E-Bay Shopsmith Motherload

[dgale]

I just saw this pop up on E-Bay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SHOPSMITH-GOLD-MINE-/221173853863?pt=Power_Tools&hash=item337efd2ea7

That's a whole lotta shiny polished aluminum in those first few photos. I'm not sure where he came up with the $5k price and am guessing he won't see any takers...

[backhertz]

Holy cow! This should be on the 10E/ER forum.
It's almost impossible to tell what's for sale.

[hdoilcan]

That's a whole lotta shiny polished aluminum in those first few photos. I'm not sure where he came up with the $5k price and am guessing he won't see any takers...

I wondered the same.

[fredsheldon]

Well it looks like he might have at least 500 different pieces there. If you were to sell each one on e-bay and overcharge for shipping like a lot of sellers do, you could probably make $5.00 off each sale even if you break even on the part itself. Make $5.00 at least on each item itself and you have your $5,000 back easy. Anything over $5.00 on the item is profit.

[MikeG]

Note along with the pictured items are:

"Also included are 18 yes 18!!!!
Shopsmith 10 E
10 ER Units

5 of these are restored

there is a Mark 510 with jointer/ band saw/ 6 inch belt sander/ jigsaw & scroll saw/ plus assecories

there is also a Mark 5 from the 1980's
Mark 5 Greener
Mark 7 no wiring.
Stand alone scroll saw 20" from 1991. with original reciept, manual and updates(original was $ 639>>) it's in near mint condition also includes about 100 scroll saw blades."

His $5000.00 price might not be too high for all of the stuff he has listed.

[dgale]

Note along with the pictured items are:

"Also included are 18 yes 18!!!!
Shopsmith 10 E
10 ER Units

5 of these are restored

there is a Mark 510 with jointer/ band saw/ 6 inch belt sander/ jigsaw & scroll saw/ plus assecories

there is also a Mark 5 from the 1980's
Mark 5 Greener
Mark 7 no wiring.
Stand alone scroll saw 20" from 1991. with original reciept, manual and updates(original was $ 639>>) it's in near mint condition also includes about 100 scroll saw blades."

His $5000.00 price might not be too high for all of the stuff he has listed.

Problem is used Shopsmiths just don't sell for much, regardless of condition. At least out here on the west coast, you'd be lucky to get $100 each for the non-restored 10E/ER and $300 for the restored ones (you might fetch $500 each for these if you held out). There's no mention of the condition of the 510 but assuming it's in good rust-free, usable condition and with all those SPTs, you could fetch $1000 or maybe $1200 if you held out. The 80's Mark V and the Greenie would bring $200-$300 if you waiting long enough for someone to buy them (the CraigsList market is flooded at least in CA and they never seem to sell at any price). Mark 7 no wiring (??) - I'm unclear if this is the old Mark VII or the new Mark 7 - I presume it's a Mark VII, in which case it won't fetch much. Stand alone scroll saw in like new condition with a ton of blades...$300 or maybe $350 (?). As for all the 10E/ER parts he shows, most of them are knobs and such that don't bring much on E-Bay - they are all shiny and buffed, so there would be some interest and I guess that might add up to a bit but at some point you'll saturate the market for folks locking for 10ER knobs and table lifters.

So yes, you might be able to break even and a bunch of stuff left over to make a relatively small amount of $$, but then there's the time and expense to pick up and store all this stuff, much less the time to become a full-time E-Bay seller. I do like the polished pulley guard

[damagi]

yeah, the seattle market is super soft in terms of shopsmiths at the moment. Lots of listings that are overpriced, but none that actually sell.

[trainguytom]

Who needs to profit on the re-sale of all that stuff. Wouldn't it be cool just to have it, sit in the middle of all that...hold it...caress it...turn them all on at the same time...mmmmm

[dgale]

Who needs to profit on the re-sale of all that stuff.

I guess it's the guy's line about "start your own business" or something to that effect that made me realize he was marketing it that way and I guess realistically I can't see who else would buy that much stuff, either to plan on selling it all or at least keeping the stuff you want and sell the rest. From that angle, I don't see a sound "business" investment. If someone had the time, proximity, and the storage space, they could sell enough of the less wanted stuff with patience and probably break even and then have a bunch of cool stuff left over. I just don't see anyone pulling the trigger to the tune of $5k for this, despite how shiny and sexy that mountain of vintage polished aluminum is.

[billmayo]

If anyone is really looking to start a part time Shopsmith repair and selling business, please contact me. I have quite an extensive collection of Shopsmith Mark V stuff. Due to my declining health, I am going to be unable to make use of most of what I have collected over the past 20 years. Thanks.