May 17, 201016 yr Check out this anvil http://stcatharines.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-tools-equipment-BLACKSMITH-ANVIL-W0QQAdIdZ205371991 Believe it or not this guy has the stones to ask for $500.00 for it. Sam The heck of it is that if you don`t ask outrageous prices you never find out how uninformed(best word I could think of that would fly here)people can be. That may be just the thing that rich widow woman wants for the center piece of her garden(I`d hate to be her driver that day ).It could also have just the right texture for that new sculpture base that an artist has been looking for. One of my friends had an applicable saying;"The`s an ass for every seat,that`s why I`m in the chair business".There may be one out there close to him with more dollars than sense.Hate to leave money on the table if that was the case. I once had a fellow give me $150 for a 18"X18"X6" block of Bird`s Eye maple that I first told him wasn`t for sale.I paid $100(+$50 for delivery) for a dump truck load that was being sold for firewood before I came along. After I told him it wasn`t for sale(I planned to turn a bowl out of it)he laid three 50 dollar bills on the bench.I carried it to his car for him. After he left I fired up the chainsaw and cut off another chunk from the pile. :D
May 17, 201016 yr This has been interesting reading all these posts. I always look at used equipment with the 1/2 rule. I would like you folks to comment on this philosophy. I always feel like "used is used". I take the brand new price of the current or equivalent item and cut it in half and go up or down from there based on wear and tear. This excludes vintage-antique things. I try not to be judgmental of peoples assumptions of what what their used stuff is worth, but it is rather difficult. I ended up building my own power hammer because anything I found used (even ten yrs of use) the owner wanted only $1000-$1500 down from brand new. Even though some of this stuff holds up over the years, it's hard to justify 75% of brand new for something that's been beat all to hell. I really do value all the input because skepticism lies in both buyers and sellers. Sorry if I went off topic too much here. Sincerely, Spears.
May 17, 201016 yr The value of second-hand gear is defined solely by supply and demand, decide what you're prepared to pay (with reference to prices asked by recent vendors) and then wait for a suitable offer. I agree, if you're selling it's easier to lower the price than raise it but asking a stupidly high amount will only alienate potential buyers. Bull***t descriptions annoy people, no-one will spend such a huge amount of cash without some knowledge; although they give us a good laugh.
May 18, 201016 yr That's a good example of the difference between used and abused. Hey, that's not far from where I live, maybe i'll go check it out and "accidently" drop it on his toe. (Just kidding!)
May 18, 201016 yr Location, Location, Location I used to live in the blacksmith's happy hunting grounds (OH) where it was both thickly settled and farmed and industrial during the heyday of smithing here leaving a lot of stuff still around. (Shoot Columbus OH had two anvil manufacturers and Cleveland 1 as I recall). Stuff was reasonably priced for a cheapskate like me. Then e-bay came along and suddenly folks in anvil poor areas could *buy* stuff remotely in anvil rich areas and the prices in OH started going up. I ran into a lot of dealers at fleamarkets tell me that they could sell stuff for more than I wanted to pay on e-bay; when I suggested that they do so they replied that they didn't want the hassle. As I see it the hassle was part of the increased price and they should not expect to get the higher price without the added work of selling and shipping! Our local, (NM), anvil collector finally made it out to Quad-State a couple of years ago and it blew his mind---I think he bought 30 anvils---had to buy a trailer to get them all home as they are still cheaper there than out here in anvil poor NM!
May 18, 201016 yr Do you think this guy would charge more if we told him it was used in the railroad industry "back in the day" http://cgi.ebay.com/Old-Hand-Made-Anvil-Found-Asis-No-Returns-/390193257740?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ad9549d0c
May 18, 201016 yr Well it's not "old style rail" so it's not real old... I used to accept stuff like that as change when buying stuff at the fleamarket and the fellow couldn't break a ten; just gave a nice clean shiny piece to my office mate to use leather working on. Definitely fits the forum category!
May 18, 201016 yr Amen to that Bob, you did both yourself and the daughter of the deceased good sharing the profits like that.
May 19, 201016 yr Author My link It has once again reared it's ugly head HONESTLY ?!?!?! Even if you're not a metalworker ... how sheltered a life would you have had to have to NOT REALIZE that top face is broken??? :blink:
May 23, 201016 yr For the other side of the coin... Go to Craigslist for southern NH,115# anvil for $50. It`s beat,but not as bad as some of the $500 wonders here.The face is chipped and dished but all there except the edges. Go get em` boys!!!
May 23, 201016 yr While I was visiting my Dad in Idaho last week he put a "wanted" ad for Blacksmith gear.. Before I came home we had a guy email and say he had a 85lb anvil he wanted $150 for.... We ask if we could come see it, he emailed the address, and it was basically my dads next door neighbor, the first house on the other side of his barn... He said the anvil was in a shed out back when he bought the place... A real nice little Trenton I ended up with for $125... We also went to look at a 150lb anvil a lady had she wanted $200 for.... It ended up being about 130lbs and cut up pretty badly with a torch, had a chunk of the bick missing and half a dozen bad scars... I offered her a $100 and she said "I know what its worth!, no way Im coming off of $200!" So we left it sit.... If it would have been 250lbs plus it would have been worth fixing but.....
May 26, 201016 yr Anvil for sale This is an old anvil/vise combination from the late 1800's. The weight is about 40 pounds, A bargain at $225 / $5.63 a pound.
May 26, 201016 yr HONESTLY ?!?!?! Even if you're not a metalworker ... how sheltered a life would you have had to have to NOT REALIZE that top face is broken??? Pretty sheltered, considering that I actually sent him a message and asked him if he's ever actually looked at the prices anvils go for on eBay, and why he would think that an anvil with half the face broken off would be worth so much more than much better ones of similar size. He didn't respond. Go figure.
June 16, 201015 yr My link He's on his way down! Way down for one day only, but too late we missed it. http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/atq/1785124328.html
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