Your policy on resellables

Recently I got stood up (even after confirming less than an hour before meeting) on attempts to sell 2 computers (thankfully I always meet at a gas station thats only like 5 mins from my house so not a huge deal... just a waste of time and gas).

One for $30, one for $70 (this was 2 sales, with 2 different people, both no-showed and then quit responding to messages). Both were after multiple days of back and forths.

Last week I met someone after we agreed to a price and they showed up and tried to give less than half of what was agreed upon.



It is not worth it, for me at least, to deal with people, for a few extra bucks. From now on if the item wouldn't bring more than $100, Im scrapping it (or taking apart and sending to someone on here). The general public is just too unreliable, and I dont really need the money enough to deal with the frustration. I just like taking crap apart and finding neat things in the trash.

What are other peoples policies on resellables? I feel bad when I get nice, perfectly usable things, and feel bad tearing them apart.... but dont want to deal with reselling. May just donate stuff like that from now on.

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

All just part of the game

Yes indeed. Im mostly just curious if other people have a dollar amount that they decide is the "cut-off" for if its worth the time reselling. I've decided my number is $100. This will probably double the amount of stuff I end up scrapping, but more than half the amount of time I spend trying to resell stuff.

Exceptions being stuff I have "a guy" for. For example, bikes and broken lawn equipment I have a guy for, so even if its less than $100, at least I know I have a buyer and about what they'll give, and know they are reliable.

Originally Posted by Faceball

Exactly this. Having a "guy" or a reliable outlet means everything. Make those connections and build those professional relationships.

Yep, that is true. I'll focus on expanding my things I "got a guy" for.

Scrap - Scrap yard
Electronics scrap - buyers here
Bikes - Guy I sold bikes to that buys them all the time
Lawn equip - Guy I sold a bunch of lawn equip to that says hes always buying it


"Everything else" I am sure has buyers out there and is worth something. Guess thats the age old struggle of businesses.... finding the buyers for whatever youre selling, no different here. Mostly just venting I guess lol.

Your time, safety, and mental preservation are all worth a great deal of money. Know your worth.��

Originally Posted by kss

Recently I got stood up (even after confirming less than an hour before meeting) on attempts to sell 2 computers (thankfully I always meet at a gas station thats only like 5 mins from my house so not a huge deal... just a waste of time and gas).

One for $30, one for $70 (this was 2 sales, with 2 different people, both no-showed and then quit responding to messages). Both were after multiple days of back and forths.

Last week I met someone after we agreed to a price and they showed up and tried to give less than half of what was agreed upon.

It is not worth it, for me at least, to deal with people, for a few extra bucks. From now on if the item wouldn't bring more than $100, Im scrapping it (or taking apart and sending to someone on here). The general public is just too unreliable, and I dont really need the money enough to deal with the frustration. I just like taking crap apart and finding neat things in the trash.

What are other peoples policies on resellables? I feel bad when I get nice, perfectly usable things, and feel bad tearing them apart.... but dont want to deal with reselling. May just donate stuff like that from now on.

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

Problem is some people over value their own worth

Well said my friend .

When I was listing items on CL I had multiple no-shows and those that did show up either looked really really sketchy or complained about the price. How can you complain about a $20 microwave with a 30 day money back warranty?! I switched to mainly marketplace and haven't had too many issues. I sell out of the warehouse where I work. Usually people show up when they are supposed to, but I've been seeing an increased number of no-shows lately. It's probably weather related. Oh well, back into the corner the item goes. kss I definitely understand your frustration with no shows and low-ballers. It only takes a few of them to ruin the whole selling experience. Are you mainly selling on Craigslist or on FB marketplace? A change may yield better results.

Originally Posted by 406Refining

When I was listing items on CL I had multiple no-shows and those that did show up either looked really really sketchy or complained about the price. How can you complain about a $20 microwave with a 30 day money back warranty?! I switched to mainly marketplace and haven't had too many issues. I sell out of the warehouse where I work. Usually people show up when they are supposed to, but I've been seeing an increased number of no-shows lately. It's probably weather related. Oh well, back into the corner the item goes. kss I definitely understand your frustration with no shows and low-ballers. It only takes a few of them to ruin the whole selling experience. Are you mainly selling on Craigslist or on FB marketplace? A change may yield better results.

Mainly letgo and craigslist. I do not have a facebook.... but my wife has sold some furniture stuff on facebook marketplace and that stuff usually went quick and without issue. I may have to make a facebook just so I can sell on there.

Originally Posted by matador

You can't blame the no-shows too much when we've been inundated with freak snowstorms

As almost everyone here knows, I work with computers and their parts. So, for local sales, that means "Whole computers". I have more problems with local sales than anything, but a lot of them are not product problems. If 406 sells a guy a microwave, he darned well should be smart enough to figure out how to run it. If I sell an HP or Dell, I'll often spend hours on end having to fix small "problems" that often amount to operator error. You spend so much time after the sale that makes you no money- it's just not worth the hassle.

Right now for example, I'm working with a friend who's here on SMF to refurbish some laptops for sale. I'm doing all the polish work I can, upgrading parts, loading the OS, and all that. It works because he had some insanely nice laptops come in. Honestly, with lower end laptops, I'd probably be ahead (And so would he) if I just resold them as tested "Builder" units. What I'm doing seems to work, because it's a small scale. For large lots where I have to process way more, time is money. If I can sell more builders units for a little less profit, I'll end up making more in the end anyways. And, the other nice thing about selling PC parts and builders units: The people who tend to buy those usually know what they're doing. The people who buy whole systems.... it's a total roll of the dice. One that I probably won't have time to always be rolling, and IMO, you shouldn't be either. I never thought things outside of computers were that way, but if 406 is having problems with people who are buying microwaves, nothing may be immune

Also, where the heck were you 406 when I needed a microwave last year?

I have found probably 30+ WORKING microwaves this year alone so far, that people threw out. To see if they were worth re-selling a while back, I took the nicest one I had (a stainless steel one, that retailed for like $130), cleaned it up real nice, listed it for $50. No interest. Lowered to $40, same. Lowered to $20, got a few people asking about it but eventually ghosting me. Eventually lowered to $10 and it sold. So, after cleaning it, listing it, dealing with people, driving to meet the person at a place right by my house, etc.... $10.... Now I just snip the cord and throw the rest of the microwave into the scrap pile, working or not. Not worth the time. I am finding that that is the case with most things. Guess thats why they were in the trash

Im done trying to sell working computers. The last one I sold whole, wasted probably a half hour with the guy who didnt show up, then spent another half hour to meet the guy who eventually did. Plus probably a half hour taking pictures and listing it.... all for $70, when instead I could have sold the CPU and ram in it to you for around $50 (according to your buy sheet) and just scrapped the case, powersupply, and mobo. Yes it is less money but it also much less of a hassle..... so thats my plan going forwards.

My cutoff is $20. I have a few "rules" for sales.
1. Sales don't make me mad, they are entertainment.
2. I have to be able to sell the item for 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of a new and still make 10x my money.
3. If they make an offer, I will counter. If they make a ridiculous offer, I will not even respond. I accepted an offer for $20 for a dog cage listed at $25 and told them to be here to pick it up by 8. They had an hour and about 5 of 8 I get a text they would get here at 8:03. I told them the price was $25 after 8. Oddly, they made it before 8.
4. I give an approximate location, I do not give my address until the people are ready to pick up.
5. If any negotiation has occurred prior to arrival, any attempt to negotiate after arrival will cost more than previously agreed. I call it, "The reopen negotiation charge."
6. If they sit, they get scrapped.

Originally Posted by t00nces2

My cutoff is $20. I have a few "rules" for sales.
1. Sales don't make me mad, they are entertainment.
2. I have to be able to sell the item for 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of a new and still make 10x my money.
3. If they make an offer, I will counter. If they make a ridiculous offer, I will not even respond. I accepted an offer for $20 for a dog cage listed at $25 and told them to be here to pick it up by 8. They had an hour and about 5 of 8 I get a text they would get here at 8:03. I told them the price was $25 after 8. Oddly, they made it before 8.
4. I give an approximate location, I do not give my address until the people are ready to pick up.
5. If any negotiation has occurred prior to arrival, any attempt to negotiate after arrival will cost more than previously agreed. I call it, "The reopen negotiation charge."
6. If they sit, they get scrapped.

All pretty good rules. $20 used to be my number, but now going to move it to I think like $50. Was going to be $100 but looking back at the stuff I have sold that would only have been like 1 or 2 things.....

I never give out my address or meet at my house. I meet at a gas station a mile or two down the road.

If they sit they get scrapped is where I am at, I am just go to be a lot more firm on this policy.

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

For a $20 microwave you are not exactly dealing with the cream of the crop when you can buy one brand new at walmart for $59.99

Exactly. I would never buy a used microwave. For $60 you can have a brand new one with a warranty and the difference between $20 and $60, is almost nothing, and it takes out all the risk of buying second hand.

New sale limit of $50/item min will be imposed to weed out the riff-raff and ensure the stuff im selling is worth my time. Everything else can just be scrapped.

I think that you sometimes learn more from your failures than you do from your successes. The trick is to keep at it and not get discouraged.

Sales and marketing are a skill just like anything else.

It's kinda like fishing. Let's say that you just go out there willy nilly and cast your net wide. It's likely you'll catch all different kinds of fish. It could be that the net comes up full of junk fish that were a complete waste of time and energy. If that's the case ... you need to find better fishing grounds.

Maybe adjust your gear and fishing technique to catch the kind of fish that you do want ?

You gotta be mindful that there are other fishermen out there on the water too. They're competing for the same resource that you are. Some have been doing it for a long time and are a whole lot better at it than you are. Some way or another ... you've got to gain a small foothold into their territory and expand from there.

Cl isn't exactly the most fertile fishing ground. You can see that Wal Mart has the market cornered on cheap computers if you search their on-line offerings. You can get something brand new with the latest operating system for under a hundred dollars. That market is a pretty tough nut to crack.

It might be better to focus your time & effort in offering a quality product for sale.

Right now ... a new 16" MacBook Pro retails for well over two grand.

It will still have plenty of retail value eight years from now when it enters the waste stream. It hits the sweet spot between quality and value for a lot of the middle class customers that will follow through on the sale and won't jerk you around on the price.

The Wal Mart cheapo will likely have a short lifespan and only be good for scrap in a few years.

Maybe this marketing strategy would work better ?

Originally Posted by hills

I think that you sometimes learn more from your failures than you do from your successes. The trick is to keep at it and not get discouraged.

Sales and marketing are a skill just like anything else.

It's kinda like fishing. Let's say that you just go out there willy nilly and cast your net wide. It's likely you'll catch all different kinds of fish. It could be that the net comes up full of junk fish that were a complete waste of time and energy. If that's the case ... you need to find better fishing grounds.

Maybe adjust your gear and fishing technique to catch the kind of fish that you do want ?

You gotta be mindful that there are other fishermen out there on the water too. They're competing for the same resource that you are. Some have been doing it for a long time and are a whole lot better at it than you are. Some way or another ... you've got to gain a small foothold into their territory and expand from there.

Cl isn't exactly the most fertile fishing ground. You can see that Wal Mart has the market cornered on cheap computers if you search their on-line offerings. You can get something brand new with the latest operating system for under a hundred dollars. That market is a pretty tough nut to crack.

It might be better to focus your time & effort in offering a quality product for sale.

Right now ... a new 16" MacBook Pro retails for well over two grand.

It will still have plenty of retail value eight years from now when it enters the waste stream. It hits the sweet spot between quality and value for a lot of the middle class customers that will follow through on the sale and won't jerk you around on the price.

The Wal Mart cheapo will likely have a short lifespan and only be good for scrap in a few years.

Maybe this marketing strategy would work better ?

It is true I could be better at marketing and selling. However, I dont really like or enjoy buying/selling, and dont really NEED to be selling anything. It is just a by-product of what I do like to do which is finding neat stuff people throw out, taking stuff apart, recycling in general, and keeping things out of the landfill. Since I am not super profit motivated, I think having a $50 limit will be good. If it is truly something that I think someone would use and get use out of I would GIVE it away, if people would just be reliable and respectful of other people time. I would rather GIVE a microwave to someone who needed one, and who would respond quickly/frequently, and show up on time.... than sell it for $20 to someone who never texts back, jerks around trying to get a deal, and shows up late. Problem is, you never know which kind of person you are dealing with. Anything that is scrappable and cant sell for $50 will get scrapped/recycled, anything non-metal, but still reusable/good quality with get donated.

It's all good. You just have to figure out what works best for you.

I serve the public in my regular day job. Prior to that, i ran my own small carpentry business for 16 years. I'm not really all that crazy about the sales & marketing end of it. I'm not particularly good at it. Would much rather be in the shop working on mechanical things than dealing with people all the time.

It's just a necessary skill that had to be developed for the job.

Honestly though ... i've had pretty good luck with putting out a quality product over the years. It comes back to you in ways you never could have anticipated. I had a place that i've taken care of for the last twelve years that went up for sale last year. It sold for what i thought was an ungodly amount of money. Again ... no specialist on marketing but i brought a few things to the table that pushed the sale over the top. Got a nice little 2% gift dropped in my lap just before Christmas in thanks for all of the work i had done.

The money was never a thought that entered into the equation. Was just tryin' to do what i thought was the right thing for everybody involved in the deal.

It's just my thing ... ya know ?