How to Sell A Huge Shop of Classic Car Parts

[Cord Blomquist]

My father, Rick Blomquist, has been fighting pancreatic cancer for over a year. He's kept up his car restoration and classic parts businesses, but now his health is really declining and I'm afraid he won't be able to keep up with it anymore.

 

I'm hoping forum members can help me think of ways to sell the huge amounts of parts my dad has in his shop that aren't listed on his eBay store, which you can see here: http://stores.ebay.com/White-Glove-Collection-Parts

 

But we have a shop full of tires (mostly for classic, about half with white walls), a warehouse full of leftovers from restoration projects, an assembly area full of more leftover and supplies, a garage bay with over 20 antique luggage trunks, and three cargo containers filled with wheels, radiators, generators, carburetors, motors, transmissions, axles, frames, fenders, dashboards, etc.

 

Is my best way forward here to label these non-eBay items and take them to a big meet like Hershey? Are there other means by which I can sell some of these things without photographing, listing, and shipping them individually?

 

My dad specialized in American cars from the depression, so we're talking old Studebaker, Graham, Nash, Buick, Chrysler, Ford, Packard, Cadillac, and other American makes from the time.

 

As always, the help of this forum and community of old car guys (and gals) is appreciated.

[Taylormade]

The only way to get rid of a massive store of parts like this is to have a public auction.  i did it when I drastically downsized after retirement and was happy with the results.  If you have it done by an auction house that specializes in or has good knowledge of automobiles and knows the business, you will probably get a fair return for the merchandise. I agree, if you're not interested in continuing the business, the amount of time and effort to try and sell all these items yourself would be non-productive.  Have you had any interest in someone buying the business from your family, parts, facility and all?

[trimacar]

I agree, an auction is the way to go if you want to clean out to-the-walls and get it done in a timely manner.

 

You'd be YEARS selling everything on Ebay and at Hershey.  I know of a fellow who inherited a lot of parts from his father, he's gone to Hershey every year for a while and set up, and still has stuff left over.

 

No, you won't end up with full retail (after auction house cut), but you'll be done with it.  If you want full retail out of every last piece, be prepared to market things for a while....good luck!

[alsancle]

Cord,  I'm sorry to hear about your dad's health.

 

I agree with the previous posts.   Bring in an auction company,  allow plenty of lead time with good online advertising.  One that allows online and phone bidding would be required.  You may not achieve full retail but will do very well.

 

[auburnseeker]

I would be interested in a Drivetrain for my 36 810 Cord if you have one or any major components of.  

I would agree though that an Auction house is the best way if you want to move everything including the garbage cans full of Garbage out in short order. 

I know of a very Large prewar Cadillac Collection including cars,  finished and parts not far away that I looked at.  I was hoping to buy even the non Cadillac parts for my Business but they wanted to sell it lock stock and barrel including the building.   Really tough sell especially when you are talking the Million dollar range.  

I told them realistically that was the only real chance they would have to liquidate everything.  There was alot of good stuff and alot of not very good stuff as well as racks and racks of sheetmetal.   Tough stuff to buy and market/ ship. 

As of lately I still haven't heard what they are doing with it.   I'm pretty sure they never found a buyer either.  

Of course the best of the cars are easy to market but everything else becomes increasingly tough. 

Good luck in what ever you determine is best.  

I told my wife if anything happens to me, there is a card in my desk for a Knowledgeable auctioneer to call and liquidate everything she doesn't want.  (I'm pretty sure that will get rid of everything but the brooms and shovels in the shop as she considers my car stuff and advertising clutter.  

[barryh]

Another good way is to take the time to separate the parts into lots by make and offer the lots for sale to collectors or dealers with interest in the particular makes. There is of course no way to get anywhere near retail value for the inventory other than devoting years to slowly selling them off via HMN ads, ebay, or swap meets, as I do with my large Studebaker inventory. I know that the day will come, just as for your dad, that my retailing days will end & what remains of my inventory will be sold off cheaply in large lots or by auction.

[midman]

I'm sorry to hear about your father as well. I bought some hard to find parts from him a couple of times.

 

I'll join the chorus and recommend a good auction house. If you have any good project cars I would add them to the auction as a draw. If it is advertised right and there are some good pieces the rest should sell well though as stated before not all at full retail.

 

I hope your father and family find peace.

[Terry Bond]

Your dad has done a great service t o the hobby for a long time. If you wish to close it out I concur with the auction idea. Do your research though before you agree on a company. There are several who specialize in this kind of thing but a lot who don't have a clue. If you wish to remain involved with a piece of it though you could always break off a chunk to keep as the family business, e.g Packard parts or whatever.

Terry

[Cord Blomquist]

I am trying to find a buyer for the parts restoration and fabrication business. My dad builds and restores Trippe Lights, mirrors, running board lights, fog lights, funeral car lights, and even makes an LED lit base for Lalique and other glass ornaments. He also makes a whole set of switches and control cables with matching labels of all types. It's a good business, grossing a very good income via eBay, Hemmings, whiteglovecollection.com, and at one time via going to shows like Auburn and Hershey.

 

I've still got to put together a price for that. I can provide anyone seriously interested with sales numbers and build costs. I will disclose all suppliers and processes to a buyer and give them all molds, rights to the name and logo, control of the website, trabsfer the eBay account, etc.

 

For everything else, I need a good auction company that can work with us in La Crosse, WI.

 

Can any recommend specific companies?

 

 

[nick8086]

VanDerBrink Auctions, LLC or B/J

 

She did the Quam auction and the one in Pierce Nebraska.  

 

http://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com/result_details.php?detail_id=170&allimages=NO

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2017 by nick8086 (see edit history)

[nick8086]

They are on day one of this auction.. in Ohio.

 

Here the kaiser results..

[barryh]

Vanderbrink & Silver Auctions are 2 great ones. I have also been to several Borkowski Auctions of Indiana which were very well organized. All 3 are very reputable & ethical, will work hard for you, & deliver great results.

[mercer09]

I disagree with the auction notion, which most seem to be fond of.

 

reason being, the fees, did I mention the fees? then buyers premiums and then, the question of do you get enough interest. I have been to auctions where most everything was given away.

 

I agree with baaryh. separate the parts into lots and sell them off that way on ebay. this way you have control of a reserve, very little overhead and you are not spending the next 20 years of your life selling one part at a time.

 

I too am sorry to hear of your father's illness. It does suck getting old.....

 

 

[Larry Schramm]

On ‎7‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 7:47 AM, mercer09 said:

I disagree with the auction notion, which most seem to be fond of.

 

reason being, the fees, did I mention the fees? then buyers premiums and then, the question of do you get enough interest. I have been to auctions where most everything was given away.

 

I agree with baaryh. separate the parts into lots and sell them off that way on ebay. this way you have control of a reserve, very little overhead and you are not spending the next 20 years of your life selling one part at a time.

 

I too am sorry to hear of your father's illness. It does suck getting old.....

 

 

 

Sorry to hear of your fathers illness.  I just lost my Dad  a couple of weeks ago.

 

To Mercer09 when you talk of fees and say Ebay, depending on the amount of your sales fees will eat up about 30% of the total sale price from my experience.

 

Every sale method incurs a cost.  You just need to determine the value of your time and at what point the stuff goes away.

 

I have selling stuff at swap meets for a couple of years and the sales have dwindled to the point it is not worth my time anymore.  I am going to sell some for a wholesale price next month and the rest of it is going to the scrap yard.  I will then have a clean trailer. 

[mercer09]

Larry, have no idea where you come up with 30%?

 

ebay charges a flat 10% and paypal is an additional 4%, if you use paypal.

 

much easier then having 200 people run through your property, destroying everything in their path!

 

diff strokes, diff folks...............!

[trimacar]

As far as selling at swap meets, my only real experience is at Hershey.

 

One rarely gets full retail at Hershey, either.  People make low ball offers, and even if you try to meet them half way, often just walk on.  Every now and then, you have just the right item and just the right person walk by, and you can get full price, but not often.  Anyway, that's my experience.  It's a lot like fishing, you're hoping that a fish hungry for the bait you have just happens to swim by where the bait is located!  Some chance involved....

 

I'm bringing a lot of stuff to try to sell at Hershey this year, we'll see how it goes....I need to thin out for sure.  But, as mentioned, there's a cost to selling, and the other consideration is your time.  You can have it over with in a day, or you can have it drag on for years.

 

A lot of the big car auction houses are doing memorabilia auctions before the main event, that's a good way to go too for all the little stuff.....

[Larry Schramm]

10 minutes ago, mercer09 said:

Larry, have no idea where you come up with 30%?

 

ebay charges a flat 10% and paypal is an additional 4%, if you use paypal.

 

much easier then having 200 people run through your property, destroying everything in their path!

 

diff strokes, diff folks...............!

 

Are you a power seller? 

 

Here is the ebay fee schedule  http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html#if_auction  About 15%

 

Plus Pay which usually in my experience is about 10%. Plus other expenses like packaging & time.

 

And here is a discussion  http://www.ebay.com/gds/Attention-New-Sellers-eBay-shipping-and-Paypal-fees-/10000000003609267/g.html

[mercer09]

No Larry, not a power seller. the math shows 10% across the board for ebay and 4 % for paypal.

 

Guess we both have had different math............

 

nobody would use ppl if it cost 15%

[trimacar]

For the audience you reach on Ebay, that's a bargain.  I had a little Shell paper item, less than an inch around, guess it was early.....and would have sold it for the first dollar bill that came my way... put it on Ebay, complete with ruler to show scale (which I think is a failing of many sellers, you have to not only tell WHAT it is, but how BIG it is)....sold for almost $40, wow...

 

Then, too, some things one thinks are rare, aren't.....so you have to understand that too..

[Joe in Canada]

Your all forgetting EBay's hand in the buyers pocked for their absorbent middleman handling fee called a Global Shipping Program. When that came out I quit EBay.  

Edited August 6, 2017 by Joe in Canada (see edit history)

[tom_in_nh]

Hi Cord,

Hope all is well with your father during this tough time.

Sending PM.

Tom

[Xander Wildeisen]

Sorry about your father, I have talked to him a few times over the years. He was always very helpful in answering my questions.

[Cord Blomquist]

I've posted over 100 new items to https://whiteglovecollection.com/ under the "Lights & Parts" page. Please check these out.

 

Also, you can view my dad's obituary here:

 

http://lacrossetribune.com/lifestyles/announcements/obituaries/richard-allen-blomquist/article_a8fdde6a-7fde-5a76-8451-0c907117736e.html

 

I wrote it. I think dad would have liked how I portrayed his full-throttle approach to life.

[alsancle]

Cord, well done.   

[ksparks]

colorful obit..and well written..RIP to your Dad

 

[Larry Schramm]

Nice obit.

[RansomEli]

A heartfelt, excellent obituary. Your father is proud of you.

[auburnseeker]

With fees on ebay you have to remember they are banging you roughly with pay pal 15 percent for the entire purchase including the shipping charge.  It could reach up to 30 if you figure selling a 5.00 item with 5.00 shipping resulting in a total sale price of 10.00.  that's 1.50 in total fees for your 5.00 item because you actually paid 5.00 to ship the item.  So technically you did pay 30 percent in fees for that 5.00 item. (I know that's kind of a twisted way to think but it is true)   I understand this way of thinking as I sell alot of brochures on ebay and start almost all of them at 2.99.  Many sell at that.  I hope many buyers buy several but when they only buy one they pay the 4.54 shipping on that.  First class mail in a rigid book mailer shrunk wrapped to cardboard backer costs that when figuring the cost of the shipping material. 

I do know I sell alot of them and many people get  a great buy.  I think ebay and the post office are the only one making out though. 

Fortunately a few sell for more and I do have a couple buyers who will by 10-40 at a pop. Media mail is real cheap on big orders.