Value of very old Mitchell 300(s)

[kc6kim]

Hello Anybody,

    Inherited a few old (low serial #'s) mitchell 300 reels. #1 Has only the word "Mitchell" and on the reel back serial# 397592,  #2 has "Mitchell 300" and on the reel back serial # 664053, #3 has "Garcia Mitchell 300 serial #3177563 in the reel seat-

    Anyone know of someone who can help me find a way to value the reels, especially the first two, I know they are rare, condition is good, some wear and minor corrosion, but 100 mechanically sound.  # 1 is 7.5 of 10; # 2 is 7.0 of 10 condition

Name here is Anthony Andrianos ham radio call:  KC6KIM,  If you can call me I'm in the Marin County phone book, Thanks-

[Marcq]

Sorry but they are not rare at all, you can find hundreds on ebay

They are good reel though, fish them

Marc..

[Irish Jigger]

A  clean boxed one is about £15 ($25) over here.

[foakes]

Hi Anthony, and welcome --

Irish Jigger and Marcq are right, these are good reels to fish, and they literally made millions and millions of these -- and they are still dependable.

I use a simple method to determine the value of common fishing reels --

Go to ebay, look only under "sold listings" at reels similar to yours -- to see what actual reels sold for over the last 30 days, or so.  Compare similar reels and condition.  In this case, mechanically sound, a few scratches and issues from being fished, no box, etc..

Jot down the last 10 sold -- throw out the highest price, throw out the lowest price (this sorts out the amateur buyer who pays too much, and also the bottom feeder at 3:00 AM) -- add up the other 8, then just average them out.  That is your real world value -- +/ - 10%.  This is the same method I use when establishing the appraisal value of tackle collections when asked to do so by an attorney, for estate valuations.

Unfortunately, they won't put the kids through college -- but they are good, solid reels that will catch a lot of fish very nicely.

I personally buy every old Mitchell 300 that I might come across.  I'll pay around $12 - $15 each, do a complete $18.00 service and restoration, including any new parts as needed -- then they generally sell for about $20/$25 -- ready to fish with no issues.  I generally have 300 or 400 in stock at any one time.  

There are other Mitchell reels worth quite a bit more (308, 408, 300C, 330, 440, and many others).

I know the math doesn't work from a profit standpoint -- it''s just fun to give people the thrill of fishing with the reel their Dad used, or that they used in their younger days.

Best regards,

Fred

[Marcq]

Go to ebay, look only under "sold listings" at reels similar to yours -- to see what actual reels sold for over the last 30 days, or so.  Compare similar reels and condition.  In this case, mechanically sound, a few scratches and issues from being fished, no box, etc..
Best regards,

Fred

Damn!! I have been dealing with ebay since 2001 and I never heard of that option 

Learn some everyday
Thanks Fred
Marc..

[johnachak]

Hi all,
I have a 306 that was my grandfathers and has been passed to my son. If I may ask, where do you get parts for this reel? I would love to completely take it down and rebuild it for him but I think one or two bushings may be worn. He moved two years ago and the reel has been in his storage unit till he gets a bigger place.

[bluefish69]

John

Bernie's in Sheepshead Bay has some parts. Check with Causeway B&T. I bought most of my parts from EBay. We are not that far from each other your welcome to shop here but I don't have many. All I need for my 3 reel are the Bail Bumpers & I hope they will fall off a truck soon.

Mike