Hi All, I'd like to post a couple of hypothetical questions on here and see what responses people post: 1) I need to get rid of, or sell, or store- a lot of my car sh&t because I am planning on moving and don't necessarily want to take all of it with me/pack it, ship it, etc., some heavy stuff too, like engines and transmissions, wheels/tires.... And...SO--- 2) I am thinking of consolidating my resources and no longer have time to mess with the crap I have filling my garage and attic. I'll keep the good stuff and move on... My question is: 1a) Would you have a "free for all", and sell your friends cheap (worthwhile) stuff, or otherwise have people in on the deals, and then have a real "garage" sale afterwards for the leftover small stuff, where you sell off the rest of your garage, or: 1b) Do you keep, move, and store all your "stuff"; that you may or may never need, as in-- a rental place, or one of these "pods", only to have to move it all again someday to the said "new place"; thus becoming a "pack rat"? I'm leaning towards a fire sale, and starting over. Your thoughts? FWIW, my next house purchase includes some land and a giant pole barn. I have a couple things worth money, but I need the money and space now more than the stuff....and I don't want to play with eBay or Craigslist exclusively. Just looking for opinions...
I go to estate auctions occasionally, and alot of them are not held because someone died. They are moving. They sell everything. Just a stack of $$ to move, and start over. Now, as an accomplished car and part collector like yourself, and myself, that isn't so easy as above. You know what stuff cost you, and you know what it would cost to replace. Now figure out how much it is to ship.. I contemplated filling 40 foot containers that i paid for ($2700 each) and having them transported to New Mexico, where I'll most likely end up.. That was going to cost about $3500+ each times 4.. What could I buy for $25,000? Most of the shit I was shipping.. So I have made a plan to sell everything I have not touched for a long time. This is difficult. So the parts that go to certain cars that I am keeping stay. Now to whittle down the cars I'm keeping.. Only the stuff I can drive. If it does not get there on its own, it is gone. All the money I get back for selling off the stuff I'm not taking can and will be used for re-stocking after I get to the new place. Whatever you do, make a timeline, or schedule by what rate stuff will go. You do not want to have to scrap or give stuff away to just get rid of it because you are moving. Give it time to sell at a decent price. If it does not sell, then be a big guy and scrap it out. Do not save it. If nobody wants to pay you anything for it, it is NOT worth shipping and storing.. A 10x10 storage is at least $100 a month, so 1200 a year. I buy unpaid storage units too, and there is rarely $1200 worth of stuff in them, ever. I would not have a "fire sale" but offering up stuff for what it cost you to your buddies is a first step. This is hard to do.. I was talking to a friend about all the stuff I had, but do not use. He simply stated the fact that all those parts represent $100 dollar bills just sitting there collecting dust. Nothing I have is irreplaceable. Sell it and use the $$ to buy stuff you can make even more $$ on, or buy a house, garage, etc. Tools, etc I will keep, the car parts I dont need will go. And when I move, all the shitty furniture I have is not going with me!!
I just moved clear across the country and found myself in a similar situation. I stored one complete project (one I'll never sell) and chose to sell the rest. I needed some storage since I have a lot of tools that I feel would be ridiculous to sell only to be wanting/needing them in the future. I had to weigh what I was accomplishing out of keeping all the stuff I had aside from the project I was keeping; my restored Suzuki 2 stroke motorcycle and my Jeep that I built from the ground up would only sit in storage. Along with that, my 27 Essex project and a mess of parts I certainly could not take with me. I've chosen to sell off that stuff since it doesn't matter too much . I'd rather consolidate my things and enjoy what I have. I've really noticed how much I miss having something (and some place) for wrenching. So, when I sell those things (I'm waiting for spring to get the most $) I'll be able to have exactly what I want without any other distractions. Then when I return home I'll have another project (a relatively easy build) without needing any capital to spend or tools to buy. The biggest thing was keeping what I didn't want to replace eventually. I always feel that if it's something I'd replace later because I need money now... there's probably another, better, way to get the money.
Paying rent to store stuff you will never use is BAD move. I've moved stuff for a guy 4-5 times in the bast 8 years, and he's finally trashed most of it. Just think of the rental total for all that time. Heavy stuff is best sold at a local garage sale, put the good stuff on eBay and make a few bucks. I'm downsizing my projects, and don't miss any of the stuff.
keep the stuff you will miss get rid of the rest to friends for a good price or free that way you know it will go to a good home.
A couple of years ago I had a huge sell up of 30 years of not throwing anything away. I had filled a 20,000sf warehouse I owned with parts cars, parts, tools and god knows what. Didn't make a fortune but enough to pay for upgrading the front and offices of the warehouse and now I collect 52K a year in rent. The mortgage will be gone soon and that then will be my toy fund. We all tend to be great collectors and I often see friends moaning because they can't afford to work on their car when if they sold off some of their hoard they could do it easily. Re selling to friends cheap I always ask myself would I give the guy $100 bills because that effectively is what you are doing. If I owe the guy a favour fine I look after him otherwise I want fair money otherwise you tend to give away cheap all the good stuff and get stuck with the shit.
extra cash when making a move is always a good thing , keep the stuff you think you might need sometime in the future and unload the access.. hold a dirt cheap fire sale to get rid of it quick .. good luck in your decision its a tough call ...
Once got involved helping a bud hold a garage sale for a friend's widow, lots of Chevy hot rod stuff went for pennies on the dollar, many a good deal because the time and effort to get top dollar could not be had. When we die young and we leave a lot of stuff behind it sometimes becomes a liability for our descendants. Having realized this and coming up on 60 in a few, I've started thinning out the things I won't ever or can't afford to build. This too takes time, but I'll really enjoy the space when it happens, and that will make me more productive, I hope! Also, the cash has paid some bills lately!
I moved 4 years ago and heres what I did. I sorted what I had to keep and what could go. I sold all my sbc's and flatheads. Sold all related flathead parts. Sold every model A body part. Sold 1/2 of my 32 ford cars with their related parts. Everything left was moved to the new place. Took 6 weekends with 2 pickups with trailers. I am indebted to many buddies for their help and understanding during the move. I tried to sell mixed parts groups. That way the junk goes away too. Some parts really sold cheap and I did OK on others. Some sold on internet and some to buddies. I had way more stuff than one fella needs. I don't regret selling any of the stuff and continue to sell off more stuff as the years go by. It fun to collect and buy when the price is good but I started finding parts that I forgot I had. I was actually buying a part and finding that same part in my junk months later. "Keep the best and sell the rest" has become my motto. Good luck with your move. Steve
Sell that stuff I too buy contents of unpaid mini storage mostly it isnt worth any where near what was owed in back rent.If you dont want the hassle hire a auctioneer. A widely advertized auction on the first saturday of the month will bring out the EBayers flea marketers, and collectors Ect. A auction the third saturday of the month usually does poorly. The goverment checks come out the 3 of the month. OldWolf
if you no longer want it.. offer it to your closest friends first... the hamb... then ebay / craigslist.com... and maybe a garage sale to wash it all down.. that is probably the best way to get your money... probably the most work tho
Keep thgat which you will acutally use and can't replace in 12-24 months, sell the rest. If time is the primary factor (you need to move quickly), you can always sell/give it to friends. If not having the time to work on your projects is the problem, sell as much as you can and get something that doesn't need work so you can enjoy the time you do have while you plan for the project you can actually finish. The hunt is a driving force when it comes to cars and parts, and for many that is a primary attraction, so there will always be a place to sell cheap if necessary so you can move on with your life. If you collect enough stuff, the stuff runs your life and nothing ever gets done. Good luck.
I'd create list (spreadsheet) off most of the stuff, and put it for sale on here and places like HAMB. I remember I was moving and I had all these books and cd's and was gonna donate them but I ended up selling a bunch over Amazon and made like $2K. I then offed the rest of the stuff. You could have HAMB private sale, I'm sure a ton of folks would come by. I'm looking for a Merc 51 rear bumper.
I am not moving, but I am starting to clean up all my junk that I am never going to use or finish, and sell it. This includes an off topic car or two that I will finish quickly and get rid off. I need to build a new garage behind the house, so cleaning it out is the first part, and the dollars from the junk I will never use can be put into the garage.
The Jalopy Journal
