Need advice about selling chuck keys

[ARC-170]

I have a bunch of miscellaneous lathe chuck keys that don't fin any of my chucks. They range in size from about 1/4" to 1/2". They do not have any branding on them, so I have to assume they are not anything special. Most of them would fit in a small USPS shipping box, if I was shipping them one at a time. I'd like to sell them, but it seems selling them one at a time would not be worth it, since shipping would cost as much as the chuck key. Newer keys are not that expensive, either. CL and FBMP are a possibility, but I don't see much in the way of check keys, and when I do, it's for a miscellaneous lot of them. Thoughts?

 

[Eddyde]

Why not try selling them here first, take some pictures and post them in the For Sale Forum, you are a gold member.
Post pictures and list the dimensions. See what is offered or price them with shipping extra. A chuck key should find in a small or medium flat rate USPS envelope.

 

[matthewsx]

I might be in the market. Easier than making them.

 

[ARC-170]

Give me a few days to post them in the For Sale section.

I did think of this, but figured no one would want to pay shipping. Can't hurt to post and see what happens!

 

[Winegrower]

My thinking would be if they don’t fit any of your chucks, they probably won’t fit any of mine. If they’re Jacobs style, I have my own collection of won’t fit anything, and if they are plain old chuck keys they are too easy and fun to make here.

 

[SLK001]

Give me a few days to post them in the For Sale section.

I did think of this, but figured no one would want to pay shipping. Can't hurt to post and see what happens!

Try using USPS First Class mailings. Up to 13 oz. Far cheaper than the parcel post or flat rate box rates.

 

[mmcmdl]

I also have a couple hundred drill chuck keys to get rid of , I throw them out at the yard sales or give them away with the chucks I sell . The cost of shipping them alone is prohibitive .

 

[JRaut]

I keep a box in the corner of my shop for stuff like that. Once I have enough to fill a medium flat-rate box, I list it on eBay as an “assorted machinist’s lot” starting at $0.99.

Sometimes they sell for near nothing, sometimes they sell for like 40 bucks or so, depends on what’s in there.
Regardless, it gets to leave my already over-crowded shop. Which is the main goal for me.

 

[ARC-170]

My thinking would be if they don’t fit any of your chucks, they probably won’t fit any of mine. If they’re Jacobs style, I have my own collection of won’t fit anything, and if they are plain old chuck keys they are too easy and fun to make here.

They are the square-end ones that are used on lathe chucks. I got these in a box with a bunch of chucks and other keys. It seems no one checked to see if the chucks matched the keys.

Try using USPS First Class mailings. Up to 13 oz. Far cheaper than the parcel post or flat rate box rates.

Thanks, I'll see if that works. I keep forgetting that this can be done. I just worry that a heavy item will rip the envelope. I'll have to see about getting those plastic envelopes; they seem to hold up better.

I also have a couple hundred drill chuck keys to get rid of , I throw them out at the yard sales or give them away with the chucks I sell . The cost of shipping them alone is prohibitive .

A couple hundred!? Wow.

I keep a box in the corner of my shop for stuff like that. Once I have enough to fill a medium flat-rate box, I list it on eBay as an “assorted machinist’s lot” starting at $0.99.

Sometimes they sell for near nothing, sometimes they sell for like 40 bucks or so, depends on what’s in there.
Regardless, it gets to leave my already over-crowded shop. Which is the main goal for me.

I acquired a bunch of these with a lathe I bought. It is a one-time thing for me. I don't think I'll be getting any more, but those are "famous last words"!

 

[ARC-170]

I just posted them:
https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/fs-lathe-chuck-keys.95334/