How to determine a "fair" price?

Use ebay to determine the price. Search for the item # then filter to see sold items. Ebay will likely fetch the best price too.

I also tell people that any auction site will have fees so I would reduce the price found by 10 to 15 percent.

Greens burg guide, in my experience, are way off. They can be either high or low with little semblance of reality. They are a fair source of information and specs..

I just looked at the bay and found three sets price ranging from $500 to $1750 one with no box.

A fair price is what someone will pay for it.

Without photos, no one here could begin to say what a fair price would be.

Trainworld just sold one last Friday. Listed for $999.99 but best offer was accepted. They may give you an a hint based on their recent experience. Tell them you heard about it on OGR!

Ditto to all of the above...

From your verbal description, you have a very desirable two tier 1633 set and not the display box variation. Ebay (minus fees) is a good selling option; collectors abound on the "bay," and with those hard to find individual boxes, your friend could fetch a great selling price. Of course, selling to a local train buff would eliminate those added fees.

Personally, I would take lots of pictures and let the potential buyers have at it, a bit like a shark feeding frenzy. The last shark standing will determine your "fair price." And unlike the movie, your friend will not need a bigger boat .

Good luck and good selling to your friend...

Thanks for the feedback.  I did see the same info on ebay which made me wonder about getting a "real" price expectation. I don't think he has ever used ebay to sell anything, so he was looking at other options.

I once sold three broken American Flyer passenger cars in a box. People asked for more photos of the box. The auction closed at over $600!

@Kenjr posted:

Thanks for the feedback.  I did see the same info on ebay which made me wonder about getting a "real" price expectation. I don't think he has ever used ebay to sell anything, so he was looking at other options.

At the risk of repeating things above (like that ever stopped me), eBay, probably more than any other site, is a national market, so if you are able to find an item that has been sold, this can give you a fair starting point for his price.

Selling prices are what you need, of course, but if there are no sales available, but there are one or more of his item up for sale on eBay, then the asking prices are at least a hint of the item's possible value.

Regarding setting a price, maybe set a high and low spread.

High from auction house and low from eBay? Also another factor is if there are more than 1 of the item listed at the time.

Often non train folk value their trains higher than the market values, good luck.

As  you know, you can set a very high minimum or Buy It Now on Ebay, and let the market take over. The high minimum price protects you from lurkers and snipers. if no one bites, you can use the second offer feature.

@train steve posted:

Regarding setting a price, maybe set a high and low spread.

High from auction house and low from eBay? Also another factor is if there are more than 1 of the item listed at the time.

Often non train folk value their trains higher than the market values, good luck.

Train Steve is correct: many people see Lionel and they see dollar signs. They don't realize that many older trains were produced in large quantities and many have survived.

If using eBay, start low but set your reserve at the absolute minimum you will accept.