What would you do??

[volpster31]

My father in law is moving soon and he has to unload his entire 1 car garage full of tools. he literally has tons of power & hand tools..ill be making an offer to him on a lot of older craftsman ratchets & wrenches,but the list is really long on what he has..i offered to help him sell all of this and i have to decide whats the best & cheapest way to do this..i can

1. sell all the hand tools & smaller power tools on ebay

2. have a garage,tool sale

3. a tool auction

what would you do and why? i will definately be letting everyone here know when this goes down

 

[henry29]

Why not list them for sale on here?

 

[Exceller8]

I would do tool lots on Craig's list. That way people can search by phone number to checkout your listings of tools. Search by phone number is the way I buy some great tools on CL.

 

[McFarmer]

See if an auctioneer has another sale nearby you could piggy-back on. They like to combine two smaller sales.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I'd tell him you want your inheritance now and take them all.

 

[Chaznsc]

A picture of what he has might help put this into perspective. That said, I'd craigslist it but I'm good at that. I've built my war chest of tools from bartering, selling and reselling of tools. So it really depends on several variables; TIME, SPACE, COMMITMENT, INTEREST of those involved.

 

[justanengineer]

No disrespect intended, but is selling all of it really necessary? If its only a single car garage, couldnt he just rent a small U-haul or borrow a pickup and take it with him?

If he absolutely must sell it, I'd suggest ebay or craigs. IME theyre by far the two places where buyers pay the most.

 

[BD1]

Why not just take them with ??? How far is he moving ??? Is he that old or incapacitated that he won't use them ?? I would trade him his daughter for the tools.

 

[Mike Miller]

Auctioneer yes.
Ebay, maybe.
Craigs list for a large lot of tools, no.

 

[volpster31]

Why not just take them with ??? How far is he moving ??? Is he that old or incapacitated that he won't use them ?? I would trade him his daughter for the tools.

the issue is that he & my mother in law are scaling down & may be moving to a condo or a place with NO garage...granted this is a 1 car garage and is probobally nothing compared to what a lot of us have on here,but its packed with stuff an its even hanging from the ceiling...ill try to get a pic in the next few days............

 

[x133]

I'll be watching on here for when you have a sale, I'm in NJ and can always use some more tools!

That said, classifieds here, classifieds on the HAMB and local garage sale are all viable.

CL in the area is bad for big lots of tools, but post up a few of the larger items with prices and then say you have a ton more and are willing to negotiate, usually good for a few phone calls.

 

[stingry]

My father in law is moving soon and he has to unload his entire 1 car garage full of tools. he literally has tons of power & hand tools..ill be making an offer to him on a lot of older craftsman ratchets & wrenches,but the list is really long on what he has..i offered to help him sell all of this and i have to decide whats the best & cheapest way to do this..i can

1. sell all the hand tools & smaller power tools on ebay

2. have a garage,tool sale

3. a tool auction
what would you do and why? i will definately be letting everyone here know when this goes down

Around here tool auctions generally bring good money, some things selling for near new prices. Sell everything, good and bad. Don't sell off the good stuff and then expect the rest to bring top dollar at an auction. You need the good stuff to draw the crowd.

Good Luck
Steve

 

[nehog]

Around here tool auctions generally bring good money, some things selling for near new prices. Sell everything, good and bad. Don't sell off the good stuff and then expect the rest to bring top dollar at an auction. You need the good stuff to draw the crowd.

Good Luck
Steve

The down side is that the auctioneer takes his cut, off the top, typically about 40%. I'd absolutely want someone who has experience selling tools and equipment. Ask how he'll advertise the auction, what he will do to get buyers to come and bid. How will he auction them--a few big lots with another unrelated auction where buyers won't bid much, or smaller lots of sets where your items are the key items in the auction?