Questions about selling stock Ford bench seats

joefromsf · 06-18-2016, 01:56 PM

OK, its time to start committing to converting my 2012 E350 RB Wagon into a 4x4 camper and so it is time to get rid of the three factory bench seats. A few questions immediately come to mind.

First, is how/where to sell them.
Craigslist is a given. I will also do eBay for the wider exposure, but will be limited by "local pickup" unless some buyer can arrange their own shipping. Won't hurt to post here but don't see folks here wanting to add these types of seats to their rigs.

Any other ideas on how/where to sell them?

Second question is related to pricing.
I've checked eBay pricing, but that seems to be skewed by new take-outs which is my biggest competition. Those seem to go for $400 and up. My 3rd and 4th row seats were removed and stored when I bought the van 3 years ago with about 10K miles. 2nd row has spent most of its life in the van and current mileage is 30K. I haven't yet examined them closely to come up with how I would describe the condition, but I'm hoping they will be rated very good to excellent (dependent on my last question below).

I guess I'd be thrilled to get $200 each and satisfied to even get $100. Does that sound reasonable or am I just going to be lucky to just get someone to haul them out of my garage for free?

Last question is related to the resiliency of the seat cushion foam.
The 3rd and 4th row seats have been stored stacked for two years. Although I was careful to stack them to minimize hard surface to foam surface contact pressure I expect to see some compaction when I unstack them to take photos.

Anyone been through this? Will the foam rebound to anything close to original shape? How long did it take?

Thanks.

--Joe

glasspack · 06-18-2016, 04:56 PM

Sold mine for $100 each mint condition with belts brackets and bolts. Easy sale but doubt I could have gotten much more. They're everywhere.

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joefromsf · 06-18-2016, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glasspack

Sold mine for $100 each mint condition with belts brackets and bolts. Easy sale but doubt I could have gotten much more. They're everywhere.

How did you find a buyer?

glasspack · 06-18-2016, 10:06 PM

Craigslist.

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86Scotty · 06-19-2016, 05:24 PM

I couldn't give mine away. Tried to sell cheap and eventually gave them to a guy.......who listed them on Craigslist for $ after I gave them to him........and then he couldn't sell them either.......

Nice try for the dumb ass though.

TheLetterJ · 06-19-2016, 06:17 PM

Similar story here, I gave mine away to a member here who just needed the brackets anyway. I saw the seat (sans brackets) on CL shortly after, don't know if he ever ended up selling the bench itself or if it hit the dumpster? I'm sure they're worth something to someone, I just didn't want all those seats taking up space in my garage while I searched for a buyer.

boywonder · 06-19-2016, 06:41 PM

I sold three grey cloth benches from a 2008 RB...they were pretty much like new, with seat belts for $450 on Craigslist.

The guy who bought them had a used car lot, and a few nights before someone stole the benches out of a van on his lot.

86Scotty · 06-19-2016, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boywonder

I sold three grey cloth benches from a 2008 RB...they were pretty much like new, with seat belts for $450 on Craigslist.

The guy who bought them had a used car lot, and a few nights before someone stole the benches out of a van on his lot.

$450? They don't call you Boywonder for nuthin'!

mikracer · 06-19-2016, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheLetterJ

Similar story here, I gave mine away to a member here who just needed the brackets anyway. I saw the seat (sans brackets) on CL shortly after, don't know if he ever ended up selling the bench itself or if it hit the dumpster? I'm sure they're worth something to someone, I just didn't want all those seats taking up space in my garage while I searched for a buyer.

I took the brackets, then gave the remaining bench away on CL. I think they were trying to get stupid money (like $150) just for the bench.

I would think $100-$150 would be attainable. Any more and you will probably be waiting a while for a buyer.

JWA · 06-20-2016, 04:10 AM

Re: seat foam resiliency..........

Generally they seem to go flat mostly with repeated use; butts in and out daily over time has more of an effect then just age. Even if the stacked benches have depressions when uncovered they should bounce back within a day or two.

If you'll be listing them on Craig's List etc maybe set them somewhere with enough space to let any depressions ease back to normal. Snap a few photos to keep, restack the seats as needed.

I'd list them on eBay with a price but make it clear you're open to cash offers but local pick up only unless buyer is willing to arrange all aspects of shipping. In the listing encourage potential buyers to contact you for "more details" so phone calls or off-site emails could be exchanged, a deal worked out where cash exchanges hands rather than PayPal ect getting involved.

eBay and Craig's List both are good exposure--often times a listing has to be renewed several times before something is sold.

Then sometimes things like rear seats have to be given away if the space they occupy is more important than any money they potentially could bring in.