Cleaning out and downsizing

[Handloader109]

Yeah, run, like fast, away from the friend that has to have top dollar. But auction is most likely to get him as close to that as he will ever get any other way. Things like gunbroker ain't it. Shipping is a killer. Packaging is a pita. I've got a house full of stuff, and most likely I'll live longer than my wife and I'll deal with it most likely then. Lots of woodworking stuff along with guns and reloading. My daughter may end up dealing with lots too. Sell for what you can get for it and move on. Very few things will bring what you think, or paid for them.

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[jaysouth]

Closer to 80 than 70, my guns have a tag on the trigger guard naming the relative who will get it. Reloading equipment, components and molds are going to a 40 something friend who is an avid caster/reloader comes and hauls off the stuff my family does not want to deal with.

[john.k]

I dont care who gets my stuff ....once Im gone,I certainly wont care .............the fight will be over the land value ,worth a million times what a few guns and motorbikes are ...............I probably should sell out and make a trust ......too much hassle.

[Ohio Rusty]

He could always put much of the reloading stuff and moulds on EBAY then set a starting price of what he would like to get. If he gets a little more than what he set his starting price at, he would be happy with that. It can set on EBAY forever until he get the top dollar price he is looking for, then you are out of the picture helping him sell his stuff. On EBAY, he will get hundreds of people looking at his goods for weeks and weeks. Much better than just one weekend at a gunshow.
Ohio Rusty ><>

[Jadkins87]

It's tough to say no to helping a close friend but thier comes a time we may have to.. On selling stuff off it's very time consuming to sale for top dollar .. As I believe someone else stated an auction would be the best option on a bigger collection of stuff.. Just find 1 that deals with the type of stuff he has to sale and that has good rating and review's.. 1 that advertises and promotes their auction's.. I have seen several estate collection's bring 20% plus above the highest appraisals. Growing up around auctions and my father in-law being a retired auctioneer.. That's how I want mine sold off if the kids don't take it all lol..

God Bless

JDAS

[ascast]

my two cents - I bought a backhoe and I am taking it all with me.

all this is true - small stuff for ebay etc. but tax and shipping have knocked down sale prices. Maybe you'll get 2-3 guys that must have your item, maybe not.
Single sales over time will maximize return, but you'll spend years.
I have a friend who will drive down and buy it all at once if you want to go that way, but at 50-60% of estimated value.

Tell your friend what the consensus is here. That should be helpful enough.

[fatelk]

Something I’ve learned over the years is that often it’s really more about numbers than it is about money. Some people can’t stand to let go of anything for less than they “have into it”. For some it’s also a matter of pride to make a profit, even if it’s only a dollar.

I used to be more that way myself, until I realized how silly it was. Am I really going to spend a couple hours fiddling with something, selling, packing, shipping, etc., for an extra five bucks? I got called out in the middle of the night a couple days ago, was at work for about an hour to fix a machine, made a couple hundred bucks and didn’t think anything about it.

Maybe it’s in the genes though. My grandfather farmed through the depression, and when I was young I remember watching him spend all day in the shop rebuilding an inexpensive tool, instead of driving in to the hardware store and spending five bucks on a new one. Waste not, want not, except when it comes to time…

[blackthorn]

Quote "Maybe it’s in the genes though. My grandfather farmed through the depression, and when I was young I remember watching him spend all day in the shop rebuilding an inexpensive tool, instead of driving in to the hardware store and spending five bucks on a new one. Waste not, want not, except when it comes to time…"

And sometimes it is the journey and not the destination!

[cabezaverde]

Been thinking about doing this too. Don’t want to stick my kids with it.

[fatelk]

And sometimes it is the journey and not the destination!

There is that, too. Nothing wrong with wasting time doing something impractical if it’s something you enjoy, we do that sort of thing all the time with certain aspects of reloading and casting. My grandfather did enjoy tinkering.

Like everything, there has to be a balance. I watched my dad make some poor business decisions, in an effort to save money by doing things himself. One time when I was a young man still at home on the farm, the price of timber was at an all-time high, so he decided to log the back 40. He had a logging outfit come look at it, but they wanted a big chunk of the profit so he decided we could do it ourselves.

He and I spent weeks rebuilding the transmission on our old D6 Caterpillar, them more weeks out in the woods logging. My uncle had worked in the woods as a faller and he helped, but we were slow because we weren’t loggers. By the time we got the logs to market, prices had dropped, and we ended up with about the same as we would have had after the logging company had taken their cut, so in essence we had worked really hard for over a month for nothing.

Ironically, a friend had told him that that’s what was likely to happen if he delayed, but he just couldn’t stand the thought of someone else getting his profits on those trees.

[Nines&Twos]

my two cents - I bought a backhoe and I am taking it all with me.

I'm taking mine too! I'm hoping to find someone that does cremation with a plasma arc furnace. 3000+ degrees ought turn me and my favorite toys into an easily buryable handful of slag.

[abunaitoo]

I'm thinking about downsizing, but stuff I want always turns up.
I've helped a few people get rid of stuff.
I've found it always depends on the person.
If they want "top dollar" I pass on them.
It's not worth the wasted time.
Then there are those who, the first thing out of their mouth is " I'll pay you".
I stay away from them.
All it means is your going to do all the work, they way they tell you to.
Worse is the family trying to get rid of his stuff.
They almost always want gold for everything.
Nothing but trouble, and a huge waste of time.
Those I tend to help just trust me to "help" them clean out stuff.
Things go so much faster and with less drama.
I've found that if money is the main concern, it's just not worth the time.

[Adam Helmer]

I have helped several widows get top dollar for the deceased's stuff by posting a notice in the gun clubs they belonged to in life. Long guns are no problem in this state to adults and handguns go through an FFL or the Sheriff.

As an appraiser, I set the range of prices on much nice stuff and the widows were not robbed. Shop local and sell local, when you can. No need to ship stuff and all the other hassles. All nice guns were sold locally without an auctioneer's fee, etc.

Be well.

Adam

[cabezaverde]

There is a lot to be said for dropping the items off at the auctioneer who gets a lot of visibility and simply cashing the check when it comes in.

[Bruce in WV]

You might consider selling ("for $1 and other good and valuable consideration" on a bill of sale) some of your everyday guns, ammo, accessories and reloading stuff to homesteaders in your area that you sympathize with. Groups and small family farms, operating on a shoestring, need to control predators, harvest game, and protect themselves from bad actors. They can use rimfire and centerfire rifles and handguns, and shotguns, and can use the reloading stuff to keep them running when there's no spare money for ammo. You're not making any money, it's not deductible, but makes you feel good, and you can't put a dollar value on that.
Use a friendly FFL and stay clear of the new ATF transfer traps.

[Duckiller]

At 81 it is not a problem. Fortunately I have two sons and a daughter that like to shoot. #2 son has worked at a couple of gun stores. That got dad into stuff. The family has at least four safes full of guns. Grand daughter ,age 4 likes to go Turkey hunting with dad , uncle and grandfather. Not sure about grandson age 2. I have guns that none of them want and they will sell them. the rest will be split among them. With this in mind I can buy a gun now and then. May have to buy a Cricket soon or two.

[Rapier]

The US Constitution says all citizens have the right to sell or trade private property. An as a representative of the owner, acting for the owner and in their behalf you can sell the property that you do not own or receive benifit from the sale.

[john.k]

I dont see why I should give everything away just because Im old .....sell this ,sell that ,get rid of the motorbikes ,get rid of the lathes ...etc ...etc.......why?

[fatelk]

I dont see why I should give everything away just because Im old .....sell this ,sell that ,get rid of the motorbikes ,get rid of the lathes ...etc ...etc.......why?

No reason at all. If you still enjoy your stuff and have no reason to part with it, I see no reason whatsoever to get rid of it.

I'm still relatively young (ish) compared to a lot of you all, but I've got a lot of stuff that I haven't used in years, and probably won't, so I'm feeling the need to thin it out and use the money for other things.

[WRideout]

At age seventy-one I am still buying cheap guns for which I have to spend a fortune on reloading and casting equipment. I am hopeful that in the event of my demise, one of our children will assist my wife in migrating all this to the next user. Unfortunately she has never taken up the grand hobby of casting and reloading (sigh.)

Wayne