Where is a safe place to sell (electronic) things these days?

[Reddinr]

From what I've gathered, Ebay has become fairly risky for sellers these days with the buyer being much more favorably treated in disputes. From many accounts I've read about, scammers are taking advantage of this with various schemes. I've gotten the same impression of Facebook marketplace. Plus, you have to supply your SSN and pay income tax on the sales over $600/year now (I think that is how it works). Also, since I have not sold there in a long time I would have a trust score that is very low.

Where do you folks sell your non-machining related but specialized stuff? It looks like the "for sale" space here does not move much electronic stuff.
I've gathered quite a bit of "gear" that would be useful to the right buyers but finding a good space to sell it seems to be a problem.

Examples: Laboratory test equipment like RF sources, power supplies, oscilloscopes, bench-top meters, LCR bridge, National Instruments PC cards etc.
Parts: DC Power supplies, Fans, heatsinks, big connectors, big FETs/modules, SSRs, chips, relays, contactors, Atmel microcontroller PCBAs, ... endless stuff

I hate to just throw this stuff away and I could use some $$ for the tool fund.

 

[Liljoebrshooter]

From what I have seen the classifieds on this website don't move much of anything.
I have a bunch of stuff to sell and don't want to do it on e bay either.
Market place is ok. Best is to meet in a public location not at your house.
Joe

 

[GeneT45]

Unfortunately eBay is probably your best bet. This is especially true because of the specialized nature of what you want to sell. Not 1 in 1000 know what an LCR bridge is, much less desire one. But get it on eBay and you'll reach a relatively large number of potential buyers.

Perhaps I'm being cavalier since I haven't been burned, except by international sales - which I would discourage - but so far, so good. Alternately you might find a HAM or other electronics (maker?) forum with a classified section and see if that's any better.

GsT

 

[RJSakowski]

Hamfests are a good place to unload electronic gear. However, they vary greatly in the type/style. Some are almost like family reunoins while others seem to be more commercially oriented. We used to have a premier hamfest in Madison WI but it has diminished in size and quality over the past decade or so. There is another in south Milwaukee that I like to go to as it is fairly good sized and it had free beer after 10:AM. There used to be a multi-day event in Dayton Ohio which was the granddaddy of all hamfests and another at Wheaton, IL. that drew a lot of commercial sellers.

Expect to get less than premium prices though.

 

[Aaron David]

I would look for specialty forums, were people are looking for the sort of product you are looking to move. Most of them do have a for sale section, and it could be a very good outlet for those sales. I will add that I sell a lot on eBay, and have only had two issues with buyers. One was quite reasonable (something broke in transit), while I am not sure the second was his fault or mine. I wasn't happy about the time he took coming back to me, but I was just getting rid of some old plane parts, and I didn't hurt me to refund a bit of money. I learned a long time ago not to be greedy.

 

[Flyinfool]

So far I have not been burned on ebay. Although there is no way I will ever give them my SSN.
Believe it or not most of my sales come from Craigs List even though I list on many sites. I always meet the buyer or seller at the local police station. I have had some call off the deal because it would go down in front of police. Just call the local police ahead of time to let them know what is happening and to be sure that they are OK with it so they do not get concerned. I have even sold firearms in front of the police and they were OK with it. I then park right in front of the outdoor camera so it will get a good view. I point out that this protects both of us. I know you are not going to rob me and you can be sure I am not going to rob you.

As far as your electronic stuff, you may need to bring an inverter or generator, so thet you can turn it on for them to see it work.

In all my adds I always have the line near my contact info "Scammers don't bother, I know all of your tricks and you will only get busted."
My contact info is always done in a way that most bots will not see. Like spelling out every other number of a phone number. Ex. "four 1 four" and sometimes even miss spell to through off the bots that can read like "for 1 fore". Even toss in some useless punctuation and random number of spaces or underlines.

Since I started doing all this I rarely get scam contacts.

 

[Inferno]

Offerupnow.com

I used to sell a lot on ebay but the last big sale cost just as much for shipping as it did for the item. It was a set of car headers.
The buyer got them and said they wouldn't fit so I had to take them back and pay for the return shipping. Last big item I ever listed. That year I sold a few thousand dollars in car parts for older and vintage muscle cars. Two were returned because they didn't fit. The other one was a starter. The guy installed it just to see if that's what was wrong with his car. It wasn't and so I had to eat that one too.

 

[Reddinr]

Thanks all. Some great ideas here. I have used Ebay over the years for purchases mostly and have had excellent luck. Inferno's examples are the kind of thing I've been reading about the last few years. It is not just the money but the time involved dealing with these things. If I burn an hour or three selling/shipping I want it to be worthwhile. I'll have a look at offerupnow.com too.

I'm also planning on giving away a lot of the smaller electronic stuff to local robotics clubs / school STEM clubs.

 

[Aaron David]

One thing I have learned about eBay is to be very sure of your shipping costs, add in your labor costs for that shipping, and mark your add NO RETURNS, or at least that the buyer has to pay for return shipping. That last wont stop a determined person, as eBay defaults to the buyer much like most stores do, but it does keep the number of looky-loos down.

Also, if you are trying to make a business out of it, remember the rule of three; you have to be able to sell it for 3x what you paid. This covers your initial costs, the "rent" of storage and listing costs, and gives you a profit.

 

[higgite]

Asking out of ignorance, is craigslist a viable option for local sales?

Tom