Hi, all: I am in East Texas. My husband has so much equipment I can’t even spreadsheet it all. He is now in a nursing home with dementia and will not be coming home. I want to sell all the equipment, and am a motivated seller. Some of the brands: Marantz, Bryston, Linn Klout, Linn Kairn, Linn Magic, Linn Keil, Parasound, Theil, Klipsch, Polk Audio, Cambridge, Audio Research. Then lower end stuff like Sony, Yamaha, Onkyo, Teac, etc. Miles of cables/interconnects (Audio Magic, Audio Quest, Toslink, and others -- hard to inventory. Best ones are not on this list because they are behind equipment.) Lots of power wedges. DACs, power conditioners, and misc. other stuff like racks. it.
When mom died we listed Estate Sale on Craig's List. There are people who make a living cleaning out stuff like this and then reselling it. Had two of them make some pretty decent offers sight unseen. $2k for everything in the garage. Like that.
If you want it gone you can have it gone and still have a tidy little sum in the end. Without even dealing with audiophiles, who will only make everything a million times harder than it needs to be. (Yours truly being the obvious exception that proves the rule.)
Sorry for your husband's illness. If you want to sell it yourself you can get ideas of price here and on hifishack. You could list here or for free on usaudiomart. You could also call a local audio equipment store and sell it as a lot to themMaybe some of your husband's hifi buddies could help you with pricing. Good luck
Sorry to hear about your husband’s poor health. In addiction to estate liquidator, contact a local dealer who may be interested in selling items on a consignment. They can do the inventory and get you more money for your stuff.
Do you have any music to sell? I am in Texas and be happy to haul it away.
Holmz13 -- I'm sorry you are distrustful. I'm just a woman who can FINALLY get rid of her husband's obsession. Check with your stereo buddies and I'm sure you'll find many of us. :-)
Thanks for your suggestions, all. There isn't a good stereo store here in my area. (Maybe Tyler? I'll try there. Certainly not Longview, where I am.) I don't want to let it go for a song -- it nearly bankrupted us getting it in the first place. But I know I won't get a fraction of the value back. To LALITK -- Yes. Lots of music. He loved smooth jazz. Hundreds of CDs. Also collected old disco and a few other things. What are you looking for?
I would post a list as an estate electronics collection on craig's list to get the word out and i am sure you will find a lot of buyers near you that are interested in a lot of the gear and it should go pretty quickly.
I am in Lafayette, LA (about 4 hours away) but my son lives in the Ft Worth area and Longview is on the route from here to there.
Not sure that I could take on the whole package, as I would like to remain married, but I could possibly give you some rough idea of values, and identify the more valuable items.
Not sure what your timeframe is, but there is a good chance that I will be making that trip in the next month or so. I could possibly make arrangements to stop by and visit with you.
I might also be interested in the smooth jazz CDs.
Sorry to read about your husband's battle with dementia. My dad had it and I can completely sympathize with what you are going through.
It is completely understandable to just want it all gone but I would suggest taking a bit of time to sell some of the pieces cited. Some items can have a bit more value than you may think. The Marantz, Bryston, Linn, Parasound, Theil could be of interest to the right buyers.
What might be a good idea is to contact a dealer who specializes in this type of equipment. Having a list of items and pictures would help. Vist the following dealers web sites and give them a call. Ask to speak with a buyer and let them know your desire to sell. They can guide you from there. I have worked with TMR and have found them to be fair in my personal dealings with them.
bastereo, you offer some good advice to perceptive men here; stop sandbagging the wife/significant other with your obsession. I’m sorry you have to go through this, especially when your husband is in need.
This site also operates as a sales portal, and a very good one at that. Despite the gripes, most men here will continue to sell here. There is another very good site I have used, USA Audio Mart.
You do not seem pressed for time, i.e. moving, so why not take out Ads here for the items. You will do MUCH, MUCH better doing so than selling to some liquidator or estate sale company! You can get a Blue Book value on things from Audiogon, too. I do not use it, but I know others have, and it would give you an instant idea of the value of all your items.
I would suggest that you demand pick up of items. Beware men who would show up with a cash payment and try to twist your arm for a lower price. If you have a son or other family representative who could do the dealing, that might be helpful.
Doing a proper deal here might also protect you further in regard to the payment for items. You may even wish to contact the staff here at Audiogon for ideas/help. I strongly suggest that you do not just dump it all in a pique of frustration. That could be very costly.
You also might be able to get help from members of an Audio Society that may be in your region.
I hope some of this is helpful to you. I wish you blessings as you transition to this challenging time.
I know a guy in Fort Worth who resells items such as this. I know he has sold items for Marvin’s Electronics after they closed. If you would like his name, then contact me. I hope the proceeds go to your husband’s care. It would be fitting.
Some good suggestions in this thread. I'd highly discourage you from using Craig's List for many reasons, mainly your safety and not getting taken advantage of.
I did not read all of the posts so forgive me if someone already suggested this but I'd encourage you to call around to audiophiles in Tyler and see if you can find someone to do an inventory for you. If you are part of a local church, can you ask around if you have any engineers, accountants, or folks who might be knowledgeable enough to take this on as a project for you? Maybe offer then 10-15% of the sales? I would hope you can find someone you trust and hand it off to them so you can focus on more important issues. If you take @millercarbon suggestion, I'd sure ask a lot of questions about the folks who are going to sell the items of higher value. They are expedient but they may not have your best interest in mind. Unfortunately some of these companies are opportunists and will take advantage of you.
Hire a couple of nerdy high school kids, maybe from band or something, and have them do the inventory for you. Cheap and then you know what you have, what its worth, and can move forward with good data. Make sure they log in condition as well.
douglas_schroeder
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You will do MUCH, MUCH better doing so than selling to some liquidator or estate sale company!"
I have owned a high-end stereo store and now currently own an estate sale company. I take issue with your statement. The OP needs someone to inspect the items for sale and determine the operational condition. In our business, after that has been determined, a reasonable, researched price will be assigned to each item. This is how we do business weather it is a power amp, Stickley furniture, Tiffany lamps or a '97 Toyota Camry.
I do not recommend The Music Room (TMR). They are a middle man so they give no where near Audiogon Bluebook value or eBay sold listing value for your gear. I have gone to them twice looking to do a deal with them. Others apparently like them. I guess they are ok if you don’t care about fair value and just want someone to give you something to take your gear from you. But for me, I much prefer selling my gear myself. I agree with the recommendations of posting for free on usaudiomart and specifying local pickup. Sorry to hear about your husband, OP. My father in law went through the same battle.
You clearly understand that this is specialized equipment, and a dealer or estate broker is going to eat a big chunk of your proceeds.
*If* you aren't in a huge hurry and you want to maximize your profit here, you're best off finding a relatively bright college kid who you trust (do you have someone like that in your network?).
Have him or her value this stuff using Audiogon's bluebook and eBay's completed auction listings, and list it in the appropriate places (and pack and ship everything) for a 10% cut (to keep the incentives aligned).
You could get 80% of it out of your house in a month that way.
I wouldn't get in too much of a hurry. I'd subscribe to the blue book and get some idea of used prices, then go about pricing things to move, i.e. a discount from the blue book prices. But I would not sell quick for whatever I could get. You deserve to get some money back out of the stuff I think...
I'm not trouncing AG but there is a listing fee and a RE LISTING fee. I've never sold on AG only bought.
I don't think it's the place for the Texas lady. I'm from the Waco area as a kid, Moody actually. I almost bet the local PD would help you out as far as the money exchanges. Just check.
Your on my prayer list Good Texas Lady. I know what it's like to take care of a loved one that is not mentally or physically well. It wears you out..
Somehow get a message where the list of GEAR is. ID the stuff by model .. It's usually on the face plate, or an ID tag on the back or bottom. Most here will know what you're talking about..
No lifting please.. be careful, there are sharp corners on some of that stuff. Heavy too..
Picture of Gear works, pictures of piles works..
I wish you good fortune and smooth sailing on your endeavor..
Sorry to hear that. You might try talking to a reputable online vendor like The Music Room and work something to sell everything quickly and easily if desired. Or you can do it yourself online here or usaudiomart if you determine the extra money you might receive is worth it for you. Of course a local buyer in the business if there would save having to deal with shipping. Audiogon blue book could be a useful resource to help determine value.
Best wishes, I went through this with both parents, not fun. Yes AG does charge significant listing and relisting fees, but if the price is right and the equipment is of the caliber you describe, you will find buyers. That being said, you will need to inventory, price, photograph and package everything. That could be more than you want to deal with in your present situation. Best of luck on your decision.
I have a large SUV. I will pick up ALL YOU R GEAR in one trip. Everything cleared out. One price for everything. Cash with police witnessing, without your risk. But you need to email me with specifics. That equipment might be 2 years old or 30 years old., Big difference in value.
Please either post the equipment or email me privately/
The tension here is between getting the equipment gone and getting the best price. You seem more interested in clearance so I would suggest making a spreadsheet and then contacting several of the online resellers like audioclassics.com, skyfi, and themusicroom and offering them the entire lot. will you get a good price? No. probably not. But a bulk sell to them will cut out all the time, money and effort involved with listing and selling, carefully boxing snd shipping pieces individually.
I would avoid craigslist (shady and potentially dangerous).
Sorry to hear of your troubles, went through the same thing with my father-in-law.
Many good suggestions above. You didn't mention it, but are there any family members nearby that could step in and help? I go along with everyone who says that it would be best to catalog everything first: make, model, condition, box/no-box, operating manuals. Once that is accomplished you can send it off to different entities for evaluation and then chose the most pain free way for you to go.
This is a daunting task, but just think if you did 10 items a day...that would be 100 items in 10 days. BTW, I'm not suggesting you do this with CDs, but vinyl is another story and could be very valuable.
I also sympathize with you and your husband's condition.
Hopefully your husband kept original manuals, that might be an easier way to get a list together, then do a visual matchup of what still exists, (some manuals could be for sold/traded/discarded items). Original manuals will help sales.
Original boxes? Even if local pickup, they can help maintain value and increase the number of potential buyers.
A local young person to do the heavy lifting?
I've sold and bought on Facebook Messenger, Craigslist, eBay, US Audio Mart, Canuck Audio Mart, they are all good in their own way, use common sense regarding safety, and avoiding wasting your time.
Bulk List, no photos: Messenger and regional Craigslist is probably going to be your easiest method for a bulk 'all gone' local pickup solution.
Sorry to hear about your husband. You obvously have some handle on the gear and understand it. Do not and I repeat do not go to an estate sale specialist. I have done a few of those and every single one i have ever met that run those estate sales are crooks. They have their following and they give away products to those that follow them. I have also been to quite a few estate sales looking for vinyl and all the estate sale folks want to do is move product and could care less about the individual and true value.
Go to a few local high end dealers and have conversations . Have a few come price them out. A bunch of the gear you list should bring some top dollar. There are a few online guys as well. Good suggestions from folks above like teh Music Room , Hi Fi Heaven and others.
I would be interested in some gear when you price it out as well..
Do not listen to searchingforthesound he doesn't know what he is talking about. In my 28 years in the business, we have never done what he suggests and after over 940 successful sales, never had a complaint about what he says. I know most of my competitors and they too have excellent track records. searchingforthesound you are giving bad advice or is it you just want to get your foot in the door.
Thank you all for your good advice. You are wonderful! Special thanks to BartS -- you actually helped me take a deep breath and decide my next steps. Here's what I'm going to do:1. Using Bart's suggestion, I will go through each system (he has 6, plus miscellaneous stuff) and get it all spreadsheeted, doing one system a day over the course of a week or so.2. Locate the boxes (yes, hoarded those, too) and paperwork/manuals and match them up.3. Get everything dusted and take photos.4. Let you all know when I've done that and where you can locate the sheet and photos to look at. (Will park on my website on a hidden page.)5. Then see where things go. While I'd like it all gone tomorrow, I really do want to get back some of the value, as I've worked years paying it all off as he went along. (Note to those of you with a non-stereo spouse/significant other!) I figured if I floated the problem of getting rid of it all to you guys, you'd have good ideas. Thanks so much, and I'll be back with more details soon. Becca
Hello, Find a local brick and mortar shop that is closest to you. Tell them your situation. They will make an offer after looking each component up on the internet. The good thing is they have the funds to buy it all. It is better if you can clean up each piece, maybe have boxes, boxes, and remotes. Also that you can show that it works and in good working order so you can get top dollar for the gear. They will need to make a profit so it won’t be what you see it on websites listed. Another option is consignment. The product goes to the store so they can display it and demo it. Side note: components have a life before major repair like cars. DACs become a little obsolete, amps are about 20 years because of capacitor replacement needs, surround receiver and sources become really obsolete over time. Stuff like that. I hope this helps. Sorry about you situation. I hope this goes easy and you find a good person to deal with.
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@bastereo Well wishes to you and your husband. While selling in the forums is not allowed, if you contact support@audiogon.com, attention: Tammy we can advise you on selling your items on our platform.
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