Can't get rid of my old parts

[YY1]

Rules of thumb for non-corporate selling:

1- do you have parts people want?
2- do you have them priced realistically?
3- can you communicate effectively?
4- can you tolerate "people" reasonably well, including "difficult" people?
5- do you know what venues work best for different items?
6- can you tolerate "Murphy's Law"?

I've done reasonably well selling, both car parts and various stuff on ebay and craigslist.

I even agreed to deliver a pair of wheels I had been trying to get rid of for years because it was on my way to my moms house, and they would be gone plus I would get a bit of cash.

 

[Ottmundr]

Rules of thumb for non-corporate selling:

1- do you have parts people want?
2- do you have them priced realistically?
3- can you communicate effectively?
4- can you tolerate "people" reasonably well, including "difficult" people?
5- do you know what venues work best for different items?
6- can you tolerate "Murphy's Law"?

I've done reasonably well selling, both car parts and various stuff on ebay and craigslist.

I even agreed to deliver a pair of wheels I had been trying to get rid of for years because it was on my way to my moms house, and they would be gone plus I would get a bit of cash.

I've found the best way to handle #4 is to be willing to just walk away. It works with ex's, it works with tire kickers, it works with coworkers.

I learned a very long time ago that something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. Economics is like physics.

 

[Illahe]

Rules of thumb for non-corporate selling:

1- do you have parts people want?
2- do you have them priced realistically?
3- can you communicate effectively?
4- can you tolerate "people" reasonably well, including "difficult" people?
5- do you know what venues work best for different items?
6- can you tolerate "Murphy's Law"?

I've done reasonably well selling, both car parts and various stuff on ebay and craigslist.

I even agreed to deliver a pair of wheels I had been trying to get rid of for years because it was on my way to my moms house, and they would be gone plus I would get a bit of cash.

#4

 

[YY1]

The model and toy train market is very similar to the car part market.

All the above rules apply.

Most clubs do not want old "toy quality" items.
(Unless it's a toy train club and the items are ether rare or near mint)
Some are era or road specific and don't want anything else.

$10 old school screw together kits are not very valuable either, and cost as much to ship as they are worth.
Bundling can be effective with these but you have to be careful.

I'm currently interested in a bundle of good quality offset side hoppers with different numbers, that I can rename but keep the numbers.

Here are the issues-

1- most are only worth 10 bucks. I'll go to 12 if it's exactly what I want.
2- I'm not paying $65 to ship 4 or 5 cars.
3- I need the cars to be identical except for the numbers.

I put a group of cars for $55 with $15 shipping in my watch list.
The next day, there was an offer from the seller for $40 plus that $15.
That makes them $11 each.
Fair deal for me.
Not a great deal for the seller, though but he doesn't throw them away and does get something.

 

[YY1]

The problem with "only worth what someone will pay" is-

It's true...

but

...it isn't.

Most things have fairly easily researchable value ranges.

It pays both parties to be familiar with what those are.

Otherwise you are playing with emotions only and are both shooting in the dark.

 

[jrc4y4]

That's a keeper

I’m not making this up, she asked if you could put stuff on the shelf and I just stopped replying. I even said in the ad “I’m cleaning my house while moving and cannot answer questions constantly. The stuff is free come get what you want.” This was one of the moments that finally led me to deleting social media lol

 

[WV64Signet]

I’m not making this up, she asked if you could put stuff on the shelf and I just stopped replying. I even said in the ad “I’m cleaning my house while moving and cannot answer questions constantly. The stuff is free come get what you want.” This was one of the moments that finally led me to deleting social media lol

View attachment 1716497663

Lol

Unbelievable

 

[My own man]

These things are cultural. Culture is taught in the home by mom, and grandparents.
What happens when mom no longer raises the kids?
What happens when the family is scattered across the country?

Even Victor Davis Hansen was talking about this issue.

Maintaining a culture that will take care of you in your old age is not only work, it takes time.

Television, newspapers, radio, internet, are all non-productive, or socially destructive time sinks.

There are only so many hours in a day, so many hours in a child's life to teach culture.

So, this is one of the consequences of the destruction of a cultural glue

Now, to the subject at hand, the first people to start selling off all the hobby stuff will be successful, the Johnny-come-latelys won't, and it will all end up in the attic, ignored. Or in the dump. The physical world items and activities we enjoyhave little appeal to younger generations who favor virtual worlds and have the attention span of a Zebra Finch.

Doing an engine swap cannot compete with the gamblers high dopamine hit of candy crush or onlyfans girls.

Under

My family's coat of arms read

"If it's free it's for me"

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Typically I ask 2 things for part I want gone.

1) You pay shipping
2) Pass the favor on to someone else in need.

Just sent a pair of upper control arms to a lady in LA for her daughters '66 Valiant.

Jim

 

[volaredon]

I find when I need something it costs more than it's weight in gold.
When I want to sell something I can't get scrap price.

 

[ProjectBazza]

I have lots of HO stuff.

Rusty,

My eight year old niece asked for “model train stuff” for Christmas. Her mother (my half sister) didn’t think she was serious about it, so she didn’t follow through…..

Anyway, long story short:

I need a vacation from work (badly), and my niece seems to be genuinely interested in model trains, so if what you have would be appropriate for an 8 year old kid just starting out, I could be down there in a few days. And I would bring cash….

Think about it, send me a pic or three, and/or let me know.

Jim

(Edit: Probably should have sent this
via PM.)

 

[Desoto291hemi]

Almost always these threads turn into a ***** session .
Yes,,,,people trying to deal with people is always going to be a difficult proposition .
I buy a lot of stuff on here ,,,,and I have found some great bargains .
And some people are impossible to deal with as well ,,buyers and sellers .
What I have never understood is when someone wants to sell a part and prices it too high to begin with .
And then states that if it doesn’t sell they will just scrap it .
If you are asking twice the fair price already,,,,do you really think the scrapper guy is going to pay you more than a fraction of the real value ?

I have bought way more than I have meant to .
Sometimes I have to tug at my collar like Rodney Dangerfield and catch my breath,,lol .

But on a positive note ,,,there are absolutely fabulous guys here to deal with .

I purchased a bumper and taillights from 1Mean A,,it was a pleasure to buy from him .
He sent it in the box he had purchased a new bumper from .
I didn’t need it,,,but I got it because you never know when I could be rear ended and then desperately need it .
Great price,,great part,,great shipping,,,all from Canada during the supposed tariff war .
I was very happy with it,,,,Canada Post took a little extra time with it,,but it worked out awesome .

I have bought from Al and so many other guys here as well .
I have had guys contact me with a DM telling me they saw my ad for parts and gotten great deals .
I got a great SB Mopar six pack intake and carbs,,,for very good money .
He offered me his price and I couldn’t pass it up .
The carbs were completely fresh rebuilds and the intake was NOS,,,can you believe it ?
If I told you the price you would not believe me ,,it was a lot,,,but below , or in line with the market

And then I have offered excellent money for mediocre parts and then been almost cussed because I didn’t want to overpay for semi crap .

Go figure,,,it’s all in the person .
Make good deals,,and try to treat people good.
The rest will work out somehow .

Tommy

 

[missing linc]

I still believe there are more good people out there. I recently had an MSD ignition system for sale, billet distributor, cap, new set of wires, coil, and ignition box. The ad had been up for a while when I got an offer from someone for all of the components as one lot, and he was willing to pay very close to my asking price. I agreed, he sent payment and I packed it into a flat rate box and shipped it. A few days later I heard back from him, shipment arrived, he was very happy and we had an extended conversation about why he had bought it. He planned to install it and some other parts he's been buying in his dad's 68 D100 so that the truck would finally be reliable for his dad to drive and enjoy. Seems like a great young man and I look forward to hearing from him again with an update. Also told him that I would be happy to help with any questions about the truck or install and suggested he join us here at FABO.

 

[harrisonm]

I have had pretty good luck selling parts here and on a Classic Mustang forum after Mark (56 Studebaker Power Hawk guy) and I were done with his 67 Mustang and there were a lot of parts left over. Some things didn't sell, but I kind of didn't expect them to. There were a few things that didn't sell that really surprised me. Like some assorted tinted 69 Barracuda glass, and a Craig under dash 8 Track tape player that works great (with a bunch of tapes). I kind of expected people to jump on the tape player, but either there are more out there than I thought, or the desire isn't there. I guess it just boils down to whether someone really needs what you've got when you want to sell it.

 

[MMissile]

I tend to throw a lot of good parts in the trash, or I used to give them to my scrapper buddy. I also leave some stuff at the swap meets, when I leave. It's so much of a hassle
to complete transactions, more and more, every day.

 

[volaredon]

We had to clean out my parents house last year after Mom died so we could sell the house.
I'm still loaded to the gills.... And we did get rid of a lot. A couple of short notice ads on my wife's fake book, a 3 day long garage sale, plus gave a lot away.
That doesn't count what my brothers got plus the dumpster that got filled and all that got put out to the curb on garbage day.
Of what I got im surprised at what Ive been able to get rid of, vs what is still clogging my garage.
We had a 3 day long garage/yard sale the weekend before memorial day last year and with just a little word of mouth advertising and a couple of signs out by the road we had quite a few people who came.
We had both compliments and complaints about having "no clothes" sale, or a "mans garage sale"
But even so I had a table and a half of nothing but drills various saws, a couple of electric car buffers that sort of thing that nobody even asked "how much"...... Most pricing was off the hip wild azz guesses when someone would ask "how much". But how do you judge whether you're too cheap or too high if nobody asks "how much" you want for something? All corded drills, skil saws, jigsaws, a belt sander, that sort of thing. I already have plenty of my own plus now I have dads too... I don't need 6 hand drills, 4 jig saws, 4 skil saws, 2 belt sanders, etc ... Most of which is 1960s-70s-80s and it all still works and will still be working when that one you bought yesterday at horror freight or Menards will be in the trash... For 10-20% of their prices. But nobody even asked about them.
I'm gonna have another sale this year, not sure when.

 

[volaredon]

The last couple of years prior to last year some neighbors had wanted us to participate in a neighborhood wide sale they threw together but they only put the word out to the rest of us like 2-3 days before they had theirs.
I need more time to ask off at work for one thing.
Not to mention time to pull stuff out, find tables, price things, etc. so I couldn't participate then.
So last year about this time I approached one of those who had put the sales of the previous year together and said to give me more notice than 2 days before they have their sales. We came up with the weekend we had ours, as the target and with me being the worst about social media and such, that they would handle that part like past years. And I went to a sign maker and spent $125 on signs for out by the road. Well by the time that weekend came my wife and I were "lone rangers" at the garage sale game. I did have several neighbors come by my sale and say they wish I would have told them I was having a sale as they would have done one with me. Huh. So much for trying to plan something months ahead... The ones that were so gung ho about it and had organized the past years sales (albeit last minute notice) fizzled and apparently didn't say anything about it to the rest either ...

 

[FlamesAreWicked]

From years of selling guitars and amps through marketplace, forums, an Reverb… I’m really not a fan of dealing with the general public. Last year I was selling a set of small bolt cragars with brand new tires. I made it clear in the title and description as to what they fit… small bolt pattern mopars only. I even specified the years and models that they fit. I probably had close to a dozen messages on FB asking if they fit their mustangs, C10s, and one guy with a Roadrunner..finally after several months a guy out of Texas who had a 67 Dart GT wanted them. I drove 1.5hrs to meet up with him to get the deal done. I sold the wheels and tires for less than I spent on the tires just to get them gone.

Not all experiences are like that though.. sometimes things go well and it’s a great transaction. It’s not often however. I have a set of cylinder heads and adjustable rockers I’m gonna attempt to sell locally.. it’ll be priced to sell just to get it out of here… iron heads weigh a ton and expensive to ship so.. maybe I’ll get lucky.

Back when I sold guitars on Reverb, I would look at the lowest priced one of the same model and condition, I would usually price it just below that one. That sort of gotten killed when their sellers fees went up and having to deal with an extra tax form. I’ve pretty much never turned a profit on music gear. I felt lucky when I broke even.

 

[barbee6043]

Selling old "classic" car parts??? Selling old classic cars, rollers, done and /or all in between? Using FB Marketplace as a barometer? What REALLY sells is determined by marking an item, ie car, engine etc and going back later, weeks, months to see IF it sold! Just running an ad counts for zero! Such does not show the exact selling price but you get an idea. I see it as a barometer as to the real health of our hobby. We always measure things in $ which is not a true indication of worth. but.... yes parts are harder to sell than some years ago, on FABO or FBBO or Marketplace, and swaps are always a nut job one way or another.

For example, look at FB Marketplace. Sure it varies by location, but in general 95% of the cars do not sell. So many cars listed by guys NOT in the hobby. Overpriced NON driver POS. These 10 day "wonder" sellers, have NO clue. They base their price off the other cars listed with NO clue. So this tells me, only the models with a following (demand) priced at a fair and reasonable price for what the car's condition sell. The few good ones sell quick and those ads are never seen but by a few.

Parts????? How many people today want a total project? Who has the desire, the skill, the place to work, the tools, the $$ for parts and so the used parts to build such as lesser demand than decades before NOW! The group gets smaller every year. Still there, but smaller.

If a guy loves the build, 90% of us guys must sell what we built and get $ back before they can buy another project. Gets harder all the time. Too many people are told, buy one DONE for less. Easy. Substitute $ for work. But do NOT pay the builder! Especially if not a high $ model.
Fact is easier to get the $ back for a 69 hemi RoadRunner and the 65 273 Dodge Dart. The guy buying the RR has the $ and the guy buying the Dart is usually "more" financially challenged. IMHO

Best is just to love the hobby, buy what a guy can afford and will love, and be able to do all the work!

 

[44070dart]

I have a treasury trove of parts, (in my mind anyway). .. Some have been for sale for a few years, and I've decided to lower all the prices, to a medium pizza price, and get rid of them this spring. Many parts are from people who have given me parts, when I've bought their cars. Some just left overs from my cars aftermarket replacement parts. Shipping has become too expensive and a hassle. People who haven't shipped parts, think you're ripping them off when they hear the price. I've dealt with some good people and made a few good connections through part sales. I even sold a car to a guy who came to buy a carb I had. This spring the garage gets cleaned out and my shelves will be cleared...........for more parts.

 

[1MeanA]

My wife and I have been trying to declutter on an ongoing basis even though we have no plans on downsizing anytime soon. Some of this is driven by her and her sister spending a year cleaning out her parents place after their passing. I'd like to have a short list of things of value and tell the kids to trash the rest. As far as car parts goes, I usually list the small items on FB as they are generally not worth shipping. However, I have some larger more expensive non Mopar items on another forum that I have just started dropping prices on weekly. We'll see how that goes. Initially I had priced them below other similar items. I'm curious if there is a market for them. Sometime there just isn't a buyer. I suspect many average guys are not going down the restoration road right now. Project cars are not easy to find and expensive and those with the big bucks just drop their cars off at a restoration shop. Maybe I'll give Ebay another shot too.

 

[Cranky]

We had to clean out my parents house last year after Mom died so we could sell the house.
I'm still loaded to the gills.... And we did get rid of a lot. A couple of short notice ads on my wife's fake book, a 3 day long garage sale, plus gave a lot away.
That doesn't count what my brothers got plus the dumpster that got filled and all that got put out to the curb on garbage day.
Of what I got im surprised at what Ive been able to get rid of, vs what is still clogging my garage.
We had a 3 day long garage/yard sale the weekend before memorial day last year and with just a little word of mouth advertising and a couple of signs out by the road we had quite a few people who came.
We had both compliments and complaints about having "no clothes" sale, or a "mans garage sale"
But even so I had a table and a half of nothing but drills various saws, a couple of electric car buffers that sort of thing that nobody even asked "how much"...... Most pricing was off the hip wild azz guesses when someone would ask "how much". But how do you judge whether you're too cheap or too high if nobody asks "how much" you want for something? All corded drills, skil saws, jigsaws, a belt sander, that sort of thing. I already have plenty of my own plus now I have dads too... I don't need 6 hand drills, 4 jig saws, 4 skil saws, 2 belt sanders, etc ... Most of which is 1960s-70s-80s and it all still works and will still be working when that one you bought yesterday at horror freight or Menards will be in the trash... For 10-20% of their prices. But nobody even asked about them.
I'm gonna have another sale this year, not sure when.

When my MIL had to go into assisted living, my wife and I cleaned out the house. She had enough stuff to fill THREE houses like the one she had and it was nearly 3000 sf! I won't go into detail but she had enough magazines to fill up the bed of my Dakota 4 times and I'm not talking about a flat load. I heaped them up and drove slow to the recycle dumpster at the library so none of them would blow off. Just glad it was close. On top of that, she was a 4 pack a day burner. One day I counted 3 cigs burning in different rooms....hated going into that house! Got a storage building for the excess because NONE of that smokey stuff was coming into my shop.

 

[Cranky]

The last couple of years prior to last year some neighbors had wanted us to participate in a neighborhood wide sale they threw together but they only put the word out to the rest of us like 2-3 days before they had theirs.
I need more time to ask off at work for one thing.
Not to mention time to pull stuff out, find tables, price things, etc. so I couldn't participate then.
So last year about this time I approached one of those who had put the sales of the previous year together and said to give me more notice than 2 days before they have their sales. We came up with the weekend we had ours, as the target and with me being the worst about social media and such, that they would handle that part like past years. And I went to a sign maker and spent $125 on signs for out by the road. Well by the time that weekend came my wife and I were "lone rangers" at the garage sale game. I did have several neighbors come by my sale and say they wish I would have told them I was having a sale as they would have done one with me. Huh. So much for trying to plan something months ahead... The ones that were so gung ho about it and had organized the past years sales (albeit last minute notice) fizzled and apparently didn't say anything about it to the rest either ...

Neighborhood sales have been decent here but everyone wants to do it it May and temps are already getting hot by then. Kinda odd that many of the older folks want to bother with the heat....I sure don't and probably won't do it this year.

 

[volaredon]

Another problem I've had no matter how I advertise something I want to sell is ""I'm too far" or "you're way out there"? I'm about an hour south of Chicago, when CL was big I'm in the middle, in the fringe of 3 maybe 4 CL listing areas, but not really"part of" any of them.
When is list CL would come back with "you're part of the Chicago listing area, you sure you want to list "here"? Yet what I did sell was out of these other listings areas more than Chicago.
Yet when I was looking to buy I'd have to make the road trip to wherever, whatever I was buying, was. Sellers were never "headed my way", they wouldn't meet me part way, etc but buyers weren't interested unless I trucked whatever It was right to their driveway. And that was with them not having a clue as to whether or not I had the capacity to do so..
I have a bunch of Mopar stuff that should go, not selling any of my truck stuff until my truck is completed, I've done that before and then had to go re buy parts at much higher than what I sold what I had, for. I have an F body (volare) in my garage that's been apart for too long and I haven't touched, that I probably should start trying to advertise. I'm still in the "I'll get to it" phase but it's become a storage rack. I still occasionally buy something for it but I haven't worked on it in. Too long. I'm onto my d250 and am currently pushing hard for that one to be done.

"

 

[barbee6043]

When I lived back in Missouri, I took a bunch of good Mopar parts to a general swap in, I think it was Lincoln, maybe Omaha. I took a piece pf PVC and a concrete block and had a MOPAR flag. It was 99% GM as always. MY first time to do such. It was funny to look across the crowd and see a guy see that flag and haul buggy toward me! This went on all afternoon and I sold everything, but my prices were always very fair.
Back decades ago, when I hauled parts to Mopar Nats, I sold out but again I was cheaper than anyone and had good parts.