Model Railroading > Best way to sell US HO collection

Is eBay the best way to sell off a collection? We are moving to a new home this year and Kylie has decided to sell off her BN, DRGW, MILW collection and retain the Canadian stuff. We are talking 200-300 freight cars and 50 locomotives. Would lots of say 10 freight cars for $75-100 be fair? This is newer RTR equipment. Knowing we will never recover the cost paid for this stuff. She also has some newer Athearn/Walthers Amtrak equipment, are the older pre-platnum finished Superliners worth selling?


The problem with the locomotives is they were equipped with decoders and had the decoder removed and she did not keep the DC plug board to allow them to run on a DC layout, and the DCC decoders went to her Canadian stock.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/16 17:07 by eminence_grise.

I am not sure a DCC Ready locomotive without a dummy plug would be much of a problem. Many will likely sell to modelers planning to install decoders or sound anyway. A quick shout out on TO might get the purchaser the dummy plug needed.

Take care.

Posted from iPhone

Hi Phil, you might try and find someone who specializes in estate sales of model railroad equipment. That way you would be rid of all of it at once, although you will likely get more return on your investment selling items individually or in smaller lots. Some hobby shops still do this too, but I'm not sure what's in your area. I think the non-plated Amtrak equipment will still sell. Those of us who already have some and never upgraded to the new plated finish may have roster gaps we need to fill. 

Ken
 

I know the guy.  Realy fair in his pricing and he will take the whole collection.  I'll PM you his info.   Mark  <><  

You will have to sell it on ebay it will be alot of work. Every one else will give you about 25% on the dollar they will say they will put it on bargin tables or  sell it cheap at a swat meet but thay will not they will sell it for the going price.

Facebook groups are all the rage lately.  Try HO Premium Quality Display and Sale Page or HO Yard Sale.  Both are Facebook groups no fees and you still get good value without being robbed to death by someone who turns the product.  The only fees you may encounter are paypal fees.

Instead of taking a huge loss, I'd box it up for the grand kids, or hope to make 1 lump sum sale, Good Luck

Ed Stewart
Jacksonville, FL

Honestly that's not a huge collection. .I would recommend finding a high attended train show in your area. If you place moderate prices on nice cars you might be pleasantly surprised at your total sales. We lost my brother a couple of years ago...he had thousands of pieces. .we've done several shows now and have not been disappointed. When you consider how much time you'll spend for each internet sale; wrapping. .boxing. .mailing cars individually, you'll be time and money ahead to just prep for one train show. Just my 2 cents! PM if you'd like me to share my experiences

Posted from Android



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/16 06:10 by trainupaboy.

trainupaboy is spot on.  I've seen estates and collections sold at the Timonium show and many had nice, new in the box trains by Intermountain, ExactRail, Atlas, KATO, Athearn etc. and set below a mail order discount price sold well.  Very large collections may have taken 3 or 4 shows to sell most of, but I agree, it's much less time and trouble than going Ebay or a lowball collection buyer.

Cheers, Jim Fitch

Personally, I would sell it on Ebay. Thats 6-8K worth of stuff. 

With shows, you never know if its priced too high, too low, or if its the wrong crowd. 

Allot of the modern, limited production stuff will sell on Ebay for more then the original MSRP. 

Consider donating it to a youth group or scout troup? 

~DWF

Based on my experience buying and selling through eBay and local train shows and swap meets, it would be benefit you greatly to do a little research on what the particular models are bringing on the used market.  Most recently manufactured models are produced on a limited run, which helps retain value.  The first question I would ask is do you still have the original boxes?  Without original boxes and packaging, the resale diminishes rapidly.  The locomotives that are non-running are also a problem.  Yes a modeler will probably look to install a decoder on their own and otherwise the model can be pristine, but buyers shy away from non-running locomotives.  You can only expect about half of what you could get for them if they were in running condition.

Most of the other comments are correct.  If you are dealing with recent, quality models, with original boxes, You will probably maximize your sales through eBay.  You can also move things through other online groups provided you offer reasonably discounted pricing. Local swap meets are hit and miss, depending on the crowd.  While dumoing everything on someone who handles estate sales or bulk purchases might be the easy way, but you may be sacrificing hundreds of dollars going that route.

Mike Peters
Brentwood, MO

Zycon Models.......

I agree that if you are in no rush you should do your research and be smart about it.

Selling it in one lot is easier but you will get a fraction of what you can get by selling it at shows or on eBay, even with the eBay fees or show table fees.

-Jason
 

The monthly "For Sale" post. 

Bruce