I have sold items by using ads in those bulletin boards. Setting it out front with a for sale sign on it might produce results. Having a "For Sale" sign on each side, as you mow your lawn, so folks can see it running, might help. An advertisement in the local paper is always good. Folks think, if you think enough of it, to pay for an ad, it might just be o.k.! And, a good clean up with Gunk, a stiff brush, and a general cleaning is helpful!

To figure a fair price, go to ebay/craigslist and check out similar units. That should give you a good idea.

-gh

Indeed it did! Within the past few days there were two similar postings on craigslist. (Both about $600, which seems reasonable.)

I think I'll print up a flyer and also put an ad in the paper. I might also put it up on craigslist, even if there are a couple of similar items already there. I'll just undercut the price a little bit, plus my posting will have really pretty pictures that the others don't.

As a bonus from doing this research, I found a guy selling firewood on craigslist for a reasonable price AND he cuts and splits it to a small enough size to work with my fireplace. The big firewood place 1/4 mile from my house sells logs that require me to re-split at least 30% of it, which is a giant pain in the back. I have been looking for an alternate provider, and it looks like I found it.

Jtmacc99: Maybe he'll trade you firewood for your tractor!

Seriously, I've sold stuff on craigslist with several good clear pictures and detailed descriptions, including a Craftsman tractor just after I replaced it with a JD. Rustyj14's advice to clean it up real good is also right on. I would even do the oil change and blade sharpening and maybe even wax it so it looks sharp and is ready to mow. People like buying things that they don't need to do anything to.

jtmacc,
I HIGHLY recommend you sell it on either craigslist or ebay. You will reach a thousand times the number of interested buyers compared to posting a flyer in your local grocery store.
The key to selling an item online is having multiple clear photos, and a long, detailed description. People shouldn't have to make any guesses after reading your description. Tell all about it, why you bought it in the first place, the things you like about it, why you're selling it, etc. I can tell you that the bagger is a nice feature, but you won't make any money by including it. People shopping for a used mower (especially plain ones) are interested in buying a solid mower that runs good and cuts grass nicely. Attachments are a nice bonus, but if it's down to two tractors, one with 100 hours, and one with 300 hours plus a bagger, they'll probably go with the newer one. The only way to recoup some of that cash for the bagger is to sell it separately.

You said you need to sell it right now, but this is a really bad time to sell a mower. If you can hang onto it until the spring (especially March and April, when the tax returns are flowing in), you'll do a lot better, probably by up to 50% more! Good luck!

My suggestion is add up the origanal selling prices of the tractor and accessory's take 50-60% of that value put it in the yard with a sign w/that amount. It will probably sell. If you have original sales receipts and manuals add another 5-6%. If no traffic by your house ask a friend with high traffic - offer them $30-40 to have it set on thier property. No problem in selling, word gets around especially if its a nice one (good condition).
Of ourse, lb59 might see it and not tell anyone where its at(LOL).

Like Marineguy said I second the motion on ebay! But time is running short, try to have the auction end on a weekend, preferably Sunday afternoon or evening.

I sold mine 2 weeks ago on ebay! (Got more than I thought! $525.00) Check it out for ideas.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120153126661&ssPageName=STRK:MESO:IT&ih=002

Lot of pictures, state everything that is even POSSIBLY an issue (scratch) you need to "SELL" the item, write it up with all of the wonderful features, and did I say lots of pictures, from every angle, (I had over 12!) use someplace like photo bucket to down load your pictures to, then use the HTML code to direct the picture, and you don't have to pay ebay for each individual picture!

Mine also had a bagger, and I stated that it was AWESOME for picking up leaves, that's about all that someone is looking to buy a mower for this time of year is looking for, atleast up north, or they want a deal, otherwise wait til spring for top dollar!

Shawn

The Craigslist posting is up, and I have two and possibly three people coming by this evening. I hope that at least one of them comes near to my price and I'll be done with it.

If on the other hand, they all leave with no offer, I will correct the mistakes I made. First, I think changing the oil is probably something I should have done rather than stating that is something the buyer should do. Second, I put in three nice pictures, but it would have been really harmless for me to take a bunch more from different angles. Third, I will do a better job of talking about what a great machine it is and how I will miss it dearly. Fourth, I can certainly park it out by the street with a sign on it. I have a decent amount of traffic passing through, so it might get some attention.

I really don't want to wait until the spring to sell it, as my new ZTR mower needs to go in the shed where the tractor currently lives. There just isn't room for the two of them.

I have seen this in another posting but not in this thread. Be cautious of people who want to pay you more than you are asking. They will give you a cashiers check for $100 or so over the price you agreed on. They will say it was a mistake and ask you to give them the difference. They will usually have a cashiers check (which take a couple of weeks to bounce). Then, they are gone, your $100 is gone and so is your tractor. Advice is to always take cash is possible. Happened to a friend of mine acouple of years back (before the scam was well known) on a used toyota van, he got the van back (it was abandoned not far from his house), but he lost $200.