We are in the process of cleaning out my father-in-law's barn after his passing. The barn includes farm equipment (tools and machinery) from 70 years of farming, as well as construction equipment from 40 years of corporate construction jobs (boxes and boxes of screws, building tools, etc), and heavy equipment used for excavating. We are at a loss as to where to begin to find fair pricing to know how much to ask, as well as where to sell the items that won't cost us a fortune in advertising or shipping fees. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Frank, You might want to look into Ironplanet. They will sell everything for you. They sell everything from hand tools sold in groups to heavy equipment. We have had good luck with them. They will give you some pricing help as well.
You could post the machines on this site ! As for prices compare what you have to what's on Craigslist in your area or other large cities nearby.
An old timer dealer once told me "It's only worth what someone's willing to pay for it" Makes me think of a famous painting or something.
You can get the actual buyers for the equipment at B2B portal ( http://qualitytrade.com/ ), I use the same to find out the buyers of my products. You can also use social media channels setup, free of cost.
Do you have anything against having an auction? That sounds like the kind of variety that makes a good auction. The pros are you don't have to price anything, the market will price it ALL. Some sells for good prices and there will be some bargains too. Commisions will take a bite, but it's not easy dealing with individual buyers, tire kickers and scammers either.
Food for thought. If I wanted to get rid of everything You might want to consider having an auction. You will get what it's worth, minus the auctioneers fee, but you also will get rid of everything. Selling it straight out, you will readily sell the good pieces and then get stuck with the rest. Oops, Delmer posted while I was typing. Same thought.