advice on the price of model train engines

dithedancer

im clearing all my husbands stuff after he died. but he has got quite a lot of model railway stuff .about 6 or 7 engines that are boxed in working order and cost when new between £50-£70 plus loads of track, buildings and wagons.i thought about a car boot but am unsure at what price to charge. i have been offered £130 for the lot but thought this was selling it on the cheap what do you think? im unsure about how to go about ebay selling.

FloFlo

I would say first make a list of makes, model numbers and condition and then search for them on ebay. Also do the same searches for completed sales which will tell you how much they actually sold for. This will give you an idea of their value. I would think you would get less at a car boot than on ebay.

dithedancer

thanks for yur advice floflo i'll do that now and try and fathom out how to sell on ebay.

FloFlo

Once you have an idea of value you can ask more detailed questions about how to sell. Whether its better to sell on ebay or car boot. I have no great knowledge of model trains but have sold other stuff on ebay. This ebay forum is great for helping people so ask away.

slipp_digby

dithedancer wrote: »

im clearing all my husbands stuff after he died. but he has got quite a lot of model railway stuff .about 6 or 7 engines that are boxed in working order and cost when new between £50-£70 plus loads of track, buildings and wagons.i thought about a car boot but am unsure at what price to charge. i have been offered £130 for the lot but thought this was selling it on the cheap what do you think? im unsure about how to go about ebay selling.

i am guessing that the £130 was a dealer? if so, this naturally excludes his profit margin and sound low to me.

if the engines are boxed and in decent working condition you will probably get a lot more by splittinging them and selling them as indiviudal items. some may be rare items.

the track, controllers etc wont have massive value but can be sold in well selected lots to get a few extra £££. have a look on ebay what people package together and sell to get an idea.

you are selling quite a specialist item and want to get as many potential specialist buyers to look at the item and offer you money for it.

remember on ebay you are more likely to be selling to a large number of informed buyers who know the value of the items so competition is likely to reach a fair price. people will be searching specifically for a particular item.

remember though, its an auction so research what they are worth using ebay first and if you may wish to put a researve on more valuable items as there is a degree of unpredictablilty. longer auctions give you more chance to attract the right buyer(s).

i sold my old trains (all boxed and decent condition) on ebay and you will generally get a decent price as you can reach a large number of people who genuinely understand the value of an item, there will of course also be dealers looking for a bargain.

avoid car boot sales as the buyers are less likley to know what they are worth and will waste your time offering pointless amounts of money.

i should add, ebay is not the only route but you should use it as a tool to get an idea about exactly what you have and how to get the best price.

you might do this research and decided that the £130 is in fact acceptable and you would rather go to a dealer or local model shop and deal face to face with someone for cash rather than have the potential hassle of ebay.

dithedancer

your right ts_aly theres a lot of people out there ready to fleece the vulnerable.
no slipp_digby it was not a dealer it was one of my sons mates who is supposed to be an enthusiast. shows who your mates are don't it?

peter_the_piper

Why not ask the advice of the local auction house, you may well get a better price than on ebay. Model trains in good nick and boxed seem to get good prices, stick a sensible reserve on and see what happens.

dithedancer

would it have to be a specialist auction? because all places near me auction furniture. if so where would i find out my nearest auction house that do that.

slipp_digby

dithedancer wrote: »

your right ts_aly theres a lot of people out there ready to fleece the vulnerable.
no slipp_digby it was not a dealer it was one of my sons mates who is supposed to be an enthusiast. shows who your mates are don't it?

i'm not suggesting he is being dishonest as I dont know exactly what you have and condition of the items is everything when pricing them

if your gut feeling is that £130 is a bit low, it may well be right. if he is offering for the whole lot, is it not likley that he wants a proportion of the stuff and not everything? the price may reflect that? this is what a dealer does.

do the research suggested by FloFlo above, using model number e.g. Hornby R342 and an ebay search. look for 'buy it now' fixed priced items (probably top value) make list and if needed watch a few items on ebay to see what they are actually selling for. note the conditon its very important indeed.

if you split into indiviudal lots, some items may have a fairly nominal value so you need to start with the highest price items first (engines, mixed lots of wagons), track, controllers, accessories.

soolin

Research is the key, model railways are a strange thing..the bottom has completely dropped out of the market and most items are worth far less than the original price. However there are a few items that have held their price and even completely exceeded it, the trick is knowing which is which!

An advert in the local paper might be a way forward, see if you can get offers and even if you don't sell you may have a better idea of the value.

clutterfrazzled

For price research and guides check out:

vectis.co.uk - Specialist toy auctions. Are a massive research source with past auction results. Also they offer valuation days/evenings around the country.

Also try traincollector.co.uk for list of society exhibitions in your area.

Good luck.