New selling trend

I went to a train show in southeast Florida about 2 weeks ago and things were not selling for even 50% of cost or list price. Got an MTH Z-1000 transformer with controller for $35.00, looks brand new in box.

Lee Fritz

Prices do seem to be up.....but not selling either. There was a lot of $800 and up items at the show I went to today......sellers are going to be taking them home I bet.   As for estate sellers.....I don't see a big increase in them.....folks have been doing it for years....and yes.....most times they are WAY over or under real value. 

I don't know how prices are for the retail vendors but at train shows prices are on the very low end of the spectrum, in other words you can get bargains but don't expect to get much for your trains at a train show lately.

Lee Fritz

Yes, buying the Lionel 180 Bricks for $10 is a rare buy.  I would have purchased them myself if I had that opportunity.  The folks doing Estate Selling should get on the internet and check out the older train items and see what they are actually selling for before offering them at such low prices.  Folks buying cars and trucks go to Kelly Blue Book . Com to see what their automobiles are worth and what the car or truck they are wanting purchase is worth before making their transactions.  WOW, thanks for posting.............

Some people who our selling Pop's trains could care less what they get for them. When you consider what it cost them in time and money to stay at one of these shows what good dose it do to make an extra couple of thousand when they are spending three hundred a night for hotel  and food. Lets not forget travel time and fuel, not to mention the fact that they are not in the business as a living they usually just wont to get it over with ASAP.

They are not stupid, just impatient.

The folks doing Estate Selling should get on the internet and check out the older train items and see what they are actually selling for before offering them at such low prices. 

In my area the Estate Sale folks do their homework. It is very unusual to find bargain prices on anything, including trains. At lot of them run their sales for two days, and cut prices in half on the second day.
None of them would lug trains to a train show.

That is not to say it doesn't happen. I've picked up Postwar Lionel and American Flyer trains at Estate sales. I've seen Modern era stuff, but I don't think I've ever purchased any.

Even going online doesn't always help.  A lot of those types of sellers get price guides from the library and just find what's closest in description and assume they have the top dollar variation.  Goes for any kind of antiques or collectibles really.  I get some great deals that way too.

Greetings Everyone,

I think that if you are patient and persistent, deals will fall into your lap if you're in the right place at the right time.   I just picked up an A-A set of Lionel Century Club II Pennsylvania Railroad "Sharks" for $300.00 + $20.00 shipping.   They were listed as new (the pictures pretty much corroborated that claim) and were complete with all of the boxes.   I just purchased the exact same set while at York for $450.00, but I just couldn't pass up this deal!  And with the Pay Pal purchase protection I just had to buy em'.

Chief Bob (Retired)   

I have noticed a lot sellers that I assume are estate or antique dealers that try to sell for ridiculously high prices rather than low.   

A lot of these people seem to think that ALL old trains are a treasure and collectors will pay anything for them.   They have no idea what they have and how common it might be and what a realistic price might be.

An example in 2-rail I have seen in the last year about 3-4 times on ebay is a brass model of PRR F3 Mogul (2-6-0).    This model was imported by Gem in the 1970s.    It is an OK model of an older loco that pretty much disappeared in the 1920s..     The model is definitely not up to todays  level of detail and is not great mechanically.    I see them at the various O scale shows and they seem to run about 350 which was about what they came in at.   Someone has listed the loco only, no tender, for 975 starting bid on ebay.   The photos  show that the pilot is broken off, but there, and other details are bent or missing.    This listing has come up 3-4 times and stayed for a couple of weeks and then disappeared.    I just saw the same model last weekend at the Cleveland show, in mint condition, again for 350 with tender and original box.

I have seen the same thing, estate sales that are way off base. the E-Bay listings really kill me. they think because it has the Lionel name on it then it must be a collector's item, or when they are asking $XXX for something and state the retail value is $YYY, yeah when the item first came out in 2001, but it's 2016 and the retail price doesn't even matter now. We have a train show coming up here in Pleasanton CA on the Thanksgiving weekend. I've been going to this show for years, most of the stuff is very well used, and asking prices are way out of line. Every once in while I'll get what I call a fair price, I've never scored a deal like two 180 PH for $20. Not even close. Most of the time I know what I want and I watch what the asking and selling prices are on E-Bay. I also have my collectors book which gives me a ballpark figure of what some items may be worth and I go from there. If I think it's a fair price I'll pay, I don't haggle or bargain, I let my wife do that part

 they think because it has the Lionel name on it then it must be a collector's item,

Isn't  that what shows like American Pickers, Pawn Stars and Storage Wars tell people?

I like attending antique shows. I rarely buy trains at them. The dealers over grade and ask prices that are too high in today's market.

This railroad hobby selling thing is an intriguing issue that we face all the time. makes for some of the fun of the hobby. I have an old beat up 1872 general that I bought and it is literally "beat up". It runs but has worn gears. I patched it up cosmetically but  have been looking for a good while for a better one or parts.  All I saw were too expensive.  Yesterday at the  Greenberg Show I found it-$25 !  Looks almost new, runs great but the corner of the cab had been broken off. The headlight cover was missing but a black plastic O gauge switch light took care of that. So now I have a good Civil war train with three coaches, a flat car with horses I put together and a wooden outside braced box car from my On3 days. If I wanted to use them I, also, have some old lead cowboys and indians.  I saw some nice deals at the show yesterday but two shows in  2 weeks is tough on the budget.  I asked for a discount on my two engines and got them but not on the bag of GI Joe stuff I bought. I salvaged about half the the things in the bag, the rest will go to an antique shop for someone else to enjoy.

I do not follow buying trends.  But I do enjoy reading posts by folks who want people to pretty much give their trains away.  I assume it's so they can buy them cheap and say what a good deal they got.  I've always wondered how much they want for their trains when they are the seller.

These threads always give me a chuckle.  In a transaction there are only two possible outcomes:

• Buyer and seller agree that item A is worth price X, and a sale is made.
• Buyer thinks item A is worth price X, seller thinks it’s worth price X + Y, and no sale is made.

In both cases, both parties get exactly what they wanted. Isn’t a free market great? 

Here's my POV from selling 3 collections for estates in the last 4 years.

1. The estate wants things settled ASAP, this is more conducive to selling at a few shows within a 4-6 month span. That means big discounts to get product moving, and doesn't aways match up with the peak selling season of Sept-Dec.

2. Bigger ticket items can move on the internet. But, it takes time to put together the listings, which means cost to the estate, and for newer times, buyers expect things in perfect working condition, so a fair amount of returns or discounts after sale.

3. There a lot of people who were "collecting" everything offered from the 70's-90's. That means there's often a lot of product to move, to a small target interested in the era, so it means a lot of $5 rolling stock and $20-$40 engines.

If anybody is looking to sell, I'd recommend patience. Try to enjoy the process of selling as much as the process of acquiring. It's harder when it's your collection, but there can still be a chance to get out, and meet some train folks.

Tim

I was just at a train garage sale, the seller was a hobby shop owner but closed down 2 yrs ago.  He had the MTH premier 41' flat cars with a Sherman tank on it for $120 each!!   They sold for $69 when new.  I would like a few but not at that price. 

Let me start off by saying that I have been collecting Lionel postwar for about 42 years.  Things haven't changed much in that time as far as expectations of sellers go.  Most stuff, given the condition that it is in, is vastly overrated and overpriced.  The term "mint" is still used excessively on almost ALL auction and websites. Most of the "mint" stuff has long ago been snapped up by the most discriminating of collectors.  

I liken the model train sales to those of the real estate industry.........although there is a vast difference in pricing, the principle is still the same.......pull a figure out of a hat,  throw it "out there" and see who goes for it.

Invariably, somebody will think it's a steal and pay the asking price, where the majority of people think the price is insane, and shake their heads at the prospect of something selling for THAT asking price.

Then, as now, people try to recover the extreme price they have paid, PLUS a markup.  That is still happening today.  It's been discussed a thousand times before.  The bubble continues, in both the train AND real estate markets......witness some of the specialty auction results and the insane property sale results. (Here in Canada, that is showing up in the Toronto and Vancouver housing markets)  

When it will end, nobody seems to know.

There are going to be some train collectors that will say that the market is down....well, for the high-quality postwar items it definitely is NOT...the prices just keep climbing and the buyers just keep on buying.

Train meets or train shows as they are now referred as, seemed to have gone through an evolution.  It is probably quite obvious to anyone here who has been in the hobby since the '70s.  Back then most people selling at train meets seemed to be private individuals with a few dealers sprinkled in.  As time went by shows got more professional, for lack of a better term.  Prices also got more professional.....LOL   

I found that by getting to a train meet early on the first day, some good stuff could be had.  Likewise, waiting until the end of the second day, some good bargains could be had.  

In any case, there were always sellers who wanted a fortune for the items on their table.  Then just around the next isle there might be someone trying to get rid of stuff at any price.  It was a crap shoot, and still is.  

My best purchase of all time was purely accidental.  We happened into a jewelry store and through a conversation with the owner, found out they were moving and wanted to sell some trains.  This was back in 1981.  I wound up with a #675, Single motor GG1, 671 and a pair of F3 #2343 diesels.  Plus a complete 4 x12 platform with "O" gauge track, 022 switches and a ZW transformer.  Numerous freight cars were also in the mix.  All that for $250.00.  

Train meets or train shows as they are now referred as, seemed to have gone through an evolution.  It is probably quite obvious to anyone here who has been in the hobby since the '70s.  Back then most people selling at train meets seemed to be private individuals with a few dealers sprinkled in.  As time went by shows got more professional, for lack of a better term.  Prices also got more professional.....LOL  

That was my experience too. Other than a parts dealer, almost all the table holders at the meets I attended in the 1970's were fellow collectors and maybe a few operators. No dealers. No new merchandise. No displays or operating layouts. No families in attendance. The shows were strictly for the collector & operator. Any kids that were there were already into trains and participated in the buying / selling.  

I went to the Greenberg Show, saw a lot of neat stuff I couldn't afford, saw a few people I knew, met some new hobbyists, spent a few $$ on some goodies for me so, all in all, a good show and a good time. Some of this stuff is over analyzed- it is a market place, I don't care if the seller is just selling for kicks or making a living at it. If you want it, the price is right-buy it and enjoy. If not go home and watch TV.

For me, going to train shows were always a bunch of fun and laughs. Every time, I went I was went a group of fellows who were my best friends. Most times, we would stop for breakfast and on the way home, we would stop for a meal. On the way, we would talk about what we were looking for and on the way home we would talk about the people we saw and the good deals we got.  Life was great. When I go now, it's just to see old friends. And yes, If there is a store that sells fishing equipment in the area, I will stop. I can always use a new lure.

I get O-27 flatcars for 4-5 dollars in mint condition.