Is parting out outboards really such a good business?

[SeaKaye12]

Wow! $15.00 for a couple of Johnson "Carburetor Nuts"! Sheesh....they are just standard 1/4_20's....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Johnson-Evi..._Accessories_Gear&hash=item2a1b489215&vxp=mtr

Are any of you in the parting out business and if so...would you care to talk a bit about the ups and downs of such a venture?

E-bay listings aren't free...and it seems that it must be a lot of work to accurately ID everything.

Still; $15.00 for a couple of nuts?

Chuck

 

[JB]

Re: Is parting out outboards really such a good business?

The only thing that amazes me more than what some people price stuff at on ebay is what some people will pay.

 

[Sea Rider]

Re: Is parting out outboards really such a good business?

You would have to be involved into marine business for parting parts and know what you're selling so as not to jump into a dry pool if thinking it's a hell of a business and anyone can do it. If you happen to have desired engines that's no longer available nor their new spare parts, definitely will be good business to part them out.

Happy Boating

 

[Chip Chester]

Re: Is parting out outboards really such a good business?

The two nuts are the buyer and the seller.
There are a few guys that I know of in central Ohio that do that. The usually advertise on craigslist (free), more than ebay. They keep and sell things like cowls, rebuildable subassemblies like carbs, starters, generators... wear items like flywheel starter rings... sometimes complete lower units if they're good. Lots of scrap aluminum goes to the scrapyard... but that pays OK, too. They usually pick up entire boat/motor/trailer combos, (for free or distressed prices only) then they strip and scrap the boat, fix and sell the trailers, and part or sell the motors. Lots of windshields, swim steps, top frames, and seats, too. So the business is more than just motors.

Since Ohio has a fair amount of lake boating, plus weather that's bad enough to kill unprotected boats, there's a constant cycle of new to old to new again. It's the circle of life.

Chip

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Is parting out outboards really such a good business?

A good friend of mine had a repair shop for many years, he collected old motors to part out too, this went well for a while. In recent years the only market for old parts has been the scrap yard though.

A few years back he had to move out of the shop he had been in for years and moved all of his stuff to my place, I had a large room in my shop that wasn't being used. He spent months taking these motors apart, then labeling each item and filing them on shelves so he could easily find and ship items. There were hundreds of motors, before he moved to my place he also took several tons of metal to the recycler ($$$).

He was here yesterday draining about 100 lower units so they can be sold as scrap, he also loaded several hundred flywheels into the truck. More loads will follow these as the type of metal sorted out.

His Craigs List adds get little or no response, nor do the Ebay adds, so to move this stuff he needs to sort it again and haul it away. With the amount he is getting for scrap he will have lost money on this stuff after you figure the time and money spent to move and sort the stuff, even though he got most of it for free.