Pricing of sets

How much the seller thinks the customer will pay, plus 20%.  While I agree some of the set prices are over the rainbow the rest of the problem is the freight some are asking.  I pass on items on a regular basis because of the freight.

Supply and demand. It's Christmas and people are looking to purchase sets as gifts.

I don't know but eBay some seller ae nuts selling sets for 500.00 that were originally only 300.00!!!

crazy !

Alan

Gouging. People know its close to Christmas and ebay can lead to compulsive purchasing to get those gifts for under the tree.

Having said that. Just because a seller has inflated the price of a set, doesn't mean anybody is purchasing it at that price.

Ona side note. There was a forum member with a Legacy polar express locomotive for sale on ebay. A bidding war pushed it up to nearly $13000.  Needless to say it ended up being relisted. I think it sold again for $5000 or something, and has been relisted yet again.

I've noticed other ads for the same loco get bid for rediculously high prices only to be relisted. Apparently buyers can play games nowadays too.

Wait until June or July. Trains will be much cheaper.

I was inquiring  what specific  sources are being used for pricing especially for postwar sets and or postwar accessories  Because of the pandemic people are selling .It seems as if the pricing is all over the board

That's a question only the seller could answer, I think. Of course, there are the guidebooks, like Greenberg's. Some people probably trying to get out of it what they paid for it x-number of years ago. A few dangling something expensive, looking for the big fish to come along.

That said, I have seen quite a few sets listed for what I would call 4:00 PM Friday at York Prices. Which makes me think that there a more than a few sellers on ebay who normally sell at shows, and know what price point they need to shoot for if they really want / need to move merchandise.

Then, the last couple years, prices at York were all over the place, too ... !

The best guide that I use for pricing my train items is to see what they are listed for on eBay.  It is the selling season for me, and I notice that unless you save something special prices are quite weak in O and HO gauges.  I tend to sell similar items in groups because it can be too much of a bother to list them individually.

A sad example is that I just sold a 4 pack of Lionel C&O extruded aluminum passenger cars for $81.00.  These were from the Mt. Clemens days. They are beautifully made and substantial in weight.

I really don't help sales prices either.  I'm looking to debulk my excessive collection so I price my stuff at the low end of the price range of what is listed.  I'm fortunate not to have to worry about the money.  I just can't leave my wife with a bunch of boxes in the attic and shelves loads of trains.

Way back, did I foresee the collapse of train prices?   Not really.  I don't think that I got caught up in the "it's a good investment" psychology except for early on.  My collection was more driven by the typical nostalgic drivers that propelled many of us to buy whatever wasn't nailed down.  I used to say that I'm a focused  limited collector.  Meaning that I limited it to only wanting ONE of everything.

Times change, and life goes on.

Alan