Snap On tools

[ray h]

Yesterday one of my very best friends passed in his sleep. His wife wants me to help sell his tools. He has a lot of SO from what I'm guessing the 70's and 80's when he turned wrenches. No fancy boxes, just tools stuck everywhere. Some boxes of sets. I'm not a SO person. How best do I handle this. Is there a percentage of new price to mark stuff? I want to move stuff yet be fairly priced to both her and buyer. I've got no interest in this stuff. I'm 83 and this suddenly hit me aside the head on what to do with my junk. I'd appreciate suggestions. He lives in central Md.

 

[mreisner]

Depends on what the items are in the condition, something hold the value better than others but I would say start at 50% of retail and you can go down from there.

 

[cgrutt]

Oh man I'm sorry to hear that. Condolences to you and his family.

Snap-on generally retains good value but it all depends on what it is, what condition it's in, whether full sets or just random pieces, whether there are any owner marks etc. I'd say 30 - 50% of retail is not unreasonable. Need to decide how much time and effort you want to put into this. Bulk sale will get much less than being sold individually but takes much less time and effort. Maybe there is a young neighbor or family member who can sort through it, clean it up if needed and post on eBay that would likely get best return and you can give a % to person who does the work. Facebook market place for quick sale if you just want to move it. Or maybe donate to local school or veterans association. You can also post here I've personally had mixed results. Maybe post a few pics and we can at least give you a better idea as far as potential value. Good luck.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you want to sell any of it here, please use the Classified Section.

 

[Sweetcorn]

I'm sorry to hear about your friend.

As far as selling the tools goes, I'd look into having an auction, specifically one with online bidding.

 

[ecotec]

I'm sorry to hear about your friend.

As far as selling the tools goes, I'd look into having an auction, specifically one with online bidding.

I agree. Your best chance of getting a lot for Snap-on is to separate the Snap-on into sets and list the sets separately.

 

[Raineman]

Yesterday one of my very best friends passed in his sleep. His wife wants me to help sell his tools. He has a lot of SO from what I'm guessing the 70's and 80's when he turned wrenches. No fancy boxes, just tools stuck everywhere. Some boxes of sets. I'm not a SO person. How best do I handle this. Is there a percentage of new price to mark stuff? I want to move stuff yet be fairly priced to both her and buyer. I've got no interest in this stuff. I'm 83 and this suddenly hit me aside the head on what to do with my junk. I'd appreciate suggestions. He lives in central Md.

What area of central Md? There are more than a few of us Snap on junkies in the area.

 

[ray h]

What area of central Md? There are more than a few of us Snap on junkies Frederick

Mess the reply up , he was near Frederick

 

[MOS3522]

Sorry about your the loss of your friend.

There's going to be a big trade off on time vs. return. Selling the sets and tools individually will maximize $$$ yield but will take considerable time and effort. You'll have to figure out the right balance.

 

[milkovich]

Sorry about your the loss of your friend.

There's going to be a big trade off on time vs. return. Selling the sets and tools individually will maximize $$$ yield but will take considerable time and effort. You'll have to figure out the right balance.

This is the unfortunate truth. If you do a consignment auction, the auction house is going to spend as little effort as possible. If you sell as a whole collection, you'll get pennies on the dollar. The highest return will be to list the part numbers individually or in small sets on ebay, but if you're not an avid ebay seller, the fees, time, and shipping will really beat you up. I would try to put the sockets together, wrenches together, sell those as sets, sell the ratchets separately, that kind of thing. Use some part numbers kit numbers and make sure you put "Snap-on" in the title.

 

[woody 73]

sorry about the loss of your good friend, i am also not get any younger. When I go to buy snap on tools I shoot for 50% or less, as a good rule that is both fair to both the buyer and seller.

air tools are a little tricky, they might be beat to death or hardly used, more if not beaten to death and less if abused. Torque tools are a hit and a miss, because you have no idea if they were dropped from an airplane or not used very much, that what I call taking your chances, as most guys want a tool that was well taken care of.

 

[Sweetcorn]

This is the unfortunate truth. If you do a consignment auction, the auction house is going to spend as little effort as possible. If you sell as a whole collection, you'll get pennies on the dollar. The highest return will be to list the part numbers individually or in small sets on ebay, but if you're not an avid ebay seller, the fees, time, and shipping will really beat you up. I would try to put the sockets together, wrenches together, sell those as sets, sell the ratchets separately, that kind of thing. Use some part numbers kit numbers and make sure you put "Snap-on" in the title.

There are multiple auctioneers in "our" area that will take a entire collection/toolbox/whatever and separate out the items, list them individually with multiple photos, and have online bidding available.

I bought a 36" Snap On breaker bar from one last summer. Honestly, it was about the only reasonably priced thing in the auction I had interest in. Everything else sold too high. When I picked up the breaker bar I talked to the auctioneer a little bit (I halfway know him) and he told me they got about 4X what the guy wanted for his stuff. Everyone was happy.

I've bought from some other auctioneers who have set things up similarly as well, but never asked anyone or knew anyone to ask how they did.

Like anything else though, just have to find the right person or organization to do the work. There are plenty of lazy auctioneers out there as well. I could easily see someone get burned if they picked the wrong place.

 

[AEAdam]

Mmmmm.

He has a lot of SO from what I'm guessing the 70's and 80's when he turned wrenches. No fancy boxes, just tools stuck everywhere. Some boxes of sets.

70s 80s was a couple generations of tools ago. Please don’t start with 50% of retail.

If it were me, and it will be, I’d want my tools to go to someone who appreciated them and deserved a good deal, not a dealer/reseller looking to take advantage of my family to line his pockets.

One way to easily do that would be to post them here, as opposed to eBay or…

My advice (I’m personally disinterested because I have all I need) wrench set, socket set, pry set, set of hammers $50 each. Try to group things into sets and ask $50 for each. Ship USPS flat rate boxes. Anything that doesn’t fit sell locally.

 

[Roert42]

Another thing to keep in mind, not necessarily SO related.

If there are things in the collection that are obsolete due to the age of the technology. Bundling that with something of value is going to help move it.

Like specialty wrenches or pliers that were used on one brand of carburetor 40 years ago or a timing light. Bundle that together with a set of snap ring pliers.

Otherwise it'll set on ebay for a long time waiting for someone that wants a 40 year old timing light.

 

[Steve_P]

I think 50% of current list is going to be very tough to get on 50-year-old tools, especially when they were used professionally. The reality is that most will probably be inch size wrenches and sockets which have very little demand today. And the ratchets will be the old 30-something tooth designs. And it's probably all going to have lots of cosmetic wear. Sure, start at 50% but be prepared to drop the price weekly. Or hire an auction company, or similar.

I bought two SO pal nut internal sockets on Ebay a few years ago, look like they'd never been used, and I paid ~20% of the then list price (80% off list), including shipping- because who's looking to buy a pal nut socket today? Most people under 50 wouldn't know WTF it is if you showed it to them. When I buy new SO stuff on Ebay I usually try for at least 20% off list and have occasionally bought at 30% off or more.

Good luck with the sale and sorry to hear about your friend.

 

[ssjones]

I had to sell my father-in-Law's Snap-On, MAC and Chrysler tools when he passed a few years ago. (Hagerstown, MD)
I tried listing them on Facebook - that was a DISASTER! For every tool posted, I'd get 100 inquires, low ball etc.
I finally just deleted those ads, it wasn't worth the hassle.
I listed them on Facebook, the entire box brought about $2k. His were from the 50-s to 80's and well worn. New mechanics don't want worn tools I found.
Check ebay for listing values.
I tracked all income and expenses and divided the proceeds among four family members (includind my wife).
What I hadn't considered - at the end of the year, Ebay sent me a 1099, and I had to declare all the income on my tax return, which cost me a few hundred bucks.
I'd try listing them here first.

 

[d.mcfarland]

NOBODY is going to be able to tell anything unless some pictures are provided. And even then, it's still not 100% accurate. It's all just guessing.

 

[edofloat]

40-50 year old SO stuff isn’t worth 50% for the most part unless it looks nearly new and is not a ratchet. 36 tooth ratchets while good ratchets are not that desirable anymore and sell for much less than 72 tooth. The items in good usable condition and that are cosmetically decent that old are likely worth 1/3 +/-. I will admit that often people over pay for SO items, especially on eBay. Tools made in the last ten years that look nearly new can be had for half or less if you look some. I buy off Facebook market price and pawn shops and often get great deals on newer tools or nearly new. I usually look at the date codes on the tools before buying. I will not pay 50% for older tools, I will pay up to half on newer tools that look like they have little to no use.

 

[ray h]

Guys I really appreciate your suggestions. So much to consider. I know my buddy told her to have me help but with him out of the picture, members of the family may push her into another direction. I've always tried to avoid these situations but we were friends for 58 years so I have to try.

 

[Dig Doug]

Guys I really appreciate your suggestions. So much to consider. I know my buddy told her to have me help but with him out of the picture, members of the family may push her into another direction. I've always tried to avoid these situations but we were friends for 58 years so I have to try.

That is the tuff one !

Family gets involved then things go one sided and she potentially gets ripped off / taken advantage of, in her time of grief

if you can, get some pics and post em here for advice! Not for sale.

Very sorry for your loss ! 58 year friendships are Amazing! I bet there are some great stories in there….

 

[NUTTSGT]

Guys I really appreciate your suggestions. So much to consider. I know my buddy told her to have me help but with him out of the picture, members of the family may push her into another direction. I've always tried to avoid these situations but we were friends for 58 years so I have to try.

I would avoid getting in the middle of a family battle. It will NOT end well for you.

 

[M635_Guy]

I would avoid getting in the middle of a family battle. It will NOT end well for you.

Huge +1 to that. If the family declines your offer to help, it's best to exit and just say 'let me know if you change your mind'

This seems common enough that there has to be a specialty estate auction group that does stuff like this.

I agree with @AEAdam - logical groups at an easy price is probably the best simple way to get them to their next station while getting decent value for his wife/family.

 

[ray h]

Huge +1 to that. If the family declines your offer to help, it's best to exit and just say 'let me know if you change your mind'

This seems common enough that there has to be a specialty estate auction group that does stuff like this.

I agree with @AEAdam - logical groups at an easy price is probably the best simple way to get them to their next station while getting decent value for his wife/family.

Yes I planned to back out if family pressure came up. I was thinking last night a Vo Tech or High School donation too. Thought of helping a young guy starting out but afraid trying to find someone that will "actually" put them to use will be hard to determine. I had thought 25% to 30 % of list at first. I know he didn't have the latest testers etc. He did have SO tester for his Surburban and truck.

 

[Davefr]

I would offer advice to the family but I wouldn't sign up to do the liquidation for them.

Ask them if they want fast and easy or top dollar and lots of time and effort. (pick one)

If they want fast an easy have them take the tools to a pawn shop, auction house or sell the entire lot to a reseller on CL or Marketplace. (might be 20 cents on the dollar).

If they want top dollar then piece meal them out on Ebay. They might get double that but it'll take lot of time and hassle.

Just don't get sucked into doing it for them. Nothing is worse then getting involved in family squabbles after a death.