Shopsmith Forums

I have 2 Mk V, 1955 with 3/4 up motor and a 1984 upgraded to 510. I’m going to sell the older unit (which works great) but on Craigslist locally they are only going for about $200 to $300. But on Ebay, it appears I can get much more if I part it out. Anybody else had this dilemma? Any comments?

steverboss wrote: ↑Thu Sep 29, 2022 3:50 pm I have 2 Mk V, 1955 with 3/4 up motor and a 1984 upgraded to 510. I’m going to sell the older unit (which works great) but on Craigslist locally they are only going for about $200 to $300. But on Ebay, it appears I can get much more if I part it out. Anybody else had this dilemma? Any comments?

No I have not but that is because I have not attempted to sell an operational unit. It does not surprise me at all that there would be a positive margin it you part it out. There are a few parts that are in higher demand and will bring a higher price.

If you do part it out though - you will certainly be left with parts for which there is no demand.

If you have just 4 square feet of floor space available you could turn your 1955 Greenie into a dedicated drill press or some kind of shorty. Most of the basic parts sell for less than $30 on eBay so you'd need to get a bunch of them sold to do better than $300 total, and then you'd have to deal with packing and shipping the items, cardboard can be free but tape usually isn't. Items offering free returns will go faster, but if you offer that you'll have to sell some number of them again. Buyers will want to see pictures so you'll have to get every part looking good. The condition will affect the price. As Dusty mentioned above you'll probably have parts left over, but you might need some for your 510 and if you've made enough money on the other parts you can just throw them away if you want. If you have the patience to wait for your parts to sell and don't mind the additional effort involved then you could do very well over time selling on eBay over time. Some sellers start out simply selling their extra parts and like how it works out so then they start buying more machines to part out.