Why Used Vacuums Won't Sell

[stricklybojack]

My advice..

.
sanitize the vacuum and accessories. Put on Craig's with pics and state in the ad it has been fully serviced and sanitized by a professional. If the vacuum is anything of quality or vintage sell on Ebay. Make sure it is complete with bags, belts, etc. and/or is rare or for some reason desirable over and above the cost of shipping.
Never use the words "needs" or "broken" and expect to sell it for any amount anywhere unless it is a certified collectors item.
If anybody you know needs a vac and will take care of it, don't hesitate to give one away.
I have noticed very few quality vacs for sale at a reasonable price on Craigs.. But the higher priced vac ads go apparently unanswered week after week.
Also I have stopped acquiring net more vacs. Meaning i have to sell or dispose of at least as many as i come home with.
These shows depicting people buying junk and selling treasures for a meaningful profit are mostly fake.
Vacuum shops throw away much better vacs than many of us here on VL buy...there's a lesson there as far as economics is concerned i believe.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Laith,

The Royal Dirt Devil 500 Hand Vacuum you mention would be the easiest of your requests to be able to get shipped. It is mostly complete but the box is worn out, and there is no instruction book.

~Ben

 

[blknblu]

It's funny. Some of the prices on ebay for a machine that is all rusty are ridiculous.


I've noticed some of the vacs on CL are going for way more than they should also.


It is a disposable society today.

 

[lha1992]

Ben, I understand that the hand vac will be the easier of the ones to ship. But I am interested deff in one of the others. I just emailed you back.

 

[chad]

A lot of useful items are like that. Folks that aren't collectors find a hard time getting excited about a quality vacuum that might last them the rest of their lives, but will drive a hundred miles for a beer sign that just hangs on the wall. I think it's also convenience. It's expensive to have a vintage vacuum shipped, but there's a walmart around every corner.

 

[Impfac]

I've had tons of luck selling vacuums on eBay.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

I would prefer interested buyers within the "tri-county" region of Oregon (Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties).

~Ben

 

[sebo_fan]

Ironically enough I've seen a surge in EBAY UK where older vacuums are concerned; seems like buyers are out to buy something more tried and tested than pay out expensively for a modern, fashionable low power energy efficient vacuum cleaner. There are some good models on sale in shops etc, but given the option based on better build quality or even wider spares etc, I would source older vacuums from certain brands.

 

[Impfac]

It really is all about the brand. Modern dysons, hoovers, dirt devils, and bissells, just don't hold up. Flimsy junk. Kenmore, Panasonic, Miele (especially canisters for all three), Riccar, older/newer metal/commercial vacuums, all generally do fine.

Nobody wants a used Dirt Devil or Hoover Windtunnel because they were garbage before the box was opened =P

 

[gottahaveahoove]

"Ouch"!

They're not all horrible. A lot depends on the model AND how they were used OR abused.
A collector might be looking for a certain model to "fill in" his/her collection. Sometimes, I see a 'rare'(to me) model. I'll bid on it. Some are great, and were when they were new years ago.
I recently got a HOOVER 25. at first, I thought it was hideous. After seeing an excellent specimen at my close friend, Tom (A.)'s house, the search was on. There was one on ebay in great shape. It was selling for MEGA bucks! Naturally, no one bid. It went down, I bid, and won! It is a stellar machine, as are many we find on Ebay. Some sellers have inflated ideas of the value of some machines. As we all know: a vacuum is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.I have machines others wouldn't take free of charge, calling Me 'nuts". (Can you see how upset that {doesn't} make me feel)?
I've gotten pristine cleaners on Ebay. Others were dirty. Dirt still in the bag. Dirt is heavy.... at times, causing shipping to be more. Some also don't know how to disassemble, pack or ship an item.
John

 

[blknblu]

my Olympia One was shipped to me with a dirty bag still inside.


It also came apart during shipping, creating quite the mess.

 

[charleskirby66]

Why do people ship dirt?!

I have received 3 Kirbys on eBay with dirt in the bags.


 


One of them was SO full of dirt, it was pouring out of the fan opening and all in the shipping box.  This was sold for parts, but the parts were all trashed, cracked, or broken, and the box FULL of dirt.  I returned it immediately.


 


Another from eBay seemed legit, but when I turned it on, a huge plume of dust was kicked up and I noticed the unhooked bag hardly inflated and did not lift off the floor (ODD behavior for a vintage Kirby).  After opening the Sani-Emptor trap door, POUNDS of dirt fell out.  It took about 10 minutes to get all the caked dirt out (before doing a proper deep-clean out).


 


Can we all agree not to ship dirt in our sales?  I'd like to think we in this Brotherhood/Sisterhood of Vacuumland have a higher standard of behavior and service than the typical eBay money-monger.

 

[coffeecanman]

I've also received several vacuums via eBay full of dirt...

I have never and will never sell or give away a vacuum that hasn't had the bag laundered.

 

[human]

Thankfully, none of the vacuums I've bought on eBay shipped with dirty bags. Ironically, I sort of wish the Kirby G5 I got last winter had been shipped with one. I received it with no inner bag and it appeared to have been run that way for some time. The outer cloth bag was absolutely caked on the inside with a fine, light gray (sheet rock?) dust. A lesser machine would have been dumpster fodder, but we're talking about a Kirby here. After trying several times to vacuum it out with my Electrolux 1205, I decided the bag was too dirty and too worn to mess with, especially when I got my hands on a complete bag/fill tube/mini emptor assembly from an Ultimate G in almost pristine condition for $20. It might not have been the "right" bag for the machine, but it was the right one for the job.

 

[suckolux]

I never try to resell any machines I pick up. I look for sturdy candidates on CL or sidewalk/ yard sales. Cheap enough I will pick them up, do a clean up / recondition and hang onto them until a friend/ family is in need. I sometimes get my purchase price back, but if not, vacuum was saved and I had a project, they have a very cheap and use-able machine. No money to be made that I can see.

 

[cb123]

Unless, of course, it's one of these!

 

[Impfac]

I stopped buying/selling Kirby's a long time ago... there just isn't a market UNLESS its a G series or newer.

I've sold pleanty of vacuums and never EVER sold them with dirty bags. I'd probably leave negative feedback if someone did that to me. Best bet is to look for top rated sellers with a decent number of items up and a decent amount of feedback-sort out the riff raff and get people that are doing more than selling random junk.

 

[charleskirby66]

Calem!

Man, I still cannot get enough of your collection!  Three of those machines are DREAM machines of mine.  You have no idea how fortunate you are to have those in your personal collection!  Have you made any videos of running them?  I'd love to see, never seen or heard them working.

 

[cb123]

Thanks so much, those three were one bully of a fight to get! Sorry, I can't post no movies, all I got is a cheapo digital camera. Whenever I upgrade, I might consider doing it. Many thanks again, and I wish you every success in your collection.