Model Railroading > Brass

As part of my era update I have around a half dozen HO scale brass cabooses that I no longer need.

What ever happened to the used brass market. Is it still out there?

Seems like I haven't heard of it in the mainstream in a long time.

-Matt Snell

What railroad(s)? 

Brasstrains.com

Bought several versions of NP ones a few years back, those which I wanted to fill out my roster. Dont know of any plastic ones which were nothing more than sort of some prototype but not close to that.

Still an active market. Auction sides or as mentioned Brasstrains.com.

It does depend on what items. Some items are overly priced as they are rare, but get the money, others are under priced, mostly if a quality plastic model has been recently released or even hinted at future release. 

Mike ONeill
Parker, CO

List them on   HO Swap Groups with a picture and the price you want for them.    https://groups.io/g/HOswap

www.resourcedrails.com

You can use E-bay to see what something might go for. Search for the item, then click the Advanced Search link and select completed auctions to see what stuff did or did not sell for in the past few months.
 

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

CB&Q ICC caboose?

Posted from Android

I've been buying used brass models the past couple of years. As a matter of fact, a Balboa SP C-9 2-8-0 arrived just last Friday. Being able to buy brass steam for the price of plastic diesels takes some of the sting out of the cost. I'll still need to replace the open frame motor ($2 Mabuchi) and add DCC and sound. (ESU ~$90 plus couple bucks for an iPhone speaker).

I have to say, I'm about done building the steam fleet I want, but I'm still in the market for early SP Bay Windows. Think the bay window cabooses with the short bays. Class C-30-5 and similar. I have a "modernized" C-30-6 that I'll probably de-modernize (add roof walk and end ladders, but since the ladders aren't available as a detail part, I'll need to learn how to etch brass). But I digress.

Most come from eBay. I've also bought directly from Brasstrains.com (Link) and ReSourcedRails.com (Link), the later seems to move models much faster. That is, there's very little time for most models to stay listed before they're sold. I'll see something on their newsletter that interests me, only to go to their website and find it sold. So someone besides me is buying them up. I believe Brasstrains.com is a brick and mortar shop - I want to go to Ocala and check them out in person.

There have been plenty of times I've been outbid on eBay, as well, so yes, I'd have to say there definitely still is a market for used brass trains. Just be realistic about the price, and the fact that dealers won't buy for full market price. They're in the business to make money, and if they thought  there was more money selling something else, they'd be doing that. They are doing the "waiting to find the right buyer" for you, and eBay isn't the friendliest place to sell online, either. Factor about 10% of the selling price to fees, and having to deal with scumbag buyers who lie about item not delivered or other scams to get their money back and keep the merchandise.

HO Yardsale and the like are another place, but give it a look to see if things work out the way you hope. The "signal to noise" ratio turned me off. That is, there was a lot of stuff I wasn't interested in that I had to sort through to find the stuff I might be interested in, so it wasn't worth the time I spent. (and don't let this lead you to believe I'm a brass snob. I've also bought a lot of plastic freight car - mostly IMRC, but others as well).

Facebook Marketplace is another to consider, although I haven't bought any trains  there (I did manage to buy a car there - 1995 M-edition Miata). Same problem as the HO Yardsale group - low signal to noise ratio. Matter of fact, the signal to noise ration lead me to disenroll from Facebook.

Good luck!

Arved Grass
Fleming Island, FL

Brasstrains is not a brick and mortar shop. I have dealt with Dan a long time and finally got to visit him in 2019.You have to make arrangements to even get in as there are thousands of brass models there meaning a lot of money and not all of it his as in consignments. I usually end up selling my extra items on Ebay as Buy It Now and set the price I want figuring in how much Ebay and Paypal are going to take. If you cosign with a brass dealer, they usually take 25% of the sale. If you sell it to them outright, they usually only give 50% If you dont need the money and have time, Unfortunately Ebay is the best bet. Hope this help.