ENTIRE SYSTEM NEEDED TO SELL


My husband, Fred Parsons, was a long time member or Audiogon. He recently passed away and I would like to sell his entire system. Can someone tell me the best way to do this.  I want to sell the entire lot, rather than in pieces.  He was a perfectionist and everything is well maintained and in great shape.  Thanks for any help.
michelle57
So sorry for your loss. If you are close to Minneapolis, MN I would be happy to sell the gear for you on this site. If it is high end gear it can be sold here. I am also willing to help you with the value of your gear if you are far away. Check my feedback, like to help you during this difficult time. 
Hi may your loved RIP. 

Above advises to sell  locally are great and most useful. If you find high-end store in your area or at reasonable distance of travel, you're likely be successful to consign equipment. I would not 'slice' more than 20% for them. Some of them would like to have 35...50% and they are indeed crooks. Do NOT explain them your situation!! It will only trigger buyer to take an advantage! I would rather keep silent and just ask them if they would like you to consign equipment to them yes-no-hi-bye. 20% on equipment that's worth let's say $20,000 is descent steak for the store and I speak from the retailer's stand point.  So call around and do 'shopping' to choose the best and most honest dealer in the area or within reasonable distance.
 
Internet-eBay-PayPal- etc are not safe unless you use some precautions: 
1. Do NOT sell entire system and list your items separately. Large amounts are harder to deal with in internet transactions especially if your internet selling account is new
2. verify PayPal with money-card purchased from WalMart or ordered via internet such as accountnow.com. These cards are pre-paid and provide you with bank info legit enough to connect with PayPal and get verified. Withdraw funds IMMEDIATELY after they become available. 

My sincere condolences for your loss Michelle. On a practical matter concerning selling his system off, little could be added to the excellent advice given by Douglas Schroeder. He pretty much covered all the bases for you moving forward.
Go ahead and list the components and we may be able to suggest what you might expect to receive if you want to go to the minor chore of listing them or putting them up for auction... or let us know (generally/city) where you are and perhaps someone like Grannyring- who I know to be trustworthy- (as would anyone with lots of posts & great feedback) to be helpful in at least pointing you to an honest dealer. You can also pay a bit and utilize the "Audio Bluebook" function on this site. In general, you'll probably get about 50% of new value. You can lookup new prices by just Googling the equipment name/reviews. But consider this.....
As Tom6897 suggested, consider passing it along to his favorite relative/nephew who would appreciate it and always remember your husband/and you. Here's the advice I got from a quality gun dealer when I considered selling my (alzheimer's) father's very nice heirloom shotgun: 
He said, "One day your father will be gone, the shotgun will be gone, and the money will be gone." What a good dealer to convince me to keep it.


Michelle,

My condolences to you & your family.

Regardless of whether you find a dealer to sell on consignment or you sell here, you do yourself a huge disservice by trying to sell the system as a bundled package. It's easy to tell yourself that said plan would "make it simpler", but the reality is that packing and shipping will be the same work either way. The key is that this is a hobby of putting together puzzle pieces and the vast majority of potential buyers don't buy more than one piece at time. That's a combination of cost and a desire to understand each items impact before making another change. By selling a whole system, you eliminate >90% of potential purchasers. With such a small number looking to buy a whole system, you will end up taking far less than value or not finding a buyer. 
Generally speaking & oversimplified to give you an idea:
used gear sells for ~50% of MSRP. Dealers who buy wholesale will pay you ~20-25% so they can resell it for 50-60%. Selling each piece individually here might yield double the proceeds. 
There is also on this site a "blue book" you can subscribe to that tracks sale prices of gear. Last I saw it cost $50 to subscribe, but if you have a lot of pricey gear to sell, it might be worthy of consideration. Cheers,
Spencer