Selling tool on-line

[Jack Frederick]

Having made a living in sales I have never sold anything on-line. Retired now, I am of a mind to not buy until I generate some income. I rarely visit the Classified Section here, but did the other day and it got me thinking about selling some of the tools that I don't use to get some that I will. In your experience, for the widest audience, where do you go for handtool sales? I think an auction site would be best, yes/no? Much obliged for any suggestions. I'm going to start with the LN, Bronze #9, the bronze #2 and the 1/2" bronze rosewood in-fill shoulder. Never having used the 1/2", I will miss it. It either stayed in its box, or I would on occasion break it out and put it in the wifes China Cabinet. Hallowed ground, that. It would reside there until she noticed. "What is that doing in there." I would reply, "well, just look at it. It's so damned pretty..." Back in the box!

[Jim Becker]

Hand tools seem to sell well here in the Classifieds based on my anecdotal observation. The big auction site certainly provides a larger audience but at a larger cost to sell, too. If you sell here, your cost is whatever your contribution was to SMC and any costs associated with the payment method you require. Cash is free. PayPal has a small percentage.

[Wade Lippman]

I only use Craigslist.
Ebay gives a much wider audience, especially for unusual items, and gets higher prices.
BUT... I have sold several things on Ebay and had the buyer claim they were defective. I gave refunds and didn't get them returned because there was no point to paying the return freight and getting a brick back instead of what I sold. I don't sell on Ebay any more.

[Alex Zeller]

I break it down to two types of items. Basically can it be easily shipped by UPS or is it too big/ heavy. For small stuff I prefer ebay since I don't have to deal with trying to find a time to meant people. For larger it's craig's list so I don't have to deal with crating and shipping.

[Mike Henderson]

You get wider exposure on eBay but the fees are steep - you have pay a percentage of the selling price to eBay and PayPal takes their cut from the payment.

A good thing to do is to check eBay for what the tool is selling for and then offer it here on SawMill Creek for a similar price. Since you won't have to pay a listing fee and you can receive funds without a fee, you can wind up with a better return. Even if you sell for less than you might get on eBay you may wind up with a better return.

I would also trust the buyers associated with this site more than I'd trust a buyer on eBay.

Mike

[Added note: And if it doesn't sell here, you can then go to eBay.]

[Patrick Kane]

I think forums are the best place to sell hand tools or anything that is easily shipped. Your immediate audience is right here already.

[Matt Day]

Forums like this one, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace. Patrick makes a good point though - for small items that shop easily a forum reaches your target audience. Larger machines I try to sell locally.

[Jacob Mac]

LN goes fast on here. Plus I've had a lot of transactions on this site and they have all been positive. Even if I lose out on a couple bucks, I don't have any hassle associated with the transaction.

[Frank Drackman]

I have sold many things online in the last 18 months. For tools our classification section has been outstanding. Very knowledgeable buyers who paid almost immediately.

I was extremely disappointed with the big auction site. The costs were high, many attempted scams & potential buyers that took a lot of my time.

I also used Facebook Marketplace & Craigslist. One lesson that I learned from those sites was to always include a phrase something like "If the item is still listed, it is still for sale. It really helped minimize the number of people who asked if it was still for sale, and never replied when I told them it was.

The people who I interacted with on FB tended to be much younger that those on Craigslist.

Another lesson I learned from those sites was to use an app on my phone that hid my real cell number. This allowed me to end a conversation when I wanted without anyone having the ability to text me later.

[roger wiegand]

Both buying and selling on this site and other similar enthusiast-occupied sites has been painless with fair prices both ways. On both Ebay and CL you will run onto more crazy people who make the whole process less fun. That said, I've been successful with both as both buyer and seller. I've put a couple ads on FB and never gotten any response. For woodworking equipment I'll start here or in the woodturning group I frequent, if that doesn't work move on to CL for broader appeal stuff and Fleabay for more highly specialized items. Anything that is impractical to ship goes to CL. I did buy a 1400 lb item here on SMC and that worked out perfectly.

[Tom M King]

I like buying from people here. Sorry, I can't offer any advice on selling. I think I sold a tool once, but don't remember what, or when it was.

[Christopher Herzog]

I am in the camp of trying the classified page here before going elsewhere.

In the next week or so I have been creating a list of yard sale items. Woodpecker, LN, PMV11 mortice chisels and some other misc to start. I see all the good activity and think about my garage being pretty full. We shall see, best of luck!

Chris

[johnny means]

Lately, my go to is a certain social media site's Marketplace. It's free and super easy to post and handle communications. The downside is that, by it's nature it is limited to local buyers, thus I'm usually pricing for an easy sale.

[Jerry Olexa]

Generally, you can TRUST the people more here than on the other sites you mentioned...Just my experience.

[David Buchhauser]

I've sold at least one tool using the SMC classified - it was a Incra router table fence - as I recall. I do sell lots of stuff on Ebay (not woodworking related). I pay about 15% commission (11% to Ebay and 4% to Paypal). I just figure this into my cost and adjust my buy-it-now price accordingly. I'm not a big fan of the Ebay auction format. I decide what I what and list it at that price. Same usually goes for when I am buying on Ebay. I generally don't want to bid, I like to know what the price is and decide right away. That's just me.
David

[Todd Zucker]

I have sold some lightly used power tools that are used for construction on CL, e.g., Dewalt and Festool stuff, several times with cash in my pocket less than an hour from posting the ad. It helps being in a big city with lots of construction going on. Something that appeals only to hand tool woodworkers might not sell very quickly locally. I had a Sjoberg benchtop vise that I listed twice did not sell at all. The classifieds here would be better for those kinds of items, especially smaller tools that are easy to ship, IMO.

[Jack Frederick]

That you all for the guidance. I think I will list here.

[Randall J Cox]

I have bought a lot of stuff off this site over the years, all totally as advertised. Doesn't mean someone wont exaggerate, but I have had all positive dealings. I trust fellow woodworkers much more than craigs list, etc. I have also bought stuff off ebay, all as advertised - so far. Randy

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Bought and sold a few things on this site - all as advertised and a pleasant, hassle free experience. I’ve bought some things on eBay, with a few exceptions most of which were fine. Just started selling some stuff there that appeal to a very limited audience - so far no problems. My preference is Craigslist. If I’m buying I can see and often test what I’m getting. When selling on CL I’ve encountered my share of flakes and the occasional scammer, but for the most part it’s a smooth, straightforward transaction. Plus there’s no returns - all sales final.
For what you’re selling I’d list it here - it won’t last long.

[Ronald Blue]

I've also bought several items and had great experiences. As a rule everyone here is trustworthy and their word is gold. If there will be an issue it will be with who spoke first for an item. I think even if the communication is by PM there needs to also be a post in the thread saying "PM sent". I had that experience once and I know it's happened to a few others as well from following the threads. Then you won't get the "someone else private messaged for it". Just keeps everything transparent. I'm not saying anything was done improperly.

[Rod Wolfy]

Generally, you can TRUST the people more here than on the other sites you mentioned...Just my experience.

But, if you're buying... make sure that they've actually posted here several times, other than just something for sale (they're actually a woodworker and interested in it and not scamming).