ENTIRE SYSTEM NEEDED TO SELL
Michelle, sorry for your loss. I hope that you are doing well and that selling these and other items left from your husbands life, will assist in finding closure and reduce any pain you endure through this time in your life. my suggestion would be to contact the dealer your husband dealt with and see if he would consider consignement to help you sell this equipment. That would allow him to make a little money and maybe for you to maximize your returns. This method would be better than asking the dealer to buy it as a package at wholesale. If he is the dealer that sold most of the equipment to your husband and is avoid dealer, he should be more than happy to assist you. If the dealer is not willing, then post an ad here on Audiogon, hopefully you have all the original boxes. And contact a shipping company and see if you palletize this system as a single package so that it can be shipped. It would help if you could provide a list of the equipment here in this thread. Then we can maybe provide some guidance as to what values you should seek. Again, my sympathies Theo |
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Michelle, condolences on the loss of your husband. :( You will want to talk to a high end audio shop and explain the situation. They can give you realistic prices on the components of the system. You should have a good idea of the total value before you seek to sell it. Perhaps if he was a meticulous man he kept the sales receipts, and you can work from them to seek the value. Do not let feelings drive you to sell it off at a pittance; I am guessing he would want you to get good value out of it for your support. If you do not know the value of the gear be wary of someone telling you it's not that valuable. Sadly, there are people who prey on the ignorant and vulnerable. At the very least, seek comparisons on the internet of identical pieces for sale to get some idea of their value. Perhaps a high end audio shop would take the system on consignment, so that you do not have to deal with each piece individually. You may get a bit less than selling it off outright, but it would be put up for sale by people who know how to deal with such things and could find the right buyer. Another option is to take responses from persons on this forum via the message system, but you will want to verify their credibility. Look for people who have a long track record of good deals. I would advise not to work with anyone who signs up recently with no track record. I would also insist they buy the system with cashier's check or money order. Draw up a simple, but proper bill of sale that includes date, the precise names of the pieces in the system, price sold, and - this is critical - the phrase, "Sold as is", so that it is a clean deal and done once finalized. Have two copies and have the seller and you sign both. I would not use Paypal for such a deal, as it can be very problematic, and there is not nearly the protection for you as seller as you may think. I would absolutely not take personal check from anyone for such a system. Others may have different views, but you will put the odds of a safer transaction in your favor if you follow my advice. If someone is credible and the system is priced well people should have no problem with these parameters for the sale. Another idea; there are audio clubs mentioned here an on other audio sites. Perhaps you can contact the leader of such a club near you and seek assistance. Then you would have people locally who know what the gear is and can perhaps even assist with promoting the sale. |
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So sorry for your loss. If you are close to Minneapolis, MN I would be happy to sell the gear for you on this site. If it is high end gear it can be sold here. I am also willing to help you with the value of your gear if you are far away. Check my feedback, like to help you during this difficult time. |
Hi may your loved RIP. Above advises to sell locally are great and most useful. If you find high-end store in your area or at reasonable distance of travel, you're likely be successful to consign equipment. I would not 'slice' more than 20% for them. Some of them would like to have 35...50% and they are indeed crooks. Do NOT explain them your situation!! It will only trigger buyer to take an advantage! I would rather keep silent and just ask them if they would like you to consign equipment to them yes-no-hi-bye. 20% on equipment that's worth let's say $20,000 is descent steak for the store and I speak from the retailer's stand point. So call around and do 'shopping' to choose the best and most honest dealer in the area or within reasonable distance. Internet-eBay-PayPal- etc are not safe unless you use some precautions: 1. Do NOT sell entire system and list your items separately. Large amounts are harder to deal with in internet transactions especially if your internet selling account is new 2. verify PayPal with money-card purchased from WalMart or ordered via internet such as accountnow.com. These cards are pre-paid and provide you with bank info legit enough to connect with PayPal and get verified. Withdraw funds IMMEDIATELY after they become available. |
Go ahead and list the components and we may be able to suggest what you might expect to receive if you want to go to the minor chore of listing them or putting them up for auction... or let us know (generally/city) where you are and perhaps someone like Grannyring- who I know to be trustworthy- (as would anyone with lots of posts & great feedback) to be helpful in at least pointing you to an honest dealer. You can also pay a bit and utilize the "Audio Bluebook" function on this site. In general, you'll probably get about 50% of new value. You can lookup new prices by just Googling the equipment name/reviews. But consider this..... As Tom6897 suggested, consider passing it along to his favorite relative/nephew who would appreciate it and always remember your husband/and you. Here's the advice I got from a quality gun dealer when I considered selling my (alzheimer's) father's very nice heirloom shotgun: He said, "One day your father will be gone, the shotgun will be gone, and the money will be gone." What a good dealer to convince me to keep it. |
Michelle, My condolences to you & your family. Regardless of whether you find a dealer to sell on consignment or you sell here, you do yourself a huge disservice by trying to sell the system as a bundled package. It's easy to tell yourself that said plan would "make it simpler", but the reality is that packing and shipping will be the same work either way. The key is that this is a hobby of putting together puzzle pieces and the vast majority of potential buyers don't buy more than one piece at time. That's a combination of cost and a desire to understand each items impact before making another change. By selling a whole system, you eliminate >90% of potential purchasers. With such a small number looking to buy a whole system, you will end up taking far less than value or not finding a buyer. Generally speaking & oversimplified to give you an idea: used gear sells for ~50% of MSRP. Dealers who buy wholesale will pay you ~20-25% so they can resell it for 50-60%. Selling each piece individually here might yield double the proceeds. There is also on this site a "blue book" you can subscribe to that tracks sale prices of gear. Last I saw it cost $50 to subscribe, but if you have a lot of pricey gear to sell, it might be worthy of consideration. Cheers, Spencer |
Michelle, this really is a sad situation and I extend my sympathy to you and anyone else affected by Fred's death. Lots of good advice here, and I think a reliable dealer is the best route, but in case that's not an option, here's another idea though it might take the collective community to assist. Why not develop a list of the gear here and have the group discuss its value, hopefully trying to give you some idea of what it might sell for on A'gon. Then, if folks here are interested in actually buying, we can collectively vouch for each other or maybe the price and ensure you at least are not being gouged by the unscrupulous. Not sure this is workable or if you even have the interest in going this route, but I'd like to imagine that the A'gon community can be respectful, helpful and community-minded. I know if I passed without provision for this, my wife would also be at a loss as to how to proceed and I'd like to think my gear went to good use at a price that was fair for my family. Regardless, we're really a small community, and it saddens me when any long-term member leaves us. Peace to you. Patrick |
Kudos to all my fellow Audiogoners for their excellent advice. It's nice to be a part of a group of fine moral people. Some of the advice above sounds overwhelming for a lady who wants to sell a stereo system. One knowledgeable person helping this lady could make life easier for her. One correction from above. Used HIGHLY desirable gear can fetch 50% of new price. Other stuff, MUCH MUCH less! If the system gets listed, I'd lend any help or advice if near me (Philadelphia.Pa) Joe |
Please accept my condolences. Personally, I think there are many fine people here on A'gon that would be willing to assist you in estimating the used worth of your husband's system. This can be done remotely, but if we had an idea of the area in which you live, someone who could provide references may step forward and help you with the whole process including packing and shipping. Adds here in this circumstances often say "selling for a friend" and then use the feedback credentials of the person who has been an audiogon member to testify to the reliablity of condition and description of gear. |
Michelle, sorry for your loss. I believe you listed the system but it was probably removed by the administrators, guess it undermines the main site. Anyway based on my having had a chance to see the list while it was up it is clear you have a nice mid range system but there are one or two pieces like the speakers (Maggie’s I recall) that are much more desirable than the remainder. What this probably means is that selling as a system probably does not make sense. All of the pieces can probably be sold but each will need to be listed, priced and positioned correctly. This is a job of work and hopefully a local Agoner can help. Or a dealer that trades high volumes of similar stuff. Here in Portland Oregon Echo Audio would be such a dealer. If you let us know where you are located we may be able to point you the right way. Good luck |
Hi Sorry for your loss. IMO you might have to sell the system in pieces. It can be difficult to sell an entire system in one shot. Since you are a novice here on Audiogon and selling here can really test your patience and sanity I would say try to get in contact with a professional reseller here. Work out a deal for commissions etc. They can handle the listing, shipping, dealing with the lowballers etc so you can focus on other things. I have no affiliation with this seller but they did parts of the estate sale for Harry Pearson. scot_themusic https://www.audiogon.com/users/scot_themusic/feedbacks Best of luck. |
Sorry for your loss. My advice - and the same that I will give to my wife when I'm gone - is to sell it here and not through a dealer. Unless that dealer knew your husband well. Or to find a friend who will sell it for you. Paypal is very safe as long as you follow their rules to ensure you get the guarantee. |
Michelle, I am sorry for your loss. You should try contacting any of Fred's audio buddies for advice on value of the components, safely packing the items for storage, and the best venues for selling. Original packaging, and owner's manuals fetch higher prices for high quality, beautifully maintained equipment. If you are in Chicago, Illinois area, I could help you. |
Hello Michelle, At Audiogon you will (already have) receive lots of excellent and yet somewhat contradictory advice. What I will say about this community is that the members are predominately highly ethical and in it for the joy of the audio pursuit. Thank you for posting your question as it is a reminder to everyone here that eventually we and our beloved gear will part ways... I suggest that you start by taking clear and well lit photos of the front and rear of each piece of equipment, the goal being to capture any printing indicating model number or other distinguishing information. I imagine even this step could prove daunting as much of this gear is heavy and may even be difficult to get behind. Having this information will be very helpful when you take the next step. It is going to be much easier doing all this with an experienced audio person helping you. This is a strong argument for the consignment sale via a high end store approach. But even then, posting a list of the gear here may give you some comfort in terms of having an independent assessment of the value. Please let the community here know if you need either virtual or in-person help, in my experience they are all deeply committed to the hobby and to the community. Best wishes and please let us know if we can help in any way, we seem to be a decent lot... vic w. |
I'm very sorry for your loss, Michelle. If your husband had his system posted here on Audiogon, we can look at it to give you some idea about its value. Or you can actually message individual members by looking them up and sending them the system inventory directly, to get some thoughts on value. I'm in CT if you're in New England. |
