I Posted An Ad Looking For Broken Saws....

[Freudianfloyd]

Not dumb, they are just trying to peddle their wares. Often it's stuff nobody wants so they are desperate to get it out of the door. It's normal.
As are the silly near new prices. I've actually seen a used Honda UMK425 trimmer advertised for more than the then current promotional pricing by Honda (which included VAT).
An acquaintance who used to work for Ford told me in their sector it's called "aspirational pricing", and it's absolutely normal until people actually start paying those stupid prices.

I disagree, some of these people are straight up dumb. I clearly posted in the ad that I am looking for particular brands only, to send me a picture of your saw and a price you would like to get for it. I have gotten several offers for brands that are not listed, I have been asked if I am buying these saws, even though the ad says send me your price, and I have even had people asking me for parts for their saws, which even if I had parts for sale, it wasn't one of the brands I had listed. No I don't have a pull starter for your Homelite saw, I am buying Husqvarnas.

And the flakes are the worst part. I had a guy tell me he was going to meet me several times. I wait around and no response. 5 hours later I get a message saying "just saw your text". You mean the text I sent 10 seconds after you sent me one? And then when they ask if we could meet up and when I tell them a time and place, they never respond back. Or when you agree on a time and place and write them to say I am on the way, and they never respond, etc. etc.. These people are dumb!

So long story short, my ad has gotten lots of responses, but has yet to yield me a single saw.

 

[motorhead99999]

I did the same thing on cL and am now flooded with saws now that I paid between 15 and 50$ for.

 

[Freudianfloyd]

I did the same thing on cL and am now flooded with saws now that I paid between 15 and 50$ for.

I will have to try the craigslist route. I keep getting flagged on Marketplace no matter what I post. Apparently you can't do wanted ads.

 

[82F100SWB]

My primary source for saws has been yard sales. And I do not, ever pay more than $50 a saw, and it better be really good for that. Most of what I buy is in the 10-20 a saw range. Now my better half, she gets the deals...

$10 for that whole lot, the 026 needed a fuel line and carb kit, the 440 had a stuck ring and needed a carb kit, the 61 and 266 both needed rings and misc missing parts, and the Gio branded Zeonah clone needed a recoil.
The 026 I ended up porting so I will keep it, the 440 I have already fixed and sold for considerably more than the parts for the rest will cost, even after I put a new carb, bar and chain on it...

 

[rarefish383]

I'll play devils advocate here. I once saw an ad for a guy selling several old saws I didn't collect at the time. I think they were David Bradley's? I started to call and ask if he had any Homelites? But, not wanting to sound dumb, I didn't call. Went back a couple months later and he had sold a pile of old Homelites. He was advertising them by make. I should have asked. Since your add specified non running saws, I'd politely say, "my prices are for non running saws, $20 max. I don't need running saws. Thanks." Some of those dummies might let their running saws go for $20, never know. The one thing I keep hammering is, the non running saw in the garage is plucking the wife's nerves, she just wants the stinky old thing gone.

 

[Freudianfloyd]

I have a guy really trying to sell me his non running poulan pro for $65. I've already said no thanks twice. Those saws are $100 new and that's more than they are worth.

 

[furb]

I used to run ads. I’ve had people email about buying parts and sold them to them without issue. It’s money back in the saw fund.

 

[Conquistador3]

I have a guy really trying to sell me his non running poulan pro for $65. I've already said no thanks twice. Those saws are $100 new and that's more than they are worth.

Don't you know? That's a treasure of the greatest rarity. It will be worth a gorillion in a few years.

I don't know where posters here find the crazy deals they post, but my reality is completely different. A poster recently mentioned the Alpina Pro45. It piqued my curiosity so I checked a few local ads websites and I found a non-runner (scored piston according to the ad and pictures) for the low low price of €95. Even if you can talk this guy down to less than half (kinda hard; I know people here and they are all holding onto "The Precious" ) we are still talking €40 for a non-working 80's saw with no spare parts, no aftermarket support and, much more critical, no market even when running. Welcome to my reality.

The funniest thing however is when some old geezer dies and his heirs find a pile of non-running equipment in his basement. The sensible thing to would be to get rid of the stuff as fast as possible, either through a yard sale or by selling in lots. But no.
"Hello? I am calling about the Stihl 024 in your ad"
"Yes. It belonged to my grandfather. He's dead so we are selling his stuff."
"I am sorry for your loss. In the ad you mentioned the chainsaw is not running..."
"Yes, it doesn't start when I pull the cord."
"So is the price negotiable? €350 is a bit steep for a non-working chainsaw..."
"But it's a Stihl! I read they are very valuable and there's one like this for sale for €400."
"If it doesn't work I'll need to fix it before I can use it... would you consider an offer? Spare parts are expensive."
"I can get down to €325 and no less.
"That's way too much for me. Would you consider an offer?"
"No, €325 is final. Goodbye."

Until you deal with these types you haven't tasted the joys of used power equipment purchase.

 

[Ax-man]

Well said and very much the reality of the used saw market if your trying to flip them . I tried this very same thing years ago and ran into more people thinking their junker saws were worth their weight in gold just because I wanted to buy them . I did find some nice scores and fixed them up real cheap but they were few and far between. I finally got tired of looking at and finding saws with roached pistons and cylinders. Their wasn't much of an after market for parts back then like their is now and fixing a saw with major problems was more or less a waste of time so I finally just gave it up. I kept the good ones for myself and got rid of the ones I didn't need or want anymore . I don't think I broke even probably a loss but at least they were gone and no more CAD.

 

[SteveSr]

I don't think I broke even probably a loss but at least they were gone and no more CAD.

A CURE for CAD! Someone better patent it FAST!

 

[Freudianfloyd]

I had one guy write me with what he said was a large bundle of saws and parts. That he would never get around to fixing, but in the same sentence said these parts are getting hard to find, and that he just purchased a muffler for one of his saws and it was $75. So I knew right off the bat this guy thinks hes sitting on a gold mine. I just told him to send me some pictures and prices when he gets a chance, no hurry. I have yet to hear from him.

 

[Ax-man]

That is the way it goes on the internet. When I was active in the tree business I never took anyone seriously unless they called me. If they took the time to call I figured I was halfway to making a sale because they were serious about getting some work done verses say a chance meeting in a restaurant or an e-mail from my website. The internet makes it too easy to communicate with someone and some of these people just have time on their hands and are bored so they respond to ads on the internet with no intention of going any further than their keyboard. I also suspected that some of these people were either drinking or on something and have no recollection of what they did the previous day or even six hours ago.

Good luck

 

[TheTone]

I put an ad on our local Craigslist a while back. Something like: Cash paid for non-running Stihl chainsaws. Left it on for a couple of months and got one call from a guy with two Poulan or such saws. Wanted $50 each. I declined. The ad came down a month later.

 

[Conquistador3]

I had one guy write me with what he said was a large bundle of saws and parts. That he would never get around to fixing, but in the same sentence said these parts are getting hard to find, and that he just purchased a muffler for one of his saws and it was $75. So I knew right off the bat this guy thinks hes sitting on a gold mine. I just told him to send me some pictures and prices when he gets a chance, no hurry. I have yet to hear from him.

If you want to see the meaning of the term "Fool's gold" head over to any swap meet for old motorcycles. It's full of folks like this one: they have plastic crates full of stuff that looks just dredged from the nearest canal for sale at prices I cannot define without being coarse. The zamak parts where zinc rot has already set in are my personal favorite.

Old car prices and parts have gone down about 10% in 2019, chiefly because they had reached such heights of silliness even the few buyers left were making themselves scarce. Bikes and chainsaws should be next, but I am not holding my breath: too many folks buy at obscene prices and then lie out of their teeth to convince everybody (starting from the wife) what a great deal they've just had.

 

[rarefish383]

Don't you know? That's a treasure of the greatest rarity. It will be worth a gorillion in a few years.

I don't know where posters here find the crazy deals they post, but my reality is completely different. A poster recently mentioned the Alpina Pro45. It piqued my curiosity so I checked a few local ads websites and I found a non-runner (scored piston according to the ad and pictures) for the low low price of €95. Even if you can talk this guy down to less than half (kinda hard; I know people here and they are all holding onto "The Precious" ) we are still talking €40 for a non-working 80's saw with no spare parts, no aftermarket support and, much more critical, no market even when running. Welcome to my reality.

The funniest thing however is when some old geezer dies and his heirs find a pile of non-running equipment in his basement. The sensible thing to would be to get rid of the stuff as fast as possible, either through a yard sale or by selling in lots. But no.
"Hello? I am calling about the Stihl 024 in your ad"
"Yes. It belonged to my grandfather. He's dead so we are selling his stuff."
"I am sorry for your loss. In the ad you mentioned the chainsaw is not running..."
"Yes, it doesn't start when I pull the cord."
"So is the price negotiable? €350 is a bit steep for a non-working chainsaw..."
"But it's a Stihl! I read they are very valuable and there's one like this for sale for €400."
"If it doesn't work I'll need to fix it before I can use it... would you consider an offer? Spare parts are expensive."
"I can get down to €325 and no less.
"That's way too much for me. Would you consider an offer?"
"No, €325 is final. Goodbye."

Until you deal with these types you haven't tasted the joys of used power equipment purchase.

This is very much the case here too. When ever you have to talk to someone with something to sell, they want money for it. I had a 1958 Zodiac High Line that I was trying to get a $1000 for. It had 54,000 miles and almost no rust. I had zero interest. I put a pic on a British Street Rod site and with in a couple days a guy in California emailed me. He was English, and his Dad was a Ford sales man in the 50's. He had been in the states since the 70's. Said he had been looking for a 58 Zodiac for years and couldn't even find a rust bucket parts car. He asked how much I wanted for it. I said $2000. He said he was going to have to ship it from Maryland to California, could I do a little better. I let it go for $1750. He was happy, I was happy. If I sold that car at auction I might have got $100 bucks for it. Nobody here knows what they are. The auctioneer has no emotional attachment to it, he doesn't really care what it sells for. It has to sell that day, when he is standing in front of it. Same with saws, or any auction item. It has to sell right now, not in 10 minutes, not tomorrow, now. If there is not another collector at the sale it's going for dollars, not tens or hundreds. I understand that people in a big city aren't going to ride 3 hours out into the country for the maybe chance of finding a big old chainsaw for a couple dollars. But, how many chainsaw guys live in the middle of the city? Last winter I asked people for their zip codes to look up auctions for them, I got four takers. Two I found auctions within 30 miles of their zip with lots of saws. The other two guys lived up north in the real cold, and they had no farm auctions listed. I guess if you are under 5 feet of snow it's hard to sell a barn full of stuff. But, the other guys were dumb founded that I found saws all around them. One sent me a PM and said he had read stuff I posted about auctions, but had never been to one, didn't even know how to find one. I tell people I've never really done well on CL. Then they say the tried CL and got nothing. Sure there are deals on CL and ebay, but not as many as auctions. There is one factor I tend to leave out about auctions, especially farm auctions, I often wind up walking around in the rain for ten hours to get a ten dollar saw. Is it worth it? To me yeah. It's a form of cheap entertainment. A dollar hot dog, two dollar cup of vegetable soup, and a dollar cup of hot chocolate. Yep, it's worth it to me.

 

[rarefish383]

I guess I should add, I'm looking for vintage collectible saws. The 80's and back. If you want to know how to find a good deal on a 5-6 year old saw I have no idea.

 

[SteveSr]

I put an ad on our local Craigslist a while back. Something like: Cash paid for non-running Stihl chainsaws. Left it on for a couple of months and got one call from a guy with two Poulan or such saws. Wanted $50 each. I declined. The ad came down a month later.

The issue with CL is that you have to constantly repost the add so that people will see it. Few hardly look past page 1 on the PC. There seem to be a few in my area finding stuff but they post continuously. How do I know? I have a search setup for Stihl in Tools and Lawn & Garden categories.

I occasionally see good deals but they disappear almost immediately. Most times in less than the 30 minutes it usually takes for the search notification to pop-up.

 

[LegDeLimber]

As a Craigslist reader, let me mention that spelling the product name properly helps to sell it.
If I have to guess at 13 misspellings or colloquialisms, then *your going to be overlooked.

Then there are the idiots who do the dictionary dump for key words.
I tend to filter out truck & car names when I search C'list.
So if you put a truck name, car name/model or other unrelated words in a chainsaw listing, then I'll try to avoid seeing your listings.

Edit~P.S Oh yeah, Don't let the spell checker bite *you're ass either!

 

[Freudianfloyd]

As a Craigslist reader, let me mention that spelling the product name properly helps to sell it.
If I have to guess at 13 misspellings or colloquialisms, then your going to be overlooked.

Then there are the idiots who do the dictionary dump for key words.
I tend to filter out truck & car names when I search C'list.
So if you put a truck name, car name/model or other unrelated words in a chainsaw listing, then I'll try to avoid seeing your listings.

I hear that. It's amazing how many ways you can spell Husqvarna.