where's the best place to sell vintage scuba gear in orange sounty ca?

[Ed Palma]

.... so would somene like to actually appraise my gear or just continue to talk **** on it? I thought this site would be more about scuba experts rather than random crap talking. whether my stuff is worth one or a 1000 dollars i would just like to know. I bought this stuff at an estate sale. the old man died and I was told he use to own a dive shop on the east coast. I thought Id take a chance on it since some of it was still in box. So Im just trying to find out if it was a good or bad purchase

If you read between the lines, you'll get an estimate of what its worth. I'm just worried that if you purchased it with the notion that the depth gauge was worth $200, you're in for a major disappointment. For example, to me, those particular gauges aren't exactly interesting, and I'd probably be hard-pressed to shell out $50 for the whole lot. But then again, that's me, and there might be someone out there who'd value it much higher - hence all the responses to the original question of:
"where's the best place to sell vintage scuba gear in orange sounty ca"

Perhaps if you had specifically asked for appraisals in the original post as well, then I'm sure people would've given you their opinions, as opposed to all this "crap-talking" of replying to the original question.

 

[rocklgnd2b]

well thank you for your help ed. what do you think about that one gauge selling on ebay for 100 bucks? BS? or not?

 

[rocklgnd2b]

and after i got this stuff i researched the age and found it to be 70s-80s. this site said that vintage was anything older than 80's, so thats why i called it vintage

 

[Thalassamania]

Let me give you an example, I just saw an Ikelight Compass (and that's vintage) for fifteen and change on eBay. This is basically an SK-6. I've seen the same compass, in the same condition, on a different day not draw ten bucks yet on another day go for over eighty. What is your gear worth? It all depends on the buyer. I paid top dollar for an old ScubaPro helium depth gauge. It's the gauge I used for years, I wanted it, I was flush with cash, there was some butt head bidding against me and I don't see many for sale. If there were someone with some attachment to those USD pieces who is bidding that day you could be a lot, if not ... fifty bucks for the lot. That's how it works. While your gear may be vintage age, it's not lusted after vintage gear.

 

[Ed Palma]

Like I said before, its value is reflective of what the buyer perceives, and not what the seller wants. For the gauge that went for a $99, there was a grand total of 1 (one) bidder. You're looking at the outliers, and not the norm. You were asking for "fair-market value" and to me, $50 is still a stretch for me. As to whether or not the $99 price was BS, as people have stated before, eBay is a strange thing where one thing sells for x amount, then it sells for triple that another time. The reason? Because it all depends on the perception of the buyer. Majority of the posters here have given their opinion as to the best place to sell it. As Elmer Fudd said earlier, the most expensive source for vintage gear would be eBay - because of the wide audience. If you sell it locally, you'd probably find it hard to move your items. This community is a small one and scattered all over the place, so if you want to reach the widest audience for the chance of finding that one collector who values your stuff at top dollar, then eBay is still the best bet. Place a $100 reserve on it if you like so it won't sell for less than what you think its worth.

The definition of "vintage" is a whole different topic altogether

 

[herman]

No offence but what you have are basically run of the mill gauges, each item is on average worth $20 +/- $5 on an average day on ebay. None of them are considered "vintage" by those of us who dive and collect vintage gear. Sure you may find the odd and IMO questionable similar item on ebay from time to time but as a long time buyer of old gauges, your are not something I would take a second look at if I were looking for vintage items- and I do every day. If I wanted something inexpensive for a pool reg the I would keep an eye on them but not go over about $35 including shipping. The one depth gauge may go for a little more, just because you have the box but otherwise, it's not a high value item.
A good example of BS ebay adds is one for a USD pressure gauge with an attached capillary gauge. The seller has is as a buy now for $90-95 depending on which week he has it listed, I have bought 4 or 5 of them for less than $10, most came attached to old regs. If you believe they are worth a lot more, then by all means put them up for auction with a high reserve and I wish you the best price. Maybe you will get lucky and find those 2 bidders with lots of cash to spend.

 

[captain]

An example of what can happen. A person new to ebay sees an item that he has a connection to in his youth and he wants it. Seller has an unrealistically high price on it but being new and wanting it badly makes a bid. His is the only bid so the item sells at a price way over the norm.
Also I have listed items and not gotten one bid, re-listed it at the same price a month later, get a dozen bids and sell it for way more than I expected or I thought it was worth.
About the best you can do is list it at a few bucks over your break even amount and see what happens.

 

[elmer fudd]

One other thing to keep in mind about ebay; there is a certain seller of vintage gear who ALWAYS charges 3 to 4 times the going rate. At any given time he's got tons of gear for sale because apparently he never sells any of it.

I'm sure there's tons of profit for him when he eventually does sell something, so maybe it's a valid business model after all. I've got my doubts though and I exclude him from any searches I do as I don't want to waste my time with his overpriced stuff.

 

[captain]

I know of whom you you write. I also wonder if he sells enough at those prices to even cover his listing fees.

 

[Mike Lev]

I know who both you guys are talking about.He is from Florida right?He never sells anything once in a blue moon.He has bought items from me though and tried selling them for more.I just sold some old aguges.I didn't to well on them.I got what I paid except for a really like new nice 80's hard to find one.Only the rare gauges bring big bucks the flat capillary ones,the early 50's ones.Sometimes the Sportsways Navy,The Navy radiation type ect.:cool2: