Selling Strategy -- YMMV!

I've always wanted my own aircraft carrier. 

I agree from my dozen or so sales here on the forum that just including the shipping price in the total sale price would be helpful.  I have been quoting a price based on experience and always ended up a few dollars short which I didn't worry about.  It's just easier.  Moving forward I will just post a price with shipping included. 

I hate when sellers group stuff together. Usually I want one item but not the rest, and they refuse to break up grouping. So I move on.

Agreed.   If I see a grouping of things together (except for a set of generic box cars),  I won't even consider it.  Why pay even $1.00 for something you don't want?   It also creates the impression that the Seller is trying to either "upsell" you, or dump unsellable or unpopular items on you.

I think the majority of folks want to creatively invent their own groupings on their layout.

Mannyrock

@Don Merz 070317 posted:

Next, shipping cost puts off many buyers. Add it to your price, give them a discount on the total and say FREE SHIPPING. Buyers like FREE even though in their heart they know the truth.

The problem with offering free shipping on anything heavy is the shipping costs vary widely based on the destination.  A steam locomotive that weighs in at around 20# costs around $20 shipped on the East coast to a nearby state, and more like $70 shipped to California!  If I kick the price $70, I lose a lot of nearby sales.  If I kick the price by $20, I end up offering it at a big discount.

Selling is primarily about price. Over the last 5 years I was able to sell all of my Z,N,HO,S, & unwanted O  gauge trains either here, at a show, or on the big auction site within less than a week of listing them by following one of two simple rules:

1) Price it fairly which is usually 10% - 20% less than comparable sold prices I can find listed elsewhere. This rule I apply to only to hard to find pristine items.

2) Otherwise I price it at a price I would be willing to pay for it either at a show or online (including shipping); and FYI, I am notoriously frugal, or as a dear old Scotch friend used to say, "It's easier to save than it is to earn". Within the last month I sold all my standard gauge track & switches at a show before i was able to get it all displayed - it was priced right.

After all, remember we are selling it because we no longer want or have a use for it. Trains are a hobby, ie expenditure and not an investment. If we golf as a hobby and a downpour makes the course unplayable after the 15th hole do we ask for our green fees back? If we ski as a hobby and sprain an ankle midday and can no longer ski the remainder of the day, do we ask for a refund on our lift ticket?

Good Topic Don! Great tips.

I would add some suggestions for people listing items for sale on the forum:

1. Include photos. So many listings do not, and many of these listings return with reduced pricing, yet still no picture.

2. Proof read your listing. Common mistakes include not listing a price, misspelled words (yes, even though this site has auto-correction and grammar checking), and not indicating the basics - shipping, and preferred payment method.

3. Include photos.

4. Try to refrain from setting conditions of the transaction as the lead paragraph of your listing. Bold and italic text may indicate something important to you, but it could distract from the intention of the message to the browsing buyer, which is for them to buy your trains, etc.

5. Include photos.

6. Try keeping the listing to six items or less. Smaller posts (of course with photos) showcase the items more effectively.

The forum is a great place to sell and buy stuff. The For Sale or Trade section is checked often. I’ve had nothing but great experiences.

John

If using PayPal or other payment processors, understand how they work, any applicable hold times, and abide by their TOS/User Agreement (ie. Don't ask for F&F for forum sales - "You must not use the “send money to a friend or family member” feature in your PayPal account when you are paying for goods or services." This can cost you and the other party a $2500 PayPal fine and invite further investigations) - simply add the 2.9% + 30¢ or ask the buyer to cover the fees in that amount. Also, don't mess with the tax man, but don't fear them either for low volumes.

Mine is a full proof plan: DIE & let the kids deal with it..........

Great suggestions.  I will continue to sell online, but from now on (thank you) my desired price will be combined with shipping and I will always provide photos.  In this forum I see items For Sale, or Wanted, and the only identification is a road name or a manufacturer ID number, and I have no idea what the items looks like, whether I have it or want it.  And also from this thread, I will remember that the objective is to remove the item from my household, to make room for more or otherwise share my treasures and not to seek profits.  If my pure chance I was to profit, I will self-forgive.  Thanks again for the suggestions, good stuff.

Modeltrainsparts has the exact philosophy that I do when it comes to selling.

If you are going to sell it, then sell it.  Don't play around with it.

In my other hobby, I see some old guys hauling the same stuff over and over to 3 or 4 shows, instead of pricing it 5 to 10 % below a reasonable price.

I have come to think that most of the folks like this just like going to shows and sitting around all day talking to people, and that the stuff on their table is just window dressing.  If some sucker comes along once in a while and pays too much,  then they feel like they've made a big score.

Mannyrock

Interesting.  I was headed to eBay with my SDP35, but I'll try here first.  Free shipping!

Don't need to sell anything. When I am gone my wife and her new 20 year old boyfriend will get the pleasure of tossing the trains in the trash. Wouldn't want to deprive them of that.

@Bill DeBrooke posted:

Mine is a full proof plan: DIE & let the kids deal with it..........

Someone here on OGR has a great signature that reads something like... My greatest fear is when I'm dead my Wife will sell my trains for what I told her I paid for them.

Wrong Choo Choo.

Your wife's new boyfriend will be 16, and will love running the trains, . . .if he can figure out how to turn the transformer on.

Mannyrock

@Mannyrock posted:

Wrong Choo Choo.

Your wife's new boyfriend will be 16, and will love running the trains, . . .if he can figure out how to turn the transformer on.

Mannyrock

He will try his phone first.  Then Facebook, Twitter, then gofundme.

Aussteve writes:

“He will try his phone first.  Then Facebook, Twitter, then gofundme”

Hahaha

When I was offloading a bunch of stuff on the Bay some years back, here's what worked for me: 

1) $1.00 opening bid.  Shipping separate; a lot of buyers just look at the bid amount going and bid accordingly. 

2) No reserve.  As mentioned above, this is an expenditure, not an investment.  Your objective is to get the stuff relocated to someone ELSE's table/shelf/basement. 

3) For maximum return, a ten day auction.  Time the start for Thursday evening around 10 PM Pacific time.   The auction will end on the second Sunday night at 10 Pacific time, catching bored Left Coasters wishing to do some last minute buying. 

YMMV. 

Mitch