Liquidating workshop - what's better - Auction, Ebay, Craigslist?

[GarageWarrior]

Need to liquidate my workshop in the next few months. It's costing too much - between heat/rent/electric was close to $10K/year, so I figured I'm better off to get from under it and get rid of all the stuff, tools, machinery, equipment and projects.

What's the better way to liquidate in terms of pay-off v.s time/labor involved???

I'm currently considering craigslist/ ebay. Don't know much about auction - may be it would make more sense?

There are automotive tools, woodworking tools, metalworking tools, welders, saws, sanders, vices, cabinets, tables, toolboxes, material handling equipment, pallet jacks, pallet racking, propane forklift, diesel hot-water pressure washer, hoists, winches, generators, shop supplies, fluids etc.

I was getting decent price on craigslist earlier selling few things at a time: 50%-80% for non-pro tools/equipment in excellent condition, and %10-20 off new price for older used industrial equipment. But for the time it takes to take pictures, put up an adds, handle calls, meet customers - wasn't really worth it for cheaper / under $100 items.

What's the auction experience like - how's the pay off? How much does it cost to run? How much prep work/etc? What type of stuff would sell?

Thanks!

 

[Strouty]

Auction is probably the quickest no nonsense way, it will still probably take you 40 hours or more to set things up. If you save time and make more money by doing it on ebay, you will need to make an extra $1000 per month you spend selling otherwise you are going backwards (based on your post).

 

[BillK]

You could probably start with a list in the classifieds here on Garage Journal. E-bay is pretty easy but hit or miss on large stuff that is hard to ship. I pretty much figure that between E-bay and Pay-Pal it costs me about 10% on everything I sell. I have never had much luck with Craigslist, seems to be nothing but price shoppers.

Hope this helps,

 

[Strouty]

look for local auctioneers, this is the "spring auction" timeframe. We have one in a couple of weeks. They take 20% for items under $100, then 15% up to $500, after that it goes to 10%. That is what my local auctioneer charges, yours will vary, hopefully cheaper. The spring auction is by far the best one in the northeastern areas. Everyone is itching to buy since winter is over. If you have enough stuff the auctioneer may come to you, but it would have to be a lot of stuff.

 

[Krash Kadillak]

I'd start with a huge 'garage sale', advertised in your local paper and CL. Sounds like you have enough stuff to hold it over 2 weekends. I wouldn't discount stuff too much at first.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

Start here with some listings. I am in RI too and always buy from members before eBay or CL. Even with eBay there's a lot of leg work involved with pics, fees, and shipping. CL might be the best since its free. I have never contracted an auction house to sell stuff so I am blind to the fees involved with that, but they attract buyers with deep pockets.

 

[turbodave]

We went through this with my Uncle's shop a few years ago. I started out listing stuff on Craigslist, and it worked ok for bigger items, but when it came time to sell the bulk of the smaller stuff it was too much to manage on craigslist for someone who works all day (me). We ended up doing an online auction through a local auction company, their site gets lots of traffic and almost everything sold. Most of the prices were good, some things above market value and some below, but overall we were happy with the results. I would see if there are any local auction houses that do anything similar.

 

[wnstwolf]

Garagewarrior,

Sorry to hear of your situation. As a native from RI the auction is the best route for fast turnover but your at the mercy of who shows up. The folks from CT and those from RI with cash in pocket. I have been to a few auctions and some are over the top out of control with guys not knowing what they are buying (that is good for you) and I have been to some where there was poor turnout and I scored cheap good stuff (bad for you)

As others mentioned the other avenues may reward you for your hard work and patience but could take a long time.

I am up in Maine now but let us know if you go auction route.. Well not all of us just a PM.. Good for me ;-)

Good luck I may be in your same boat due to move myself...

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

If you do decide to have a live auction. Attend a few auctions and compare auctioneers. Pay attention to their advertising and sales methods, Also watch the bidders (good auctioneers will have a loyal following of customers). Most auctioneers have some specialties that they are most knowledgable about, (antiques, farm, tools, coins, jewelry, guns household). They know when to work for a higher bid and when to take $1 and move on.
Any auctioneer will get rid of your stuff, a good auctioneer will get you closer to top dollar.

 

[Garage Dog]

It sounds like you have some pretty nice stuff. First I would list some of the equipment here and give a fellow GJ'r a shot at it.

I would also try Craigs List for the more expensive stuff and maybe have a "moving sale" for the smaller stuff.

Craigs List
Sure, their are price hunters on CL, but there are also people searching for equipment they need or want and are willing to pay a fair price for. Just be clear in your ad that you are not desperate and will not consider low ball offers. CL is free and there is no harm in trying it first - I have sold things on CL ranging in price from $100 to over $200K and think I have done quite well considering the other options.

FWIW - my personal experience has been that I eliminated 90% of the low-ballers and time wasters after I stopped giving them the choice of replying with an email - I only give them my cell.

Auctions
The problem with auctions it that it all depends on who shows up on a given day or is watching the auction if you do it on-line. Personally I wouldn't want to be the seller and have an auction on a "off-day", letting the stuff go for 10 cents on the dollar.

Ebay
I haven't sold much on ebay, but you can put a reserve on smaller items that can be shipped. Lots of people look on ebay.


Just one opinion,

GD

 

[nehog]

Some years ago I liquidated my (ex) son-in-law's lawn care business. I did it yard sale style, put an ad in the paper the week before the sale. I included a 'fixed prices until 9 AM' to handle the early birds, priced things just high enough that I could discount and still get a reasonable price for the stuff (money was needed to pay off creditors.)

In the end I think that was the best way to do it. I had hundreds of people come by, and sold virtually everything. I ended up buying the trailer for myself (I wanted it anyway, and a few other left overs no one wanted, but virtually everything sold at a reasonable price.)

FWIW, if my health doesn't stop deteriorating I'm going to start selling my stuff too...

 

[Fueler]

What leafless said.
When my dad passed I looked at all those options and chose the auction route. I spent 2 weeks going through, cleaning, sorting and putting things together that would bring the best price. Even labeled a few things so there was no confusion on what the item was. When I was done I transported it all to his auction house. Inside auctions guarantees a sale versus the weather. That plus I thought there was not near enough parking to attract a good crowd for an outdoor auction.

The auctioneer was impressed since he usually gets just boxes of unsorted stuff. I don't know the payoff but Mom was pleased. She said the Auctioneer cut her some slack since it was less pre-work for him. I didn't go since it would have made me nuts.

One thing I will do if I ever do another auction is spend a little money of my own on advertising. The auctioneer usually only prints one ad in the local paper and that's it, 1 week ahead of time.
IF you have specialty stuff you may want to put a little ad in the appropriate places and also repeat it a couple of days before the day of the sale.

I think if you go garage sale or craigslist you will just get pissed off. Ebay takes too long and gets higher fees than an auctioneer most of the time.
An auction after all the prep work is done is over within a day and you get a check a couple of days later.

 

[Ajustable]

I'd did the farm auction thing, I had farm tractors and equipment. But a whole mess of stuff I referred to as collectables, Tools, compressors, scrapemetal, old parts from machines that were looking for a re-purpose, etc. But in realty it was just stuff. I never wanted to throw out. It took me three weeks to sort out and spread out. Then I snapped pics of it all and did an ad on Craiglist, with a link to photo bucket. Put a sign out on the road to let every one know the sale date. The auctioneer ran ads too.
Like with everything, lost on some stuff, made out like a bandit on others. If I had tried to sell the stuff craiglist style I would still be at it. Or giving it away.

I'm tempted to say do a garage sale, get a feel for what people are willing to pay. If it works well you may do alright. Its just a day or two hanging out. Then again if you sell allot You wont have enough for an auction. Some one may come along and buy the whole lot off you, the word will get out there.

The auction is the fastest, Craiglist, dealing with lots of people. Ebay is Like Christmas, you still have to wrap the stuff.

Pick your poison, and go for it. Selling a life's collection of anything is tough personally, I feel for you. Good Luck!!!

 

[Zeke]

Send it all to SoCal. Prices are insanely high here. A well attended (advertised) auction will bring $$$$$. Do attend a couple of auctions ahead of time. Those guys are pretty sneaky with their shills and other tricks. You need to know the lay of the land so some of your stuff doesn't get purposely undersold. I know that a 'shill' bids w/o the intention of buying but I can't find a word for the type of short selling to insiders that this auctioneer did:

I went to a restaurant auction for a steak house going out of business. The auctioneer would spend 5 minutes on a lot containing glasses and then sold the whole automatic liquor dispensing machine in less than 30 seconds. Being as how I didn't see the buyer I'm sure it was sold to an insider. I mean it was a several thou$and dollar item that went too quickly for 500.

Selling with no reserve seems to be the way to get bidders to play.

 

[GarageWarrior]

Thanks for the replies guys! Wnstwolf - I'll send you a PM if I do go the auction route, but if things get too crazy this summer I might forget, so don't get mad lol, I'll try to remember.

Strouty - I'd estimate about $10K (in "craigslist" resale) worth of stuff that is a combination of fairly new and inexpensive woodworking/ metalworking/ auto and household/construction tools (think home depot/sears/grizzly/harbor freight), and some older industrial equipment. I'll need to figure out what to sell, so there might end up only being $5K worth of stuff actually for sale ...is that something that many auctioneers would be interested in taking on? I'd imagine half-day in prep-work for auctioneer to get familiar with items and another half-day to run the auction.

Fueler - Bringing my stuff to an auction is something I haven't thought off, but sounds like a good idea for handheld tools/benchtop tools that could be boxed-up and hauled to an auction site in a box-truck in one run. For bigger things like car lift, pallet racking, forklift, hotsy, benches, toolboxes, cabinets, Genie type material lift, floor-standing machinery (sandblaster, hydraulic press, metal bandsaw, wood saws, dust collector, etc) - I think it needs to be sold on-site. It would take a lot of work in paletizing, rigging, strapping and bracing to get everything loaded, and I'd either have to rent a trailer and make a dozen runs back and forth or hire a 53 foot dry van...

BTW - my situation - I'm currently house-shopping in a downtown area, so most places either have a small garage, or no garage at all and questionable basements with stone walls, water leaks and restricted access. And proximity to neighbors also would preclude heavy duty painting/sandblasting/grinding/welding/fab work, with their obnoxious fumes, dust, noise and over-spray, etc. Plus I'm considering multi-family properties or subletting to cut down on housing cost... so basically the work I could do would be very restricted compared to what I can do now (industrial zoned, 3-phase, 15' ceilings, overhead bay doors etc).

I have till the end of summer to figure out what to do. I'd probably want to keep SOME tools ...but really need to take a good hard look at what's PRACTICAL to do myself, and where it would be more cost effective to hire pros. Problem with doing my own work is that my labor rate is not cheap, I don't always have the proper knowledge/experience/skills and I work slow. Problem with pros is that sometimes they do shabby work, want to much money for easy jobs, and suggest unnecessary expensive repairs just to make more money. And for smaller jobs it's the convenience of spending an hour to do a brakes job vs. waiting at the repair shop/asking people for rides ... still not sure what to do ...not an easy decision.

 

[Bosque]

I would inventory everything - with or without pictures, but at least description on a list.
Then you need to set a price for every item. Write the asking price or the rock bottom price, Or both onto your list. This way you can ask for the price for everything and if the person asking seems nice enough you can then give them the bottom price and reduce the haggling to 1 step and its take it or leave it. This saves you time but still you get a decent price.
Get that complete and then price each item and post here - craigslist- local paper - Possibly post a couple simple things on ebay and list the rest that you are getting ready to sell - I am not sure if this is against the rules though.
For valuable small items ebay doesn't seem like a bad idea but only if you aren't getting any interest locally and it will be worth it to ship.
As far as auctions go I would highly avoid holding one at your location. You will get a couple people to show and not get anything what stuff is worth. A lot of time its just scrappers. The idea to take your stuff to an auction house is a pretty good idea and seems like the best thing to do in a couple months when you are running out of time.

 

[Ross/Kzoo]

A word of caution about the auction route.I had a good acquaintance with an auctioneer and he told me that you really need to trust the auctioneer. One thing that they would do during the auction is right the number and the sold price on bits of paper maybe 10 things to the page. At the end of the auction people were asking " what about the sterling silver set"? They would go through the slips of paper and some of the slips would come up" missing". He said this happens quite often. Other times they would mix their unsold items with the owner's items. It was basically a big shell game.

I would try bundling some of the items together and put them on eBay or craigslist.

 

[Zeke]

Bringing in 'extra' inventory is common and probably written into the agreement. I don't know about the written agreement for sure as I've never signed an auction contract. But I sure have seen items show up that were not at the site before when I knew something about the sale. There probably isn't much harm in bulking up the sale. At least is fills out the day.

 

[Ross/Kzoo]

Bringing in 'extra' inventory is common and probably written into the agreement. I don't know about the written agreement for sure as I've never signed an auction contract. But I sure have seen items show up that were not at the site before when I knew something about the sale. There probably isn't much harm in bulking up the sale. At least is fills out the day.

That's exactly how they muddy the waters. You say "what happened to crib sheets 37,38,56 and 63"? The auctioneer says "that was my stuff for sale in this auction". Creates confusion.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Please put your list here first....

 

[byoungblood]

I'd start with a huge 'garage sale', advertised in your local paper and CL. Sounds like you have enough stuff to hold it over 2 weekends. I wouldn't discount stuff too much at first.

This is the way I'd go too. We did that with my grandfather's shop, and I've been to a couple of them around here the past couple of years. As long as you are open to entertaining reasonable offers, and advertise enough, you will probably be rid of most of the large stuff after a weekend. If you make it clear that you are selling some good quality tools, and it isn't primarily a cleaning out the house sale with a few random tools in the corner type sale, you won't have a hard time attracting the local male population.

I would steer clear of most of the professional estate sale companies. Most want too much up front, plus the 20-30 percent on the back end. About the only advantage is their advertising, and that you don't have to fool with the set up and take down of the sale itself. If there is anything left over that you consider junk, you're likely better off just paying someone to haul it off.

 

[-Brent-]

I hate the gouging the online auctions (read eBay) get.

I'd continue with craigslist and also post in The Bargain News. I think you'll have some good luck with that.

I do agree that you'll get a bunch of foot traffic if you host an auction but some stuff will go for less than you'd expect/want.

 

[dumper]

well, your post heading, "liquidating workshop" got over 22 responses and almost 1000 views in 24 hours here. That should give you an idea.

 

[MN4x4]

First, forget ebay. Too much hassle and way too much risk.

Second, as NEHOG said try the local sale method yourself. Be sure you know what you will ACTUALLY take for something then stick to it. Let people know that anything left over will go to auction.

And shop around for auction costs, since they can vary widely.

BTW, plan to spend WAYYYYY more time getting ready for this than you thought you would. If you do your research and know your stuff you could get top dollar for most of it. The tail-draggers will give up and leave quickly once they realize that you know what stuff is worth and it's not a 'fire' sale, leaving the 'real' buyers.

 

[deter]

have a sale. get a few people to help. mark the big things with price tags, put the rest on $1 tables, $10 tables, etc. put up signs and make it known that you will negotiate. say, hey if you buy 4 $10 things off that table, get another free. once it catches on, their friends with call their friends, etc. I've done it this way. I even got one guy filling his truck to the brim, going home to unload, and coming back again to fill it up.

one caveat to this method is that you won't be getting top dollar.

 

[McFarmer]

An auctioneer isn't going to be happy just selling the stuff you can't get rid of, unless you have a local house where folks bring everything in and three or four sales are done in one afternoon.

 

[nolimits76]

I've really been turned off by eBay the last few years. Between eBay and PayPal, fees have gotten out of control in my opinion. Plus many things in a garage you may not want to hassle with shipping. Not to mention it seems like I get quite a few flakes not paying or responding to winning auctions.

Getting good pictures is critical for online forums, Craigslist or eBay. Unfortunately, it takes a little bit of time, but I've found many times it's time well invested as it also helps you organize and inventory the items you want to sell.

For items that you are willing to ship, I would list here first. Once you hit a stale point, I would then have an "estate sale" of your items. Just plan on spending a weekend opening the doors and liquidating the place out yourself. Employ the help of your family and friends. Also, there are actual estate sale companies that will handle the process for you, but I'm not sure the charge.

 

[stingry]

Around here tool auctions usually are well attended and bring good money BUT don't think that you can sell off the choice items and then get top dollar for the **** that is left! You need the choice items as a draw for the sale. As said above, take care to select a good auction company that you can trust and let them handle the sale. Your stuff will be gone in one day and you will get a check for the proceeds.

Good Luck
Steve

 

[GarageWarrior]

Thanks guys! Seems like lot of uncertainty with auctions. Think I'll clear out big/bulky and high-value stuff on craigslist/ebay for now. And misc **** will get bundled in to pallet-sized loads and let go for cheap or disposed.

Last year I sold a pallet of car parts (new and used) - went for about 1/3 of what it would have gone separately, but somebody came and picked it up in one shot. Had another pallet of misc junk that I gave away (outboard parts, washer/dryer parts, electric motors, water pumps, scooter part) - too much hassle trying to list separately, not sure if hauling it off to scrap yard would have been worth it...

 

[gyromike]

I have had good luck with Ebay recently on smaller items that that I ship through USPS.

I photograph and pack the item for shipping before the ad goes active (sometimes including a picture of the box showing the packing), and have it sitting on the shelf. I make the description as accurate as possible and show any flaws. I have gotten good feedback on that alone.

When the winner makes a payment, I create and pay for the label thru Ebay, stick it on the box, and just drop it off at the post office the next morning. Tracking numbers are automatically generated and posted on the listing for the buyer to see.

I always start out with a very low starting bid, like $0.99, and watch the bids roll in. I have even sold a couple of used items for more than a new one would cost! Gotta love auction fever!

The prices I have gotten have more than made up for the fees, and I set my shipping prices as close to actual as possible plus a couple bucks for packing material.

I don't have to deal with flaky no-show buyers, tire kickers, or people who want to trade off some of their junk.

They bid, they win, they pay, I ship.

Of course I'm not dealing with liquidating a whole shop full of stuff like the OP, but I have some larger items to get rid of that would be a pain to ship, so I'll probably have to use Craigslist, or the local swap shop on Facebook.

 

[gjz30075]

Another way that hasn't been mentioned is an estate sale. Find someone familiar with this kind of merchandise. Downside is their take is about 33% and prices are usually expected to be lower than the other routes. You'll get rid of stuff quick, though!

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

I buy a few hundred dollars worth of stuff each month on cyberauctions.com, a local industrial / clearance online auction seller. They don't ship stuff, so it's only locals and there's no live auction. Online bids only. You can sell anything- even jumbles of old screwdrivers if you put them in a bin and let it go for cheap enough. I'm sure there is something similar in your area. You show up with your load of stuff, let the auction house check it in, and you're done. They'll do all the listings, descriptions, etc. Sure it costs 15%, but you get some good value for that too.

Second option would be an estate sale. Like a garage sale, but managed by a company that comes in, inventories and photographs the stuff, then promotes it in estatesales.net or similar. People that monitor those will be advised of the sale coming up with preview pictures so they know exactly what is being sold. You can get a lot of garage fanatics showing up for those!

 

[rayday]

I am in exact same place in my life now I told all my buddys I was selling out and made them good deals with the stipulation they owe me a favor if I ever need the use of the stuff again! Rest of it mainly car parts and unfinished projects I put on Craigslist it was alittle bit of a pia as most people are retarded and a few noshows

 

[Tbirdtc]

I recently moved from my shop of 20 years I made $ on my tire machine and air compressor sold shop press for 10$ less than I paid on cl
I'd try cl for big items first
I see 30$ c man pry bars on eBay for 99$ I'd do ebay for shippable then put the rest on eBay auction starting low for stuff that won't sell u may be surprised how much old is worth

 

[Tbirdtc]

Btw if u don't do scrap ever or often take lil bits in get a feel of how to sort ud be surprised how valuable scrap is I recently scraped 10 2 post lifts well used 5 worked I got more in scrap than I coulda sold the 5 I could have gotten 7 or 8 working but 3 had broken chains and most had locks welded open I didn't want a flattened Mexican on my concionse even tho I tried to sell them first I had people asking can I use it till I fix it that's when I'd tell them to leave I knew the age n start to see chains break IMO they all need chains due to age and people want to use them w worn chains and no locks no f ing sence w people nowAdays

 

[AnthonyJ124]

Whatever you do, let me know! I'm only an hour away and I'm always looking for new tools/equipment.