Bay seller that split the engine from the tender

This topic is a waste of space.

They who sell have the right to list as they choose.

They who buy can choose to bid or not.

Simon

I have to admit, if this was a coal vandy tender, and not oil, I would be interested in it. 

Jim, I don't know about Sunset tenders, but the Lionel Vandy tenders for their version, the whole top of the fuel bunker is held in place by magnets, and just lifts off, if Sunset's are the same way, it would be very simple to make a coal load lid for the fuel bunker section.

My Sunset Atlantic has a Vandy tender that loos very similar(UP Also) but it is boxed up right now, so I can't easily check, might be worth asking the seller though.

Doug

Simon, this topic is NOT a "Waste of Space", there were not any other topics denied "Space" because of this one, so no "Space" was "WASTED"

What was "Wasted" was your TIME in reading AND REPLYING to this topic, that was time you could have used doing something Productive or Enjoyable (to You) and then may waste more time reading and possibly again replying to this thread.

Unfortunately, there are many who like to complain about topics that THEY don't find interesting being a "WASTE" or "STUPID", even "MOST STUPIDEST"(recently), WHY is it such a HARD CONCEPT to just back out of a thread you are not interested in, without making derogatory comments? There are countless threads on the forums that I have NO interest in, but I don't comment on, I could careless about what color the firebrick was in the firebox of a Pennsy K-4, but I wont criticize someone else for discussing the topic.

Bottom line, if a topic does not interest YOU, just quietly leave, NON-PRODUCTIVE NEGATIVITEY is both unwanted and un-needed.

Doug

What's interesting is that I see this more and more at York with train guys who know that steam locomotives and tenders go together like a thumb goes with the other fingers. But I rarely if ever see it at a Greenberg or small local show. It's great if you need just a tender but I've always been able to get just a tender for whatever project I'm doing  but it is very annoying to see a locomotive with a decent price on it and then find out that the tender is extra.

Jerry

It would be very unusual for me to try to purchase a locomotive without the correct tender, in matching condition That is, unless I am purchasing it as a junker.

Its a shame to see sellers separate pieces, but they are just looking to maximize the income from their sale.

Several years ago, Maurer Auctions would list a set in 4 separate lots:

1. Blue Comet 400E Loco & Tender

2. Blue Comet Passenger cars

3. Blue Comet boxes

4. All above lots

So, if the price bid for LOT 4 was higher than the aggregate of the first 3 LOTS, the bidder for LOT 4 won all the items, and the bidders of LOTS 1, 2, and 3 ended up with nothing.

I hated seeing a vintage train set separated, but if I were the consignee, I would be assured the Auction House maximized my sale.

Most people don't know jack about toy trains, and aren't going to do more than a cursory search to find out what others are asking for similar items.  If they're not train people they probably have heard trains are worth a fortune, got some at an auction, estate sale or off Craig's List and are out to make a quick buck.  They don't know or care about matching correct engines and tenders, or keeping a set intact as they're pickers - they want to maximize their return as soon as they can.  Find enough listings with engines and tenders being sold apart and it's not hard to guess what the non-train person will do with their choo-choo goldmine...

If you look at Ebay dealers who obviously know trains who are selling engines and tenders separately, the whistle tenders go for really good money, usually more than I'd consider them being worth.  Those folks know they'll make more money on a loose tender than a combo.  Part out the engine and sell a running chassis for 30 or 40 dollars, a clean shell for the same, a steamchest for $15, 10 bucks for a trailing truck, $30 for a reconditioned E-unit, rods/linkage/hardware for $15 - they make a lot more money on the parts than a complete 2037 or other small steam engine can bring intact.

I pick up loose whistle tenders when I come across them if they're in the $20 range - I'll gamble on them being intact inside.  After cleaning them up, and repairing/giving them a tune-up I can get $60 for a clean 2046, 6026 or 6466 tender on Ebay.  I don't pick up loose steam engines as there's less demand for those.  You don't get much more money than a loose tender when an appropriate engine is included - a VG 2055 and 6026 tender might get up to $100 or so on a good day.  I know the engine is worth more than $40 in parts, and it might cost close to that to get an engine that's missing some parts and needs several hours of my time and labor to make presentable and run properly.  I pass on loose engines and let somebody else have the pleasure of fixing them up - the return on most loose engines isn't nearly as good as a loose whistle tender.

I notice a lot of dealers break up a set and sell engine and tender, rolling stock, track, transformers and accessories separately.  I guess they get more for the individual pieces than the set.  I also guess that free enterprise.

Most definitely - dealers love being able to sell off a set layout's worth of track which is basically free when you buy a whole set instead of buying all the components separately and piecing together a set - the dealer still has the transformer, engine, cars and accessories/incidentals.  Like you said, the dealer gets more money for the pieces than the whole - they're in business to make a living, and if they make 5-10-20% more breaking up sets, they'll break up sets.

That's the auctioneer's job - maximize the selling price for the consignor, and maximize their percentage of the sale as their compensation.

According to my understanding, when carousels are auctioned, it is common for the auctioneer to offer the individual pieces, and then offer the complete unit. Sadly, the individual pieces typically bring a higher price.

A while back I attended the auction of a very large, old hardware store in my region. One of its interesting features were a series of very old cabinet doors that were shadow boxes with hardware goods mounted inside for customers to see. These cabinets / doors dated back to the days before stores were self-service, and most still had antique tools displayed.
The doors were first auctioned off individually. Then the auctioneer tried selling them as a single lot. The individual sales won out. 

That reminds me of my last prewar steam switcher purchase on eBay, locomotive was sold in a lot of other engines boiler off, wires loose with a prewar switcher tender in a separate sale......I asked the seller to tell me what was the engine number on the boiler...he swore there was none, but there was, it was a 231. At the same time, he put a tender up that belonged to a 230...it wasn't until I got the engine in the mail that I saw it was a 231. It didn't run (I knew that), wiring was shot, but my friend got it running in one afternoon for the cost of a pizza. When I bought them originally I was hoping for parts, now I have a great running 231 steam switcher paired with a 230 tender...not as Mr. Cowen intended, but which works fine for me.

  Tom

So, in your opinion, did he do all right at less than $500 for the pair, or would he have gotten more for the pair, even though cosmetically mismatched?

I think that is for our original poster to make a call on. I was happy with my prewar steam switcher & tender purchases for a combined total at around $300. In my case, he did not have the description labelled correctly (for the switcher or tender), I advised him what he had, he chose not to take my advise, luckily for me because I had figured after advising him (yes, I know, not the brightest idea...which could have rung up the price for me if he had listened) to buy them for parts.

  Tom

Sorry! Wasn't aware that you had been named Moderator!

Simon

Also could be the seller could not get a good pic of both.  Ever tried to take a quality close-up of locomotive and tender that fills the frame vertically as well as horizontally?

Got a good reason for taking the easy way out ...

What, me worry?