Thread Post! Collection downsize...

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Pandama

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I have not posted in a really long time, or been on bladeforums in general... I went through a big collection expansion phase... kind of stopped using knives in work when a job change came but kept collecting. Wondering if I should downsize the collection ? If so how and where? Here maybe ebay? Any recommendations for off loading some of a large collection? Thanks!
 
Pandama said:
I have not posted in a really long time, or been on bladeforums in general... I went through a big collection expansion phase... kind of stopped using knives in work when a job change came but kept collecting. Wondering if I should downsize the collection ? If so how and where? Here maybe ebay? Any recommendations for off loading some of a large collection? Thanks!
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As a long time seller of knives on ebay I wholeheartedly encourage you to NOT sell there. Too many bad experiences. Best place is to buy a membership here and sell, you'll get more
 
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Pandama said:
I have not posted in a really long time, or been on bladeforums in general... I went through a big collection expansion phase... kind of stopped using knives in work when a job change came but kept collecting. Wondering if I should downsize the collection ? If so how and where? Here maybe ebay? Any recommendations for off loading some of a large collection? Thanks!
Click to expand...

It only costs you $30 to buy a Gold Membership to sell here.

You can also ask "what are they worth" questions about your knives, if you pay for a Gold Membership here.

So, there's no reason not to do so but, just bear in mind, that people here are very experienced knife fans, who can be fickle (only interested in buying certain knives) and who expect to be able to buy most things on the Exchange at a significant discount from retail.

So, unless you are selling something currently in very high demand here, like Carothers knives, you should NOT expect to sell something for top $ here.

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As for eBay, I've been a seller there and have had no problems doing so.

eBay will give you an INTERNATIONAL audience for what you want/need to sell and provides certain buyer & seller protections that you won't get elsewhere.

The only "problem" w/eBay from my perspective are the eBay listing/seller and PayPal fees that you'll have to pay to sell your knives which (as I recall) can approach/exceed 10-15% of the sale price.

So, you need to price your knives accordingly to cover those costs but, on the good side, the seller has to agree to pay for shipping (which, per policy, has to be included in the sales price here) plus any additional sales taxes.

You also have the choice of choosing the method of shipping (and overcharge for it if you like) and, if you use PayPal, you can automatically print out the the shipping label and may get some shipping discounts which is nice and very convenient.

On the other hand, all sales on eBay will be subject to 1099 reporting (which based on what I've read will only apply to total sales over $5k this year but will drop to $200 in 2025).

All 1099 sales have to be reported/reconciled on Schedule C on your 1040 and if you don't have any receipts or can't establish a basis price for the knives you sell, you'll have to assume a $0 basis (unless you can justify something else) and report the income accordingly.

Sellers here prefer to get paid by PPFF (or via other non-1099 reports cash methods, like Zelle & CashApp) to avoid this 1099 reporting problem.

The admin here recommends against cash payments to avoid getting ripped off but, as along as you are dealing w/buyers who have a sufficient history of buying/selling knives here (and have a history of forum participation) you shouldn't have a problem w/using cash payment methods here.

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If you have some valuable knives, you might want to consider Arizona Custom Knives (ACK) but ACK charges a 25% fee to sell knives of their site and, as I recall, they require a min value of $200 or $250 for any knife listed there but I have seen knives sold there for less than that.

It will also take you much longer to get paid by ACK because (again, as I recall) they don't forward the proceeds of sale until the payments clear and then only 1x/month when they clear all trades off their books. You can read ACK's selling policies on their site

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Lastly, I've never tried it, you can also to try to sell your knives on Reddit, which I have never used because it just seems too disorganized and amorphous to me, but if you sell only by requiring a PP G&S payment, you'll give up a few $ in PayPay fees but will be guaranteed to receive your payment.

The same applies here but buyers here usually are unwilling to pay the 3-4% G&S fees which sellers want to pass on to them.

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Good luck!
 
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I generally agree with sgt1372, but want to add that, if you sell through either Bladeforums or eBay:

1. You'll need to take numerous good, clear photos of each piece you put up for sale. I'm not particularly good at it, and it takes way more time and effort than I anticipated when I first started selling. While not required, I normally include a detailed description, including dimensions, materials, etc., which also can take some time to put together. The cost of packing materials comes out of your pocket.

2. Figuring out a price for each item can be challenging and may require research.

3. eBay will reach more potential buyers than any other method I know about, but you pay a lot in fees. I don't think you're still required to use PayPal, but eBay charges a percentage (usually 10-15%) of the sum of: (1) the sale price + (2) the cost of shipping + (3) sales tax paid by the buyer. So, for example, if a piece sells for $100, shipping is $10 and sales tax is $5, you'll pay a fee equal to 10-15% of $115.

If you sell through a consignment service (such as ACK or cuttingedge.com), you'll pay 25% of the sale price, but you won't have to take any photos, write any descriptions or determine pricing. I only have experience with cuttingedge.com, which proposed a price for each item and asked me to agree or not. You'll pay for the cost of shipping your items to the consignment seller, but don't have to worry about shipment to the buyers.
 
wharncliffe said:
I generally agree with sgt1372, but want to add that, if you sell through either Bladeforums or eBay:

1. You'll need to take numerous good, clear photos of each piece you put up for sale. I'm not particularly good at it, and it takes way more time and effort than I anticipated when I first started selling. While not required, I normally include a detailed description, including dimensions, materials, etc., which also can take some time to put together. The cost of packing materials comes out of your pocket.

2. Figuring out a price for each item can be challenging and may require research.

3. eBay will reach more potential buyers than any other method I know about, but you pay a lot in fees. I don't think you're still required to use PayPal, but eBay charges a percentage (usually 10-15%) of the sum of: (1) the sale price + (2) the cost of shipping + (3) sales tax paid by the buyer. So, for example, if a piece sells for $100, shipping is $10 and sales tax is $5, you'll pay a fee equal to 10-15% of $115.

If you sell through a consignment service (such as ACK or cuttingedge.com), you'll pay 25% of the sale price, but you won't have to take any photos, write any descriptions or determine pricing. I only have experience with cuttingedge.com, which proposed a price for each item and asked me to agree or not. You'll pay for the cost of shipping your items to the consignment seller, but don't have to worry about shipment to the buyers.
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I can't say for certain but I think there is a final sellers fee on ebay PLUS 10-15 % on each item, one item I sold at 100 and I barely not 61 back. There's discounts to the sellers fees if you do partial refunds or donate some to a charity. Not to change topics but ebay greed has driven away hordes of sellers. My experience may not be yours ultimately.
 
If you have certain knives you're particularly interested in selling, you can scan the Want To Buy forum here on Bladeforums to see if anyone is looking for that/those specific knives.
 
Been there done that. I found that any knife worth less than about $75 wasn't really worth the effort to sell. I used Ebay so YMMV. Sold many, and then gifted many more. I'm down to about 20ish knives with probably 10 of those being SAKs of one model or another scattered in bags, first aid kits, glovebox, etc. It has made me very particular about adding any new knives, I'm still waiting for a worthy model in Magnacut and it has been maybe three years since I bought a knife. All of mine are users, with the exception of a few I received from my grandfather. I found it well worth the effort to stop accumulating and downsize.

Grizz
 
I've been buying and selling (mostly buying) on the secondary knife market for the past decade and a half or so, on and off. I've had my best luck with both here on Bladeforums, and on Reddit. Reddit might appear daunting at first if you've never used the site, however it's actually very safe. You'd want to use r/knife_swap if you use Reddit. The mods there, and the users also, are very strict about keeping fishy accounts out, they also don't like when people try to flip knives for over market value. However there's a feedback system just like here. I think my count is 30 transactions on there now without a hiccup. Plus there's a lot of other interesting sub Reddit groups on the site for your other hobbies. So between here and there you're all set really. Oh, and just a tip, if you use Reddit, and also use Paypal for the money transfering, you need to use "Goods & Services" for the first 25 transactions. Once you've made 25, then you can use "Friends & Family". I got in before the rule got strict, however people get there count up often by selling a bunch of small inexpensive stuff at first till they reach 25.
 
Thanks to the OP for starting and all who responded for the input in this thread!

I’m going to upgrade and sell a few knives here on the next month or so. My collection has too many knives I just haven’t used and very likely won’t.

Thanks for the motivation!
 
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