Lost my job, so gotta lose some rockets *sigh*

[Marc_G]

Again, best wishes. Maybe someone will bite. But that's a huge buy-in that few can stomach at once, particularly going into a down economy.

 

[flyingeagle]

Yea I get it with the economy

 

[mh9162013]

I am already knocking 40% off of what I paid fore most to give someone a chance to enjoy them

There's the problem. If you're selling to someone who wants to collect or build, a 40% off price is probably fair. But almost no one who collects (current or barely OOP kits) or builds is going to drop $6,000+ for a lot of kits.

So that leaves you resellers. They're going to want a 50%-75% discount over the street value of those kits. But you're not willing to accept that. To make matters worse for you, at least some of your kits have negative or zero equity, even if you ignore taxes, fees and shipping expenses. So you think you have kits that add value, but they're actually a liability...or break even products at best.

 

[flyingeagle]

I get, it it’s a large chuck of change especially with uncertainty of today’s economy. If I were to sell them individually then I would ask the going price of what their worth now. I like what I have and will keep putting a lot of care into my builds until the day may or may not come to sell them I can’t wait until I get a chance to push the launch button again.

 

[flyingeagle]

There is a well known site that I buy off and on from him and he has the same PS II OOP rockets that I have and what he is selling them for is way more than what I paid for them and he’s getting it. He is always sold out. If I paid $40.00 for a kit that was in production and now OOP he is getting $90.00 for it. I could sell mine individually and make a profit but that’s why I dropped the price for everything at one time. Again I’m not a retailer but just an individual like you and looking to sell out the hobby. If I drop my price so low then I might just as well donate everything. Till then I will just keep building. If Im looking to sell my car and you came along and said your just interested for the rims and don’t want to pay the asking price for the car then what do I suppose to do with the rest of the car with no rims? You either buy the whole car or go find a set of rims from someone else.

 

[flyingeagle]

I read your post again at the end where you said that they are a liability or brake even products at best! If this is true then why are you paying the going price for a kit from a retailer? Do you argue this with them too? Bigger question is if they are such a liability then why are you in this hobby? As far as my rockets having little or no value how would you know when you don’t even know what I even have

 

[SolarYellow]

There is a well known site that I buy off and on from him and he has the same PS II OOP rockets that I have and what he is selling them for is way more than what I paid for them and he’s getting it. He is always sold out. If I paid $40.00 for a kit that was in production and now OOP he is getting $90.00 for it.

Why don't you send him a list of your desireable stuff, or even just the stuff he lists on his site and is sold out of? See if he'd do a big lift all at once. Might be a way for you to get most of the value out of your collection in one transaction, which seems to be your goal.

 

[mh9162013]

I read your post again at the end where you said that they are a liability or brake even products at best! If this is true then why are you paying the going price for a kit from a retailer? Do you argue this with them too? Bigger question is if they are such a liability then why are you in this hobby? As far as my rockets having little or no value how would you know when you don’t even know what I even have

The bottom line is that you're trying to sell products that have less value than you think.

Take your Estes 220 Swift. MSRP is $10.99, at least one retailer is selling it for $7.69 and it recently sold on eBay for $6.44. But one thing you may not know (or maybe you do) is that Estes was giving these kits away in one of their recent promotions.

Assuming you bought the 220 Swift for $7.69, you're already underwater with that kit. Factor in selling fees and shipping, and you're better off just keeping it. Yet you're including that kit in your lot of kits and assuming it's adding value. Maybe it is, but it's not adding more than $1 or $2, yet you're acting like it's adding at least $4.61 ($7.69 - 40%) to the value of the lot you're trying to sell.

I have a rough idea as to what you have, as you've posted some pics of your inventory. And I never said all your rockets had no value; I said that many of your rockets have little to no value when it comes to how you're gonna price a bunch of rockets for sale all at once.

If what you've posted so far can be extrapolated as to what the rest of your lot includes, then I have no idea where in the world where you're getting the $6,500 asking price from. The only thing I can think of is that of the kits you have, you have a ton of them. Yes, many kits you're trying to sell are OOP and have some appreciated value, but they're relatively modern. It's not like you've posted pics of many much older kits that sell for $200+ (think Estes Titan IIe).

As for how I buy rockets, I typically consider what AC Supply sells them for as the "bottom line/brass tacks/floor" price. When I buy kits, I'm usually paying an AC Supply price or lower for them. If I'm paying more than what AC Supply charges, it's b/c they don't sell it or I'm buying it from Amazon.com with free gift cards that I acquired from GPT farming.

 

[mh9162013]

If Im looking to sell my car and you came along and said your just interested for the rims and don’t want to pay the asking price for the car then what do I suppose to do with the rest of the car with no rims? You either buy the whole car or go find a set of rims from someone else.

You keep using this example, and it's a fine example, but it presumes that the car you're trying to sell (sans rims) has a value that matches your asking price.

Imagine you're trying to sell a used car for $10,000 and this price includes rims that come with it that have a resale value of $2,000. So that's $8,000 for the car and $2,000 for the rims. But what if the KBB private sale value of that car (with regular rims) is $4,000. Anyone who buys your car with rims will only be willing to pay $6,000, give or take. But you've got it listed for $10,000 and keep wondering why people are only contacting you and offering to buy just your rims.

 

[flyingeagle]

Tell you what. Not a lot of people have enough money to buy my rocket lot, not in today’s economy. So unless I can get someone serious enough with money to spend they are not for sale. But what are you selling? Send me a list/pictures and how much you are asking, I might be interested.

 

[mh9162013]

Tell you what. Not a lot of people have enough money to buy my rocket lot, not in today’s economy. So unless I can get someone serious enough with money to spend they are not for sale. But what are you selling? Send me a list/pictures and how much you are asking, I might be interested.

I was selling an Estes Shuttle, but I have a potential buyer right now.

 

[flyingeagle]

Sorry for the miscommunication, I haven’t had a pay check since July of 22 been out of work from a permanent back and leg injury and diagnosed cancer in between. I know what it’s like.

 

[KenECoyote]

@flyingeagle
A few points to try to help or just pass along my opinion to try to help:

• If you want a good audience, create a new post... you're currently piggybacking off my post that's ~2 years old...that doesn't draw ppl to read what you're trying to convey and may confuse some.
• Selling as a lot pretty much ALWAYS gets you MUCH less than selling each separately. I was an Ebay Powerseller and I knew this, that's why when I lost my job, I sold my kits INDIVIDUALLY and selectively and got a few thousand fairly quickly. You said you're unemployed, so one thing you should have is time to do this.
• If I really had to get rid of everything, I'd sell high value & rare items first, then groups. Selling it as an entire lot is same as bottom clearance, job lot, odd lot, odd job, Amazon pallet stuff.
• I learned that the worst sellers are the ones who always see their own stuff more valuable than it really is (being honest). You're saying your (low power?) rocket stuff is worth $6,500 but do you know of anyone who has bought or sold that here? Would you buy that yourself?
• To see the value of the stuff I'm thinking of selling, I check Ebay ended auctions.

I do wish you well and that things get better, but you have to ask yourself if you're being realistic and fair here.

Any perceived criticism is likely not to be against you, but to help you.

BTW - Also a new twist is (last I heard) new bill & law by the president says online sales of goods by private individuals of over $600 total per year will be taxed as income. Ouch. EDIT: Has been delayed!

 

[flyingeagle]

Good advice. If and when I sell my rocket hobby it might be best to sell individually to make a profit. I myself wouldn’t have that kind of money but thought I could find someone that dose. If I decide to sell one by one I could get my money back and then some. Thanks for the tip.

 

[KenECoyote]

Good advice. If and when I sell my rocket hobby it might be best to sell individually to make a profit. I myself wouldn’t have that kind of money but thought I could find someone that dose. If I decide to sell one by one I could get my money back and then some. Thanks for the tip.

A good option given the new tax reporting law is to bring your kits to a local club launch with price stickers on them and cash only. Adjust prices based on how well they sell and how much you'd like more cash.

Edit: Also offer discounts for buying more!

 

[KenECoyote]

A good option given the new tax reporting law is to bring your kits to a local club launch with price stickers on them and cash only. Adjust prices based on how well they sell and how much you'd like more cash.

Edit: Also offer discounts for buying more!

Also check with the club first in case they may think it would hurt the local vendors. If you explain the situation, they would be more understanding and maybe a local vendor will offer to buy the lot.

 

[mh9162013]

BTW - Also a new twist is (last I heard) new bill & law by the president says online sales of goods by private individuals of over $600 total per year will be taxed as income. Ouch.

That new rule has been delayed, at least one year.