selling my trains

Here is another dealer always looking for trains...

http://www.choochooauctions.com/cgi-bin/ua/main.pl

I have bought from them, but never sold anything there. They are in Florida...

Tom

This same conversation comes up from time to time between my wife and me.  No one in my immediate family is even remotely interested in my trains and I don't want to burden my wife with them when my time comes assuming mine comes before her's .  As of now the plan is to donate them and take a write off.  We are both 75 so things might change in the next  10 to15 yrs.

Trainz does a nice job.  Send them a few items to sell and see what you think.  As others have said expect to receive 20-30% of original value (if that).  I've sold a lot of post war through them and have received some bucks for items that I felt were worthless.  Good luck!

Bruce

Another point to consider, when leaving trains to the family is passing on the knowledge of how to operate and care for them.  That's if they want the trains.  Even if they don't documenting everything you have will be helpful to the next owner.  Ready to run trains are fairly simple to document with pictures and instructions.  Include your own hand written notes about the trains and what quirks they may have.  

My large scale trains are another issue.  I have converted every one of them to battery power with radio control.  Fortunately, the company I use for the R/C components is excellent at tech help.  However, I feel that instructions, clear photographs and videos would go a long way in helping the next owners to understand the trains and not get frustrated.  

Now, my next task will be to actually get started on my documentation.

Severn posted:

I found selling off my fast track [& some cars] of which I had several hundred linear feet and somewhere in the teens of switches to be ... Kinda fun. I used the ogr, eBay and online retailers to guess at a price. I did not sweat the "profits". I was more interested in finding good homes etc... I got quite good at guessing shipping and making boxes... From time to time I even would beat a flat rate box. Once or twice I cut some slack on shipping to the buyer because that's what I wanted to do... And eventually it was all gone. I tried to price it to get interest right away. The languishing ad .... languishes.

---

 

Exactly!!

Why burden anyone with "what to do with dads,or moms, (insert name), or uncle Bob's trains".

Sell it while YOU know WHAT it IS and what it's WORTH and WHERE to get the best price. ( You collect it,  you bought it, you're a savvy shopper.)

Local clubs are a great source of friendship and knowledge. Befriend a few people, ask for help...like you did here. Maybe partner up with another guy selling at a show or swap.

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT POINT:

DON'T send your trains to anybody...until you have been paid.

I once sold an engine to a well known "brick and mortar" in Florida. Sent it to them UPS INSURRED. Never got my money. Turns out they were well known for that tactic and ultimately went bankrupt.

You don't have to "give" your trains to anybody, and "wait" for stuff to sell, then "wait" to get paid. Using "online" selling, you get paid FIRST, before you ship.

Selling locally ( train shows , swap meets )you set the price and bargain "face to face"

You might be surprised how fast you can turn your trains into cash.

Like Severn said..."don't sweat the profits".

I just hot a great idea. If one needs to sell and is lucky enough to have a well to do local train buddy with a layout, maybe the train buddy will buy some of the sellers trains, and then the seller can visit his buddy and still run those same trains.

rockstars1989 posted:

I will die- my kids will sell my $40,000.00 collection for 5 grand get tattoos new cell phones and eat at Chipotle.And I got news...I AINT the only one. Nick

More like $10,000 for me and maybe they get a grand or two and buy some coffee and  dunkin donuts.

Right there with ya!

John Rowlen posted:

I am about to find out.  I have had enough disappointment in new O-gauge equipment and a lack of a commitment to have parts for the new engines.  I have been trying to get parts for new 21" passenger cars for five months.  I am going back to HO.  Of the 130 HO engines I purchased, only two did not work when I received them. One I fixed, and the other was DOA with no hope of resuscitation or resurrection.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

I will be selling on Ebay as (john.rowlen)  No hiding my name from buyers.  Ebays structure of accounting and payments is excellent in helping the seller keep sales organized.  The Ebay protection is good for buyers, offering protection from shipping damage and misrepresentation of items.  "Nobody makes money buying and selling trains today."  My personal collection was fun to create.  Selling it may take time. 

John i have followed your progress on detailing your 21" passenger cars and if you are indeed selling them, I would pay you top dollar for them. thanks and let me know

Rent a table at a train show and sell them. Greenberg/Allentown etc

My greatest fear is my wife will sell my trains for what I told her I paid for them.

Seriously, I have thousands of dollars in cigars, motorcycles, radio controlled airplanes, drag cars, trains and some smaller items. I doubt I will be worrying much after I die. My wife is into quilting and has a long arm quilting machine. $30,000 dollars. If she dies I don't consider it a burden to deal with these things, and she does not consider it a problem to deal with my hobbies. We are good with it. We enjoy it while we have it. Can't take it with us.

The more I think about it I think I'm taking them with me to continue the enjoyment in the after life.  I'll have my wife keep some back to pay for my tombstone.

Ted S posted:

Thanks @DGJONES for sharing your experience.  You said Trainz came to your house.  I wonder if they would come all the way to Texas?

Is anyone else on here aware of other "consignors" who will sell the trains for you, and remit to the original owner a percentage of the actual proceeds?  (As opposed to a dealer or auction house, that buys the whole collection "up front"?)  Good topic!

Ted, Trainz is located in Atlanta area.  When I contacted them about the trains I was planning to sell, they told me when their truck would be able to pick up and gave me a price for getting the merchandise to their facility which I though was reasonable.  When the van arrived as scheduled. the driver and his assistant loaded the product onto the van.  He mentioned that he had started the week on Sunday or Monday in New England and made a total of five stops before reaching me in North Carolina on his was back to Georgia.  As I recall, at one of the stops, they had to actually pack the trains before loading onto the truck.  In discussing the amount of time he spent on the road, He mentioned that he did go to California  for pickups.   Based on that, I would assume they would have not problem going to Texas if the collections were large enough.

Happy railroading,

Don

Excellent topic.  Am witness to that glazed over look of disinterest in my kids eye's when they (daughter and son-in-law) see my living room floor layout.  Will now leave instructions in my trust on what they are to do with that stuff; they will take the path of least burden.

I have a feeling that a lot more of our trains (and track and accessories) will end up in landfills than we imagine.

 

One more thought on this topic.

We mostly have more than one hobby, cars, guns, motorcycles, etc. All of these hobbies I hope we're able to enjoy until the day we drop dead. All of these hobbies and the stuff that goes with them have a financial investment aspect - not that they are worth more than one paid - but rather they have goods (cars, motorcycles, guns, boats, etc.) which can be sold to the benefit of our families.

Those that are saying throw the trains, layouts, etc., in the dumpster, would you / do you plan to do the same with other hobbies -- just sink the boat, roll the car to curb with a "FREE" sign on it, push the motorcycle into the street, build a bonfire in the yard and toss in the unloaded guns.

Train collections, at least most I've seen, have thousands to tens of thousands of dollars in resale value, not what was paid, but what they could be sold for, less commissions and cost of sale. We would not suggest that our families trash our other hobbies items -- again just sink the boat -- so why do the same with our trains?

My wife and I have discussed this and our answer is this. I do not gamble, drink or go out with the guys. I enjoy my trains as that is why I purchased them. As I get older I will enjoy them more as they are what I have besides my wife, that I will still be able to enjoy. I do not want or does she, to get rid of the enjoyment that I get from them. Hence they will be here as long as I live. After that the children and grandchildren get first dibs then a good friend who is just getting into the hobby at 48 years of age. Funny thing is I guess that is due to me since he is my boss. After that she knows to contact Stout, Trainsz and others that we have written out on a card. Her choice for the easiest and the children have been told to help. Nice to know that the children will most likely want to do it to spare her the trouble as she is in the hobby with me and does all the scenery. Good times have been had for both of us working on them and I thank the Good Lord for letting her and I share this hobby together. The children may not be interested but the know their responsibilities according to the good book of the Bible and will share the brunt of making sure all goes to good homes. This is why, as has been mentioned before here, you need to make it as easy as possible for your loved ones to disperse of your personal property and not leave a mess for them to try to figure out. I say enjoy them that is why you got into the hobby. For me the ultimate would be to die running them with my wife and knowing the Lord was there with us with a smile on his face.

I sold almost all my whole O gauge stuff to Trainz.  I gave them a list, they gave me a price.  Lionel trains and used Ross track from my layout.  They were very nice.  Carly and Chrissy. I said ok, deal.  A nice guy came with a truck and we loaded it up in no time.  I am very organized.  The driver gave me a check for half down, then after they inventoried what they picked up I got the other half.  The $4,500 came in handy at the time.  I bought some nice prewar standard gauge pieces just for fun and I have all I will ever need.  If I ever feel like buying anything again I’ll look for a green tank car and a cream cattle car with a maroon roof.  I’ll just say that isn’t a priority right now.  My Trainz experience was fine.  I though it was very professionally done.

From their commercial, I have surmised that Carly has the brown hair and Chrissy is the blonde.  Like I said, they were very nice and professional.  Good luck.

CincinnatiWestern posted:

One more thought on this topic.

We mostly have more than one hobby, cars, guns, motorcycles, etc. All of these hobbies I hope we're able to enjoy until the day we drop dead. All of these hobbies and the stuff that goes with them have a financial investment aspect - not that they are worth more than one paid - but rather they have goods (cars, motorcycles, guns, boats, etc.) which can be sold to the benefit of our families.

Those that are saying throw the trains, layouts, etc., in the dumpster, would you / do you plan to do the same with other hobbies -- just sink the boat, roll the car to curb with a "FREE" sign on it, push the motorcycle into the street, build a bonfire in the yard and toss in the unloaded guns.

Train collections, at least most I've seen, have thousands to tens of thousands of dollars in resale value, not what was paid, but what they could be sold for, less commissions and cost of sale. We would not suggest that our families trash our other hobbies items -- again just sink the boat -- so why do the same with our trains?

I couldn't agree more.  I love thinking's about who owned my Postwar trains before me.  The history is fun to think about, especially if any of that history can be documented.  I feel that I am only a caretaker of these toys (yes toys) for the next person.  It is my responsibility to take care of them and pass them on to others who might enjoy them more than I do.  I give some away every year to kids to help promote the hobby (usually start them in newer production or cheap but solid postwar and graduate them into the nicer postwar).  I even get to enjoy them for a time until they find a good home.  

Chris Sheldon

Grandma sold the collection to Gramps closest train pal for about 10% of it's value. Which was fine... till she realized he took things he souldnt have and refused to return some of them. Then the vulture sold the majority right away and pocketed all of the cash.

Adriatic posted:

Grandma sold the collection to Gramps closest train pal for about 10% of it's value. Which was fine... till she realized he took things he souldnt have and refused to return some of them. Then the vulture sold the majority right away and pocketed all of the cash.

No good deed goes unpunished !

Ted S posted:

Is anyone else on here aware of other "consignors" who will sell the trains for you, and remit to the original owner a percentage of the actual proceeds?  (As opposed to a dealer or auction house, that buys the whole collection "up front"?)  

Since you mentioned being in Texas, Clay Kinsner at Lone Star Trains near Tyler (clayk@lonestartrains.com, 210-389-4665) was agreeable to taking my collection on consignment when I inquired in early 2015.  Decided a DIY effort would be worth my while at the quoted 35-40% consignment fee (including all transaction and shipping costs). 

Adriatic posted:

Grandma sold the collection to Gramps closest train pal for about 10% of it's value. Which was fine... till she realized he took things he souldnt have and refused to return some of them. Then the vulture sold the majority right away and pocketed all of the cash.

Let's not forget these folks:

It began here:

https://ogrforum.com/...ette-auctions-closes

And is ongoing 

https://ogrforum.com/...th-multiple-felonies

wild mary posted:

The more I think about it I think I'm taking them with me to continue the enjoyment in the after life.  I'll have my wife keep some back to pay for my tombstone.

I would love to read the Back Story on this Stone. Did he do it himself, have it made, or is just trick photography? If it was made what did it cost?

Hey not derailing the thread at all.  Thanks for the info on the tombstone, very interesting.  

I have bought items from Trainz

Their auctions are like ebay.

Good pics, good description and grading. I pay right away when I win and they have packaged well and shipped fast w/ tracking. Had no problems. They seem to know the market.

 The thing to remember about an auction....not every piece can have a reserve. The auction house sets the opening bid. If there is not alot of interest that day, things sell cheap. Yes they advertise and email and mail registered bidders and known collectors. But if something else is going on, on the day of your auction..a car show,  a flea market, toy show, a major ongoing news event the auction might suffer. You could have something very rare but the market is soft and there are "other" very rare items to compete with.

Told you all my wristwatch story. My market was too limited, too local. Ebay would have given me a broader base of bidders and a longer duration for bidders. There are Ebay resellers who do consignments, again at 30%+.

I buy from Trainz off and on. I have had good results with them, I personally think there slow to get my order together but then again there doing lots of orders. It seems they only use smart post now ( I call it dumb post ) as I only live about 4 hours away, when they use to do straight fedex ground/home I would get it next day from when they shipped it. any more between them taking about 3 days to get my order shipped and smart post it a week or more for me to get my order. I have not sold them anything, But the only story I heard about was not pleasant. I do not know the final results but I do know that the party got about 1/2 of what they said, and this was a hobby shop closing, so most of it was new in box items. I haven't dealt with TrainCity as a seller either but have had great service from them as a buyer. I do know that he says never sell your trains on a consignment status. Who ever you sell to, sell with payment in full.  

I have already check around here and found out that the auction houses here charge 20%. I have gone to some of there auctions ( highly recommended) and see the trains bring a good return. Now I know there bought at whole sale so I kinda figured what the items are actually worth and after paying the 20% it seemed to me that the actual seller was getting real close if not over the 55% area. So that is how I plan to do it. I talked with one and they said they would for a fee come and get them all. ( The use of the truck and labor for two guys ) 

The only thing I would add is this.

Sell it as a package deal. Don't let someone come in and cherry-pick it and leave you with the items of least value.

I got bids for most all my postwar trains , except for my grandfather's present to me as a young child,  from a number of dealers. I sent an excel spreadsheet with all my items listed and any distinguishing features and a TCA type conservative estimate of condition.  My high bid was from Charles P. Siegal -  Cape Canaveral , Florida. I received his high bid in a check shortly after he received my trains. I boxed them up ( liquor store boxes for the most part ) , wrapped nicely, and he paid for shipping.  He is a serious buyer.  And as I said he gave me the best bid of the dealers ( no nickel or dimeing upon examination of the shipment ) and paid soon after receipt of shipment. I recommend him highly.  Charles advertises in a number of train magazines including " Classic Toy Trains. "