Like Your's Used or Mint?

I can make used trains look mint with little effort, so I buy used.

Depends on the price/value ratio. If I can get new or like new at a reasonable price, great. If there's a big price drop from like new to excellent, I'll usually go for excellent. if I'm planning to repaint, rebuild, kitbash, or put in new electronics, there's no reason at all to pay the premium for new. Likewise with stuff that I'm buying to scrounge for parts. 

 

Some items are susceptible to damage that doesn't always show up on an eBay photo. Items that are likely to have breakage that is hard to fix, like older brass engines or MTH items where parts are difficult or impossible to get, I generally try to stick to Like New. 

I buy new and used. Condition is what matters most. I love collectors. Because when they sell, its like brand new!

If it's got command control electronics in it, I'd rather have new, unless I know it works 100%.

 

Other than that, if it's painted and prototypical for Seaboard Air Line, it's worth a look.

Even with a few bumps in the road, I tend to buy second hand -- used -- I've saved a ton of money vs full retail, I've never had a total "train wreck" of an engine even with almost entirely PS 2.0, perhaps a little adjustment here or there, and being able to get a lot of not in the current catalog items, road names, etc., second hand makes sense (and cents) for me.

 

When there have been bumps in the road my LHS has been happy to make the repairs, not for free mind you, they have done alright on their time and talents, so in the end there have not been a losers on the deals thus far.

 

Best,

Jason

 

P.S. Might be a force of habit as well, I generally also buy used cars. Too much thrift in the family for new, when like new is just as good.

My guess is most of the active members on this site are operators and modifiers.  So am I.  I have never been a "collector" of any item.  I like to put my money into things I use.  Collectors are an entirely different breed.  They like to have things all in one place. 

 

My Grandfather was a collector of stamps and coins.  He tried to get me started in collecting by setting up a little coin collection for me.  I played with it for awhile and enjoyed visiting coin places where he would pick out some pieces for me and put them in my cardboard holding book.  One day he asked me where my silver eagle dimes were.  "Oops" didn't go over very well when I told him I had bought some soda and candy with them at the newspaper store.  My younger brother now has the entire collection of stamps and coins.

 

Back to the trains.  I have 16 grandchildren.. phewww.  When they come to play and visit, I teach them good techniques with the trains.  But, when they break something I remind myself this is a toy train.  This is for fun..... Let them have fun.

I like them new, but most of my stuff is purchased used.   I don't buy them to collect.

There was a guy who came to the local train shows to see our modular layout. He loved to see the trains run. His wife who was always with him asked me to try to convince him to build a layout because he had allot of trains.  Well he never did and when he passed his wife sent it to a auction to sell off his collection that he never saw, he only saw the box's. 

 

All the mint trains were stacked floor to ceiling in one bay of his three car garage. For 30 plus years he bought trains for his in the future layout That never came. So sad for somebody who liked trains never got to see his own run.

 

what should you take from the story, run your trains , have fun because you never know when the end comes. 

Price is definitely a consideration.  I don't mind a used item if it helps preserve the train budget, especially since I intend to run everything in the collection. 

 

I've had issues with the last two command engines I bought brand new... both were fixed, but there's a certain comfort in buying a gently used engine that has been run some and operates fine.  The engineer in me likes a product that's been tested/used enough to reach the shallow part of the bathtub curve.

 

-Dustin

i can see keeping a baseball card or a coin in a vacuum sealed case (not personally, just the concept), but something mechanical that's built with moving parts will eventually lose any operating capability, or at least have that feature severely diminished if kept sealed a box.  i feel sad for collectors such as your friend,  to me they're missing both the point of the hobby and of collecting.

 

i will also amend your supposition that you cannot be both a collector and an operator.  every one of my prewar locomotives takes a turn around the track now and then, though recently, mostly then.

 

cheers...gary

I run this stuff as long as it will stay on the track.  I LOVE buying from the NIB collectors.  Their stuff is, well, like new.

I like to buy pre-run, currently I have bid on 2 cars on the bay , if won, I will get 2 cars for less than the price of a new one.

 

Brent

Mint / used - whatever, so long as it's cheap.

It dosen't really matter to me I like new when I can aford it but I like a good used piece too in  good shape . I run every thing I have no matter if its new or used.

I prefer used, mainly because of the cost, and the fact that if I do damage it, I don't feel as bad because of the value drop.

hello guys and gals....

 

I buy mint or new-in-the-box locomotives as some people would run their engines bone dry without oil and grease in the gearbox ,only God knows why !!!!  I buy the freight cars used.

 

the woman who loves the S.F.5011

Tiffany

Ditto. I'm especially happy when I get a good working used item at a good price. My expectations for new items is very high because they are new and cost twice as much. So when I have problems with these it's especially frustrating. Collecting without running a train is hard for me to relate to. What's the point? Especially if you don't even take it out of the box??

I'll suggest new or lightly used, but cosmetically mint.

 

I hate it when I ask condition and people say "mint, never been out of the box!".

 

While stuff that's never been out of the box might technically fit the formal definition of mint, lots of stuff leaves the factories with significant flaws these days, so it's really "unknown in box".

 

I'd much rather have an engine with marks on the wheels and rollers (which do not concern me unless it's to the point of abuse)  and pristine decoration and details than one that's unknown condition because the box was never opened.

 

-Dave

Agreed with Dave, the only absolute requirements for my purchases are pristine cosmetic condition with original boxes. Otherwise it doesn't matter how much it's been run because I'm just buying it to run. And as others have mentioned already used trains have the advantage of being operationally proven. The one time I bought a brand new sealed engine it was DOA. The previous owner never tested it to discover it was a factory dud. Had to tear the whole thing apart and search for the pinched wire.

I agree!  I steer awar from engines, especially ones that are few years old, that have "never been removed from box."  Not only is the true condition unknown, but untested (and unwarranted) modern electronics make me nervous.

I run everything mint, old, new, repaired doesn't matter. I can understand being a collector if you display the things but just to let then sit in their boxes unopened in storage as it were with no intentions of ever letting them see the light of day is just a complete waste.

 

Jerry

I buy to run, and whatever condition they are when I get what I want.  My K-Line Big Boy was NIB.  It never touch any rails until I bought it, and boy does it get run.  Most of mine are used, because I go for a certain locomotive, and I get whichever at the time is the best price for the value.  So most are MTH PS1 engines.

I just look at the overall condition and the price. If things line up, I'll buy it and run it.

Like those picker guys on TV, I look for the rusty gold!  LOL

 

i run mostly post war and MPC stuff so used i do have some modern stuff that i really like but it's all conventional. i do buy some NIB cars and buildings, and things like that. this past christmas the wife got me a NIB NYC 2-6-4 from 1986 i think. i ran the wheels off that thing before we moved no layout now until holiday time.

i also have an american flyer 310 set with a shell car that's pretty straight i run that too.

Dave

They are toys to be played with and enjoyed...hoard Gold it tends to retain it's value a bit better; most times.

One advantage of buying used is that it has been tested and works. Lots of new in the box stuff does not work.

 

I like to buy broken stuff and get it cheap. Then I fix it. My favorite locos are my "broken wing birds."

That's why I like to go to train shows, you see just what you are buying and the condition. Auction sites are a hit & miss gamble in my opinion, you can get a fantastic bargain or you can get a dud.

If it looks good I will buy it if the price is right.

Sometimes I buy some new engines, mainly Williams, if the price is right or if I can't find them elsewhere I will buy new.

there were a few hard to find Williams GP-38's that I wanted so I bought them from online dealers who had a sale on left over Williams.

To the best of my knowledge I do not have any Williams by Bachmann engines in my fleet just Williams(before Bachmann) engines. I have a couple of Bachmann club cars; Plasticville hopper and tank car.

 

Back when Williams was in business, before Bachmann, I would buy some new Williams from the Williams dealer I met a local train show. I got some great bargains, but now that Bachmann stepped in and bought Williams the days of bargains are over.

 

Lee Fritz

As long as the car is cosmetically perfect and has the box, I'll buy rolling stock used but prefer to buy new. 

 

Engines are always bought brand new unless I'm familiar with the seller and the engine. For example, I bought an engine from a friend (Tracker member and Forum Member) that I had seen operate and many shows quite well...I was familiar with the engine and the owner so I felt comfortable buying it. I will not buy engines without warranties. That however, was a rare exception. 

I heard somewhere that "collectors" sleep upside down in the closet.....No! Just kidding......not really......anyway, electric trains are machines & by their very nature, they were ment to RUN! When I buy something, be it brand new, or new old stock from 25 years ago, or some broken down turd that needs repairs, I can almost hear it calling out to me: "Take me out of the box, I want to LIVE! I need electricity flowing through my circuits! Let's roll!" So I try to carefully keep everything as nice as possible & am never careless, but I HAVE to run them. I just HAVE TO! They seem to respond to this & with a little TLC, they hum happily along, round & round, only to be boxed up & stored away when it's time to try a different one out for a while, but my trains sleep lightly, & answer the call when their turn comes up again some other time. 

Used, bruised, or broken, if it rolls, Ill run it. But, there is nothing like "new car smell" 

I think maybe your perspective is a bit skewed but okay: you asked a good question. 

 

I have about 110 locos. I can run four at any one time, so the vast - the vast - majority are going to be on the shelf.  Knowing this, I buy a lot of locos that I want to look at because they are intersting, etc., knowing they will be shelf queens.  But I have a few, like the Legacy Berksire, that are runners.  So I am a bit of both, is the point: I have about 90 locos I bought just to collect and look at, and maybe less than two dozen that I like but also run alot.  I have actually bought locos I know I will never run: I have an MTH coal turbine that will not run: I bought it for $290 dollars, excellent cosmetically, knowing it was broken. Itsgreat on the shelf, though.

 

As to the collectable resale value of any of my locos - I don't care at all. 

I find it touching that so many people are concerned about the happiness and well being of collectors.

But they need not worry, the collectors are enjoying their trains in their own manner.

First, I love to buy mint but then it's a personal battle over whether or ever to run them and when. So mostly I buy in excellent plus condition with original box. I am very good at running trains and maintaining excellent plus condition no matter how many miles I put on them. Second in reference to the quote above, life often gets in the way of enjoying trains. I am sure this applies to many people. For me, I have given up years of train time just to make sure my son doesn't sit in front of the TV while I spend my time downstairs in the train room. Now that he's older I am giving up even more train time to make sure he doesn't play video games for hours on end. At my age if I want to spend an entire weekend in the train room - there's nothing wrong with that. For a 17 year old to blind himself playing weekend long sessions of Grand Theft Auto V is a crime. I'd rather be upstairs doing something with him or even just kicking him outside to jog and work out. Better for him to see his girl friend in person at the pizza parlor than to Skype her. It makes me a TV and game cop with less train time, but he'll be better for it. Trains? What's that?

New or used in excellent condition is the same to me.

It doesn't matter if I buy them used or new. I have found good deals on new and used at train shows,Ebay ,TRAINZ/DASH and my local dealers. Some I have had to replace the boards, so what. I like to run my trains not look at them. Part of the enjoyment is to take a dead engine, repair it and then run it. Yes I do sell on E Bay, but I do that to support my purchases. I have no issues with people who just collect or do both. My only issue are the ones who decide to sell older PS1 or conventional engines (Weaver) for what they paid for them or more ridiculous. I understand if it is a rare engine and there are engines out there that are worth the extra money. But when you see the same engine that selling at 100.00(example) and another one at listing for 300.00 Example both are used and are in the same condition it makes you wonder if they really want to sell their item. Me if I can recoup my original cost that's great, but if I don't its ok too. I put them out there so I can buy more equipment. I do collect 1.50/ 1.43 scale European die cast trucks, busses and fire trucks from the 40s to current. Mostly from German truck companies.  

Exactly. I am both. I have many trains I run. But I have some that have never run and probably never will. They look good displayed in my home and I paid less for them than many people pay for other home décor items or art for their house.

I like original mint is not a must. I like tinplate and love it unrestored and with wanting to run things , Mint is nice but not a requirement.. On Legacy/PS3 I would recomend new so you dont get someone elses problem.. I no longer collect but have a few special pieces..

Nope.  Some of us are both.  My trains all get run (there's only room for two at a time on the layout), but in between runs, they're on the shelf, looking nice.