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

[Johnly]

I like happy stories like this.
I worked for Tektronix for 35 years, when I started there is was a Fortune 500 company with ~25,000 employees and when I departed there were maybe 4,000 employees. I was given an old guy retirement at 55 1/2 nearly 10 years ago. My retirement has been wonderful.

 

[Zeus-cat]

Thanks for the update. Always great to hear about someone getting dumped on and coming out smelling like a rose!

 

[Onebadhawk]

I'll tell you all one thing 100% for sure..

Good things just couldn't happen to a nicer more deserving person..

The smile on his face tells all..

Teddy

 

[KenECoyote]

I want to add in some of my learnings and perspective.

I grew up thinking you work all your life with the same company and with hard work, sacrifice and devotion, they'll be there for you.

However that ideal probably went away along with Switchboard operators.

I learned that if you're a hard worker with great success and achievements, don't stay where they don't appreciate you and don't wait until they get rid of you.

It is scary to try new things.... especially if you're older (I'm 50+), but often you can't do better if you don't try to step out of your comfort zone.

Plus, let's be realistic...luck and timing has a lot to do with it, but like rocketry there are ways to making sure you do everything within your control and/or time things right.

Also always have a backup plan and savings...even a little can help a lot.

Don't be afraid to ask for help and when you're better off, reward the kindness, then try to help others.

Always treat others the way you'd like to be treated and act honestly and well since who really knows if there is karma or if every one of us will eventually be judged.

Support vendors... especially local ones whenever you can. They work unbelievably hard and make a lot of sacrifices for our hobby and us.

Build and fly more rockets... it's the world's best therapy (barring catos and lawn darts lol).

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

I've been through that crap before...Manager screwed up and had to cut down on overtime, but earlier told me it was fine (several times), then review time hits and he said I had too much and that he had talked to me. Went to HR about it, but they were no help. I then switched out, but that dept was the one that went from 100 to about 5.

However it wasn't the case this time. The purchase was only announced a few months ago.

Icing on the cake is that I had a bunch of Employee Stock Purchases with the old company (didn't sell them despite being so pissed... I figured wiser to keep so if they do well, I still gain) and when they got bought, my stocks closed with 33% gain. Karma has been really good to me.

Traditionally, HR is not for the benefit of the employees. Lately, the HR community has tried to change their image in effort to try and retain workers. I'm not buying it. Often HR gets caught in the middle between bad management and victimized workers. Workers don't quit jobs, they quit bad managers.

 

[KenECoyote]

Traditionally, HR is not for the benefit of the employees. Lately, the HR community has tried to change their image in effort to try and retain workers. I'm not buying it. Often HR gets caught in the middle between bad management and victimized workers. Workers don't quit jobs, they quit bad managers.

YES.
I felt that they try to cover for the manager unless you had an airtight case since if they sided with you, it's almost like admitting wrong and setting the stage for lawsuits. In the first case with the OT, I felt HR was trying to get the manager to shut up when he stuck to his story and then I grilled him on "What was my response then?" "Did I get better or worse after your alleged talk about OT?" "Did you take any corrective action after?". He squirmed like a worm imo, but HR said it was "past" and we should move forward. WTH

 

[Hobie1dog]

so now you have more money than ever for rockets

 

[KenECoyote]

so now you have more money than ever for rockets

Me today:


My Neighbors:

 

[flyingeagle]

I’m almost in the same spot about the job. I keep thinking about selling everything I have in rockets, motors, building supplies, everything related to rocketry. I was injured on the job January 16,2020. Lower back, left shoulder, right knee. Workers compensation sent me to a chief spine surgeon that did surgery June 5, 2020 and the surgeon promised I will be back to normal, well BS. An MRI was taken of my lower back October 2020 and they accidentally found I had Cancer. I went through that surgery January 6, 2021. Then was released from that doctor to return back to the spine surgeon April 2021. He took X-Rays and told me my back was fractured in two places due from the first surgery he did in 2020. Now I have multiple levels of screws and rods with nerve damage thanks to the spin surgeon that screwed up. Going through all this and still ongoing my job in writing fired me because I was out to long for one year. They got me for chronic absenteeism, do you believe that crap? They wanted me to resign my position and I told them to drop dead so I was fired. It wasn’t my fault the spine surgeon screwed up and I had cancer. I had knee surgery last April and it didn’t take neither because the nerve damage in my lower back isn’t communicating with the mussels in my legs. I am no longer able to work thanks to the spine surgeon. Workers compensation said that they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on me and want to bring this case to an end. So I haven’t had a pay check since July 2022. and it SUCKS! Workers compensation is being sued. It’s bad enough I’m loosing my CDL that was my bread and butter for more than 30+ years. I don’t know what to do but almost considering in selling all my rockets. I haven’t hit the launch button since 1975 when I was a kid and back into it I was looking forward to flying again. Not looking to good. No Christmas this year either. All Sucks. All kits are in new and excellent condition and kept very well stored.

 

[Hobie1dog]

So I haven’t had a pay check since July 2022. and it SUCKS! Workers compensation is being sued. It’s bad enough I’m loosing my CDL that was my bread and butter for more than 30+ years. I don’t know what to do but almost considering in selling all my rockets. I haven’t hit the launch button since 1975 when I was a kid and back into it I was looking forward to flying again. Not looking to good. No Christmas this year either. All Sucks. All kits are in new and excellent condition and kept very well stored.

wow, how in the world are you getting by? If all your stuff is low power, you should be able to list it and sell pretty quick on here. Not launching a rocket in 47 years indicates it might be time to liquidate.

 

[KenECoyote]

I’m almost in the same spot about the job. I keep thinking about selling everything I have in rockets, motors, building supplies, everything related to rocketry. I was injured on the job January 16,2020. Lower back, left shoulder, right knee. Workers compensation sent me to a chief spine surgeon that did surgery June 5, 2020 and the surgeon promised I will be back to normal, well BS. An MRI was taken of my lower back October 2020 and they accidentally found I had Cancer. I went through that surgery January 6, 2021. Then was released from that doctor to return back to the spine surgeon April 2021. He took X-Rays and told me my back was fractured in two places due from the first surgery he did in 2020. Now I have multiple levels of screws and rods with nerve damage thanks to the spin surgeon that screwed up. Going through all this and still ongoing my job in writing fired me because I was out to long for one year. They got me for chronic absenteeism, do you believe that crap? They wanted me to resign my position and I told them to drop dead so I was fired. It wasn’t my fault the spine surgeon screwed up and I had cancer. I had knee surgery last April and it didn’t take neither because the nerve damage in my lower back isn’t communicating with the mussels in my legs. I am no longer able to work thanks to the spine surgeon. Workers compensation said that they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on me and want to bring this case to an end. So I haven’t had a pay check since July 2022. and it SUCKS! Workers compensation is being sued. It’s bad enough I’m loosing my CDL that was my bread and butter for more than 30+ years. I don’t know what to do but almost considering in selling all my rockets. I haven’t hit the launch button since 1975 when I was a kid and back into it I was looking forward to flying again. Not looking to good. No Christmas this year either. All Sucks. All kits are in new and excellent condition and kept very well stored.

I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. Yeah, companies can be @holes when it comes to injury and extended medical coverage.

If you are planning on selling stuff, I should warn you to check on the new tax laws. This year a bill was passed to tax all online sales over $600 (there may be some exceptions) and I think that means if you're not a business that they may tax the entire sale amount as income, which is total bs to me.

Still, it should help to get you some needed cash for items you no longer use and have stored away. I wish the best for you and I hope you get better.

 

[flyingeagle]

I’m thinking of selling it all at one shot. There is over $5500.00 invested between kits, motors and large amount of building supplies. I don’t want to brake it up because your sometimes left with leftovers just laying around. No one has that kind of money today. To replace all what I have now would be more expensive. Just want to get back what I have invested into it.

 

[KenECoyote]

I’m thinking of selling it all at one shot. There is over $5500.00 invested between kits, motors and large amount of building supplies. I don’t want to brake it up because your sometimes left with leftovers just laying around. No one has that kind of money today. To replace all what I have now would be more expensive. Just want to get back what I have invested into it.

I think that's a good idea, but something like that is on a scale.

Selling individually, you usually get more money since it's targeting exactly those who want it and they don't get anything they're not looking for/willing to pay for, but it's a lot more work, time and supplies (plus shipping costs when added up).

A lot sale is easier and "one and done" but it usually won't sell unless it's much cheaper (like wholesale) or you're lucky to find someone looking for just that bunch.

Ymmv and honestly wishing you all the best on this.

 

[mh9162013]

If you are planning on selling stuff, I should warn you to check on the new tax laws. This year a bill was passed to tax all online sales over $600 (there may be some exceptions) and I think that means if you're not a business that they may tax the entire sale amount as income, which is total bs to me.

A good warning. I'd like to add that you can (for now) avoid this issue by avoiding most online selling platforms, which will keep track of those transactions. So I only sell on message boards and avoid eBay (when using FB Marketplace, I accept cash only and never indicate on FB that a sale was made). Also, avoid Paypal for payments, unless it's friends and family (those transactions don't count toward the $600 threshold).

Congress has talked about fixing this $600 tax reporting chore, but they disagree on how to do it (raise the threshold, get rid of it, etc.)

 

[mh9162013]

I’m thinking of selling it all at one shot. There is over $5500.00 invested between kits, motors and large amount of building supplies. I don’t want to brake it up because your sometimes left with leftovers just laying around. No one has that kind of money today. To replace all what I have now would be more expensive. Just want to get back what I have invested into it.

I concur with @KenECoyote . I'm guessing that unless you have rare or OOP kits, if you try to make a bulk sale for items you paid $5,500 for, I'm guessing you'll be lucky if you can get someone to pay $3,500 for everything. More realistically, I'm thinking you'd get closer to $2,000 - $3,000. So it might still be worth selling kits individually to get maybe $3,200 (I just made this number up, but I believe it'll be much higher than if you sold everything all at once) and deal with what's leftover.

 

[KenECoyote]

I concur with @KenECoyote . I'm guessing that unless you have rare or OOP kits, if you try to make a bulk sale for items you paid $5,500 for, I'm guessing you'll be lucky if you can get someone to pay $3,500 for everything. More realistically, I'm thinking you'd get closer to $2,000 - $3,000. So it might still be worth selling kits individually to get maybe $3,200 (I just made this number up, but I believe it'll be much higher than if you sold everything all at once) and deal with what's leftover.

Agreed.

Also you can try some in-between of smaller batches of rockets for $50-$100 cash.

 

[mh9162013]

Also you can try some in-between of smaller batches of rockets for $50-$100 cash.

That could save a lot of time, money and effort and still give the buyers a chance to only buy what they want.

@flyingeagle Here's my suggestion: Inventory or take pictures of everything you've got and list them for sale here. Explain that you want to sell all of it and list a rough starting price to begin negotiating. But also explain you'll be willing to split things up, but only if the buyer is spending enough money to make it worth your while. This will give you the ability to aim for a bulk sale, but give you negotiating room to find some mutually agreeable deal.

 

[flyingeagle]

Thanks. The lot I’m selling is already discounted. More cheeper than anyone would pay the going price. Yea no pay check since last July really dose SUCK. Having to sell things you worked hard for is hard. No Christmas this year. Can’t even afford a Christmas tree. My friend that lives across the street seen me spray painting primer on some of my rockets outside about a month and half ago. He walked over and said he never seen model rockets fly. So he said, when your ready to shoot these things off let him know, he would like to watch them fly. He died last Sunday. He will never get a chance to see them go up. My father died the day before Thanksgiving in 2001. What a wonderful time of the year. HO HO H, ah freak it!

 

[flyingeagle]

If I had the resources I would of liked to sell them separately. I have some doubles and triples in kits. Quite a few out of production like the Satellite Interceptor, V-2 Pro Series ll Trajector, Mammoth and so on. All New, Excellent condition.

 

[mh9162013]

If I had the resources I would of liked to sell them separately. I have some doubles and triples in kits. Quite a few out of production like the Satellite Interceptor, V-2 Pro Series ll Trajector, Mammoth and so on. All New, Excellent condition.

You should have no problem selling a few of them on here, even individually, and using the proceeds to buy shipping supplies and pay for shipping costs. You should still come out ahead.

Also, don't forget the local pickup option.

The sooner you list your rockets, the sooner you can sell some of them!

 

[mh9162013]

Look what happened here, @flyingeagle

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/hello-new-and-in-need-of-help.174956/
If you're trying to get rid of those types of kits, you should sell them quickly.

 

[flyingeagle]

What is a local pick up option? I’m still getting use to how to use this site. If someone posts me and I reply back into the forum, I get a message telling me I opted out from replying back. Slowly trying to figure this place out.

 

[mh9162013]

What is a local pick up option? I’m still getting use to how to use this site. If someone posts me and I reply back into the forum, I get a message telling me I opted out from replying back. Slowly trying to figure this place out.

When you list something for sale, just explain that you prefer to sell the items in person for cash (or other acceptable form of compensation). This is how I do many of my online sales.

It's a great way to get cash and avoid shipping (as well as "buyer's remorse"). But you're limited geographically on who you can sell to.

 

[KenECoyote]

You can also consider local trade or barter...something like any item you need or gas fill up, groceries, etc. (I was thinking of alternatives I might consider)

 

[flyingeagle]

When you say local, do you mean someone close within driving distance? Or some other of local?

 

[mh9162013]

When you say local, do you mean someone close within driving distance? Or some other of local?

Driving distance, usually. The exact distance depends on if I'm already going to be in the area and how much the item I'm selling is worth.

$10 item? 5 minute (one-way) drive, tops. $100 item? Maybe 30 minutes. That's just me, though.

 

[KenECoyote]

When you say local, do you mean someone close within driving distance? Or some other of local?

Yes. Usually the bigger the area you can cover, the more you can sell for since the audience is bigger.

 

[KenECoyote]

Driving distance, usually. The exact distance depends on if I'm already going to be in the area and how much the item I'm selling is worth.

$10 item? 5 minute (one-way) drive, tops. $100 item? Maybe 30 minutes. That's just me, though.

Plus you can say meet halfway

 

[flyingeagle]

Oh Ok got it

 

[flyingeagle]

I tried to get in touch with a local rocket club near me but their site reads (temporally closed). I know where they use to fly the property owner passed away and the family didn’t want them flying there any longer. They have a waiver for high powered rockets. Radical Rocketeers of Great Meadows NJ. All my rockets range from 13mm 18mm 24mm and 29mm. I have permission from a farmer that has several HUGE fields near me to launch and I’m solo in this hobby. I’m still building the kits one by one. I’m working on an Estes QCC Explorer and taking my time. So far so good. It stinks when big companies let people go over the stupid reasons and interrupt someone’s life. Like mine, compensation doctor screws up my back and I’m left holding the bag, (for now). I hate selling my rockets, it’s something I enjoy. Was looking forward to my first launch in 47 years. I’m even building a sturdy tilting launch pad because I can’t bend my back. I guess there are a lot of people out there worse off than I am especially with kids. Until my kits sell I’m still going to keep building.