I have been asked to help a friend sell off his substantial G scale train merchandise. Most are brand new in the box and consists of engines, cars, track/switches and a few structures. About $15,000 worth of stuff when bought in late '80s early 90’s. Brand names are mostly LGB and Lionel. A few examples of items are LGB 2080s, 20882, 2071d, 2045, 3164, 3163, Lionel 8-87600(11 of these), 8-87002, 8-87003, 8-87004 and 3 more pages of typed up rolling stock. Any interest, please contact me and i will try to scan and send the entire list to you. The collection is located near Rochester, NY. Dan
Probably beyond my means, but prices on the 20882 and 2080 locos please. Mike
At this time we are looking to sell the collection as a whole. I will send you prices for the two you are interested in if that changes, thanks.
As a whole? Either you aren’t asking much, or you expect to find someone with very deep pockets.
My recommendation would be, at a minimum, break the collection up into Lionel products and LGB products. I, for example, have zero interest in Lionel but 100% interest in German-made LGB products. The price might be more enticing if it was halved (I don’t know the exact ratio or Lionel to LGB in the collection), but you’d appeal to the collector who is looking to add to his/her LGB or Lionel collection. You’re going to be extremely hard pressed to find an individual G-scale enthusiast willing to dole out $15K. You’d be much better off pulling out the truly valuable and desirable pieces and sell them individually and selling the run-of-the-mill stuff in lots.
Be advised you are not likely to realize the full value very easily.
These folks will give you dimes on the dollar (I don’t know their scale of payments) and auction the collection off.
http://www.collector-modeltrains.com/dash/home/
There are other hobby shops that sometimes buy collections, but how deep their pockets are, I dunno.
John
If selling as a single lot is the primary goal, I would recommend contacting one of the online auction houses that purchase collections. however be forewarned you will not get near full price for the collection. Part of selling collections is the cost of the sale, and associated risk involved. The most desirable pieces will sell quickly, and possibly above value pricing. Average pieces will sell at average pricing in moderate time frame. The least desirable product may take a long time to sell and not bring perceived value.
Add to this an economy that is much tighter than when those items were purchased, and there are far less certainties than say ten years ago.I think you would do well to re-evaluate the where you are headed with this. I wish you well.
I would guess the auction houses will give you about 40% of market value at the best. They have all the risk and with that they will want thier part of the profit. The shop I messaged you pvtly about only does consignment right now, he doesnt have the bank roll yet to outright purchase collections. What he brings to the table is a world wide client list that is looking, espicaly for, LGB. One is a large hotel overseas that has been buying up most of the choice LGB items he gets in. The rest disappear quickly to the local modelers. If your using ebay for values, I hope your looking at completed auctions were the item sold, not the “wishing” prices of items that have been on there for months at pre recession pricing. The real world value isnt there like it was a few years ago, but its not rock bottom either for the better pieces. Lionel Large scale has little value, most of it needs massive amounts of tinkering to get it to run better. That being said, if there is a PRR 4-4-2 Atlantic or Burlington Northern GP20 diesel, I am looking for those. To get the most return on investment, a list with asking price for each item, posted on the forums is the best route. But will entail more “work” on your end packing and shipping items. Least work will to either consign the collection to a shop to be sold off, or sold at a loss to one of the large train auction/dealers like Trainz ect. Mike
Thank you for all the advice so far. We are waiting for an offer from Trainz, and will make a decision on what to do after we see that. Your suggestions are very helpful.
Like to hear what Trainz offers. Gave my wife their contact info in case I go.
Jerry Barnes said:
Like to hear what Trainz offers. Gave my wife their contact info in case I go.
Must be an Optimistic day! For me it’s more of a matter of when. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
John
Jerry Barnes said:
Like to hear what Trainz offers. Gave my wife their contact info in case I go.
I talked to them once and backed away from them.Later RJD
dan h said:
Thank you for all the advice so far. We are waiting for an offer from Trainz, and will make a decision on what to do after we see that. Your suggestions are very helpful.
Some of the bigger model / toy train auctioneers are:
Ambrose-Bauer
Stout
New England Toy Train Exchange (NETTE)
You’d do far better allowing a company like one of these to take on the burden. Maybe you’ll only realize 40-50% of sales price. But OTOH, their advertisement, photography & description of individual pieces will ensure a sales price that is close to fair market value. And, you don’t have the hassle of per-piece promotion and fulfillment. If you insist on a 1-lot sale, you will most likely realize an income much lower than fair market value.
But best hopes regardless.
Cliff