Changing needs & wants...

[lloyd3]

Spent some time down at the NRA Whittington Center a couple of weeks ago, shooting with the Vintagers. While there, I took a shine to a couple of the old English Hammer guns in residence. I owned a hammer gun several years ago (20-years now?), but couldn't get it to work well on ruffed grouse the way my more-modern English 16 does (simply not fast-enough w/those hammers), so it went on down the road. Since I've got that blasted-bug again (except now I'd like to use it to shoot clays) and in-order to scratch that itch without causing a domestic crisis here, I'll need to sell a few of my other "silly-toys" (as my bride mostly sees them) that are largely (because of Denver's ongoing growing pains) just laying-around here anymore (bamboo rods of-course and other, mostly-older fly reels). Some are fairly-unique and some are even darn-nice but...not all of them are all that uncommon. All of the rods are in tip-top shape and ready for a trip to the water. The reels have mostly all been converted to left-hand retrieve and are lined with either silk line or a Sylk-line type of variant. Heck, I even have a new 8-weight Spey rod and lined-reel combination that I've never even had to chance to use(!). My question here is: how does one value and then properly market items such as these? I know I could list them in the classifieds here, as a sort-of fire-sale option, but that's not likely to get me reasonably to my goal (of domestic bliss, remember?). eBay has become something of a flaming-pain to deal with anymore (but that is still an option), and tackle dealers are all over the map when it comes to this amount (& type) of older tackle. I will likely talk to Mark Reynolds here, but he's not the tackle-guy he used to be either, mostly dealing in the newer and more-high end stuff these days as well. What do folks normally do in this sort of predicament? I am therefore open to suggestions from the cognoscenti here...

[BigTJ]

I don’t see this board as a fire sale option. Fair prices, which are nearly always higher than what a dealer will pay, sometimes by a lot, will move decent items.

The wild card is eBay. If you got something rare that will start a bidding war then eBay makes sense. Or a real- deal auction. But what is the bidding war doesn’t materialize? And what about the fees? It’s a risk-reward trade off.

Person to person fair prices on this board works. You just sometimes have to be a little patient. And a realistic feel for the market. Folks need to realize sometimes that top dollar can’t always be had. All it takes is watching the classifieds looking at completed eBay sales and combing the dealer lists it’s not that hard to figure the market out well enough to do ok selling here.

John

[GRASSNGLASS]

Plus, don't forget eBay now needs to 1099 you on your total sales over $600 for the year.

If you have to start paying income tax on ebay sales it can make selling on the board much more sensible.

Personally I've enjoyed selling on the board. Bunch of great folks here.

Barry

[ozarkwater]

Well...its not even the 1099. Its the hassle, the fees and the rest. Can I run a web page for that? No. But. Patience as stated above is key. And I have listed an item on eflay starting low and gotten hurt by it. Very similar item within 4 weeks and did OK. Once that fist bid comes in...if no action shows, you are locked in. BigTJ with post # 2 sums it up pretty well.

Top Dollar? Take me for instance. I have three Shakespeare Professional bait casters. All 1924, I really like their casting ergonomics. In awesome shape. Why 3? I have three cane Granger bait casters Favorites and Special! 1 rod = 1 reel. That last 1924...I will not tell you what I posted as my top $ on eflay for it - did not care what it cost. Mission accomplished, over and out. I would not pay $30 for another and then only for spare parts. BigTJ said it above in his last two paragraphs. Same thing with my three J.W.Young Beaudex 3.5" black and silver reels for my three Walton Powell key-way Charleston green rods. Have them in almost mint condition, except for one and did not pay over $60 for any of them. Took me 5 years to do it. Mission accomplished, over and out. Bookmarked every dealer I could find and launched them three times a day, 365 till I got it done. So, someone out there wants those reels.

If one "has to" sell, a distressed sale, be it real estate or reels. Its gonna hurt.

Nice reels btw.

16 gauge? My, my. I want a flinter in 16 gauge! Maybe...2024? Wait period for a custom is at least that long. I got the time.

[Bamboocollector#1]

Regarding rods; it must truly be in great original or restored condition to sell here unless you note it as a project rod. As you may guess we are a pretty picky group, but a good to great deal sells here lightning fast.

Regarding reels; decently priced reels sell real fast especially if they are classic or modern versions of classic reels( CFO, Peerless, etc.).

Just my 2 cents & experience,
Ed

[G-ManBart]

My question here is: how does one value and then properly market items such as these? I know I could list them in the classifieds here, as a sort-of fire-sale option, but that's not likely to get me reasonably to my goal (of domestic bliss, remember?). eBay has become something of a flaming-pain to deal with anymore (but that is still an option), and tackle dealers are all over the map when it comes to this amount (& type) of older tackle. I will likely talk to Mark Reynolds here, but he's not the tackle-guy he used to be either, mostly dealing in the newer and more-high end stuff these days as well. What do folks normally do in this sort of predicament? I am therefore open to suggestions from the cognoscenti here...

Everyone will have a different take on it, but generally speaking I think looking at the sold prices of similar rods/reels on eBay is a good start for value. One trick to get more results is to go into your "Selling" tab, find the research products tab at the top, click on it and you'll see "Terapeak Product Research". Use that and you'll get a full year's worth of results, but you can't bring up the ad itself, or pictures, so you only see the sold price.

Another resource is Worthpoint, which will pull in auctions from eBay and others going back at least ten years. That actually lets you pull up the pictures, description, etc. Generally speaking, it's a pay service, but you can do a free trial for something like a month and half a dozen free lookups. I'm pretty sure you can also subscribe for a month (around $20 for a basic membership if I recall) and then cancel as soon as you've done your research.

Prices here are mixed...some bargains to fair prices, and some that are absolutely top-dollar+. You've got people who know what they have and often aren't truly that motivated to sell, so they aren't going to give it away cheap. I've seen the same thing on other specialty forums as well, so it's not uncommon.

As far as selling on eBay, it does have drawbacks, but it also has the best visibility of any option. The fees are simpler now, so rounded up, it's 13% on the sale price + shipping. You sell a reel for $90 and the shipping is $10, you're going to get $77 sent to you. As far as the 1099, you will get one (if you sell $600+) but that doesn't mean you have to pay any taxes on that money. The IRS has provisions for the equivalent of an online garage sale and you don't pay taxes on that amount (companies like TurboTax actually have good pages on this).

If you've got something special, an auction will likely bring the best money. If it's something more common, pick a price you'll be happy with and do a Buy it Now listing. The only real drawback to BIN is you don't know when your item will sell so it can take longer.

My take on dealers is that it can be easier, but you're not likely to get more money from the item, regardless of whether they buy it from you, or take it on consignment. The old theory was "I have a network of serious collectors I can tap into" sort of thing. That was true years ago, but I'm positive the serious collectors are watching eBay and all the other auction sites as well.

[prairieschooner]

I listed a rod and reel here twice at exactly what I paid for them and got no offers or contact. I finally listed them on ebay and sold both, the rod for $300 more than my asking price here, and the reel for more than enough to justify the fees. Just sayin'.

[lloyd3]

Well....I'll start here and go with fleabay if I need to.