ones.

Personally I wouldn't own the Flank Drive Plus wrenches, they mar up fasteners and are worthless on already damaged or rusted fasteners. Back when I worked at a new car dealer, when Flank Drive Plus first came out, we were asked to not use them on new cars, several manufacturers even put out tech bulletins about it. Its even worse on aluminum fasteners, so using them in the aviation or racing field is also frowned upon.
Its okay to have a set of them, but they shouldn't be your only wrench set. They have their place which is a bit limited.
I'm also not sure if they even made them in the long sizes either.

I have two of the very same sets myself, one of mine is older, bought in the late 70's or so, the other was from the early 90's
I don't remember what I paid for the first set but the second set i have in my tool box still has the original receipt taped taped to the back and I paid $699 and if i remember right the set came with a hat or mug back then. His are newer than mine by a few years.

Its actually a 14pc set,
The sizes in that set are:
1/4" OEXL8
5/16" OEXL10
11/32" OEXL11
3/8" OEXL12
7/16" OEXL14
1/2" 0EXL16
9/16" OEXL18
5/8" OEXL20
11/16" OEXL22
3/4" OEXL24
13/16" OEXL26
7/8" OEXL28
15/16" OEXL30
1" OEXL32

As far as I can tell, they were opened but never used. The chrome is perfect and there's no signs of any use. Even the paper corner is still haning over the wrenches. He also has the matching metric set as well, plus a set of everyother size wrench they made then. (Minus the shorty wrenches which are in my tool box now).

I don't have the pics his daughter had on eBay the ad is no longer showing
She basically took a full frame pic of the wrenches in their plastic box and a copy of the receipt too I believe.
The pic I saw looked fine. When I looked at her sales history on her computer it showed the ad ended with 32 watchers but no bids. It had run for 8 weeks, first at $150 for three weeks, then she lowered it to $125 for two weeks, then she dropped it to $100 for the last 3 weeks.
I showed her what they sell for new, and what he paid. I don't know whether is sank in or not.

I don't think he wants to sell anything, but I think he is convinced he'll never use his tools again. His daughter said that without his car he has no reason to have them. She is the one in a big rush to sell everything. I fear she'd rather dump it for cheap rather then get what its worth. She dragged a dozen milk crates full of new hardware, drill bits, and a ton of fishing tackle over here after the yard sale telling me to pick through it and throw the rest away. The one whole crate that she brought over in a little red wagon was full of new drill bits, all letter and number sizes, all American made, likely from the 1950's or 60's. There's probably 100lb or them or more. He had full boxes of SAE hardware, most are 10lb boxes of nuts, bolts and washers, duplicates and triples of many sizes. Most unopened, in boxes old enough to still have metal corners.
They're in my basement now and I consider that more than a lifetime supply.

The tool box was never advertised on eBay, but she may have had it on FB at some point.

I am not the one selling this stuff, I'm trying not to get too involved but if if she insists on giving it away for pennies, its going in my garage or trailer here before it gets dumped for peanuts.
I'm really more or less trying to get her to sit back and get what its all really worth. I don't need the tools and I'm not trying to make money off the stuff at their expense but I won't sit back and watch her just let it all go for dollar store prices.

Her father, who I've lived next door to for 22 years now, is not senile, not disabled in any way, but he is 70 or so and has to use glasses and a magnifying glass to read. He's probably far better off than most guys his age. So he's not going to be doing much mechanic work. They took his car away last fall after he had a few fender benders, but I really don't think either was his fault. One dent was from someone hitting his car in his own driveway, the other was from a tree branch falling on it. I don't think he's had any road incidents at all. I've driven with the old guy and I never saw a problem. He's probably in better shape than I am at 10 or more years younger.
His daughter likely just wants to put him in a home where she doesn't have to travel to check on him. He told me he's not looking forward to going to live in a home full of old people but said its better than being stuck here with no car now.

All I keep hearing is that tools aren't worth much or she listed it wrong. I don't see where she did anything wrong.
There are plenty of tools listed but not many selling. Most that sell are brand new and they're selling for a fraction of what they do on the truck. That makes me wonder how any of the tool trucks are staying in business these days?
Especially with diesel being $7.71/gal today at the station down the road. (Gas was $5.37 for regular, it could be cheaper elsewhere but I didn't look today). At $99.99 someone should have gotten the deal of the century but no one bid.

She did have someone she found on CL or FB who advertised that they pay top dollar for Snap On tools come check it all out, but the guy came out and offered pennies for it all and telling her it was too hard to sell a big box these days and the tools were old and out of date. I realized what was going on when he came over and told me she was selling all his tools and really needed a drink. I went over and pretty much ran the guy off before she sold it all for pocket change or worse gave it away. I'm sorry but combo wrenches do not go out of date, nor do sockets, ratchets, hammers, and pliers.
Nor do tool boxes.
Twice she's told me, "If you think its worth so much then stick it in YOUR garage so I can clean this place up".

Back when I was starting out i'd have jumped on the chance to buy nice box for half price or less right from the start.
It would have saved me a ton of money over the years.
What I seen now is some smaller boxes that sold for decent money here and there but likely to home mechanics, and some really old boxes that sold for good money. There's very few 90's and 2000's model pro series boxes listed for sale and none showing as sold.

A quick search of all SO boxes listed on eBay shows only one or two really low end or rough boxes with bids. Many are priced at a fraction of what they cost. https://www.ebay.com/b/Snap-on-Automotive-Tool-Boxes-and-Storage/

I put her in touch with someone who emailed me here who is interested in the side cabinets for what I feel is a fair price. I texted her the info.

I'd buy that set of SAE combo wrenches without hesitation. I'd pick up a metric set too if it were offered. Feel free to reach out if you're interested.

 

[hoarder]

I just read through this all and I don't think the OP is looking to sell anything, its all his neighbors and I agree, $99 is way too cheap for a set of Snap On wrenches.

I've been searching for a deal on a large Snap on box in mint or very, very clean condition for years. All i find is junk that's been beat up, dented, scratched and rusty.
The box I should have bought years ago when they were new was the KRL1004, which was basically two KRL1001 boxes put together.
They were only made for about 18 months or so around 2002 or 2003.
Not long after they added the second long drawer and it became a KRL1024. The original was stronger and I don't want the extra long drawer to deal with. (I actually would have liked to see them make one out of the original KRA1000 box that came out in the 80's.

The SO dealer here has a KRL1001 from around that period on the truck, in gray with some faded special edition plaques all over it. Just the bottom box, with a butcher block top and new drawer liners. He's asking $5,500 for it and your trade.
He told me a cash price would be $4k. He won't finance it on a truck account, its either cash or full value through SO credit.
He had a KRL722 last week, in cranberry with a matching hutch, I think he said it was a 2000 model. He wanted $3,800, but he sold it that day to a kid at the Chevy dealer who traded in a banged up older, mismatched top and bottom red/black Craftsman 26" wide box. I bought the Craftsman box for $20, he just wanted it off the truck. Its got no locks and most of the bottom drawers are dented up, but they work. For $20, the top box was nice, a 9 drawer non roller box with hardly a scratch in all red. The thing I wanted was the mid riser panel that puts the top box up 9" off the roll cab.

He had a used 7 pc set of OEX12 through OEX24, (3/8" to 3/4" standard length) regular flank drive, combo wrenches in well used shape, some with the older logo, some with the newer logo. He was asking $250, he told me if I wanted them he'd do $100 cash.
They were rough, but a new set if only a warranty issue or two away for $100. Peeling chrome gets you a new wrench.
I have many sets so I passed.

I remember a deal in the late 90's for a 14 or 15pc set of OEXL wrenches that came with a Doug Herbert Snap-on racing jacket. It was regular price but you got the jacket for free. I got the jacket for free after a buddy who worked next to me bought the set and the jacket was too small for him. The dealer gave him a small cooler instead and gave me the jacket. Deals like that is probably why I've got dozens of never used Snap On jackets upstairs in the closet.

 

[CJM8515]

gotta be something with the listing, pics or something.

not to long ago i wanted to buy a few snappy ratchets, namely to convert some 1/4 to 3/8 drive. a USED long handle chrome 1/4 was like 50 bucks..thats USED... idk wtf the OP's neighbors daughter was listing them as-but i wasnt able to find much cheap.

the scan tool-if its the old school brick, those are fairly worthless these days

OP if you are good friends with this neighbor maybe you ought to offer to sell it all and keep a small profit? I bet if you listed the stuff on here people would grab it up.

 

[d.mcfarland]

I have a weird feeling we won't hear much back from the OP.

They probably won't sell anything that cheaply on here either.

 

[crasher98]

I can’t speak for the U.S. but in the U.K. used Snap On consistently sells for about 1/2 the new price, or maybe a little less at present as new prices have shot up so much. No way they’re losing value, in fact quite the opposite!

Age doesn’t really matter, as for the most part the older tools are better than the newer.

What will affect things is whether the tools are SAE or Metric. Most folks want to buy metric. There is some demand for SAE, but the supply of used SAE tools far exceeds that demand, which keeps prices down. (Whitworth is the opposite, but that’s a different story).

You also need to have clean tools, decent photographs that show them at their best (especially wrench jaws etc), and be prepared to ship. “Collection Only” reduces the potential bumber of customers, and the price!

Personally, If I was your neighbour I’d tell the daughter to “do one”!

Extremely off topic, but Mr Dave, I hope this isn't a naughty Britishism that's gone over most of our heads! But if so, please elaborate!

 

[WWheeler]

Only great deal on anything Snap-on I ever got on ebay was when I stumbled on a listing titled "Sanpon 1/2 Dr Flex Ratchet" with part number or other spelling in the listing and I wound up being the only bidder on it.

Everything I've ever seen is usually at least 50% of the new list price if it was in anywhere near decent condition and at least 20% or more than that for new or 'like new'.

 

[yardiron]

The side lockers and a shop cart are gone, they left a few hours ago in a trailer.
I think the buyer would have taken the whole box but he didn't have enough cash.
He came over here while his daughter dealt with the buyer. I don't think he was too thrilled to see
them go.

Any chance of the wrenches going for $99 is gone when her ad ended months ago.
If they go back up, they will not be that cheap.
Her pics were good, just one pic of the package of wrenches, still in the original package.

Yes, there's a 15pc matching metric set, as well as OEX sets in ALL sizes. 1/4" to 1 5/16" and 6 or 7mm to 36mm.
I got all the shorty wrenches and Gear Wrenches.
There's also some older box ratchet wrenches, mostly Snap On, some Mac in those.
There are several sets of SK Pro wrenches too.
Several SO timing digital timing lights,
An Snap-On MT586AMV multimeter in its original case, aniversary edition. in mint shape and no battery leakage inside
four sets of Snap On torque wrenches, three different types of heads plus several dial type in inch pounds in 3/8 and 1/4
126 Snapon Ratchets. 1/4" through 3/4, likely one of every one they ever made. Long, med short in every type,
I snagged the 1/4" body 3/8" ratchet set, three lengths in a box.
I counted 71 rails of Snap on sockets, I couldn't find a size or length he didn't have. The large drawer is all sockets, standing vertical with the ratchets in the next drawer down. There are two 6 piece pry bar sets, one black, one orange. Plus a red Matco set of four.

There's one wide drawer with all screwdrivers and nut drivers laid out covering the whole drawer, all but a few are Snap on.
One wide drawer is all pullers, two full sets plus PS pullers, steering pullers, and various specialty pullers.
Another wide drawer is all punches and chisels, scrapers, and long drill bits.
One deeper side drawer is all air tools, mostly Snap-on, 2 FAR72B air ratchets One still new in the box, IM31, IM51, and IM510 impact guns, the IM510 looks new. Plus an IR impact air ratchet, and two IR231 1/2 impact guns. One each, PA3050 and PA50 air hammers, the 3050 is looks like brand new. One CP772 3/4" impact gun that looks unused,
One CP 1/4" impact gun, one FP 3/8 butterfly impact, two angle die grinders, one SO, one Matco.
one SO straight die grinder, one IR straight grinder.
One Papco branded 7" air angle grinder/buffer, One Sioux air sawzall. a CP and Mac small recip air saws, one needle scaler, one SO Roloc style 3" gasket cleaner kit, (Not quite 45 degree angle grinder with 3" rolock type disc.
IR straight line sander New in box, five DA orbital sanders, various brands, all look almost new.
Two SO air drills, two Matco air drills, geared and non geared in both. One Cp789 500rpm air drill new in box.
Full set of Sharp/Snap on siphon feed paint spray guns, 8 in all, a box of cups, two trim guns, cases of filters, and a tackle box full of spare tips and parts.

31 Snap on dead blow hammers, some orange, some red.
6 pc Blue point set of body hammers.
two Devilbiss primer guns, siphon feed, unknown condition
23 Snapon pliers, full double set of Channel lock pliers.

I got the Modis and MT2500 red brick, and all the cartridges. He's been out too long to have anything more modern but i did get his Ford NGS and GM Tech 2 scanners too I already had Mopar DRB and DRBII scanners, and my OTC Genesis plus a all the HD diag tools from when I was working.

The lockers had mostly bulk items, an AC vac. pump, (Yellow Jacket), two sets of guages, one Mac one Matco, plus a Supco micron gauge, and a Tif freon scale. A Snapon AC sniffer, two older Tif brand AC sniffers, die insertion kits, oil charging kits, seal pullers and installers, line crimpers, several boxes of fittings, clutch puller kit, noid light kit, Napa battery tester, Kent Moore gauge tester, Rotunda non contact optical tach, Hoppy headlight aiming set, Snap On master snap ring plier set in suitcase size box, that looks new. two soldering guns, one Snap on, one Weller, battery terminal crimpers, Master hydraulic line flaring tool. IR die kit and lamp for AC leaks. Full set of Fowler micrometers, Mitutoyo digital calipers, one full drawer of misc feeler gauges, calipers, and other measuring tools. Metric and SAE Snap on tap and die sets, Matco super tap and die set up to 1",
Kent Moore master transmission bushing driver set, 244 piece. Mac tools output shaft seal driver kit.
two tubs of lip seal guides and two tubs of misc auto trans tools. mostly GM and Ford.
AST seal puller set, AST bushing and bearing driver set, new in box, weighs about 80 lbs.
Snapon 12v drill, impact driver, and drop light, most likely obsolete. Batteries are likely too old to be 100%.
The drill works but I don't know how long the charge will last.

The specialty tools are likely no newer than the box, ending with GM's 4L80E and Ford's 4R100 and similar era early 2000's model transmissions, but going back to the 60's or further too. I can't count how many Turbo 350's and 700R4 transmissions he rebuilt in his garage over the past 20 years.
I'm sure I only touched on what he's got there, plus the boxes of unopened tools on the shelf that he bought and never used.
The box was packed, but so were his shelves and walls in the garage. They're over there now boxing up everything so the box will be empty to sell.

If the box don't go by Monday night, its getting put in my trailer here, along with anything she don't take home to list. Some suggested that I buy his box and sell my KRL1004, but I'm not sure that works for me. I'd be more likely to keep both. But I'd rather just see her sell it and have the money so long as she gets fair value for it. If she insists on giving it away, I'll have to take it. I'm hoping that selling the two lockers for $4k made her think about what the boxes should be worth in that condition.

 

[unslow1]

I've been in your situation a couple of times. Both times the family and friends were very suspicious of my motivations. Each time I insisted on not buying or taking anything because of that. One time I got a widow a ton of money by doing most of the legwork of selling and cleaning the place out. My payment was full use of the garage for 8 years rent free. The other time she didn't get much because everything was so outdated and mostly computer/electronic repair stuff. She was quite a bit younger and had just retired so I just helped her figure out what stuff was.

 

[toolenthusiast]

Back when I first started wrenching, in my late teens, I got hired at a new car dealer and needed a box quick. I looked high and low for a box and the best I found then was a 26" wide Mac top and bottom with a Snap On side cab for $650, that was over 40 years ago. The box belonged to a guy who retired and he had bought it 10 or 12 years prior.

I outgrew that box fast, trading it in on a slightly newer Snap On box with more drawers. That was the last box I traded in and I still have that first Snap On box. But as my tool set grew working for a dealer so did my box. From the 26" wide box with two side boxes I went to a 31" wide box, then to a KR661, about 50" wide, still with the same side cabinets, then to a KR663, then to a KR1000, then to KRL1003, and finally to a KRL1004, all of which I still have, and all of which are very full. I kept a full set of tools at home, and at work. I made far more money working at home in my driveway than I ever did at work.
At $22/hr top pay in the 90's being around $300 take home pay, it didn't take a genius to realize I had to work on the side Eventually I worked at two private shops plus the dealer, working at the dealer for three - 12 hr days, and three days at the other two shops on weekends and nights. It paid for my house in cash. But like my neighbor, other than my tools, car and house that are paid for in cash, I have nothing to show for it. The business has no retirement, most 401K deals are scams, twice we had dealership owners run off with supposed 401k payments. New car dealers would close without warning, so you never had any long term employment history. The longest I had was 8 years Most only lasted 3 or 4 tops. Private shops are usually older dealer techs who got out and started their own business and most were up in years and by the time they were able to hire help, they were already close to retirement, so none of those jobs lasted long, and most of those shops failed too. When prime real estate costs in the millions or rent is taking half of the profits and liability insurance is taking most of the rest, there's not much left for the owner or any employees. When you say that box and his tools are his retirement, most don't realize thats very much the case with most mechanics. They don't make enough to pay for tools, food, rent, and a car AND put anything away for retirement. Then figure that in many states they can't even collect unemployment because 'flat rate' is considered piece work or a subcontractor job, so there is no unemployment when a dealer goes belly up. When they do, Mr Snap-on still wants his money, the kids still need food, and your car still costs the same to drive. A few weeks off looking for work eats up any savings you have pretty quick. Luckily I was never out of work for long, there was always a new dealer opening but they never lasted long.

Dealers are paying less now, and most here require some sort of formal training to be hired these days, past experience means nothing. It was mostly what pushed me out. There was no moving from the shop to the office since manufacturers were requiring a college degree, and eventually most began to require techs to have current factory certs at their own expense and to get those, they required some bogus degree in "automotive technologies" through a factory sponsored program.
Most stopped all factory training in the early 90's, at least any dealer or factory paid training, they moved to online only training and they expected techs to do it at home on their own time. Meanwhile dealers were cutting pay saying they weren't selling enough cars or that the building expenses, taxes, and economy was going to put them out of business. They used that as an excuse to let go of guys making $22 an hour to hire fresh out of college kids for $10/hr to save money. None of them ever stayed, most realized the job meant physical work and a ton of tools they had to still buy out of pocket. Most left in the first few years or less.

Dealers realized that it was cheaper to hire 20 parts changers for minimum wage, and one real mechanic to baby sit the rest and then rely to the factory tech line or outside labor to fix cars when they absolutely couldn't get out of fixing something with cheap help.

In the 90's most dealers closed their body shops to avoid having to deal with EPA regs, they stopped doing major repairs such as transmission overhauls, engine overhauls and such, using only reman units from various suppliers. This eliminated the need to hire real A tech mechanics. Eventually they'd find enough C techs who would do the work and they stopped hiring even B tech guys. That meant that electrical issues, upholstery, paint and body work, and anything that required any experience or ability got sent out to local shops.


The rule of thumb back in the day was that a new box could be bargained for maybe 10% off of catalog price if you were a steady buyer or if you put a ton of money down on it. Used boxes were generally 3/4 the cost of new with some wiggle room, meaning that if you traded in your old box, you paid with your old box and the 1/2 of the listed catalog price.
The only way to unload your old box other than to keep it and take it home was to trade it in, and quite often, it ended up in the hands of someone else in the shop who paid three times as much for it as what you got in trade. But no one ever had the cash to buy it outright. For that reason, Mr Snap-on made a ton of money on boxes that he never had to put on his truck. I watched that happen over and over again.


I made a point even when i first started out to find as many tools as I could from yard sales and flea markets. We didn't have the internet and rarely did anything turn up in a small local newspaper.
For me, the rule was to buy every and all Snap-on tools that I found cheap, I didn't worry about sets, matching sets didn't make me money. Many new car dealers didn't allow cheap tools, they didn't want someone breaking or marring up a new car with non-professional tools. For the most part it was Snap-on, Mac, Cornwell, SK, Bonney, Proto, or Matco. You could get away with some Craftsman tools but if one broke and you got hurt, you were not covered and would remain employed.

We got paid $50 guarantee and flat rate beyond that in most places. (40hr guarantees went away in the 80's, and 50/50 deals were gone with the 70's and never at dealerships, at least not around here).

I worked for five new car dealers and 8 private shops over about 34 years. I kept every last tool receipt and still own my first box, and my last box. I have my last new box because I was never able to find anyone to buy it, its been sitting in my garage since I retired almost 14 years ago now. I bought it a year before I was basically forced to retire after one dealer closed up, and the new owner was only offering techs half of what they were making before. I wasn't going to work for fast food wages fixing new cars. I specialized in transmissions and electrical work. I spent a few years after that working for a transmission shop but never took my main tool box to that job, it wasn't needed since I worked mostly at a workbench. They had R&R guys to do the heavy work.

The average tech back then, whether a newbie to the business or a veteran tech, generally had a $100 to $200 weekly tool bill on the Snap-on truck, plus a few others on the other trucks as well. Dealers rarely supplied any tools beyond things like scopes or jacks, and some charged you for the use of the bay and lift as a way to get more money back from your check.


Near the time I called it quits, the last shop I worked at required everyone to do a yearly inventory of their box and tools. This was required by the insurance company.
By this time I had a KRL1004 box, full top hutch and two KRL1025 lockers, two Snap-on carts, and a top/bottom KRL1003 with two more KRL1025 lockers. They sent a guy out who was to photograph and value each box and tools. They took pics of every drawer, wrote down every last tool number, and made copies of all receipts. They spent a week on my boxes. This was in 2008. They came back with a total of $934k in all. Then refused to write the policy saying that much value in one shop was a bad risk. The owner asked me to take my box home, and work out of his. I did that for a bit but got tired of not having what I needed to make good money. Not to mention all my OEM scan tools for GM, Ford, and Mopar. I only stayed there a little over a year since they really didn't have the business flow to generate enough hours to make it worth my drive.

I'll never sell my tools, but I would sell my larger box if i got fair money for it. I did sell off all four lockers a few years ago but two went to a buddies son, and the other two sold via taking pictures with me to an antique car swap meet.
Ebay is a great place to list a box, especially if there's no money locally. Folks in say TX likely don't check CL in NJ, folks in NJ don't seem to buy anything, or else I wouldn't find so many deals there.

Now years later things are worse yet at the dealers, I've had many calls wanted me to consider un-retiring and going back to work, but they somehow thing $15/hr is good pay now. I passed a McD's a few weeks ago in PA with a help wanted sign saying they pay $17.50 to start. That's a job that don't require any tools either.
With the cost of gas and me not being able to do what I once did, my days of turning wrenches are long behind me. But I certainly can see where selling a tool box or tools would be next to impossible these days.
There's no way anyone should expect a guy to sell a box he likely paid close to $20k for for less than half of that regardless of its age.

The problem is guys starting out only know how to buy online or weekly to Mr Snap-on, and he wants that box for about 1/4 of what he'll list it for, which is likely around $10k or so.

Like a clean used car, its value holds steady, especially as the new models cost more and more. The issue is there are fewer and fewer new techs and in today's workplace, a KRL1001 is likely too small for an established mechanic. I outgrew the one I had in the early 90's. Although I kept it, I bought a second one, and use that box like a tool cart with a hutch and SS top. I sold that one to a guy i worked for as partial trade for a truck I bought from him.






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This is the worst creative writing exercise I’ve ever read. Mechanics make $300/week take home, but have $934,000 worth of tools? By your BS numbers, that’s 59.87 years of take home pay to fill your toolbox.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Were the shipping prices way high?

Yep, I see stuff that's maybe worth $40 with a $0.99 starting bid with $55 dollars shipping. Who do they think they're fooling?

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Am I wrong to think a box like that should bring closer to half of what it sold for new? You sure won't touch one off the snap-on truck for anywhere near that amount. The dealer I spoke to said he had a used KRL1023 on the truck in yellow for $8,500, with no top chest or lockers.

Half, but usually less than half, of new retail price is the guideline most people, in my experience, go by on new Snap On boxes when buying. I can't imagine anyone paying close to half of new retail prices on older boxes like those. Added to that, the market is smaller as a lot of people think they need huge boxes to put their tools in now, and those are the newer boxes.

I see ads where someone may have a newer SO box and they'll be asking five grand. In the ad they'll tell you it cost them eight grand, full retail, and they'll include a screenshot from Snap On's website. Nobody is going to pay that when they can be found in the $1500-2500 range, for example.

Just my experience from what I've seen and read, here and elsewhere. Personally, I like the older boxes better and if I was close by would stop to check them out.

 

[redwrench60]

As others have said, Snap On tools are pretty much like crack: they sell themselves - if you take decent pictures. But inch sized tools aren't in much demand today- since the last cars made that used a decent amount of inch sizes were last made 40 years ago.

$720 for a 1/4-1" wrench set in 1995????

Yeah that’s ********. My 1997 Snap-on catalog price list shows $368.45 for set OEX711B sizes 3/8”-1”

Add the 1/4” & 5/16” combos the total comes to $412.15

 

[slowtwitch73]

A lot of unsavvy ebay sellers have asinine shipping charges thanks to Ebay's craptstastic automatic listing tools.

I have contacted sellers and asked about sky high shipping and have worked out much cheaper shipping many times.

 

[bonneyman]

As with most everything, the price of tools really is a value thing. Users and collectors place a high value on them - kid's and ex's don't. (They just want to get rid of the stuff). But if you're talking smartphones and shoes, those latter groups will pay outrageous amounts of money for those things. Wrench rats would offer a buck or two. It's all how a person perceives value.

I've noticed that prices at pawn shops and surplus stores have gone crazy on used items - say, the past 6-12 months. Prices on used worn **** has tripled in many instances, though good deals can still be had for the diligent and observant.
I pay what I think I can get out of tools in use. I have no illusions what they will fetch after I'm gone. My beloved Bonney tools will probably go for chicken scratch, but I'm not worried, as I'll get out of them what I paid.

 

[seber]

A lot of unsavvy ebay sellers have asinine shipping charges thanks to Ebay's craptstastic automatic listing tools.

I have contacted sellers and asked about sky high shipping and have worked out much cheaper shipping many times.

As a seller I find ebay shipping is pretty accurate most of the time. People don't consider the time and material required plus Ebay takes 15% of the shipping price. On the other hand, there are times when it does get insane.

 

[dsaabm]

I buy and sell a lot on eBay. Excellent condition Snap - On can bring 75% + of retail. Like new 75-100% and beyond on of retail. Like others have mentioned, something is wrong or missing in the listings most likely set part number missing, shipping pricing wrong, etc.

You can post the expired or ended listing link and we can review and possibly help.

 

[yardiron]

The ad she had on eBay for the wrench set had the shipping set for a medium flat rate box. I gave her the box.
Shipping would have been $16.10. She had no clue what they were worth and didn't know enough I guess to look at other ads. All she knew is what that clown from CL told her about the tools all being out of date and too old.
They were listed under 'Automotive hand wrenches' the title was simiply "13pc Snap-On Wrench Set" She listed it as used but the pic showed all the wrenches in a black plastic holder with the original paper insert on the corner. The pic was clear, but she did not lay out each wrench. She listed them under an account with 200+ positive feedbacks and she sells 'occasionally' at best. When I search eBay I simply type in what I'm looking for, I don't care what category its in, a simply search for "Snap on wrench set' would have found it, even if they misspelled every word it would likely still show them the same list.

When she listed on FB or CL, if the price was too high, i would think guys would make offers, but she got nothing, no emails, no scammers, no offers.

I've been in your situation a couple of times. Both times the family and friends were very suspicious of my motivations. Each time I insisted on not buying or taking anything because of that. One time I got a widow a ton of money by doing most of the legwork of selling and cleaning the place out. My payment was full use of the garage for 8 years rent free. The other time she didn't get much because everything was so outdated and mostly computer/electronic repair stuff. She was quite a bit younger and had just retired so I just helped her figure out what stuff was.

I'm really not trying to get involved at all. I'm just trying to point her in the right direction so she doesn't end up giving all her dads tools away for peanuts. The two lockers were a good start. The buyer got a deal because it wasn't likely he'd find two minty clean lockers in the right color red for less than half of what a new pair would cost. Even stil, the only brought half of what they cost back when my neighbor first bought them. He basically took a $4K loss when they sold.
$4k for the lockers is a far cry better then the $500 the one guy offered for the whole set up.

This is the worst creative writing exercise I’ve ever read. Mechanics make $300/week take home, but have $934,000 worth of tools? By your BS numbers, that’s 59.87 years of take home pay to fill your toolbox.

I didn't take that as he spent $934K, they appraised the replacement cost at $934k. If he did like I always did and bought most tools used, its very conceivable to accumulate that many tools or more, especially if your talking replacement cost vs what they cost whenever they were bought.
Go to the Snap on site and price out a full four bank tool box full of tools, plus the roll cab, top chest, and two side cabs.
A basic box alone today would cost well over $20k, maybe over $25k and that's for a small two bank box.
Then figure in a bunch of high dollar factory tools, several scanners scopes, and then your ac tools auto trans tools, etc if all bought brand new at one time, the cost may be over what they estimated. The last I checked the top dollar full bore all option Snap On box was somewhere around $55k for just the box. Then think about filling it with all Snap On tools, scan tools, and any number of insanely priced factory scan tools. I worked at a dealer in the late 80's that required an itemized and photo record of all tools. They had an appraiser come around who took pics of everything in the box, they then came back with a report on the value of it all and we had to sign off on it. Those estimates even added value for the cost of the appraisal and the time it would take to gather and assemble and set up a new box just like the old one.

When I retired as an A tech at a dealership I and one other guy were topped out at $22.50/hr. I left because a 40hr week was a thing of the past and work was scarce there. They closed up two years after most of us left. After taxes, uniforms, union dues, and health insurance I took home $355 on a full 40hr week. When I left there I paid off the Snap on guy about $400 or so. I was paying him $100 per week. The amount was mix between an update for my one scanner, and couple new sets of sockets. There's always something you need to buy, whether its tools, software, or just consumables.
A few local dealers did charge you weekly for he bay, it was one more way to isolate themselves legally by claiming their techs are subcontractors that the sole responsibility was on the tech not the dealer if something happened.
Then figure having to eat all week, buy gas to get to work, and maybe pay a car payment or mortgage on the remaining $250 per week.

 

[Dave455]

Extremely off topic, but Mr Dave, I hope this isn't a naughty Britishism that's gone over most of our heads! But if so, please elaborate!

Ah, I apologise! Knowing the majority of this forums readers are in the U.S. I generally try to avoid British terms, but sometimes some slip out!

To “do one” means “leave“, “make yourself scarce”, “take a hike”, or otherwise be somewhere else, usually for good reason! i.e. “****, did we just drink the whole barrel? We’d better DO ONE before anybody realises”.

In this instance, the O.P.’s neighbour doesn’t sound particularly old (70 isn’t - I know of folks working into their 90’s), obviously enjoys mechanical things, but is being pressured into selling treasured possessions for “10 cents on the dollar” (strangely, another British term) by what sounds to be a selfish and ignorant daughter!

I would definitely be inviting her to “do one”!

 

[ste6168]

Something seems odd, not been my experience buying used tools at all.

Also to note, the snap on lifetime warranty doesn’t mean the life of the tool, but the life of the original owner. I’ve heard of folks with mixed results, and don’t have a dog in the fight either way, but it’s worth noting that if you buy second hand snap on, the lifetime warranty is technically not valid.

 

[Xcursion88]

Something seems odd, not been my experience buying used tools at all.

Also to note, the snap on lifetime warranty doesn’t mean the life of the tool, but the life of the original owner. I’ve heard of folks with mixed results, and don’t have a dog in the fight either way, but it’s worth noting that if you buy second hand snap on, the lifetime warranty is technically not valid.

If the SO rep is any good whatsoever he or she will take care of it in lieu of original purchaser or not.
That said there are some real lazy reps out there that don't want to do anything above and beyond. Usually they are short time reps with low sales and no future

 

[rsanter]

Take a look at her listings. I have found more than once that the way you word the listing and what key words you use are very important.

I took a bit of a risk figuring that I would have some protection through eBay.
A guy listed a commercial delta Rockwell wood lathe
His headline description was Wood Lathe. The more detailed description was Wood Lathe and he posted one picture.
Turns out it was an excellent condition machine with a bunch of tooling and accessories that were not pictured.
Opening bid was $400 and no bids till the last minute which was me. He did not seem to answer anyone’s questions. Turns out he listed it though his phone app, it was his first listing, and he lived way out in the hills with limited cell service

Bob

 

[yardiron]

Ah, I apologise! Knowing the majority of this forums readers are in the U.S. I generally try to avoid British terms, but sometimes some slip out!

To “do one” means “leave“, “make yourself scarce”, “take a hike”, or otherwise be somewhere else, usually for good reason! i.e. “****, did we just drink the whole barrel? We’d better DO ONE before anybody realises”.

In this instance, the O.P.’s neighbour doesn’t sound particularly old (70 isn’t - I know of folks working into their 90’s), obviously enjoys mechanical things, but is being pressured into selling treasured possessions for “10 cents on the dollar” (strangely, another British term) by what sounds to be a selfish and ignorant daughter!

I would definitely be inviting her to “do one”!

I think he feels if he confronts his daughter and she storms off, he won't get to see his grandkids.

70 is not old, at least not for most, and that's very much my point. She acts as if he's on his deathbed.
He would have probably sold it off bit by bit as he saw fit over time. Being forced to do as he's told doesn't sit well with him.
If it were me, she'd be gone. She's fine around me, but she treats her dad like he's incompetent or senile.
The old guy called me up over the winter to help him carry a transmission he had draining in the garage down stairs so he could work on it, there's no heat in the garage. If he was in need of being put in a home he certainly wouldn't still be able to rebuild transmissions let alone carry one down the stairs. The old guy does better than me when it comes to getting around. I'm far more arthritic and out of shape than he is.

I can't figure out if she sees the dollar signs from selling the house or if shes just tired of driving to check on him.
He told me the other day he "wished he had two daughters, that way he could pick favorites, and it wouldn't be this one".
A few things she said to me yesterday really made me wonder where her head is at. She tells me she has to sell his box to pay for a new roof on his house. The roof on his house is less than 10 years old and just fine.
She tells me his house needs all new windows and doors, new carpet, and it needs to be fully renovated.
What I see in that house is a very well kept all original 1940's era house. He doesn't want anything changed, what he has is bought and paid for and she's chomping at the bit to spend unnecessary money on it. All the windows and doors in that house were done 10 or 12 years ago, all are Andersen brand windows. She tells me his bathroom is a 'mess'. She says its not been redone in years. His bathroom is 100% original, all done in white and gold tile with the original iron tub, and an walk in shower added in the 80's. Everything is in good shape. She can't wait to rip it out and probably put a bunch of cheap Chinese fixtures in there.

 

[ste6168]

If the SO rep is any good whatsoever he or she will take care of it in lieu of original purchaser or not.
That said there are some real lazy reps out there that don't want to do anything above and beyond. Usually they are short time reps with low sales and no future

Again, I have no dog in the fight, and don’t own anything branded with the Snap On logo, but it’s pretty well laid out on their website warranty section.

While they currently do for the most part, from my understanding, warranty product not of the original purchaser, things could change at any time.

“This warranty only extends to the original Customer and cannot be transferred or assigned.”

Terms and Conditions of Sale

www.snapon.com

 

[Davefr]

The ad she had on eBay for the wrench set had the shipping set for a medium flat rate box. I gave her the box.
Shipping would have been $16.10. She had no clue what they were worth and didn't know enough I guess to look at other ads. All she knew is what that clown from CL told her about the tools all being out of date and too old.
They were listed under 'Automotive hand wrenches' the title was simiply "13pc Snap-On Wrench Set" She listed it as used but the pic showed all the wrenches in a black plastic holder with the original paper insert on the corner. The pic was clear, but she did not lay out each wrench. She listed them under an account with 200+ positive feedbacks and she sells 'occasionally' at best. When I search eBay I simply type in what I'm looking for, I don't care what category its in, a simply search for "Snap on wrench set' would have found it, even if they misspelled every word it would likely still show them the same list.

OK, I went to Ebay completed listings and there is no history of a 13pc SO wrench set with a starting bid of around $100 that ended without selling. Are you sure it wasn't an allen wrench set or maybe she forgot to hit submit.

At a $99 starting bid they definitely would have sold.

 

[yardiron]

Take a look at her listings. I have found more than once that the way you word the listing and what key words you use are very important.

I took a bit of a risk figuring that I would have some protection through eBay.
A guy listed a commercial delta Rockwell wood lathe
His headline description was Wood Lathe. The more detailed description was Wood Lathe and he posted one picture.
Turns out it was an excellent condition machine with a bunch of tooling and accessories that were not pictured.
Opening bid was $400 and no bids till the last minute which was me. He did not seem to answer anyone’s questions. Turns out he listed it though his phone app, it was his first listing, and he lived way out in the hills with limited cell service

Bob

Her title was simple and to the point, "13 pc Snap On Wrench Set"
Starting bid was $99.99 on a 7 day auction
Shipping was $16.10 USPS Med Flat Rate box
He picture was of the box of new wrenches in the original package taken in good light with her iPhone.
The ad is no longer showing on eBay, it was the last week but its gone now. I was only able to look at her saved drafts folder on her eBay page when I went into her account on my computer.
The pic was large, and clear, but she did not removed and photo each wrench, but I don't see the need for that.
She didn't list them as new, she stated she didn't know if they were used or not, and that they looked new.
They were listed under automotive hand tools, where about 75% of all other Snap On wrenches are listed right now.
It was her only item in that category, she was only listing one tool item at a time by that point.
I didn't pay much attention to what was going on over there at that point other than she asked what kind of box she needed to ship them in. I gave her a box and she called me a few times asking what I thought they were worth. I told her I wouldn't let them go for less than $250 or so, and likely more considering what eBay takes off the top of each sale, and I told her to be sure to insure them when she ships. I heard nothing back about them, I had assumed they had sold.

It wasn't till she started on about the tool box last week that i realized that nothing she listed had sold. That's when she showed me her ads in her account page. I saw nothing wrong with the ad. If I had spotted that ad, and didn't know who it was I'd have likely bid and won them just because they were so cheap. I was shocked they had gone unsold. Worse yet, she had a few dozen other items on CL and FB that hadn't drawn any attention either. Including his 211 hr shaft drive Cub Cadet lawn tractor for $250 that should sell for over $1k in that condition. Others just like it were listed for $1,500 and she lists it for $250, and it still don't sell. (Its mine now for free with the agreement I'll mow his lawn when i do mine, which is only about five 75ft long passes with that mower.)
Absolutely nothing seems to sell here, how that tractor didn't draw a hundred takers I'l never know. The ad was fine and the pics were good.

She had someone interested in the tool box who was suppose to show up last night but they never showed despite several phone calls and multiple directions on the phone. They waited up to 10pm and the guy never showed up.
I told her to make sure the garage is locked up tight now.

The plan still is if it don't sell by tomorrow when she has to leave its getting put in my car trailer here since she has insisted on paying someone to come clean and paint the garage floor 'because its never been done'.

I don't mind it being here, it will give me control over what it sells for then, if it sells at all. He seems fine with it being here vs being sold and she says she just doesn't want to look at it anymore.

I snapped cell phone pic but it makes the box look lighter than in real life and it make the paint look like its all scratched up but its a bunch of foil covered insulation on the facing wall reflecting in the pic.

She has someone else coming to see it later today. She put the box up on some phone app and has gotten a few texts at $5500 but the last two from there never showed.

 

[M635_Guy]

Something seems off with these details. With prices like that there should be a stampede.

I agree. Assuming they're current tools and not what would be considered vintage tools, 50% of list should be a pretty reliable selling price unless the shipping quote is stupid. Maybe 40% for SAE.

Sounds like a terrible situation with the daughter, in several ways.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

I can't figure out if she sees the dollar signs from selling the house or if shes just tired of driving to check on him.

Sounds like she wants the money from the tool sales because she thinks she needs to throw it into a house renovation so she can sell it when he's gone.

 

[Wrench97]

Me thinks she's worried about having to clean up and handle things after he passes and would rather do it now..........................

 

[Xcursion88]

Again, I have no dog in the fight, and don’t own anything branded with the Snap On logo, but it’s pretty well laid out on their website warranty section.

While they currently do for the most part, from my understanding, warranty product not of the original purchaser, things could change at any time.

“This warranty only extends to the original Customer and cannot be transferred or assigned.”

Terms and Conditions of Sale

www.snapon.com

Ok???

I didn't suggest you were lying. Matter of fact I think I was pretty clear in stating if the rep is good you will get things warranted in lieu of being original purchaser. In lieu of.. meaning even though, it doesn't matter.

If you're trying to deal with the factory themselves for warranty work you could have issues if not the original purchaser....but....

I must tell you...it's pretty hard for SO to refuse a lifetime warranty because of lack of purchase record. Lifetime is forever and I'm not sure how they'd demand a sales receipt of sonething purchased say 40 years ago?

Moreover it's not good business practice to advertise lifetime warranty on things then deny a claim based on lack of purchase proof.
The item is either warranted or isn't.

SO's approach has always been supporting the reps. It's a business model that's worked for them a long time.
If you are on their site...you might buy tools. If you're on their truck you're probably buying tools. (Again if the rep is any good)

 

[bbrins]

Just a thought, you said you saw the ad in her drafts folder, did she actually list them? It has been several years since I sold anything on ebay, but it seems to me that it would drop out of the drafts folder upon submitting.

Sounds like she is trying to get the house ready to sell, on his dime, that way when he dies, all she has to do is get out the remaining stuff that she hasn't sold out from under him and list the house. Your friend's daughter sounds like a controlling _____. I hope she doesn't have a POA.

 

[Aaron_W]

Hate to go there but could she be selling stuff "on the cheap" and pocketing the difference between what she got and what she said it sold for? This whole situation sounds bad.

 

[yardiron]

I agree. Assuming they're current tools and not what would be considered vintage tools, 50% of list should be a pretty reliable selling price unless the shipping quote is stupid. Maybe 40% for SAE.

Sounds like a terrible situation with the daughter, in several ways.

I don't get the issue with SAE tools? My box is probably 50/50 SAE and Metric, you can't have one without the other these days. Cars, trucks, and heavy equipment still very much use both.
Those who work on classic cars, American tractors, heavy trucks, or anything else that was built here uses SAE.
In my box, the SAE tools get far more wear then do the metric tools.
When i was on the Snapon truck the other day he had mostly all SAE tools in stock on display, most metric tools were in drawers or loose. It could have been that he sold out or that he don't keep as many metric tools, I can't say.
He had one 10mm to 19mm wrench set in Flank Drive Plus, and a few 10mm and 12mm long wrenches up on the ceiling
Sockets were the reverse, he had shallow impact metric sockets, only and SAE deep impacts, and chrome short 1/4" SAE, but no MM, He had MM 3/8 shallow 12pt but only 6pt in SAE. There wasn't a matched set of anything and there wasn't enough sockets or wrenches to fully stock a tool box. Without any doubt, I have more tools in either of my boxes than that dealer had. Unfortunately its been the norm lately on most trucks here. I haven't been on a fully stocked truck in 20 years here.
Maybe they're keeping the load light to save fuel. Years ago most trucks had one of every combo wrench and several sets, plus full sets of sockets, plus more in the drawers for replacement. The last time I needed a ratchet fixed the guy had to order a kit. Two weeks went by and no kit, so he gave me a new ratchet. Now I have one odd ratchet since the replacement is a newer series.

I wouldn't call a box and tools mostly from the early 2000's vintage, most are identical to what you would buy now.
My personal sets range from the 1950s to the mid 1990's. That was pretty much the point where I had everything I needed hand tool wise and stopped buying sets from the Snap-on guy, but all along I also bought used tools whenever I found them. thus why I've got three complete tool sets and doubles of everything.
His box next door is similar, but he bought a ton of new tools right before he retired for some reason, then just shelved them for 'future use'.

As a seller I find ebay shipping is pretty accurate most of the time. People don't consider the time and material required plus Ebay takes 15% of the shipping price. On the other hand, there are times when it does get insane.

eBay shipping is fine for USPS but I found it worthless for Fedex. SInce they charge after the item ships, I often get billed for more than the eBay quote, even though I learned to up the weight and size a bit so there's no chance of any discrepancies but everytime the charge is way higher than the estimate. $10 seems to be the normal difference.
The last package I shipped FedEx was a 28x26x8" box, 8 lbs so I rounded up to 30x30x10" and 12lb, it quoted me $24, they billed me for a 30lb package, 36x36x12, at $38. Its happened 4 time now in two years so I quit using FedEx through eBay.
I do better going to the UPS store with larger items but UPS can't seem to not damage things.

I can just imagine 'what if' the set had sold for $99.99 plus $16 shipping.
Ebay would take $18 off the top, leaving $98, then she'd have to ship it for $16,
leaving her only $82 for something that should have sold for absolutely no less than $250.

She decided to start hauling stuff over into my car trailer a little while ago, I guess she couldn't wait for tomorrow.
(I was hoping she'd be able to sell some stuff to the guy coming to see the box, even if the box didn't sell.)
She has beer boxes and tub filled with the tools from the box, I'm afraid to look to see how she boxed it all up. I already saw she dropped several wrenches and sockets in the grass outback. She's also not smart enough to not put 300lbs in one of those cheap Rubbermaid tubs either. She was dragging one like a sled across the driveway and over to my trailer.

I feel sorry for the old guy, but he was the same way when his wife was alive. He just took orders and did what she told him. Probably why he spent so much time in the hot garage working vs in the house.

I looked again and the ad is gone, it appears that eBay only saves things for 90 days then its gone for good. When I first looked, it was still showing, but now it says 'There's nothing here'. or "There's no exact matches found".
The item ended early in the morning on Feb 14, 22. something like 12:44am or so. It was listed on Dec 20, 2021, or at least that was the date of her saved 'draft' at eBay.
But they weren't the only tools she didn't sell, apparently she had listed other items right before that and got no buyers either.
I do know that I listed a full set of 7 extra thin open end wrenches twice last year for $200 BIN, and got no takers after 8 week. I had three sets and had bought a newer set at an auction so I was going to let a set go, but I guess no one wanted them and I gave up and just put them on the shelf after 16 weeks. They cost $418 for the full set in the mid 90's and they no longer make them.
She hasn't listed anything since on eBay but had been for at least most of last year.

I don't know of anyway to bring back an ad that timed out like that?

It really doesn't matter at this point. I'm starting to get the impression she was happy with what she got for the two lockers and the cart, so the rest is just in the way.

 

[yardiron]

Just a thought, you said you saw the ad in her drafts folder, did she actually list them? It has been several years since I sold anything on ebay, but it seems to me that it would drop out of the drafts folder upon submitting.

Sounds like she is trying to get the house ready to sell, on his dime, that way when he dies, all she has to do is get out the remaining stuff that she hasn't sold out from under him and list the house. Your friend's daughter sounds like a controlling _____. I hope she doesn't have a POA.

I had actually caught her ad and watched it in my own ebay for the first few weeks but it got pushed to the back of the watched items list and I forgot about it by the time it finally ended 8 weeks later. I really didnt want them to sell for that price, not then and not now the guy should get what their worth, no less. But in reality, its not my problem and there's not much i can do. By them being stored here in my trailer now though, I know she's not listing and selling those tools for too cheap. He feels better about it and shes happy the garage is going to be empty. All that's left is the tool box, a generator, and some garden tools. The other day I found she had boxed up a bunch of the older tools he had in the basement, some Craftsman and Proto pliers and a huge Challenger wrench set in a bag, 1/4" to 1 1/2" chrome wrenches, and some AC clutch pullers, feeler gauges, and drill bits. Then put the box out for the trash. Today she threw away the barbecue grill, the swing off the porch, four pvc recliner chairs that he got last year, and she boxed up all the oil cans and chemicals in the garage and put them out in the trash too. I had to sneak over there and grab them before some junk man got it all. She also threw out a perfectly good red fiberglass 8ft step ladder and his 16ft red Werner extension ladder. She told me he has too much junk all over the place and it has to go.
I had some concerns about her just throwing his hunting rifles and shotguns in the trash too. I told him that maybe he should bring them over and put them in my safe for now. He's got some nice stuff and that psycho woman is liable to just throw them away or take them and surrender them. As far as I know he was still going deer hunting as recent as two years ago.

It crossed my mind that she was readying it for a sale, but I don't understand why she'd dump so much cash into a place that's fine the way it is. She's an only daughter too. The problem is that he don't have much cash, just his tools and the house. If she spends big on the house it won't bring that much more to make it worth the investment and she's wanting to replace things that don't need replacing.
I think its just a case of a few screws loose in her head.

Hate to go there but could she be selling stuff "on the cheap" and pocketing the difference between what she got and what she said it sold for? This whole situation sounds bad.

She's been pushing him for a few years about getting rid of things, its only been this past week or two she's been here forcing the issue.
Up till now she only took a few items to sell. The items she listed all came back when they didn't sell, so she didn't sell them and keep the cash.

 

[JradM]

The other day I found she had boxed up a bunch of the older tools he had in the basement, some Craftsman and Proto pliers and a huge Challenger wrench set in a bag, 1/4" to 1 1/2" chrome wrenches, and some AC clutch pullers, feeler gauges, and drill bits. Then put the box out for the trash.

Thanks. Now I'm going to have nightmares.

 

[kbuhagiar]

I think its just a case of a few screws loose in her head.
She's been pushing him for a few years about getting rid of things, its only been this past week or two she's been here forcing the issue. Up till now she only took a few items to sell. The items she listed all came back when they didn't sell, so she didn't sell them and keep the cash.

Honestly?

This sounds like it borders on elder abuse.
I won't go so far as to say it should be reported to the authorities, but...

 

[Two Speed]

She lacks any understanding of the value of tools. Whats it to her if he has that around his house?
I'm probably going to correctly assume that she doesn't do any thing for herself around her place and hires out everything from tightening a screw to yard work.

 

[AndyL]

I'd love to see the original listing. Something was seriously wrong with it.

My guess would be the pictures; fuzzy / look like beat to heck/rusty - yeah I could see no interest.

 

[bbrins]

What's her eBay feedback look like?