How to sell entire tool chest with tools?

[doojus]

Hi Guys,

I'm moving and I need to sell an entire tool chest, and I don't have time to sell each set of tools individually. I just want to sell the whole thing. I'm guessing I can try craigslist and facebook, but is there somewhere else I can try selling this thing? Don't really want to deal with a bunch of craigslist hagglers.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

Take lots of pictures showing that your collection is well-organized and complete.
Spell out your conditions clearly.
Don’t go into the must sell details, or divorce forces sale, etc.
Develop a Plan B in case you are unwilling to give the stuff away to an a-hole loser.
Maybe say that if you can’t sell it will go in storage or your brother’s attic.
Lots of pictures.
Good luck.

 

[Bogie1632]

Is it a kit a pro would use or start with? If so, maybe see if there is a local trade school or community college that would let you put up a posting?

Do you have a trusted friend or family local to you now that can work your end of the sale if you leave it? Maybe toss them a couple bucks for their assistance after the sale? IMHO, it's better to take your time selling it and getting what you can out of it over time than rushing and losing your tail on it just to see it go.

V/R
Bogie

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Maybe list where you live. There just might be someone on GJ that would be interested or someone might know an individual that I should interested.

 

[Empty Pockets]

In my opinion, there are several ways to sell thm, none of them are without drawbacks.

1.) Consign them to a local auction company. They will sort and segregate. as they work on commission, they have an incentive to get the highest price

2.) Ebay. You do all of the work, After listing fees, sales commissions, shipping, crating, you will give up a sizable portion of the selling price.

3.) Craigs List and Facebook. Not only will you have every bottom fisher in the known universe wasting your time, you never know who the people coming to your home are, or what their intentions are.

You might consider posting some pictures, descriptions and what you are looking to get for them on here.

Good luck

 

[NYBODYMAN]

Where are you located?

 

[SGKent]

I plan to donate mine to nephew or nephew in law when I pass, if not then it goes to charity. In my experience, unless you have patience, and lots of time, used tool sets bring bottom scratchers unless you part them out. When Cathy moved in we had a full set of tools her late ex had collected. I wanted none. One of the contractors we were using had his tools stolen from his truck so we donated the whole set to him so he could stay in business. Several years later he did some work for us again and gave us about a $2000 discount on his services because we had helped him out by keeping him from folding when all his tools were stolen.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Unfortunately, you're going to lose money selling as a full set - not many people have a huge chunk of change to drop on a box and tools, and those who you are probably in that market already have a set of tools...

You might find a tool reseller to take the whole kit and kaboodle off your hands, and that's where I'd start - start sending PMs to people who do that here and see what the interest is.

You'll need a solid and complete list (including condition) of what you have. But if you gotta dump them, that's how I'd do it.Otherwise you got with a local auction company and take the hit.

 

[CoogarXR]

If you can't break it all the way down, I'd at least break it down into a few big lots. Like Sockets, ratchets and wrenches in one lot, electrical tools in another, the box by itself, etc.

 

[HotrodHR]

Location?

 

[James-W]

This is just a thought I had, you may like the idea or you may think it is a stupid idea, but in any case it is an idea that MIGHT work out for you. You may need to check with a tax person first though.

If you donate the whole thing to a tech school or to a high school shop class, then take the tax deduction, you MAY do better than selling the tools. I really don't know for sure, you would need to run the numbers and see how it would work out. I am just saying it is something you might want to look into. Selling used tools is something that you generally don't do too well on, everyone wants them for little or nothing.

 

[doojus]

Thanks for the responses so far, guys! Selling on the classifieds here is a really good suggestion, and I have seen a lot of other good suggestions too.

To add a little more information:

I'm located in the Tampa, Florida area
I'm moving out of the country to an urban area where I wont need a car, so I have no use for tools. In fact, I'm just taking a suitcase with me.

I'm adding pics and descriptions here in hopes that someone can give me a ballpark value, I'll keep adding to the descriptions as I remember more.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/r01ngtjx0pjtdt9/2020-02-16 18.51.56.jpg?dl=0
Tool Vault 72" x 25" Deep 19 drawer Roller Cabinet, have the cover for it too, has some dents on the work surface but everything else is perfect

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9k4rcemvpqm5mc5/2020-02-16 18.52.20.jpg?dl=0
Everything in this drawer is either matco, sk, carlye, or that weird japanese socket brand

Full matco 1/2, 3/8, 1/4 in metric and sae, deep and shallow
matco ratchets, sk ratchets, carlyle ratchets, sk exenstions, sk swivels, sk turbo sockets, japanese semi deeps

https://www.dropbox.com/s/29nfdfp78dqv9ey/2020-02-16 18.54.54.jpg?dl=0
not too much interesting here, a dewalt infrared thermometer maybe

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wfedawzhmofej02/2020-02-16 18.55.19.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qxf39jw338cuq2f/2020-02-16 18.55.33.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p5gd9xkh6s3pw50/2020-02-16 18.55.43.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/doqv40ier6ibz57/2020-02-16 18.52.36.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zt0re1qdnaaan8t/2020-02-16 18.52.48.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/uhr9n4udkgh0j2i/2020-02-16 18.53.00.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vz3g05aepvspphp/2020-02-16 18.53.13.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sg5p91z2m2816rx/2020-02-16 18.53.28.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2sjuqc72zvd2ryl/2020-02-16 18.53.46.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tkipl6tl7ncvg8l/2020-02-16 18.54.11.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ewr445wtfanwd4q/2020-02-16 18.54.23.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1m17d7m90z4wpxt/2020-02-16 18.54.36.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/po8029oj8neky6i/2020-02-16 18.55.06.jpg?dl=0

 

[lilscorpion]

Doojus - nice set.

typically selling tools used, now-a-days, you're going to lose your ****. There just aren't buyers out there who are willing to give you 20% less than purchase value. I've seen $35k in good tools sell for half...or less. The more the total value, the harder it is to sell. Probably the best way to get the most is to sell them out piece by piece (set-wise).

Couple of ideas:

1. If you have a really close friend or family member you could let them use/store the toolbox and tools until you return.
2. If you're not going to be away for more than a few years, maybe look into a storage facility. Sometimes the cost to store for a few years is less than what you'll lose in selling them.
3. Sell the box, keep the tools. You might be able to down-size the tools into a storage container and leave that at a friends/family member's house while your gone. Selling the box by itself will be easier and you'll lose less.
4. Consider a trade - you might be able to get more for the tools if you can find something you can trade for.
5. 3-way trade - if you have a friend or family member who's about to get some service provided (hot water heater, roof installed, etc) see if the provider would take the box and tools in partial trade and then your friend or family member can pay you the cash.

Good luck whatever you end up doing. The trip/move sounds interesting.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Get ahold of the OP of this thread. This couple just may need something you have and possibly even be in the Tampa area.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=443468

 

[doojus]

I sent her a message, thanks!