Auction recommendation?

Seems Stout get's people some pretty good prices.  I have watched and bid on items many times there.  I have never won as prices often go much higher than I expect and most times more than you typically see on ebay.

If I had a large collection to auction, most likely they are who I would pick.

Be careful of the fine print. A friend of mine used one of the large/well known out of state auction houses (no, I won't name them) who gladly picked up his trains. They charged him for travel time, packing, and truck rental. 

In the end, he got almost nothing for his trains.

Take 'em to York or a local train show if you can. Price 'em cheap and they will sell quickly AND you will get a better return. Just IMHO

@Lionelski posted:

Take 'em to York or a local train show if you can. Price 'em cheap and they will sell quickly AND you will get a better return. Just IMHO

I think the point of the original post was that he won't be around when it come's time to dispose the collection...or that would be a neat trick. 

Another thought I had is beyond the actual money aspect and that is the burden of managing it all.  First off take any value out of the whole thing, as values are uncontrollable and can fluctuate for a variety of known and unknown reasons.  These are all out of your or your family's control.

The biggest help you can give them is to have a plan in place to make it as easy as possible for them to deal with these things after your gone.  Don't give them unrealistic expectations or values of things as per what I stated above about values.

The fact your're planning now is good.

You out to get Hot Water to comment since he sold his collection on Stout a few years back.

Hi Tom, 

We're always happy to talk through the consignment process with folks, especially when it comes to estate planning. We can walk through most of your questions and concerns in about a half hour phone call. Feel free to reach out to me at Derek@stoutauctions.com and we can set up a time to talk. 

Thanks,

Derek

I thought Stout had realgood (high) prices on the last auction a few weeks ago..when it is time....I have told the family to call them and a couple local places.....internet biding seem the way to go....

@superwarp1 posted:

You out to get Hot Water to comment since he sold his collection on Stout a few years back.

Correct! I researched a few auction places, plus virtually every single person I contacted and ask questions of, stated that About was the most reputable and best! Thus, I had them sell EVERYTHING I had, i.e. all transformers, all locomotives (Sunset/3rd Rail, Atlas, MTH, and Lionel), all passenger equipment, and all freight rolling stock. They wanted the stuff so bad, that Derek even drove to our house and took everything back to their place in Indiana!  I was more than pleased, to say the least. Thus, I would recommend them to everybody.

As an initial step, I would create an inventory list of items in your collection. You can use a excel spread sheet to list the item m condition, presence of original boxes and other relative information. For Lionel items, you can list the two prices listed in the Greenberg guide , assign a value based on observed condition of the item, check your assigned value against recent ebay sales Sets and boxed sets should be considered as am individual line item . You might want to take a photo or two of each line item.  So when you have all your items listed, you can sum up your high and low Greenberg values  as well as the values you have assigned. The overall value of you collection will be in between the high and low Greenberg  values in most cases. 

 Once you have completed this exercise you will have an idea of how large your collection is , what it looks like and a ballpark value of what might be realized at an auction sale. 

I am familiar with an auction house on Long Island. The folks there handled the trains carefully , assembled attractive and balanced auction lots and seemed quite knowledgeable about items in the lots. . There is a sellers  premium of 15 %. So as a seller you would realize about 85% of the winning bid. The buyer pays a premium , sales taxes and shipping . Depending on the size of the collection, the auction house may schedule several sessions to sell all the items . Takes a bit longer but the advantage is that the number of items sold in a session balances better against monetary resources of potential buyers. 

I think that when you select an auction house, your choice might be driven by how comfortable and confident you might feel with the folks at the auction house. A feeling of trust and good will be an important factor in your choice. 

Trainz is very easy to deal with, they also pick up your collection.

When i used them last year I sent out 10 list for bids and they were significantly better than the others.  At that time they gave me options of a outright purchase, 1/2  $$$ at time of pickup the other 1/2. $$$ after they had it and inventoried it or the other choice was to pick it up and once there and inventoried they would put it on their marketplace listing sell in groups and later send payment.  I sold the trains as a outright purchase. Worked out beneficial for me and my family doesn't have to hassle with something they weren't interested in.

Wow! Nice options!

I am telling my family that I have received value from my collection far exceeding its value - that includes the trains, the machinery, three Piper Cubs and a Decathlon, two beautiful antique lathes, and a pair of 1965 Mustang convertibles.

They can donate, trash, go to an auction house (I will mention Stout and Trainz) or just ignore it.  It has already earned its keep - all of it - and I won't much care.  Just don't start the process until I am no longer conscious.