Suggestions on trying to sell toolbox

[Dstosh]

I have a fairly large tool collection. Closed my business and don't really need the tools I have now... Didn't need them then-Really don't need them now. Is it even worth trying to sell the box and tools as one or is it a lost cause? How would I even determine what it is worth? 20 percent of retail?

Thanks

 

[kblazer87]

Where are you located?

You will have a much harder time selling as a complete set unless it is priced low.

You will definitely maximize your dollar amount selling individually, but also maximize the amount of work it takes to sell them.
The quickest way to sell them is at auction. If done at a reputable auction house and the auction is well publicized then the return should be quite good, though you will lose a percentage to the auctioneers. This route could be a bit of a gamble. I have been to auctions where the tools were selling for well below used and was able to buy quite a lot for very good prices and I have been to sales that the tools went for at or above what the tools usually sold for on the used market locally.
Your location could make a difference in that as well. I buy and sell as a hobby and sometimes it is harder to sell than at other times.

As for the value you will need to determine what they are new, what the tools typically sell for used and most importantly, what you are willing to let them go for. Uncommon or rare tools sell well and at a much higher percentage of new than most common sets or tools. Of course the newer they are the better they will sell too.

 

[LXCam]

Just whatever you do unless you want to just give it away don't sell it here. Some of these guys are flipping brutal. haha

Good luck bud.

 

[BFBOB]

Your first step is determining realistic value. eBay is great for researching this. In the Advanced Search, look up Sold Items that match yours. That'll give you an idea what to expect. It's also current, since it only searches back 90 days or so. Then you have to decide how much time you want to devote to the disposal. eBay may be your highest return, but anything that involves shipping will eat up a lot of your time.

I've sold quite a few tools and other stuff on eBay, and some here, over several years, but when it came to selling a whole houseful, I left that to the pros.

 

[rsanter]

Quality tools are worth from 20% to 60% of their new price depending on condition and popularity.
A small toolbox and a small set of tools is best to sell together. A larger box and large quantity of tools will sell better breaking it up.

Ebay can be a great place to sell them but you need several people wanting it for the bidding to go up. If you ebay them I would recomend you do the fixed price auction. Price it a little more than you would take for it and use the offers option. Set the period to 30 days

And I think you should do a couple of classifieds here regardless of what was said. If you don't like the members offer, just say no thanks

Bob

Bob

 

[BMack37]

If you have the space and time, sell individually in small sets. Have LOTS of pictures. I see "Selling entire tool collection" all the time on craigslist, I'm not driving an hour to see what could and most of the time is junk. If you include pictures, I know what I'm going to look at and would probably make the drive and would bother with sending you a message. Obviously, some guys will make the drive...but I think I'm like most of your potential buyers, need pics or I'll just scroll past.

 

[martin666]

Agree 100% about using pictures, I scroll right past any ad that doesn't have pictures. Went on too many wasted trips in the past to even bother anymore

 

[Packard V8]

Break them down into sets and show closeups. Don't be like the craigslist numbnuts who just post a ten-foot-away shot of a drawer pulled half open and crappage piled so deep there's no way to make an educated guess as to what's there or as to condition.

jack vines

 

[straps57]

If selling as a set remember exactly what you said in this post. "Didn't need them then-Really don't need them now." People buying the whole set probably also don't need the whole set so the value of many of the tools to them is 0$ even though at some point you may have paid $200 for that specific tool. How much is your time worth to sell all the tools individually or in small sets? Are you ok with dealing with multiple people who want to low ball you on every item you try and sell individually?

 

[930dreamer]

Post up some pictures.