Advice on cleaning out a woodworking shop?

[RFGuy]

Sadly my father-in-law passed away recently. He got into woodworking in retirement for enjoyment but also sold a small quantity of his products at craft fairs which brought him a lot of joy. There are a few of his tools that I want to hang onto, but I am looking to sell the rest so that the proceeds can benefit my mother-in-law. I am not looking to sell them here since I know that is not permitted, but just wanted to ask for advice on this whole process. They live on the other side of the country and I will only be able to travel back for short duration (1-2 weeks at a time) occasionally. I know one option is donating tools to local high school shop classes, maker communities, etc., but I consider this a last resort. Since she doesn't itemize her taxes and is on a very fixed income I am hoping to sell most of his tools to give her some cash in hand.

My thoughts are to use Craigslist and maybe Facebook marketplace to try to sell whatever I can during my short trips there. I just don't know how realistic this is because they live in a small, rural town so it may take considerable time for potential buyers to find my postings. Since I am not local it just becomes problematic to handle online listings unless I can somehow consolidate them into the short time that I am there. Any thoughts or tips on this would be appreciated.

The most expensive item that he had is a small Shopbot CNC. In reading online postings it seems like most sellers try to find local buyers for CNC's rather than attempting to ship them. The challenge that I think I will have is it may be difficult finding an interested buyer in/around such a small town, so I think I might have better luck shipping it to a suitable buyer. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge on partial CNC disassembly for packing and shipping? What should I look out for here? Again any tips or advice here is welcome.

For the few items that I intend to keep, I am thinking of maybe building a pallet with a box lid. I would securely mount the tools inside and get a freight company to ship it to my home. I haven't priced it out yet, but thinking this is the most economical versus driving my truck out there and renting a U-Haul trailer. Any other options or thoughts on transport across country?

Before anyone asks, I will let you know that there were no Shopsmith tools in his collection unfortunately, but rather a mix of other woodworking tool brands. Just looking for advice from anyone who may have had to do something similar either with getting woodworking tools across country and/or selling off a loved ones tool collection.

[sehast]

Another option is to have an estate type sale which used to be popular particularly in rural areas where friends who have first hand knowledge of the items would come as much for a social gathering as a sale. The big advantage is that it is all done in one day. The disadvantage is you might not get what the tools are worth. I am assuming the Shopbot is a desktop type and would not weight much but it still would consume a lot of time and effort to crate up and would have to be shipped by freight. Most people just find it too hard to ship these kind of used items as you have pointed out. The Chinese made desktop CNCs have really made selling this type of machine for what it is worth very difficult. You may have some luck finding some interest on the Shopbot forum, I would at least try it. Then you and the interested buyer can workout the transport issues. If you list it elsewhere I would just say shipping is negotiable instead of committing to ship it or saying it has to be picked up. If it is not too far a truck rental might be a good option. It might even fit in a SUV or minivan. That would avoid the headache of disassembly and packing. Sorry, I don't have a lot of good options here.

[chapmanruss]

Sorry for the loss of your father.

You said they live in a small rural town but is there any larger cities/towns with a bigger potential buyer base within 50 miles? Having an estate sale or garage sale could be an answer. Tools are generally a good draw at an estate sale and your mother could add other items she may no longer need or want. Calling it an estate sale, even though your mother is still there, will tend to attract more buyers than a garage sale. It would be your father's estate items you would be selling. Garage sales tend to be people just getting rid of stuff they no longer want.

Advertising online for selling items may bring more money but will take longer to accomplish it. Plus you have to be there for the sales or have your mother available to handle the local pickups.

[RFGuy]

Steve and Russ,

Thanks for your feedback and your sympathies. Yes, an estate sale might be the best overall option. I was kind of holding it in the back of my mind as a last resort too, but may have to go this route. It will likely be 6-12 months before I can get out there with COVID-19, etc. By then I hope to have some plans in place to try to help her with this. I would have to try to convince her to go the estate sale route. I know selling the tools individually has the potential to net the most value, but it is also the least disruptive (physically and emotionally) to her compared to an estate sale, but it may take a long, long time to sell on Craigslist. If she was in better health, I would consider listing them and having her coordinate the sales, but I just don't think she is up for this. FYI...she lives within an hour or so from Raleigh, NC. If she lived in Raleigh or another bigger city, I would have more confidence in selling a good portion of the tools in 1-2 weekends on Craigslist. Perhaps it is close enough to still work, but I just don't know. My own personal experiences with Craigslist have been very hit and miss, which is part of why I am asking for advice here...

Yeah, it is the Shopbot Desktop model, but I don't know how old it is...could be up to a decade old. I think he spent around $7-8k for it new. Honestly, I don't know why he bought it compared to other woodworking CNC's. I don't know CNC's very well, but it seems like a Shopbot is overkill (very low resolution capability) for woodworking unless you are doing a very fine detail carving or engraving. This Desktop model only has a 24" x 18" capacity so it is rather limiting IMHO. If I am wrong, let me know.

Thanks for your suggestions. I really appreciate it.

[BuckeyeDennis]

I don’t have any direct experience with this, but I understand that there are eBay “consignment sellers” that will do all of the legwork to list and sell your stuff on eBay, in exchange for a percentage of the revenues. There used to be one with a physical storefront in my own small town — I don’t know if it’s still there. But a quick Google search just indicated that there are still businesses doing that, including in the Raleigh NC area.

I suspect that an eBay consignment seller that’s willing to pack and ship would garner better prices than Craigslist. And I believe that at least some of them take physical posession of the goods up front, which could greatly simplify your logistics challenges.

[RFGuy]

Dennis,

Thanks. That could be a good option. For the Raleigh, NC ones, what search terms did you use to find them? I tried like "eBay tool consignment seller" but I haven't had much luck finding ones confirmed to be local to that area yet. I wonder what their fees are. I had heard of consignment stores for example for used furniture and typically those places want 30-40% of the sold price. Assuming something like this would be similar. I had also thought about those places that do liquidations, e.g. auctioning off manufacturing or lab equipment after a company goes out of business. I figured my small job wouldn't be worth their time though...

[BuckeyeDennis]

Dennis,

Thanks. That could be a good option. For the Raleigh, NC ones, what search terms did you use to find them? I tried like "eBay tool consignment seller" but I haven't had much luck finding ones confirmed to be local to that area yet. I wonder what their fees are. I had heard of consignment stores for example for used furniture and typically those places want 30-40% of the sold price. Assuming something like this would be similar. I had also thought about those places that do liquidations, e.g. auctioning off manufacturing or lab equipment after a company goes out of business. I figured my small job wouldn't be worth their time though...

I Googled “ebay consignment sellers north carolina” and got a few hits. But I have no clue if they are for reputable companies.

A 40% commission could be worth it IF the consignment seller will handle shipping. I’ve observed that items with shipping available to the national market generally command much higher prices than items listed “for local pickup only”.

[roy_okc]

Yeah, it is the Shopbot Desktop model, but I don't know how old it is...could be up to a decade old. I think he spent around $7-8k for it new. Honestly, I don't know why he bought it compared to other woodworking CNC's. I don't know CNC's very well, but it seems like a Shopbot is overkill (very low resolution capability) for woodworking unless you are doing a very fine detail carving or engraving. This Desktop model only has a 24" x 18" capacity so it is rather limiting IMHO. If I am wrong, let me know.

A lot of people prefer something smaller in size as it is much easier to find a place to put it compared to a larger machine. That size is actually great for making wood signs and other smaller projects.

I took a look on the TalkShopBot.com forum's sales pages for recent prices. I didn't see any marked "sold", but there was one in LA for $4K, another with many upgrades in FL that started at $7K+ and had been reduced over time to $4.9K. Saw another post that stated price might run 50-75% of new depending on age/features, condition, accessories, etc., if you can find a buyer. The problem with that last statement is that the Shapeokos and such are likely impacting used sales.

Keep me in mind when you have more info on it, I just might be interested, depending on its features, at the right price. I might be wanting something between my small machine (12x13") and my larger machine (whatever size it ends up being after upsizing it).

[RFGuy]

Roy,

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Until I get there, I can't do much right now, but I am trying to plan things out for when I travel there. For sure I will keep you in mind so if you still have interest at that point, you will be at the top of the list for this CNC. Thanks again.

[bainin]

You might want to give Klingspor a call/email in Cary (that is next door to Raleigh).

https://www.woodworkingshop.com/


They have always been a great sounding board for my questions and run
fairly well attended classes/local events so know many of the local woodworkers here.

They might be a good source of info on who might be interested in the tools local to the Raleigh area.


b