pceoption Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 Hello to all fellow woodworking enthusiats, My father passed away 10 years ago and my mother has just now been able to open his woodworking shed and start to go through his tools. Unfortunately, we are needing to move (downsize) and are unable to take his tools with us. This, however, leaves us with a dilema, how and to whom do we sell his tools? We live in Orange County, California and are looking for an individual tool broker or someone who has the knowledge to sell the tools (the whole lot) and would be paid a commission. Does this type of person exist? Most of my dads tool brands are Craftsman, Delta, Porter Cable and Makita. He has a stainless steel table saw, drill press, router, planer, complete saw dust collection system, various sized clamps, and many other smaller tools. Please let me know the best way to approach the selling of the tools as we are in the process of selling the house and will need to move soon. Thank you everyone for your opinions and advice. pceoptions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBaker Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 If you can't find a tool broker in your area, you might try contacting auctioneers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 This is a tough one.. How to recommend someone you don't know from several states away that won't take these people to the cleaners? Just a weird thought, what if your insurance company was going to insure this stuff? What would they value it at? At the end of the day, your going to have to find someone credible to give you an accurate value. Once you know what it's worth, then you can decide what you'll take for it. I wish you the best of luck in finding that right person to give you credible information to act on. You may just have to catalog the items, roll up your sleeves, and do the internet research to find street prices for these items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-astragal Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 List them on eBay. That is the quickest way to sell them and discover the fair price. I sell and buy all the time on eBay and I've found it to be consistent. You might and I mean might get 15% more if you can find the right person at the right time. At least look at sold listings of items similar to yours to help you figure it out. Good luck. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikem Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 I had a co-worker recently approach me on the same subject. I ended up offering (though they went another route) to go and help establish values as best I could on the tools they had, and gave them some guidelines on what to look out for. The part that bothers me with going through a broker or auction house is you are probably not going to get close to what the tools are worth. My offer for them was to help out establish fair prices at a point that would sell quickly. With a few good ads on craigslist, it will not take long to sell those tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 If you're willing to wait until a buyer shows up in your area who wants that used tool at a fair price, you'll get a good price. If you need to sell now, you'll probably get less. If you want to sell it all to a dealer on spec, for him or her to hold until a buyer shows up, you'll get even less. I agree with all of the above posts. Selling the tools individually on Craigslist for a fair price will get you more than if you auction them off individually on Ebay, and that will get you more than handing the whole lot off to an auction house or other "service". Since you said that you just want someone to come and take them off your hands and deal with it for you, I'd suggest an auction house. If you know an estate lawyer, he or she can probably recommend an auction house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauchen67 Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 I live in OC, CA as well and as I do not know of any tool brokers like you are talking about except maybe someone that does estate sales, but I don't think that would work. I might be able to help take some of those tools off your hands if you are willing to sell some of them individually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pceoption Posted September 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 I live in OC, CA as well and as I do not know of any tool brokers like you are talking about except maybe someone that does estate sales, but I don't think that would work. I might be able to help take some of those tools off your hands if you are willing to sell some of them individually. We are definitely interested in selling as many tools as possible. Please email at pceoption@gmail.com for further information. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pceoption Posted September 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 Thank you all for the wonderful information and advice. I appreciate your input on this difficult subject for mom and I. I will try Craiglist and Ebay and see how I do. Much appreciation, pceoptions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhl.verona Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 Best of luck selling the tools. I had a similar problem, as I couldn't bring many of my father's tools to Italy with me. I was fortunate however, because when selling the house, some people offered less, but one accepted the price if I would leave him all the tools in the garage. Needless to say, he got the house! Might work for you too. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapid Roger Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 I had a similar problem a few years ago when a good friend passed away. We were very good friends and did wood working together. I helped his widow by marking and pricing his tools for her and we had a garage sale advertising it as "Woodworking Shop tools sale" in the local paper. We got almost half price for most of the larger items and 75% for almost new things and of course pennies on the dollar for well used items. He had a lot of friends and relatives that did not hesitate to pay good money for things knowing how he took care of them and for sentimental reasons as well. If your father had any friends that might be willing to help you out a bit that might work for you too. It took some time (about a week) for me to go through things but, we sold the large majority in one Saturday and gave away the rest to friends and relatives as they might want them. A bit faster than using the internet and there was no shipping problems involved either. Hope that helps. Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pceoption Posted September 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 Best of luck selling the tools. I had a similar problem, as I couldn't bring many of my father's tools to Italy with me. I was fortunate however, because when selling the house, some people offered less, but one accepted the price if I would leave him all the tools in the garage. Needless to say, he got the house! Might work for you too. John Hello John, I will speak to my real estate agent and see if this is a viable option as a selling point for the house. If it is than it is just a matter of finding the right buyer. Thank you for the idea. pceoptions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pceoption Posted September 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 I had a similar problem a few years ago when a good friend passed away. We were very good friends and did wood working together. I helped his widow by marking and pricing his tools for her and we had a garage sale advertising it as "Woodworking Shop tools sale" in the local paper. We got almost half price for most of the larger items and 75% for almost new things and of course pennies on the dollar for well used items. He had a lot of friends and relatives that did not hesitate to pay good money for things knowing how he took care of them and for sentimental reasons as well. If your father had any friends that might be willing to help you out a bit that might work for you too. It took some time (about a week) for me to go through things but, we sold the large majority in one Saturday and gave away the rest to friends and relatives as they might want them. A bit faster than using the internet and there was no shipping problems involved either. Hope that helps. Rog Hello Rog, Thank you for the idea. The problem we are having is finding someone (much like yourself) to help us price out the tools. Based on the advice I received earlier, I have been doing some research on prices and I have been able to find some prices through the internet. I will keep working on it and see what I can dig up. Thank you for your help and advice. pceoptions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missioninwood Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 If you list a few of the larger items on Craig's List you will sell everything in short time. Guys will walk in and say, "I'll give you $1,000 for everything." Overall, you are in a pickle and need to clear the shop. But you need some data to establish fair value so the buyer doesn't just take you to the cleaners, etc. Just do a little web research on the larger tools and calculate an estimated lot price. It would be helpful if someone knew the value of what was there. Some things you wouldn't consider could be VERY valuable. I have heard of similar situations where woodworkers walked into a garage to buy a few clamps and ended up buying a whole lot of equipment. It could work out for everyone involved. I am Southern California also. Drop me a line here if there is anything I can do to help. miw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco905 Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 hello my name is Mike the handyman and I definitely agree with most people craigslist is your best bet I sold lots of things for many years and the best experience was through Craigslist.. I use it everyday and I am very good at selling if you would like help selling your tools all you need to do is just send me a list of items,pictures of the items and I could take it from there you don't have to do nothing except sit back and collect the money if interested please contact me midacarpentry@gmail and we could discuss further Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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