Men's Tools - Pawn Shop, Advertise It, Or Garage Sale?

Lee

Lee

Senior Member
Location
Chatham, Ontario
Any thoughts on going about selling. There is a pawn shop in town known to be fair but how fair can they be when they have to make a profit?

Our park has a yearly yard sale but most get nickels on the dollar.....people buying seem to expect a greatly reduced bargain.

I have thought about running an ad myself but just wonder how safe it is having men come to the house?
 

@Lee - I have tons of tools that belonged to my husband, his father, and his grandfather. I really want to get rid of most of them, but I don't want people coming to my house. My girlfriend keeps telling me to rent a table at the flea market to sell them, when the weather warms up, I just might try it.

You could also check to see if there are any auctions in your area. You'd have to call first to see if they auction tools, and then take them there so they can see if they're worth selling. If they're smaller tools like hammers, files, wrenches, etc., they'd probably auction them by the box.

No matter how you manage to sell them, you're going to get less than what you think they're worth.
 
If someone from the pawn shop would come to your house and make you a reasonable offer for everything, I’d take it. Over and done with.

This is something for most of us to think about if we don’t have family nearby to give it to or to help us.

Don’t forget to keep a few of the basics for yourself.
 

Be careful here. I agree with much what is being said above to do with old hand tools. But when you say 'tools' it is a very general term. Some tools are worth a lot. Now if you are talking about hand tools, hammers, screwdrivers, plyers, cross cut saw, key whole saw, etc. etc. as noted about not worth a lot of money. But if you are talking about table saws, drill press, etc. These will draw more money and are best sold at auctions or individually online. If you have heavy duty automotive tools, they also will command a bit more money. Regardless, the internet is a wonderful tool to establish prices, as long as you look up items that have been sold vs. those that are for sale.'

Good luck
 
Number one, you don't want strangers coming to the house.
Number two, you don't want to deal with handling phone calls and making appointments for people who may not even show up.

If they don't take up much room, hang onto them. You never know when you might need a whatchamacallit.
 
Sold several tools after my husband's death at a yard sale
but,
I sold his drill press and I could have used that a thousand times!
Hang on to the tools you think you might want later on.
I do my own repairs and there were tools I sold which I wish I would have kept!
No problem with men coming over to your home for a sale but
they will offer 1/10th of it's worth. (sweet talk you, take advantage of a widow)
They will steal things behind your back too! Just be careful!
 
Jules said:
If someone from the pawn shop would come to your house and make you a reasonable offer for everything, I’d take it. Over and done with.

This is something for most of us to think about if we don’t have family nearby to give it to or to help us.

Don’t forget to keep a few of the basics for yourself.
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Agree. I’d rather deal with the grizzlies than put out a public ad to sell these. Humans can be horrid, greedy creatures when money/ profit is involved. Research how much they are worth first, ask a fair price and sell them ALL to one person at THEIR location. Don’t risk giving out your location to anyone.

note: my response is overkill which comes from being taken advantage of so now I’m ‘extra cautious instead of trusting, naive & gullible.
 
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I have given a lot of these kinds of things to Goodwill or similar folks. Mostly inherited from my father and father-in-laq. Somehow it feels better to give it to someone I know will make good use of it than to go to the effort of selling. And as @Bella says: "No matter how you manage to sell them, you're going to get less than what you think they're worth." And if you have someone in your family who would put them to good use that's another option.

Best of luck with it, I think you are right to be passing on the things you no longer need, but it can be kind of hard.
 
I have the same problem. Tools I inherited from my father and his father before him. My grandfather was a prominent homebuilder in Green Bay Wisconsin more than a hundred years ago. It seems there are only two reasonable options. Sell the stuff on Craig's List or donate the items to a thrift shop. My kids don't want this stuff. I don't think they are worth very much as antiques. And the cost of packing them and shipping them somewhere is obviously way more than they would bring me in $$. BTW In my personal opinion Craig's List is perfectly safe. Especially if you are the seller. But your mileage may vary. Best of luck to you/me in the meantime!
 
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Alligatorob said:
I have given a lot of these kinds of things to Goodwill or similar folks. Mostly inherited from my father and father-in-laq. Somehow it feels better to give it to someone I know will make good use of it than to go to the effort of selling. And as @Bella says: "No matter how you manage to sell them, you're going to get less than what you think they're worth." And if you have someone in your family who would put them to good use that's another option.

Best of luck with it, I think you are right to be passing on the things you no longer need, but it can be kind of hard.
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I'd love to just give the tools away and have tried. Unfortunately, everyone I know already has plenty of tools. If I can't, or end up not wanting to go through the hassle of selling them, I'll donate them if I can.

I also have a ton of fishing equipment, a few of which are collector's items. I'm gonna have to do something about that stuff, too. Likewise, I've also tried to give that away, but no one I know fishes anymore, and the ones who did have died. I'm going to try to make a little money on this equipment. If I can't it'll be donated. One way or another, all this stuff has got to go!
 
Bella said:
I also have a ton of fishing equipment, a few of which are collector's items. I'm gonna have to do something about that stuff, too. Likewise, I've also tried to give that away, but no one I know fishes anymore, and the ones who did have died.
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I have given old fishing things to a small local thrift shop run by a church. They tell me that used fishing tackle sells very easily, and I'd like to think the thrift shop is better at pricing things than I would be.

However if you can find a way to make a few bucks from it, that makes sense too.
 
Bella said:
I also have a ton of fishing equipment, a few of which are collector's items. I'm gonna have to do something about that stuff, too. Likewise, I've also tried to give that away, but no one I know fishes anymore, and the ones who did have died. I'm going to try to make a little money on this equipment. If I can't it'll be donated. One way or another, all this stuff has got to go!
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oh gawd.....I forgot about the fishing stuff, probably 6 rod & reel combos, tons of lures. I know the one set alone I bought him for over $200 and that was 20 years ago. Wonder what that would be worth

I may take a trip to the pawn shop today or tomorrow just to get an idea.
 
Lee said:
oh gawd.....I forgot about the fishing stuff, probably 6 rod & reel combos, tons of lures. I know the one set alone I bought him for over $200 and that was 20 years ago. Wonder what that would be worth

I may take a trip to the pawn shop today or tomorrow just to get an idea.
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Lee, trying to deal with all of my husband's stuff makes my head spin. 😵 I keep vacillating between wanting to sell it and not wanting to go through the hassle. Try looking up the rods and reels online to see what they're selling for before you take them to the pawn shop.
 
Do they have a public yard sale in your area during nice weather? Have someone with expertise with tools and fishing gear help you price everything and lay it out at a public yard sale with those little white tags with a string on sticky back on them.. People really seem to go for those types of events. Whatever you decide, "DO NOT" have anyone coming to your home. Your giving away too much information just being at your home, especially if you are alone. That would be giving out too much information to the dirt-bags around.
 
See if you have an online only auctions business nearby. Some can even move the tools to their own building. They set them up as lots, take pictures of the lots and post them on their site. There is usually 1 day set up for prospective bidders to come and inspect the lots they are interested in. After the bidding ends, there is 1 day for them to pick up what they've won.
Some higher buck stuff may go too cheap, but some "junk" may go quite high. It kind of averages out.
No matter which route you go, you will not get what it's worth.
 
We have a friend who's husband passed 10 years ago. About 5 years ago, she decided to sell the house and move into an apartment. All her husband's stuff is in storage that she pays monthly rent on. She won't try to sell any of it because she knows what he paid for the tools. So, instead of selling his stuff at a lose, she pays a rental fee of 85.00 a month.
 
Tools are a hard sell, a least for me. I put them out at my yard sales and also advertise locally without any interest. I even offered them to my handyman cousin and he said he already has better. The problem is most guys already have all the tools they need and uness you're giving them away or have something unusual, expect to keep them.
 
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For the fishing gear you mentioned you have, maybe contact a local fishing charter company and ask them if they have any ideas on how you could safely sell that stuff. They may have contacts for people looking for stuff? There's one in Chatham called:

Rampage Sports Fishing Charters​

You can find them on the internet. Couldn't hurt to give them a call and inquire.

If you're looking to sell stuff on face-book marketplace or Kijiji, contact your local police and ask if they have a 'safe sell zone' set up for in person transactions. Many local departments do now and they encourage the use of such. You still have to deal with the no-shows and people beating you down on price though. As many have said, stuff just isn't worth what you'd think on the used market - even good stuff! I cleared out my mother's place a few years ago. Got an online auction outfit to handle all the stuff they thought they could sell. They gave me a fair cut of the proceeds but still was peanuts compared to what the stuff was worth if I had time to find the right buyers.

For general hand tools, see if you or any family/friends have young people around 20 or so and donate to them. Kids that age don't appreciate or even think about having tools but they will need them someday and they are expensive to buy new. Any major shop tools are probably better off trying to sell elsewhere - consignment shop or something similar if you have one in town. You could also inquire at a tool rental place to see if they are looking for stuff you have. Stephenson's Rental place or similar.
 
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Lee said:
Any thoughts on going about selling. There is a pawn shop in town known to be fair but how fair can they be when they have to make a profit?

Our park has a yearly yard sale but most get nickels on the dollar.....people buying seem to expect a greatly reduced bargain.

I have thought about running an ad myself but just wonder how safe it is having men come to the house?
Click to expand...
Research "estate sellers". They come in, inventory everything you want to sell and you get better than pawn shop rates. You can have them sell it online instead of having a bunch of people coming thru your house. Or, they can sell it from their warehouse. That's what I did 2 years ago and tools were a HOT seller.
 
Bella said:
No matter how you manage to sell them, you're going to get less than what you think they're worth.
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Check the price of tools when they’re on sale at Canadian Tire and decrease by half from there.

Bella said:
One way or another, all this stuff has got to go!
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I know the feeling.

My husband is here but anyone that comes to the house/garage to look at what I’m selling never sees him. I use FB Marketplace most of the time. They can see who I am and vice versa. I‘ve sold 95% of what I’ve listed. Maybe it’s too low, but it’s gone, gone, gone.

For things like the fishing tackle, sell it in bulk. Set a price and be firm. If nothing sells, put it in your yard sale.

My 13 year old grandson would covet your fishing equipment!!! I’m sure there are many like him.
 
Bella said:
@Lee - I have tons of tools that belonged to my husband, his father, and his grandfather. I really want to get rid of most of them, but I don't want people coming to my house. My girlfriend keeps telling me to rent a table at the flea market to sell them, when the weather warms up, I just might try it.

You could also check to see if there are any auctions in your area. You'd have to call first to see if they auction tools, and then take them there so they can see if they're worth selling. If they're smaller tools like hammers, files, wrenches, etc., they'd probably auction them by the box.

No matter how you manage to sell them, you're going to get less than what you think they're worth.
Click to expand...
I only wished we lived closer, I am always looking for tools...
 
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