SO KR660/550 value?

[firebox40dash5]

So I've got an "opportunity" to buy a Snap On KR660/550B/288 combo from a family member. Long story I won't bore you with, but it's been in their garage and they want it to no longer be in their garage. Trouble is, I'm not really interested in it for myself, but am being asked to help it go away.

I'm looking at probably offering either cash, or to haul it to work and sell it on consignment. But, I don't really have much of any clue what it's worth. There's not much out there, I did find one sold one here that was asking $900, and a few pie-in-the-sky CL sellers asking well over a grand. My Snappy driver says I could get $2k "easy" for it... but he also has a box he's been trying to sell sitting in our shop for over a year because he's asking way too much. That pretty much only served to tell me how much I CAN'T get for it.

It's in OK shape, not great, not beat to piss. You can see the bent in part of the lower lip of the 288, and there's some paint chips & surface rust throughout. Oh, and it's chock full of absolutely nothing worthwhile that I have to clean out and get rid of. So I ask, what would you consider a really good deal for this combo? Like one you'd pick up the phone and pack the truck to go get? If I'm forking out cash, I can't afford to sit on it for more than a few weeks, it's gotta go... so I'm leaning more toward consignment. Also, am I likely to have better luck selling the set, or selling the top and side separately?

Also, not a for sale ad, but if you want it, say so. I'll help ya out. It's just outside the Baltimore beltway, north side.

 

[Davefr]

Spend a couple hours with some automotive polish and a bottle of SO touch up paint and you should get $1200-1500 easy. Those older KR's are great boxes!!

The bent lip on the 288 can be straightened with a couple 2X4's and a few clamps.

That size box will also appeal to DIY'ers and Homeowners which makes it a much easier sell since your market isn't just professional techs.

Sell it as a set.

 

[zkling]

That is a good size setup, those are good quality boxes.

Probably looking at ~$1000 for a quick sale on craigslist or the like. That is if all the drawers work good and no large rust patches. Could possibly get $1500 or greater if polished up and patient.

If you wanted the most money for it, probably would be best to take off the side box and put it on ebay, then sell the top and bottom as a set on craigslist.

What is the background story on the box? Your relationship with your family will probably dictate the price for you. Inside the family I would say ~$400-$800. Depending on condition, back story and personal relationship with them.

I too have seen the snap on drivers give some ridiculous appraisals on used boxes.

 

[firebox40dash5]

As far as the family relation, let's just say it involves the words in-law, cousin, dad, and son. I haven't seen the owner since I was a kid, and hadn't seen his parents (whose garage it's in) in about 15 years.

I'm not really looking to put much effort into making it pretty to get a few hundred more, I don't have the time, equipment or interest... I'm pretty much looking at flipping (or consigning) it as a favor, without losing my shirt in the process. Zkling's guesstimate is on the low side of what I had in mind. I just can't afford to lay out some money, and then find out I'm not going to make it back without investing more time/energy/money in it.

 

[zkling]

What do you think the initial invest price would be for you?
What did you plan on selling it for?

I am not saying that you can't get $2000 out of it, I just think it is going to be rather difficult and time consuming. For top dollar you would want. Everything to be clean and free sliding. Rust cleaned, paint cleaned and slightly polished. Clean drawer liners (a big selling point), the keys and the casters freshly lubed / well working.

Here is how I look at it. You basically have two markets, the professional or entry level tech and the home mechanic / diy guy. Most diy guys aren't really looking to spend much over $1500 for a used box. And usually if they are, they can afford a new box at a few times that cost.

For the budding professional, it seems that most pros these days prefer the lower box only and use the top as a work surface. They may then add a roll around cart, but rarely a large top box. Once you get into the $1400+ range you can find some nice, newer, all ball bearing lower boxes.

As many will attest to on this forum, trying to flip tools boxes is more of luck than a skill. There is not much more time consuming than cleaning and fixing up a tool box.

"Not sit on it a few weeks". Usually in order to sell something fast it has to be priced to move. On my local CL I see the bigger (~$750 and up) boxes sit for weeks at a time. Not saying that they are a bad deal, but that is quite a bit of cash for most people to come up with on a whim, unless they are specifically looking for that box, your audience is going to be quite limited.


P.S. Just quickly looking on your local CL. There are quite a few good deals on "better" boxes in the the $1400-2000 range. There are also some pretty funny sky high prices on the lower end boxes as well. Some guy has the same top box listed as yours, I sincerely doubt he will get much if anything north of $500, much less his full asking price. But I don't fully know the market in your area.

 

[Davefr]

I'm pretty much looking at flipping (or consigning) it as a favor, without losing my shirt in the process. Zkling's guesstimate is on the low side of what I had in mind.

If you want a quick easy flip then price it at $1200/OBO and then take an offer down to around $1000.

If you want top dollar it'll require time, effort and patience.

It's your choice.

 

[firebox40dash5]

If you want a quick easy flip then price it at $1200/OBO and then take an offer down to around $1000.

If you want top dollar it'll require time, effort and patience.

It's your choice.

That's about what I had in mind. I'm in the market for a decent, newer double bank Snap On myself, either KRL722 or KRL*022, so I know all too well that not much more than $1500 can get you a newer box, with a much better drawer configuration. It's exactly why I'm not interested in it myself- its only use to me is using the roller to store our cased tools, and I'm not willing to spend much for that. The whole point was kinda to find out what a compelling price would be, to figure out what to offer for it and leave myself a cushion to make a buck for my time, risk and work.

I have no doubt I could get close to $2,000, if I spent a bunch of time and money making it pretty, was willing to keep it for months or years waiting for a buyer, offered weekly payments, and oh yeah, had a Snap On truck, but I don't. Well, I actually DO have a Snap On truck at the moment, but that's another story. I can't afford to be sitting on the cash long, so I'm wanting to price it low and get it gone fast. They've had it for 15 years, so if they wanted top dollar, they could've posted it on CL a decade ago and waited for the right buyer.

 

[wornoutoldman]

I see $700 for the bottom, $300 for the top and $100 for the side. Priced for a quick sale. What about running a "Available Sunday Only" CL ad and brokering the deal without moving it? Split the proceeds with the inlaws. $550 for a couple hours of show and sell.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Old Italian saying, "Eat and drink with family, do business with strangers."

But, if you have to, offer them $400, and let them decide. Gotta make it worth your while.

Just my 2 pennies.

 

[firebox40dash5]

I see $700 for the bottom, $300 for the top and $100 for the side. Priced for a quick sale. What about running a "Available Sunday Only" CL ad and brokering the deal without moving it? Split the proceeds with the inlaws. $550 for a couple hours of show and sell.

Not even my inlaws, it's my dad's cousin's inlaw's, and their son.

They want nothing to do with it. They don't want to sell it, they don't want to keep it, they don't want to give it away. Hell, when I went to look at it, I pretty much turned down buying it, said I'd move it to my shop and store it for them to sell, and they didn't want that, either. And of course, if I did it there and just brokered a deal, they'd probably think I was screwing them going 50/50.

I'm honestly hoping they'll go for consignment. Probably going to offer $500 cash, or consign it 70/30 with $300 minimum to me. In the event that doesn't do it, it can sit there until it does.

 

[zkling]

So basically they are just some folks you know. Relatives maybe, but not family, friends or pals.

I would just see what they wanted for it flat out. That way it would be yours to do what you like with. Don't bring up the selling it for profit or the like. Just be polite and see what they really want out of it.

From the way you describe it I can gather two things.

1.) It is going to be a big pain in the rear, and probably not worth the time unless you needed the box yourself.

2.) It doesn't sound like they really want to sell it, otherwise they wouldn't have kept it for all these years. Not sure if they still use it, have an emotional attachment to it, or think it is worth a good chunk of change. Usually when someone really doesn't want something anymore they make a effort to get rid if it in a somewhat timely fashion.

Just go in and keep the $1000 sell point in the back of your mind. If you want a minimum of $300 profit then you are looking at ~$600 to purchase it from them. Yes you COULD PROBABLY get more than $1000 for it, but you don't want to put much effort into it and you don't want to have it sit very long. Therefore $1000 is probably realistic.

Always remember, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

 

[firebox40dash5]

They have no idea what they want out of it. It's their son's, he left it there when he moved years ago. I don't really know what's up with them approving something vs. asking him, and I don't want to get involved in that. If it were me, I store it for you for 15 years, I'll take what's offered, and you can be grateful I pass it on to you rather than calling it storage fees, but whatever. As far as what the actual owner wants, well, I don't really care. He left it there, they want it gone, if he wants more he can deal with selling it himself, but he won't. They seem to be in a hustle to get it moved, but not willing to do anything to make that happen.

Whatever, I offer what I offer, they can take it and I load it on the trailer, or it can sit. Snot my problem.