craigb
Now I'm starting to get worried about getting one month's rent from these! Since my ad started I've only had two inquiries for more information, but haven't sold a single cable. I just revised things and lowered all cable prices to 30% of their value (which I no longer show or talk about). The first of the month is getting VERY close...
HERE'S the newest pictures and pricing information, do you think I'm doing anything wrong?
Oh... dude. I didn't realize this was an immediate emergency cash situation. I was under the impression you had time to get the best price for everything at a trickle sell pace.
Okay, my recommendation, if this is indeed a "sell or get evicted" situation and you have no options.
ie: If you are going to lose significantly more of a % on the sale prices than you would pay in interest on a loan take the loan and pay it off as you sell the cables. Of course if there are no loans to be had you just gotta sell 'em.
If you can get 30% on a quick sale that's actually not bad. I was basing the higher selling price on being able to wait for the right buyer(s).
Since you have the list already start calling around all the second hand shops in your area. Music shops, vinyl/record/dj stores, second hand/pawn shops/surplus stores, stereo/home theatre equipment stores. You WILL likely get raped but if you call around you can get a feel for what those places may be willing to pay. They will lowball you but if multiple places are interested you might be able to nudge the price up a bit. I would not expect more than 15% and cables might be a weird sell in places like that.
You might do better with online electronics distributors who do refurb/repackaging but that's dicey and could take more time than you have (shipping, waiting for them to process payment, etc).
The sad part of this is that you generated interest (the two inquiries may not seem like much but it is a good sign after only a couple weeks for something like this). I've had stuff sitting on CL or on other sites that I never thought was going to sell but because I got a couple nibbles I stayed firm on the price. Six weeks (or even months) later it sells and sometimes to those original nibbles who were just trying to sweat me out.
Again I think you might do a lot better finding out if there are any ham radio shows going on in your area or maybe vinyl swaps... anywhere there are going to be a lot of people who need/use cabling. Those are more the average Joe type buyer which is what you want as opposed to full on retail guys who are used to paying far less for stock.
And you know... if you haven't already maybe post it in the Deals section of this forum. You already know a bunch of us would snag them if we could and you are known member so you may get lucky. I am not 100% certain but I don't think it is against the rules to offer a private sale like this in THAT specific forum. Might want to verify with a host first though (Beags is already here so I'm sure he'd know).
Anyway, good luck, man. If I had known these needed to sell RIGHT AWAY my advice would have been rather different from the start. That's why I was trying to sniff out how quickly you needed to get rid of them.
Now this is TOTALLY illegal but the worst that could happen is you get a small fine... take your box of cables to a busy "market" type area on a weekend when there's lots of foot traffic. Spread them out on a table or blanket and just hock the buggers to people walking by. Sad to say but I used to do that kind of crap all the time and it's the fastest way to get the best price. Thoe worst that ever happed to me was I was asked to pack up and leave and that happened maybe ONCE out of the hundreds of times I did. I do NOT recommend this simply because of vendor license issues (which is why it is illegal) and I don't want you getting in shiz based on my crazy person advice but you're a big boy who can make his own risk assessment so it's something to consider.
If you can glom onto someone else's (legal) garage sale then you're golden. Start as early in the morning as you can and you may be out of there by early afternoon. Bring water, snacks, sunscreen and as much change/small bills as you can to make sure you don't lose sales.
It sucks having to do this type of thing on the grind but it can also be kind of fun too if you get into it. I did it for so long though I'd rather play the long game or not play it at all if possible.
Best to ya, Craig. Really sorry to hear about your troubles. Cheers.