Hey everyone,

this is my first post on the page. Last week my partner and I purchased a warehouse containing loads of Antique/Classic Autoparts such as fenders, hoods, rims, lights, etc. We need some help in identifying the value of the parts we have in order to hopefully sell them to car enthusiasts, classic car clubs or whoever has need for them.

I will be leaving a few pictures snapped inside the warehouse for reference. Feel free to contact me privately for further information or if you are interested or want to see more parts we have.

Our warehouse is located in Philadelphia,PA.

i thank you in advance for taking the time to read.

Best.
Lizo

 

Don't know how "classic" those are, Lizo. You may wish to post some more pictures when you have the opportunity.

Regardless, best of luck in your venture and welcome to CO.

 

Thanks for posting the pictures. Classic or not, you might reach out to insurance companies, body shops and others who routinely need these parts and give them some sense of what you’ve got in stock.

You have quite an inventory challenge there. I’d ask the previous owners if there was any logic to what they stocked and how they stocked it, If they’re still around. If they’re not, you get to create your own inventory & stock systems. Ultimately that’ll mean pulling parts, taking pictures and making notes on how many of each…

If that’s all too much, and you’re really interested in the real estate, I’m guessing a boneyard or 2 might be interested in bidding on the parts lot. Your call as to whether you want to invest the time and get max $$ for the parts, or accept what might be a real lowball bid from people in the car parts business.

Cheers
Chris

 

i appreciate the message BangScreech, I will definitely look into getting together a catalog of sorts. Most pieces have their serial number allowing me to do so, hopefully i can get it done this week.

 

Chris, thanks so much for your advice. It definitely looks like I will be contacting the former owners for information on how they stocked all these parts. Once a catalog of my inventory has been duly updated and completed would you say I would be ready to start offering to potential buyers?

As you say, I am more inclined to selling these parts myself for a better return rather than to part with the entire thing at a lowball price.

Thanks for the help,
Lizo

 

I moved your thread out of the parts for sale forum because it does not meet the requirements as a classified ad. I do not see a lot of Oldsmobile related items in your pictures that most on this site would be interested in.

 

I was gonna ask -- Lizo, have you posted in other marque forums? Because while there are many people here who also know about Chevys and Mopars, in general this is a pretty Olds-centric place and you might do well to broaden your reach.

Having said that, if you want to post more pictures, we'll certainly do our best. I didn't see anything that looked familiar in that first batch.

 

I understand oldcutlass, apologies for the oversight, I have never posted on Oldsmobile-related forums, will keep a closer eye on the thread guidelines.

 

As a matter of fact BangScreech, I haven’t, and i really do appreciate your tips because as you can probably tell I pretty much am a newbie to the whole thing. I will definitely broaden my search.

This leaves me curious though as to what forums would you personally say are the most apt for the sort of inventory im dealing with?

Best,
Lizo

 

Sonata, Mercedes Benz, and Mercury Cougar for starters.
Do you have anything that says Oldsmobile?

 

A line of Hyundai trunk lids? I say crush it all.

Seriously though. If you don't know cars I would advertise it to the locals. Sell it off for nothing and move forward. Gets the junk out of your way. If you get a dollar then you get a dollar. Step forward.

 

It all starts with inventory. If you have 80’s and 90’s parts, you may have to sit on them longer than 60’s and 70’s parts.

My pet theory is that car restorers tend to aim at things that were cool when they were young. So people who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s are still mid-career and may not yet have time for car restoration. Consequently 80’s and 90’s parts may not move for quite a long time. On the other end of the demographics scale, once the buyers start dieing off, demand for cars from their era falls, as do prices generally. I’m guessing the market for 1940’s cars is shrinking/weakening and maybe the early 50’s now too.

I’m not in this business, but you’ll want to understand shipping options and rates for various size parts since your buyers will want to know. And what sizes of parts cannot be shipped as well. That’s if you’re intending to deal with individuals on small lots of parts.

You’ll also want to understand whether there are buyers for what you’ve got. I have no problem with Hyundai’s, but they were inexpensive to start with and depreciated from there. If you have a lot of Hyundai parts, you may not be able to get a lot of money for them. Or maybe I’m just ignorant of the Hyundai restoration scene.

If you have a bunch of Mercedes parts, that’s another matter. There’s demand for some models and there are also specialist yards who may be on the hunt for parts inventory. But there again, you’ll be negotiating against someone who knows a lot more about parts value than you.

Do you have time to wait for the parts to be sold? Are you willing to hold up other uses for the warehouse until the parts are gone? If you’re going to use the warehouse for other purposes, try to figure out what it costs you to _not_ use it for your new purpose and let that drive how fast and at what price you sell the auto parts.

Hope those random thoughts help
Chris

 

Suspect a site such as www.car-part.com may be the best for listing this type of later model parts horde. Do not know if an individual can register and sell there, or if one has to be a certified business. There will be a monthly fee, am sure. Personally, tried a site called www.junkyarddog.com in the very early 10's. This was actually for a local yard, they were paying the monthly fee, and it was largely later model stuff. But there was still Recession, and found it was extremely hard to connect with customers and sell there. www.row52.com has similar issues, although it might be useful for locating a local parts car. And yes LOGISTICS is the gorilla in the room. Getting it to the people that want it. The wheels will be turning in their minds, how much will it cost to move it, and is it too far away. Will shoot you in the foot, if you have mainly later model stuff, that could be sourced pretty much anywhere. And of course www.junkyarddog.com had a sizable monthly fee. $125ish a month for 500 mi radius, and $400 a month for full nationwide exposure, as they claimed. And then, as now, have a "regular" job, to pay the mortgage and bills and parts was a sideline, so could not contemplate or risk trying to do it full time myself.