Parts selling????

JD Seller · Mar 20, 2015

Reading Bryce's post below got me to thinking. I rarely sell used parts. I just never got into doing it. It always seemed to me that selling used parts was more of a bother than I really wanted to deal with. I know there are guys that have made good money selling used parts.

I usually sell complete running tractors or equipment. Having to put up a bunch of ads or sales on Ebay or Graiglist just would not be for me. Dealing with guys low balling me over a $10 part would not be my idea of fun.

I do seem to collect a number of good used parts. Some I keep but a lot of them I just wholesale to several parts yards I do business with. It is much easier for me this way. I do not have to fool with all the trouble of selling parts. Plus I usually get a pretty good price on used parts I buy back from these same fellows.

I just shake my head at the Ebay sellers that will have a complete tractor taken apart for sale. Even down to the old used dirty/rusty bolts and washers. Much of this stuff seems to be little more than junk.

I can see this on a tractor but there are guys doing this on lawn mowers that are not worth a $100 running let alone not running. Just seems kind of funny.

Bryce Frazier · Mar 20, 2015

I don't mind selling parts and stuff, BUT, I run one or two ads that say for example:

Lots of Farmall H parts, e-mail with list, I will reply with prices if I have what you need!

Then, if they like it, great, come get it!

Kind of simple, plus it is usually good turn around, and it gets me cash that I need for other stuff's!

Bryce

Traditional Farmer · Mar 21, 2015

The 3 tractor used parts yards nearest to me I
knew each of the original owners all died/retired
with several million in assets and had started with next to nothing.All 3 family run.Its a whole lot better money in it than farming.A $1000 or $1500 tractor with a blown engine or trans problem can easily return $4000 or $5000 within a year or two sometimes within weeks.If you can buy one every couple weeks it turns into some real $$$ plus once you're in the business people will bring deals to you and get a lot of tractors and equipment for next to nothing.

Traditional Farmer · Mar 21, 2015

Bryce with things like ebay,CL and a couple others
and you living in an area where tractors and equipment are pretty cheap you have the potential there to make some really good money.First off you need to buy a parts book for every machine you're going to part.You don't have to have it but being able to ID parts with their original number is a big plus.

Zachary Hoyt · Mar 21, 2015

I parted out about 15 tractors over about 3 years. Some were complete and some were partial when I started. There was some good money in it but it did involve a lot of communication and a lot of waiting around for people who did not show up, taking photos of parts, listing them on different for sale sites, packing, mailing, etc. I have not parted one for nearly 2 years now as my fiddle and banjo making business has gotten busy enough to occupy most of my evenings. I am still selling off some parts that are left, and I expect that will go on for at least another year or two. They don't move as fast now that the popular ones are gone but I still sell some every month.
Zach

Nebraska Cowman · Mar 21, 2015

I sold a lot of parts for a few years, still sell a few. I have pretty much given up the ebay route, high commissions, and too much ebay "mothering" to suit me. It became not fun anymore. The bottom line is yes, there is money in it, but like anything else, if you do it full time, it's a full time job. ( and I don't mean 8 hrs a day and off on weekends either. I mean Full Time)

Geo-TH,In · Mar 21, 2015

I never buy a used parts off ebay. Sometimes there is very little price difference between new and used. I do find good OEM new parts on ebay, amazon, and even on YT.

I did put an ad on craigslist for a blown kohler command horizontal shaft. Got it for $35. It had a bad #1 head. I removed the starter, voltage regulator, carb, ignition mods. Then posted it back on craigslist 6 months later and sold the rest of the engine for $50. Buyer was aware of bad head too. I cleaned up the carb and am using it. So that was a good deal for me. Just one item is worth the $35.

Geo-TH,In · Mar 21, 2015

A few years ago, we had a very hot summer. So hot I could only work to about noon before I had to go inside and cool off.

Then I decided to have a CL yard sale. I put pics of things I never used in the past 20 years on CL. Made $1500. My goal was to empty out my garages, sheds. You couldn't tell I sold anything.

To save time and for safety, I would put the sale items in the back of the truck and meet people in town at a gas station or a large parking lot.

Leroy · Mar 21, 2015

Bryce you need to change the second line. What you are saying is if you do not have what they are wanting then you will not tell them and they are left setting and wondering if you got their comunication. You need to say I will let you know if I do not have it or if I do then I will send you the prices. You know you do not like it when you email sombody about something and they do not respond at all. You do not want to be like those people.

NY 986 · Mar 21, 2015

I've thought about the used part business and also the NOS (new old stock) part business. I flat out let somebody talk me out of the NOS and regret it now. I thought about doing this after high school in the early 1980's when the idea was somewhat new. There were lots of dealer sellouts from the mid 1980's until 2000 to have a chance to build inventory.
The used part business was more problematic. As far as machinery went most equipment that would have been a candidate due to price was so far worn that the "yield" would have been minimal and profit sketchy. H's, M's, 8N's had established parts suppliers who got first crack with dealers and often got a "wholesale" price. 4020's and 806's would have been a gamble for somebody that lacked experience in parting out that vintage of tractor. Usually that fell to former dealer shop or parts people.

JOCCO · Mar 21, 2015

Kind of agree JD. It is conviniant when you need just one small part for a few dollars!!! Don't know how they can keep track of all that listing in the first place!!

Bryce Frazier · Mar 21, 2015

You're right, I didn't mention that, but I always do get back to them either way... Just common coutrisy as far as I am concerned.... Bryce

T in NE · Mar 21, 2015

I like the ads "complete engine! Runs strong!". And they've stripped it of anything that can he unbolted. Now it's just a chunk of iron that needs a bunch of work to get it running again.

bison · Mar 21, 2015

I tried selling the parts from a complete Case 1070 engine that had only a broken crank.
I advertized everywhere off and on,even on this site for 10 years, i never got a single call.
I can't even get rid of the factory repair manual!

Last year i said enough is enough and sold the whole shebang to the scrap yard.
I still have the manual but it may end up in the burning barrel before to long.

Zachary Hoyt · Mar 21, 2015

In the used parts world (as in many other worlds) people tend to
buy from whoever has the lowest price. For your parts to have sat
that long I am guessing your prices must have been higher than the
market and much higher than scrap price. I have encountered folks
who will only sell something for 4 times scrap price when they
would actually be able to get a buyer at 2 times scrap price, but
they would rather scrap whatever they have. I do not understand
this way of thinking, but everyone has different ideas.
Zach

ObsoElitist · Mar 21, 2015

You need to know the business to make money at it. Some parts are rare and valuable, most are not. I removed a chrome "Custom cab" dash trim piece from a 65 ford truck that was going to the scrapper, it was worth $200.

bison · Mar 21, 2015

(quoted from post at 11:11:42 03/21/15) In the used parts world (as in many other worlds) people tend to
buy from whoever has the lowest price. For your parts to have sat
that long I am guessing your prices must have been higher than the
market and much higher than scrap price. I have encountered folks
who will only sell something for 4 times scrap price when they
would actually be able to get a buyer at 2 times scrap price, but
they would rather scrap whatever they have. I do not understand
this way of thinking, but everyone has different ideas.
Zach

hadn't listed any prices,.I would've sold everything for any reasonable offer.
Its hard to sell or even give away if people don't even call.

I had listed a factory 2 volume case 970/1070 series repair manual for $150 and then lowered it to $100 + freight.
Apparently it is to much.
Well if i can't even get a hunnerd bux for it then i burn the damn thing,..

jm. · Mar 21, 2015

For 11 years I had a 17 acre dozer scrap yard. Used dozer parts were good business and I made good money. I think now days as a many would say the party is over. One the advent of the inner net lets Joe blow find the part where ever it is at the lowest price. Then the second "nail in the coffin" is China or import parts. We used to get $1,000 bucks for ever IH D239 crank we could get now you can buy new CHINA part $ 325.00. Any part that their is a good demand for is being produced overseas cheap. Glad I got out when I did.

mkirsch · Mar 21, 2015

Selling parts off Farmall H's is a whole different deal than selling off a Case 1070. There weren't near as many 1070's as H's to begin with, so you have a much smaller market to work with.

Even in this day and age, $50 or even $20 is nothing to turn up your nose at. Certainly more valuable than the few BTUs of heat that burning the manual would get you.

Plus you're helping some guy out and preserving the information for future generations. Burning the manual is not like scrapping the tractor. There are way more tractors out there than manuals.

That said, if someone is making money, and/or getting enjoyment from selling used tractor parts, who are you to criticize? If it's not your cup of tea, so be it.

That guy who tears down tractors and sells the pieces on ebay for $9.99 each has a lot of parts that you can't necessarily get anywhere else. I've gotten a lot of odd parts from that guy, for way less than places like Steel Wheel Ranch.

Chris Jones · Mar 21, 2015

Sounds like selling used parts isn't the business for you and you've found the way of dealing with used parts that works best for you.

But don't bash the entrepreneurial folks selling used parts on ebay and CL. They can make a good living at it. Nope used parts sellers don't make money for nothing. The "work" that goes into making that money includes dealing sellers and buyers. It includes dickering, tire kickers, and those that don't show up. Just like part of making a living in an office is sitting through mandatory meetings asking you to give "your fair share" to the United Way, spending all day fixing problems while your co-workers fill out their brackets and discuss last nights game, and best of all having to say, "great idea boss" when he just proposed the stupidest idea you think you've ever heard.

It's surprising how a worn out lawn tractor that's not worth $100 is worth $500 when all the parts are sold off off it. A good used gas tank is like gold! A starter motor is money. A carb is money. Pull starters are money. I've sold cracked rear tires for $20 each! -- they saw what they were getting in person and were happy.

I've done a bit of both--can't say as I like either one.

Zachary Hoyt · Mar 21, 2015

So you would rather burn it than get $50 or even $25 and have it
go to someone who might like to have it? This is not the way my
mind works, but like I said before we are all different.
Zach

Whiskey Bent · Mar 21, 2015

Bison, you say you didn't list any prices for the engine, to me that's a turn off. I sell and buy a lot on craigs list and ALWAYS have a price. If im buying and there is no price I never call and know there are many others that think that same way.

bison · Mar 22, 2015

(quoted from post at 19:06:47 03/21/15) So you would rather burn it than get $50 or even $25 and have it
go to someone who might like to have it? This is not the way my
mind works, but like I said before we are all different.
Zach

new factory manual is in the neighbor hood of 800-1000 bux.
100 bux is rather cheap don't you think.,..i paid 3 times that when i bought it.

Whenever i bought used parts 90 out of the 100 times i paid half the new price or better, it was take it or leave it.

bison · Mar 22, 2015

(quoted from post at 19:45:26 03/21/15) Bison, you say you didn't list any prices for the engine, to me that's a turn off. I sell and buy a lot on craigs list and ALWAYS have a price. If im buying and there is no price I never call and know there are many others that think that same way.

f i had to list and price every part separate i would still be typing on the fist add... i ain't wallmart,..:roll:
Give me call, tell me what part or parts you're looking for and we'll figure out a price should be all thats needed.
And that is exactly how it goes when you call any wrecking yard when you're looking for a used tractor part.

bison · Mar 22, 2015

(quoted from post at 18:39:00 03/21/15) Sounds like selling used parts isn't the business for you and you've found the way of dealing with used parts that works best for you.

[b:34819a8d63]But don't bash the entrepreneurial folks selling used parts on ebay and CL.[/b:34819a8d63] They can make a good living at it. Nope used parts sellers don't make money for nothing. The "work" that goes into making that money includes dealing sellers and buyers. It includes dickering, tire kickers, and those that don't show up. Just like part of making a living in an office is sitting through mandatory meetings asking you to give "your fair share" to the United Way, spending all day fixing problems while your co-workers fill out their brackets and discuss last nights game, and best of all having to say, "great idea boss" when he just proposed the stupidest idea you think you've ever heard.

It's surprising how a worn out lawn tractor that's not worth $100 is worth $500 when all the parts are sold off off it. A good used gas tank is like gold! A starter motor is money. A carb is money. Pull starters are money. I've sold cracked rear tires for $20 each! -- they saw what they were getting in person and were happy.

I've done a bit of both--can't say as I like either one.

did not bash anyone, i just said it has not worked for me.

Chris Jones · Mar 22, 2015

My post was in reply to JD Sellers reply to the original poster. It shows as so--at least in classic view.

And I wasn't trying to be hard on him either--just pointing out there is money to be made in used parts and that it does require work most ways of making money--ie dealing with buyers eccentricities. While he might not like doing this kind of work to make money, others might be quite happy doing it.

Parts selling????

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