Cable pricing question

Bulk lot? Are they all tested/working (and are you advertising them as such)? Clean/like new (as in no bar grime like you'd get from patch cables you'd drag to a gig)? How quickly are you trying to sell them? Are they individually sorted/tied?
 
I used to do surplus electronics stuff so without actually seeing or handling the lot I gotta ask to get an idea.
 
Of course a bulk lot is a lot easier but if you have them individually sorted/tested and they are in good condition or whatever the price goes WAY up. You may be better off selling smaller lots of cables by type or even individually but it sounds like you just want them gone.
 
Anyway... more info needed.

In the meantime it is all about presentation. You increase the price people are willing to pay by simply wrapping (and if necessarily cleaning) them properly. Testing them makes the price go up WAY more (which is unnecessary if you already know they work and are problem free).
 
If you have not already you could head down to the hardware/garden store and snag one of those small spools of plastic coated twist ties. Wrap the cables nicely and twist them off. That simple act can add a buck or two (or ten depending on the cable). If you can tell people it works and it's not all covered in shmootz you can easily get 50%.
 
The people that buy cables usually NEED those cables and if they can get something that is (or looks) almost new for less they'll drop the coin.
 
Bulk lots, especially messy ones... you gonna get raped.

Very good to new condition.  NEVER gigged with (these are from my home studio) and they all work.  They are all wrapped nicely (roadie wrapped of course!). I'll post a picture or two in a bit (need to take some).
 
(50% easily?  Daaaaaaammmmmnnnnn!  That would be nice!)
 
A list of what's included can be found HERE.
 
 

craigb
Very good to new condition.  NEVER gigged with (these are from my home studio) and they all work.  They are all wrapped nicely (roadie wrapped of course!). I'll post a picture or two in a bit (need to take some).
 
(50% easily?  Daaaaaaammmmmnnnnn!  That would be nice!)
 
A list of what's included can be found HERE.
 
 

Oh, dude. If that's the case AND you provide a detailed list (be sure to say "like new/only used in clean pro studio" or some such) then definitely list at 50% OBO. Some hound will snag them. Christ... I kind of want them. I LOVE having mountains of cables around for sheer convenience. Sadly my collection has dwindled.
 
lol
 
Edit: You should still maybe yank out the proprietary stuff and ebay those buggers or split the lot out if you have time to wait for sales. That is however more time and a bulk lot is much easier to just get the frack out of the house. Sometimes electronics customers (especially from Cragslist) make wrangling with it all more annoyance than the extra few bucks is worth. One good buyer for less might be the better option in the long run.
 
Good luck.

I'm gonna offer one more bit of advice before getting back to "work".
 
You may be better off separating out all the "Monster" stuff and other fancy froo name brand cabling from the rest and selling it in two separate lots.
 
Obviously most of us here know that name brand matters not (at least for the markup). So let's say you have a 50/50% mix of Monster cables vs. other working stuff.
 
The people who don't give a frack about the name but are aware of the ridiculous markup may avoid your lot because of the markup (because you are basing this of new prices so 50% of insanely overpriced is still overpriced). The other people who are willing to pay markup for name brand aren't going to appreciate the other stuff as much.
 
So you split it out and sell the Monster lot to those who give a frack abotu such things and then the rest to those who just want the bloody cables (and may actually be turned off by the mere mention of Monster and the like).
 
You speed up the sales and probably maximize profits. You may also get the added benefit of a little social experiment of who responds to which lot. I'm willing to be there will be a stark contrast.
 
Cheers.

Seeing the lot now I'd post it with the list of what's there (maybe use PS or something to put numbers of the cable type on the pic for reference), post your asking price for the lot but allow individual offers.
 
What I have found is sometimes you'll get people only looking for specific stuff and they'll offer more (like your lot was going for 100% and they'll offer you 40% for 15% of the lot because they are only interested in that portion).
 
Of course then you need to update your add but that is easy enough if you have a list. You just edit the listing to say "Item # x has been sold is no longer included in the bulk lot price". Of course you adjust the lot price accordingly.
 
It all depends on how much fiddle faddling/waiting you are willing to do.
 
Cheers.

I really would love to because I'm a cable addict (I have a huge Rubbermaid bin filled with the buggers and those are just the ones I don't have currently in my little studio room) but alas any dough that passes through the Beepster household needs to go towards other things. Ticks me off too because even though I own so many cables inevitably they are the wrong type for certain things (like I have WAY too many RCA cables, not enough balanced 1/4" or XLRs) or they are inferior quality/beat to hell. I had to buy an SPDIF cable recently and I bought the budget brand. Cost me about a third of what I usually spend on groceries in a month (fuuuuh!).
 
Then of course there is cross border shipping/taxes which makes any savings/deals from the US get destroyed.
 
I do appreciate the offer though.
 
Now I gotta ask... did you happen to hang onto any of the packaging from all those Monster cables? If you did, doesn't even matter if they are opened/mangled, that can add even more to the price someone is willing to pay. Seems silly but it's true.
 
Since you said it's old stock packaging you could even say "original/vintage/collectors packaging"! I am semi joking with that last one but you never know with some people. I have seen some STRANGE things in the surplus electronics world. At one point I saw little tiny promo decal stickers for a specific brand selling for $50 and up. They were literally just little tiny stickers about the size of a quarter. They weren't being used to clean up/restore old gear or anything. People were just that nerdy that they wanted them. Nutsoid.
 
Cheers.

Yeah, I've lost a little corner of my DAW room to empty gear boxes (fortunately it all fits under a table for now and indeed the "boxes in boxes" scheme is in play). The bulk of my cabling is surplus/second hand or I've had them for so long the packaging is looong gone (and I usually buy budget brand anyway so not worth hanging on to). If I DO happen to buy a brand name cable, connector, adapter, tiny gizmo though I try to hang on to the packaging and am very careful not to wreck it while opening. I do this specifically because I know if I ever want to sell off a bunch of crap that's the type of thing that can jack up the price if only by the mere illusion that it's "newer" or that the stuff has been cared for by the type of lunatic who hangs on to original packaging of even cables.
 
lulz
 
And yeah... legacy totally works. If they maybe shipped their manufacturing overseas in the interim or altered the design of the actual product that's the type of info scrounge hounds can be swayed by too.
 
You could also see if there are any ham radio shows going on in your area. Those dudes are all over that type of thing. One box of cables may not be worth paying for/setting up a booth but you could mingle and see if anyone bites. Some cool stuff for sale/trade at those shows too. Be prepared for uber dorkiness though.
 
Oh and if you do go to a ham show like that you could just leave the box in your trunk or something and if someone wants them they're right there. The guys who run tables end up being a little flush with cash and generally are looking to spend it again on other goodies at the show.

Looks good. I would personally add something like
 
"I am willing to consider REASONABLE offers for bulk purchases of all or parts of the lot".
 
That is of course if you are indeed willing to accept offers and want to avoid too much fiddling around. Basically people like to feel they've gotten a "special" deal and for people who may be looking to resell them individually (which is a lot more hassle and work) they'll likely want a bit of a better deal in bulk to make it worth their while.
 
Of course you paid full price for these so I can totally understand why you'd want to recoup as much as you can and put in the effort to make it happen.
 
However let it sit for a week or so to see who bites as it is. You'll probably get bulk offers anyway and if you don't care how long it takes to sell or doing it a bit at a time then might as well just get the full asking price. Lots of factors that all depend on how you feel about it all.
 
50% off for stuff that is virtually new is obviously already an excellent deal for people who need the stuff. Also because you have used these all and can say for sure they all work in a way it's BETTER than new because it beats out even the best defect rate of the original manufacturers (you can bring that up when communicating with people to nudge them a bit). So if you are willing to wait, stay firm (nyuck nyuck) and don't flinch or let people lowball you. A lot of the lowballers will act like they are walking away but then you'll hear back from them a week later with a better offer or full price... especially if they see parts of what they want starting to sell.
 
Which is another point. As stuff sells be sure to update your list/pics with "SOLD!". Don't just remove them. It looks better if people see the stuff getting scooped up. Starts a little buyers frenzy.
 
You could also up the value you get for these by giving the option of a trade for stuff you actually need or want. Like instead of getting 50% of the original price in cash you could get 100% or more for a sweet guitar or something you need for your house or whatever.
 
Oh and for trade stuff can work out even BETTER for stuff like gear that isn't in tip top shape. Like you get a $3000 guitar that's a little banged up or maybe someone inherited and they don't know anything about. Then you have a valuable commodity (you can put in the little bit to spruce it up/repair it or whatever) that is far easily to unload in one shot.
 
Knowaddimean?
 
Cheers and good luck.

One more thing if you go in to edit the listing.
 
Tell them if the individual pics on CL are too small to see after they click on them to just hit Ctrl + on their computer to zoom in. I just did that and although text is a little washed out it's still readable. It will save you from having to email them the larger pics. That way they can browse a little before contacting you.
 
HOWEVER you have also inadvertently (or perhaps intentionally and cleverly) stumbled on a good sales ploy by getting them to contact you for pics. It opens a dialog. Once people are engaged in a convo about a product, even if they were just browsing, they become much more likely to buy and it gives you a chance to talk up the product a bit/lay on some craigb charm.
 
That is the hardest part of internet sales versus in person sales. There is no possibility for engagement until potential buyers contact you whereas face to face you can strike up a convo if someone is looking at something.
 
...
 
lol, I don't miss sales type work but there is a bit of a charge/rush you get from it. Bringing back memories. Heh.
 
Cheers.

I'm just looking to get two months rent out of these (which is currently a lot closer to three at the sale prices I have now).

I'm afraid to look at them.
 
[/confessionsofacablejunkie]

Ham N Egz
will you throw the couch in with the cables???

If I don't sell some soon, I might need the couch under the bridge of my choice. 

I'm afraid I might become collateral damage if one of his ex's fires a rocket at the trailer (ala Carrie Fisher in The Blues Brothers). 

Hi,
 
I have to do a quick audit, but I could use a few cables for my setup ... been too lazy to make a trip to Radio Shack, or Fred Meyer!