How to sell unbuilt Heathkits : eBay Guides

Perhaps you just found a Heathkit or some other electronic kit at a garage sale, and thought you would sell it on eBay. Selling Heathkits is a little like selling a house. Little things that cost almost nothing can make a tremendous difference in how much this item will bring.

1. If it is un-opened, DON'T OPEN IT! Most people who deal in collectibles know that an item that is "NISB" or unopened is more valuable than one that is opened, but I often see people who say "I opened it to see what was inside." Depending on the kit, this person's curiosity might have cost them $500 or more. The identity of a Heathkit is always marked on the box, usually letters, followed by a dash, followed by some numbers, like "IT-1241" as an example. Do a google search on "heathkit" and the model number to find information about the item. There are many resources on the web ranging from other people selling heathkits and manuals to actual downloads of pictures and other documentation. Don't forget to search for the item on eBay. It probably is not available in unassembled form, but may be available assembled, which may give you a good description of what it is. In any case, a sealed box is a virtual gaurantee that all parts, or at least all critical parts, are present; heathkit was very meticulous about packing their kits and it's unlikely a sealed box is missing anything.
2. If it is opened, the first thing to check for is a manual. This is the most common missing item - it seems that people would take out the manual to read it and never put it back or build the kit. If this is the case, and it is a valuable kit, consider replacing the manual. As mentioned, many are available for sale on the Internet, and you might even find one you can download for free. There are two reasons for this. The first is that it's a convenience item for the buyer - it's like putting new curtains in a house you're trying to sell - the buyer knows he won't have to hassle with looking for a manual that might be hard to find. The second reason is to do a quick inventory of the major components: chassis, panels, circuit boards, displays, etc; i.e., anything other than standard hardware and parts like resistors and capacitors you can't buy at an electronics outlet. If you can assert that all parts are present, the bidding will go much higher. Sometimes the items are very tightly packed and you may not want to disturb anything. If the manual is present, probably all the parts are too. If not, there's some risk that a circuit board is missing. I have seen this happen - presumably the original owner started some assembly and never put it back. In these cases, I think you really need to offer a guarantee to your buyer that the kit is complete, perhaps with the exception of small parts. No one is going to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars for a kit that might be missing critical parts if you list it as "as is, no returns." The other problem you avoid by checking the documentation is by making sure what you have is not one box out of a multi-shipment kit; this happens sometimes, especially with the educational kits, and if it is, you and your buyer need to know this.
3. Be sure the title of the listing accurately reflects the condition of the kit. There are thousands of built heathkits out there, and if yours is not, you need to distinguish it from the rest. I personally search for keywords like "unbuilt" in the title to avoid looking through 500 heathkit listings. Some people list other kits as "like heathkit," or even use the term "heathkit" generically for other electronic kits. I believe this violates eBay policy. (by the way, it's "heathkit," not "heath kit;" you run the risk of being missed in searches if you don't use the former.) Also, avoid using the term "ham radio" unless it really is a ham radio kit. The heathkit market is much wider than "hams" (I am not one myself) and I suspect they are annoyed by seeing electronic dice come up under a ham radio search. This also goes for choosing the listing category.
4. As for price, if you have a good kit, there is a very active market for unbuilt heathkits, and the market will take care of setting the price, so don't worry about listing it too low. On the other hand, you did the work to find it, and if you know what it's worth, and/or, are considering keeping it or building it yourself, by all means set the minimum appropriately or set a reserve (as primarily a buyer, I don't get the benefits of the "secret reserve" thing, and find it to be an annoyance, but that's just my opinion, and not specific to heathkits.) In any case, prices vary greatly, from less than $50 for some introductory kits they sold to compete with Radio Shack in the 80s, to $5000 for the high-end ham radio equipment.