The Leather Journey I Didn't Want - Advice?

[Moonstone4229]

Hi all,
My dad was a leathersmith for 40+ years and amassed a small factory's worth of machinery, tools, materials, etc.  I grew up helping him in his shop and gained an appreciation for the craft.  His specialty began with shoe/saddle repair and ended with belts.  At his peak he was selling to LL Bean and several other notable places.

Sadly, he passed away last year after a long battle with cancer and I inherited his remaining leather business with no documentation.  I have taken a different route in life and am now looking for guidance for how to best approach sorting through things and liquidating.

I thankfully don't have any timelines or deadlines to deal with but it would be great to be finished in about 1-2 years.  I'd like to approach selling items with respect for what he collected and to find the balance between treating items fairly as inheritance (which will be split with family) while also being generous.

Unfortunately, the leather business is intermingled with a wide variety of other items he collected/hoarded, making cataloging the entirety of the items essentially impossible.  I do have knowledge of what many of the items are (except some of the hand tools) but next to no knowledge (without research) for what items are actually worth.  Links for pictures are at the bottom for a rough idea.

Where possible, I'd like to avoid the scenario of selling items to the parties informing me of the value.  It's not that I don't trust people, but overall I don't think that approach is necessarily wise for anyone to take (plus I don't want to feel dumb).

All that being said, my general thoughts on how to approach this task is to start with machinery and then separate remaining tools/materials once more room is available to organize.  I figure the machinery takes up the most space and is probably the most straightforward to sell.  I probably need to start a spreadsheet with major items/model numbers/etc.

I would be able to compensate someone knowledgeable (with cash and/or items) for assistance in this overwhelming journey I've found myself on (I'm located in western NC, USA).  Does starting with the machinery sounds like the best course of action?  I might make a single post with just machinery with model numbers/etc for help identifying items/pricing.

Any advice or guidance is sincerely appreciated!

Pictures:

• Machinery: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cAMMJHLHLwIatfd6NWshuhtOKhmNizzW?usp=sharing
• Tools/materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1G9RfW8Y20XO3B92jhouMHvOa1S9L-yaG?usp=sharing

[bruce johnson]

This is always tough. Some of the machines may have a local market value and some won’t. Once you get out of that local sphere shipping costs go way up and offering prices go down. 

The hand tools ship easily and you’ve got some good ones and some wall hanger only ones. Once you get some space cleared then I’d recommend sorting by maker and type. That will be the best way for buyers. 

     It’s good you aren’t on a tight time frame! Some of these estate sets have to be out of a building in a month or two and those are tough. 
 

ideally selling as a unit or large groups is easier but at the expense of less money. Selling in small groups or individually tends to bring a more true value but you will end up with stuff that nobody wants. I’ve seen it down both ways and sometimes the buyer wins and some times the seller wins. 

[Dwight]

There are auctioneers who specialize in these types of estates . . . they contact potential buyers all across the nation.  Auctioneers I know of here in Ohio get 10% of the total.

I'm not sure about a leather business . . . but if I were you I would investigate it.

Local auctioneers would know those in their business who could help you . . .  that is where I would start.

Wish you the best . . . 

May God bless,

Dwight

[BlackDragon]

My brother in law's cousin works for an auction. A woman in a similar situation wants to auction off her late husband's leather shop and he said there is just so much and the market is so small in this area that it'll be a huge undertaking for him for little return.

He got a hold of me to see if I want some of it and to help decide what is the best way to sell what remains.

I haven't seen what she has yet.

[MikeRock]

Do those photos show all the material and machines for sale?

 

[bruce johnson]

Since the auction deal got brought up, here are my auction thoughts. Actually this is an excerpt from a draft part of an article I am working on. This isn't all necessarily directed at anyone, but hopefully some things you all can consider.

I buy privately and through auctions. Privately it is usually a "take it all" deal or "everything but machines". I love auctions on one hand because I don't have to buy it all. I don't have to pack out a box of screwdrivers, pliers, and claw hammers because it is part of the shop. That is the auction buyer's advantage - cherry picking. I can pick and choose. I get to a few auctions. I have a buyer at many of the other auctions I can't get to. They have my full support and know the ranges I will pay. Some days my phone is blown up. The auctioneers that deal with these kinds of tools and equipement routinely are somewhat regional (and some are Amish). The owner (you) ends up with travel expenses and lodging for the auctioneer and crew if they come to you. The promotion generally consists of an ad or two in Illume magazine (used to be ShopTalk). Some social media advertising. Maybe the Plain Dealer if that still exists or Ag newspapers. Those expenses are yours in some form.  Some auctions might still be 10% commission on larger ticket items like machines (like two or three of the machines in this thread), 20% on the rest and smalls is pretty common. Some charge low commission percentages but then add on a buyer's premium. That is a percentage the buyer pays and most buyers figure that in when they set a top bid they are willing to pay. They bid less in total because of it, you get less in the end, and the auctioneer gets the bigger cut they need for expenses and services. 15% buyers premiums are not unusual.  No sour grapes, my son is an auctioneer and premiums are just how they have to do some auctions to cover expenses while getting a decent return for the seller.  Picking a local general auctioneer? It might be OK but I have seen some real train wrecks. Poor promotion, poor sorting and presentation,  poor knowledge of products, and no idea of values so bids start at a bad spot. If they have someone to help with a knowledge of them, that covers some mistakes. 

   Live auction. If I get on the airplane/rent a car/ship purchases home or drive 12 hours - personally I need to have plenty to look at. Otherwise I'll have somebody I know already going or hear about it later. Bidders at an estate or retirement auction - bid like a buyer, not a bargain hunter. Be fair, this a fund raiser in the form of selling out a livelihood. If you hold up five fingers on something that should bring a hundred, don't be mad when I bid $75 next bid. The auctioneer doesn't want to run it $5 at a time to reach the hundred and probably doesn't need the practice. They appreciate a fair bid, three or four more advances, and sold.   

  On-line auction or  live auction/on-line bidding - some local auctioneers are set up for it and run it well, some aren't. Some are legit and honest, some aren't and will run up an absentee, phone, or on-line bidder during a live auction with that option. If I don't know them by reputation or someone I trust's experience, I don't bid. Also I want to know the other charges like shipping and handling up front. If they charge a set fee per lot and then take it to the UPS Store to pack and ship - I'm out. I don't begrudge anyone the charges for reasonable packing and shipping costs. If you are charging $10 per lot packing fee to drop  3 groups of 5  handled tools into a flat rate box with no padding, that's $30 plus the flat rate cost. Again, I'm a watcher not a bidder. I like the on-line auctions but I want these previous concerns addressed before I click the first bid. 

[Mulesaw]

Sorry for your loss. 

I think that selling the machines is a good starting point.
The hand tools look good to me, but I am in no way an expert on those. 

I sold off much of my dads old woodworking tools, and it is a big job in doing it online. pictures of each thing, accurate description, and still people ask about each single chisel and plane iron. I did get an OK price in the end, but it took a lot of time. So I would suggest trying to sell all the hand tools to someone like Bruce Johnson (Note that I am not affiliated with him in any way, he is just one of the only persons I have heard of who deals in old leather tools). I ended up selling the bulk of my dads hand tools to one guy who does some online selling, and I was totally OK with him earning a bit on each piece, because it takes a lot of time to do so. 

specifically to your pictures: Picture 7577 and 7573 looks like they are Gerstner Tools chests out of Dayton Ohio. Those are items on their own. Depending on the model or the year, those thing are collectibles.

Good luck with the sale

Brgds Jonas

[kgg]

Sorry to here about your dad passing. Personally I would suggest going the auction route or find someone willing to purchase all the items as one lot.

In my area the auction houses would catalog everything for you and either do an on site auction or take it to their auction house. They would be able to give you a rough idea as to what you should be able to get at auction and you then could set a minimum acceptable bid. The downside is they do charge a fee and what you get for the equipment is going to depend on those bidding on that particular day. Sometimes you get a decent price for an item and other times it may seem like you maybe giving it away. The upside is you don't have to deal with every Tom, Dick and Harry that expresses interest in an item so it is less stressful / time consuming on you.

[Moonstone4229]

On 12/3/2024 at 12:16 AM, MikeRock said:

Do those photos show all the material and machines for sale?

 

Hi @MikeRock - For the machinery, probably?  I doubt I'll find any larger pieces, but it's possible.  For the remaining hand tools/materials/etc, definitely not.  I would estimate probably half or more is yet to be uncovered.  There are many boxes we haven't even been able to get to yet because they're buried. I'm going to be on site this coming weekend to take better pictures of the machinery and a number of other tasks... Another challenge is that there are just as many (or perhaps more) woodworking tools intermingled.  It's not always immediately clear which medium some of the tools are meant for since there appears to my untrained eye a some small degree of overlap.

We have already filled 10 (or was it 12?) 20 yard dumpsters of trash/junk, removed 4 junk cars, a least 1 entire uhaul's worth of food...  One main goal I have lately is to continue making space so that we can organize items better.

-------------------

For those suggesting an auction... this is agreeable to us for any items we cannot easily find local demand for.  I would assume there are certain auctions that specialize in leather items?  I'll look up some local auctioneers and try to work my way to some results that way but wasn't sure if there were main auctions that happen that I could try to connect with.  I'm sure I can find some by searching online too, I just haven't got there yet.

I do appreciate everyone's input and condolences.