Large Scale Central

Resale value of trains

General Discussion
#1

Hi guys:

Someone was asking as to the resale value of trains. Here is one example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/130574750435?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Delton combine sold on ebay at 60.00. Less ebay fees and ebay dealer commission totally 50%, one is left with 30.00.
The present mail order retail price of this item is 90.00 .

Two points here:

a) for buyer: shipping is 11.00 for total purchase price of 71.00 ( for 19.00 more the winning bidder could buy a brand new item )
b) for seller: receiving 30.00 for a 90.00 replacement cost is not a great business transaction!

Bottom line:

Our trains are far from a financial investment. So run the wheels off and enjoy them.
Sure, some of our collection may hold its value but those items are few and unpredictable.

Norman

#2

Thats why I never have a problem kitbashing or repainting my trains. I never understood the point of collecting things for their value. Why buy something just so it can sit on a shelf. I know people who buy every boxcar but yet they run on their layout a few times a year and all those cars just sit on a shelf. I buy only what I know I will run. I guess I have a different philosophy.
In the case of e-bay it can go either way. Sometimes your lucky if you break even and others hit the jack pot. I have been watching the Kalamazoo and HLW stuff and its hard to believe what people try and sell things for. I laugh when I see the words vintage. 1980;s is hardly vintage yet LOL. Some guy is selling a hartland disney set in seperate pieces. He wants $150 for each car. Thats $150 for a flat car, $150 for a boxcar and so on. How can a flat and boxcar be the same price? All because it says Disney. Why not buy decals and make the cars yourself. Its almost entertaining to go on e-bay. The Kalamazoo civilwar set is going for $900. I asked the seller if he would take less and he stated he sold the same set for $500 a few months ago. In that case the seller made out well. Then shipping cost are out of control. Someone wanted $43 to ship a boxcar.

#3

It is hard to judge an entire market on one example but the point you make is still valid.

A savings of $19.00 on a $90.00 dollar item is HUGE. You also forgot to add shipping to the “new” price of $90.00…So the buyer likely saved $30.00, a very good deal!

If we look at the same purchase as if it were completed by a seller to a buyer with no other parties involved it looks a whole lot better for the seller. Seller is charged by ebay 9% of $71.00, or $6.39. PayPal took $2.36 ($71.00 x .029 + .30). So total dollars to seller = $51.25. This assumes he broke even on shipping (likely at $11.00). Of course there were small listing fees, likely less than a buck.

My view…$51.25 for an item I did not use sitting on a shelf is not too bad. I won’t get rich but I now have $$$ to apply to train items I truley want.

$8.75 to reach thousands of potential buyers and provide a safe way to transfer the funds is also a pretty good deal.

#4

I don’t “invest” in trains to re-sell them. (Anymore)
For the most part they are weathered, re-painted or altered in some way.
Brand or material (brass) not withstanding.
I destroy the boxes.
When I’m gone, whomever is left can do what they want with the trains.

The value of LGB has not increased over the years.
I saved all of mine, in boxes, rarely run, for years.
Then it hit me: I’ll never make money doing this. So out they came and I started weathering and running the stuff.
Enjoying them instead of looking at the ends of the stack of boxes.

Sellers who list those “rare, collectible sets” on Ebay at high prices
normally don’t sell them. They are still there at the end.

#5

On the flip side…There are some AMAZING deals to be had if you are in the market…I recently picked up four AMS Fn3 double decker stock cars brand new in box for $180.00. Purchased an LGB streamlined observation and coach with LGB ball-bearing pick-ups and lights for $200.00 total. Could have easilly made money on both of those deals but I am not in it for the money, I want to run them (I did sell the BB wheels/lights for $100.00).

Like the housing market, you may have to sell cheap but buying is easy! Only ones who lose are those that must sell for cash. If you are buying and selling you will do fine.

#6

Just a heads up on the “Evil Bay” they are now charging 9% on your shipping as well as final value on the item after it sells, so in combo with PreyPal, you are now paying a total of 12% on the end of an auction if your item sells. So on a $1000 item with around $40 shipping, it’s now $125 for example. And shipping costs have also increased. I used to ship things the least expensive way, until I visited with my postmaster and he told me that 1st class, and parcel of course take 10days approx. but the pkgs in those two ways of shipping get handled way more, and are mixed and handled with lots heavier things too. So I’m figuring that in going priority, and ins. unless the buyer accepts it any other way. Regal

#7

That’s why there is more and more “free shipping” on the bay now.

#8

John, that won’t work cause if you put the price of your shipping into the price of your item, then it would be the same as if you charged for shipping unless your saying don’t add into the price your shipping and lose even more money, then there would be no extra charge. Regal

I don’t think I would want to lower the price even more by not charging the freight. You have to reclaim that somewhere, unless you just want to break even, or lose money after you ship.

#9

John, you make a very good point. I have a bunch of LGB in the closet, still in the original boxes, stuff I bought twenty years ago…I should either run it or dump it.

#10

The reason you see more free shipping is because the buyer cannot leave anything less than 5 stars on shipping cost feedback if the seller uses “free shipping”.

As far as stuff in boxes sitting in the closet for years…yep, I agree, time to find a new home. Make a couple of bucks and take the wife to dinner (or buy that AMS caboose I got my eye on).

#11

Since I moved over to 1/29 scale, I find that the 1/22-24 stuff is just taking up room. Back in my HO days, our club used to hold two swap meets a year, and it was a good place to unload stuff. Now its either E-Bay, or the large commercial sellers at the big shows. (and the limited folks that use craigslist)

#12

Hi again:

John Bouck: why does LGB no longer increase in value?
Is this due to the introduction of 1:20.3 trains?
Is this due to the introduction of the super detailing of the Bachmann Spectrum Line making the LGB spartan detail and questionable scaling no longer acceptable by today’s consumers?
Personally, I really like the LGB Chloe for its level of detail and finish. However, I don’t care for the LGB Mogul with its solid motor block with no daylight under the boiler which is not acceptable
to me at the current market retail price.

John Miller: at least your 1:24 freight rolling stock can be used as 1:29 freight.

One thing which I have realised is that now is the time to sell off unwanted trains as the hobby seems to be graying as per the photos of the attendees of the ECLSTS !
Personally I am not graying, my hair is just disappearing!

I still find it interesting that folks on both forums were complaining as to the 2011 price of the Aristo 1:24 C-16 loco at around 350.00 with the “free” caboose. The Delton 1:24 C-16 loco was priced at around 350.00 way back in the 1980’s !! So the present price was actually less than half of that of the 1980’s.

Norman

#13

Right now it is a buyers market. Not a good time to sell anything.
The good time to sell was when the market was high. A few years ago.
Nowadays the buyers call the tune and can pick up great bargains from those desperate to sell.

#14

Some LGB has and is increasing in value. Moguls are SELLING at $100+ where they sold a few years ago. The “plain” Lake George and Boulder mogul used to sell all day for $250.00 or less is now fetching $400.00 regularly. LGB Disney is out of sight! Some Mikado’s are going for well above original MSRP, along with F-units and stream-liners.

The more “mundane” grain hoppers and other US rolling stock is going for nothing or not selling at all. Rhb Crocodiles and “baby” crocs are a real bargin today. 2-axle tankers and cement silo cars are also down in value.

No different than the other scales really. Most used Lionel sells cheap, it’s the “special” pieces that grab the money, and the notice.

#15

LGB prices falling? Really? Where? Everywhere I look all I see is prices reaching ever higher on Ebay. Ever since EPL did the Big Firework and production evaporated NOS stock went thru the roof. The newest Marklin offings came out at stratospheric prices and haven’t come down at all. Walthers excusive distribution deal has all but guaranteed prices will stay at loony tunes prices for some time to come.

#16

LGB prices:

TrainWorld had a good deal on the LGB Durango and Silverton coaches at 75.00 approx. , now the coaches are back up over 100.00.

As to LGB Disney, I bought the Fred Gurley Disney Forney and was not happy with the shade of green. I advertised it on burnsland.com and no takers. Someone on burnsland.com wanted me to give it to him, as in free! This was well over two years before the stock market big crash. The Disney Forney set price was 1200.00 which I got on clearance at 700.00 and was asking 500.00 for the loco as I sold off the two cars to a dealer. I ended up trading in the LGB Disney Fred Gurley, unused mint, at 400.00 to a dealer. No more Disney purchases for me. Worth a fortune to buy, worth no more than any other road names when it comes time to sell.

I just looked again on TrainWorld at the current LGB prices. Insanity. Which is fine as I don’t want any LGB items. The LGB Forney is the only reasonable regular priced item.

The Bachmann forney is 650.00.

The plastic LGB loco pricing is in the brass Accucraft price range.

I think large scale has had it, in terms of new hobbyists. I would not even consider entering large scale today at the present product pricing. ON30 would be where I would go if was just entering the market today.

I really can’t see LGB recovering or surviving at those pricing levels. How many consumers can there be who will pay those prices?

Norman

#17

Wife-san was after me to sell some of my stuff, so I took a few things to a club meet and priced them high so no one would be interested. It made her happy that I was trying to sell, and I got to keep some kit bash fodder.

JB, if you tell her, …

#18

Bad Steve !!

#19

Funny Steve.

Once made a promise to a friend of mine, he need not worry about his family should he pass before me, I’d take care of his trains and them…I assured him I would give his wife dollar for dollar everything he told her he paid for them. Didn’t speak to me for a week!
:smiley:

#20
Norman Bourgault said:
LGB prices:

I think large scale has had it, in terms of new hobbyists. I would not even consider entering large scale today at the present product pricing. ON30 would be where I would go if was just entering the market today.

Norman


I dont think its the end of Large scale. I just got two people in my area into large scale this year. The problem with indoors layouts is space thats why I went outdoors but also because I enjoy being outside.
if they take the electonics out that might help lower prices. We need to go back to the basics. The advertising of Large scale is not good. If we saw more Garden Centers ect… with garden train displays that would help the hobby some. They also need to have things that are affordable. I started out with a small loop running HLW mini series stuff. We need to go back to the basics. If you want more detail then do it yourself. The same for RC ect… It seems whenever someone comes out with a new model people complain its not accurate. No matter what anyone does someone will always complain. Look at G scale overseas. It seems to be healthy and yet most of those layouts are small using small rad curves and are not 100% accurate. But they have fun running trains.
A local garden center just became an Arsito dealer and he plans on setting up some displays. Thats a great thing to hear and should recruit a few people.