First, I’d like to give a big thanks to the committee chairs that filled in their info for equipment we can liquidate. Helps to know what’s what and where it is before I rummage through!
And as for the main reason for this post, I’m looking for volunteers to help! Now that we know what’s going out, we need to:
photograph it
mark down machine specifics (model, serial, etc)
figure out what can be sent on ebay/fb market ourselves versus an industrial auction
consolidate things into one place.
I’m looking to do this over the coming week, so if you’re interested in helping comment here or drop me a PM. Likely going to be working in Evenings myself, though Saturday all day is a possibility.
I can take care of what’s in the ELab.
Cell phone, DSLR, jpgs, res?
Limit to 1 shot per items vrs multiple shots/angles.
How do you want files labeled? Item fldr w/ files?
Lots of questions - details matter.
Some kind of standards will make this easier to deal with.
cell phone photos are generally fine as long as it’s clear enough. If you want to grab a DSLR even better; JPGs are fine. Anything noteworthy (specific hardware, hookups, etc) may warrant their own photos or a close up, left to discretion.
As for single shot vs multiple, single is fine unless it’s needed (larger equipment for example would need more than one photo to cover bases, and one of the plate). this is something that can be left to discretion. If more are determined to be needed later we can deal with it later.
For file labels, committee_item_photonum (can leave out the photonum in the event there is a single photo)
Being a volunteer task, I’d rather that it be what seems reasonable as long as we have the basics to start piecing things together. I can always get more details later.
know I’ve been a bit quiet here, but a lot of volunteers helped check out equipment (like sewing machines - I am not good with fabrics and only learned a machine last year. Thanks to @BarkingChicken for help testing those). And @malcolmputer for helping with the equipment in the electronics lab.
I’ll throw some equipment listings here as they go on; items that are just for sale I’ll post here a day after they’ve been listed based on prices we found to be reasonable market. Items that are an actual auction (either because they’re fancier or we couldn’t peg the value easily) will be posted as they come up since members can’t snipe them anyway.
Spring Cleaning came a bit late but we’ve already gotten space cleared out from a couple committees, and I’m still working my way through the list.
I still need help going through other things and listing them!
Some items just need photographs, others need someone who understands them to test or figure out what they’re worth. PM me for details.
~H
EDIT: Listings removed as we swap to the new, corporate ebay account.
due to some shenanigans from the way the ebay account was setup years ago, these items have to be re-listed under a new account. Ebay has helped us setup a more appropriate account for our 501c3 that is easier to manage, and we can allow members to list things on our behalf without risking their own accounts!
I’ll be providing more updates as they come; for now I have removed the listings in the above post.
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on another note, I met with @IanLee to go over Woodshop which is one of the upcoming committees. I’ll need some volunteers to help test and catalogue what’s in the north warehouse.
I’ll need people who have more experience than I with these to help run them through basic paces. Like everything else we’ll need to grab:
photos
model numbers
a super basic test of function (like does the motor work and the thing move level, not “is the mitre gauge within 1 degree” level)
tag numbers to them so when listed a volunteer can ensure they’re always dealing with the right one.
I was just about to tag @IanLee since we discussed some of this today in the woodshop meeting.
@hon1nbo does this mean individual members can now auction things on eBay and DMS gets the money? What happens if members get poor ratings, would that hurt the DMS rating? I hope it never happens, but it might be good to have a contingency plan if it does.
eBay seems to meet the criteria for non-profit asset disposal auctions being open to the public.
There are two ways to auction things on behalf of DMS on ebay, each with their own caveats.
The first is that a member uses their own account and lists on their own, setting 100% of the funds to go to charity (of which Dallas Makerspace is listed in the options). The member uses their own reputation etc when they do this.
The drawback to this method is the way ebay processes charitable donations: they deposit to you, and draw back a month later to send the donation to us. They take associated fees at the same time. This may or may not be OK for the individual member, but if they are fine with it then they can do so.
The second is to add your personal ebay as an authorised seller on our DMS ebay account, which has multi-user support. This does require setup though and the member needs to learn how to “switch accounts” so to speak, but they can use their original login and not make a new one.
The drawback is that whilst you can list things, you can’t respond to things like buyer questions or accept offers that are reasonable as that has to be done by the core account. Supposedly this stuff is supposed to be possible, but we haven’t gotten it working yet. However, being able to make the listing is still advantageous as a member more familiar with the equipment can make the listing.
Ebay listings are considered public, but here are some considerations after talking with @Bizwacky :
if it’s a “buy it now” and not retail price, needs to sit for a few days before a member can buy it.
if it’s an auction, we can share amongst members but cannot end an auction early.
If shipping, we have to be responsible for ensuring we have proper packing / weight information for shipment. This has proven trickier than expected and lead to part of the delays in listing things. Due to the way ebay handles the shipping when buyer pays it’s ill-advised to use a ship center to generate the label. However, they can pack it and someone with access can make a label and send it to the store. This is part of the trickiness with the multi-user mode we’re trying to sort out.
For local pickup, it has to be clear that a volunteer time has to be arranged and we will not load / secure for them. You can advertise that we have both standard height loading docks and a ramp.
factor in handling time with volunteers in mind. I don’t set anything as a handling time shorter than 5 days to help mitigate that. I’d recommend at least a week
@hon1nbo thank you for explaining all of this. It must’ve taken awhile.
If it would be helpful to reduce our out-of-pocket costs for shipping material, I have a lot of different sized boxes and bubble mailers from Amazon that I can keep at my place and bring them in when needed if DMS is ok with reusing them. They are in excellent condition and are stored indoors. I also have some plastic-covered material that looks like a carpet under layer that can be used to cushion power tools, etc. Just let me know.
Unfortunately since my last message one buyer wouldn’t submit payment for the remaining TM504 and the other apparently ignored all the “local pickup” notices for the consew so they’re back on listing.
Still got some more electronics stuff boxed and awaiting drop off at the Post but I’m currently without a car.
It’s slow but moves. We’ve taken in around ~1400 between CA and Electronics so far with what’s already sold.
If anyone wants to help with this stuff please do drop me a line.
