Help! Here's my story...

[wrwoolley]

I've volunteered to help my sweetheart's elderly mother clean out her home and prepare to sell it. The woman's husband had begun leather working in 2009 and bought tools, patterns, leather, decorations, dyes, threads and equipment (some pictured). He died, unexpectedly, a year later. His leather-working shop takes up an entire corner of the basement and I have to dispose of it responsibly. Here's the rub: I know nothing at all about the craft, yet I need to place a value on everything, find potential buyers, make arrangements to sell it all and get it out of the house. Should I try to find someone to come and appraise the entire collection? If so, should then post it for sale here, and/or anywhere else? Any suggestions or recommendations will be greatly appreciated! 

[Tugadude]

First,  good on you for wanting to help.  I'm sure it is much appreciated.  I'll bet there's a forum contributor that lives in your general area that might be willing to come and help with an inventory.  Tools can be quite costly and there are also machines there, and they have good value.

After you see what is there, you can proceed a number of ways.  You could do one or any combination of the following:

1.  Decide on what you want for the whole shebang and list it here and see if anyone is interested.

2.  Sell the tools in groups.  You might want to sell the machines individually and then group the tools together in ways that make sense, for example, group all of the oblong punches together and then all of the round punches together, etc.  There seem to be a ton of stamping tools.  Those might be sold as an entire group, or divided up into groups such as basic tools, more intricate tools and specialty tools (like flags, animals, etc.)

3.  List each item individually.  This last one is difficult when there are so many.  To encourage folks to buy more than one item you might consider quantity discounts.  For example, $8.00 for a stamping tool but buy 3 or more and pay $7.00 each.  That might motivate people to buy more.  It isn't going to be profitable for yourself or anyone else to buy onesies, twosies.  especially if shipping is involved.

Hopefully somebody local with a big heart will offer to come look!

Good luck.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Tugadude

[buzzardbait]

Search "used leathercraft tools" on E-Bay. there are lots of used tools on there and you can get an idea of what they are selling for. those Tippman Boss stitchers consistently go for 800.00 up.  The value of the stamping tools will depend on the maker and when they were made. Check out Brucejohnsonleather.com. he deals in used tools.

[mike02130]

1 hour ago, buzzardbait said:

Search "used leathercraft tools" on E-Bay. there are lots of used tools on there and you can get an idea of what they are selling for. those Tippman Boss stitchers consistently go for 800.00 up.  The value of the stamping tools will depend on the maker and when they were made. Check out Brucejohnsonleather.com. he deals in used tools.

What he said.  Once you figure the tool's name, maker and model, search under "sold items".  That will give you a better idea of a price.

[mrwatch]

Of eBay, search closed auctions, to see what actually sold and for how much. Esp. the Tippman machine. many listing may not have a bid. Then figure how to price shipping. it would be best if someone local would give a fair price for all, as most only want the better stuff and leave the rest. 

[wrwoolley]

14 hours ago, Tugadude said:

First,  good on you for wanting to help.  I'm sure it is much appreciated.  I'll bet there's a forum contributor that lives in your general area that might be willing to come and help with an inventory.  Tools can be quite costly and there are also machines there, and they have good value.

After you see what is there, you can proceed a number of ways.  You could do one or any combination of the following:

1.  Decide on what you want for the whole shebang and list it here and see if anyone is interested.

2.  Sell the tools in groups.  You might want to sell the machines individually and then group the tools together in ways that make sense, for example, group all of the oblong punches together and then all of the round punches together, etc.  There seem to be a ton of stamping tools.  Those might be sold as an entire group, or divided up into groups such as basic tools, more intricate tools and specialty tools (like flags, animals, etc.)

3.  List each item individually.  This last one is difficult when there are so many.  To encourage folks to buy more than one item you might consider quantity discounts.  For example, $8.00 for a stamping tool but buy 3 or more and pay $7.00 each.  That might motivate people to buy more.  It isn't going to be profitable for yourself or anyone else to buy onesies, twosies.  especially if shipping is involved.

Hopefully somebody local with a big heart will offer to come look!

Good luck.

 

[wrwoolley]

Thanks so much for these recommendations. It seems like tackling this task thoroughly will take me well into the winter. I wish the leather-working items were the only ones I have to deal with. I'm just going to have to dig in and be deliberate. Once I sort everything out, I might take a couple hundred photos and post them on some sort of online album, with a link I can provide here. Maybe a video would also work. I'm going to cross my fingers that I can find a forum member who lives in my area of northern New Jersey. Someone with experience—and that big heart you mentioned—might be able to make a decent appraisal of everything and I can take it from there. 

[wrwoolley]

20 hours ago, buzzardbait said:

Search "used leathercraft tools" on E-Bay. there are lots of used tools on there and you can get an idea of what they are selling for. those Tippman Boss stitchers consistently go for 800.00 up.  The value of the stamping tools will depend on the maker and when they were made. Check out Brucejohnsonleather.com. he deals in used tools.

Thanks! By my preliminary count there are 353 stamps and nearly all of them say "CRAFTOOL," "CRAFTOOL CO.," or "CRAFTOOL CO. U.S.A." on them. I'll definitely check out BruceJohnsonLeather.com.

Edited July 31, 2021 by wrwoolley
Additional info

[wrwoolley]

I just checked out a video of someone using the Tippmann "BOSS" stitcher. That's one serious piece of equipment! On the Tippmann website, it looks like they sell refurbs, so maybe it's worth shipping it to them in Indiana. My education continues...!

[wrwoolley]

18 hours ago, mike02130 said:

What he said.  Once you figure the tool's name, maker and model, search under "sold items".  That will give you a better idea of a price.

Yup, as my sweetheart always reminds me, "Anything is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it." In other words, people can list items for any price they want to, but if no one buys it at that price, the actual value is $0.00. 

Edited July 31, 2021 by wrwoolley
typo

[wrwoolley]

This was very helpful in identifying the age of the stamps: 

THE HISTORY OF CRAFTOOLS: The earliest name and date we have heard mentioned in regard to Craftool is Dick McGahen who began to make tools for leather carvers in California in the 1940’s. According to Ellis Barnes (deceased), he had many different tool makers that created tools for him including Ellis, Ken Griffin and others. The tools that were made by them probably had no numbers on them and may or may not have been stamped with the Craftool name. When you see this type of tool, it was likely made around 1950 or before. Once the numbering of tools began, they were marked with “Craftool Co” and just a number. This type of marking was consistent up through 1962. In 1963, they started adding a letter prefix to the number. From 1963 until around 1969 they were marked with “Craftool Co.” and a number with a letter before it to identify the type of tool it was. Around 1969, they began marking the tools with “Craftool Co. USA” plus the number and the letter prefix. This continued until the later years of the company. They eventually changed to marking them with “Craftool USA” and the number with the letter prefix. This continued to be the practice until they closed their manufacturing plant in 1999. This was the last time Craftools were made in the USA.

Looks like I'm going to have to do a complete inventory, one stamp at a time. Hoo boy, this project could take a while!

[mike02130]

I don't know anything about sewing machines but I recently saw two ads for a Tipman Boss for $1000. and 1100.

[Klara]

Are you sure you don't want to take up leatherworking yourself? I'm still sorry that I didn’t keep my mother's knitting machine...

[wrwoolley]

7 hours ago, Klara said:

Are you sure you don't want to take up leatherworking yourself? I'm still sorry that I didn’t keep my mother's knitting machine...

I sincerely appreciate that sensitive attempt to get me to think twice. My craft of choice, however, is writing, which consumes my spare retirement time.

[Ken Nelson]

I would drop an ad on Facebook Market place.

[wrwoolley]

3 hours ago, Ken Nelson said:

I would drop an ad on Facebook Market place.

Solid suggestion. I'll probably do that, as well as try to put out a plea locally through NextDoor.com. 

[Sheilajeanne]

Facebook Buy and Sell buyers will try to get you to give away the tools for a fraction of their value. I am speaking from experience with other items I've tried to sell there.

The best place to advertise is on leatherworking sites, or maybe e-Bay. 

[keeps muttering to self: You do NOT need more tools, you do NOT need more tools....]  

[BigSiouxSaddlery]

I've actually had pretty good luck selling on FB marketplace.  Only once did anyone try to low ball me to the point that it got annoying.  I just took the ad down rather than deal with it.  As with buying and selling of anything, you just have to remember "you're 21" and stick to your guns.  I've had buyers try every "horse trader's" trick under the sun through the years to get me down in price.  Horse traders tricks don't work on someone that's traded a few horses.

[Ken Nelson]

I have sold vehicles,  several sewing machines,  and some tools on facebook. And everytime,  I have had people send me low-ball messages and I either send them a smart ass answer back or ignore them. But, I have never put anything on Market Place that did not sell  for asking price or real close to it in time.  Usually pretty quick. There are ignorant people out there and don't let them ruin your day.

[wrwoolley]

On 8/2/2021 at 2:22 PM, Sheilajeanne said:

Facebook Buy and Sell buyers will try to get you to give away the tools for a fraction of their value. I am speaking from experience with other items I've tried to sell there.

The best place to advertise is on leatherworking sites, or maybe e-Bay. 

[keeps muttering to self: You do NOT need more tools, you do NOT need more tools....]  

Thanks for the advice. I understand why people want to pay as little as possible, but I hate haggling. If someone doesn't want to buy something for the price I'm asking, they can find it somewhere else. I try very hard to be reasonable with pricing things.  And LOL... I hope you're able to resist the "more tools" temptation. Unless, of course, you have some reason to treat yourself! Happy leatherworking!

[wrwoolley]

8 hours ago, BigSiouxSaddlery said:

I've actually had pretty good luck selling on FB marketplace.  Only once did anyone try to low ball me to the point that it got annoying.  I just took the ad down rather than deal with it.  As with buying and selling of anything, you just have to remember "you're 21" and stick to your guns.  I've had buyers try every "horse trader's" trick under the sun through the years to get me down in price.  Horse traders tricks don't work on someone that's traded a few horses.

HAHAHA! I haven't traded any horses in my life, but I'm familiar with the word "firm," when pricing items for sale. I'm going to use NextDoor, FB Marketplace and OfferUp (I just discovered that site) to sell items. I really want to sell to local people because I don't want to be bothered with shipping things all over the planet. "Cash and Carry" is another favorite term when selling things! Anyway, thanks for your feedback!

[wrwoolley]

6 hours ago, Ken Nelson said:

I have sold vehicles,  several sewing machines,  and some tools on facebook. And everytime,  I have had people send me low-ball messages and I either send them a smart ass answer back or ignore them. But, I have never put anything on Market Place that did not sell  for asking price or real close to it in time.  Usually pretty quick. There are ignorant people out there and don't let them ruin your day.

Good advice. Thanks! Fortunately, I'm in no rush to sell these items and I'm accountable to other people for getting a reasonable return on whatever I sell because I'm not selling things for myself. Also, fortunately, I've become pretty good at ignoring obviously unreasonable offers. 

[Sheilajeanne]

18 minutes ago, wrwoolley said:

HAHAHA! I haven't traded any horses in my life, but I'm familiar with the word "firm," when pricing items for sale. I'm going to use NextDoor, FB Marketplace and OfferUp (I just discovered that site) to sell items. I really want to sell to local people because I don't want to be bothered with shipping things all over the planet. "Cash and Carry" is another favorite term when selling things! Anyway, thanks for your feedback!

Me neither! Most of what I was trying to sell was china and other breakables, so I didn't want to risk shipping it. I did make an exception when one lady asked for ONE teacup to be shipped within the province. She must have really wanted it as shipping was nearly as much as I was asking for the cup and saucer!

You're lucky if you do decide to ship - leather working tools are pretty much unbreakable!