Train Show Selling

Greenberg shows by me charge $72. per table. Why not sell it here on the Forum......it's free.

Agreed.

The train shows in which I participate get around $30 per table. Why do a train show instead of selling though the mail?.........

The transactions are cleaner. No dealing with PayPal or checking. No having to pack and ship. No miscommunications over the item(s) being sold. The buyer looks it over, takes it to the test track, and decides whether to make the purchase. No issues over the description, photos, shipping damage, or what-have-you.

Looking at EBay to get an idea on values is always a good idea.
However, in my area, items don't sell at EBay prices.
Remember, EBay charges a commission on both the sale price, and the shipping. Then, if you accept PayPal payments, they charge another commission.

I've been selling at my local TCA show the last couple of years. I was moving a very big collection so I got 2 tables for about $50. Sometimes I'd sell a bunch, other times there were people just browsing. If you have real good prices it's the best way to move volume. Selling on the forum here is great, but emailing, packing, and bringing to the PO adds lots more hours than a day at the show. and the bay???? Best prices because you're dealing with a wide pool of buyers, but ends up costing 15% and they always side with buyers on disputes, so I've been ripped off a few times.

My $0.02

Tim

You better listen to Mark.I have spent a lot of time at train shows.I can't get over how many vendors spend a ten hour day and leave with the same amount of merchandise they came with.Sell it for  less.Get the Money Honey.Nick

What is your tolerance for sitting/standing on concrete for 5-6 hours as people handle your stuff, while you are missing out on the rest of the meet?  Table(s) + gas + time = a fairly substantial investment.  If you LIKE doing it, then by all means enjoy yourself, otherwise list the stuff on the forum or an online site.  Setting up at a meet makes for a long day.

Some of the train shows I go to the tables go for $25.00 or $30.00 a table. TCA meets can cost more, I usually do just the local train shows.

Like others mention it is better for selling because the buyer can see in person what he is buying. Sometimes you can find bargains or make a trade at a train show. I traded some Fastrack for an engine a few years ago.

Lee Fritz

For me, I have used the Forum Buy/Sell Board and Ebay. For run of the mill items I sell here, for high value items I list on Ebay to maximize value from the broader marker.

The best selling I witnessed at a show was here in the Chicago area at the monthly DuPage show. A guy got a table and had a huge fleet of three rail scale items for sale since he was leaving three rail and starting to model two rail. Some items had boxes, most did not. He had prices that were 1/3 to a 1/2 of original retail and he had a line backed up and he was stuffing his pockets with cash. Lesson: price it to move and you will have success at a show. He had the right attitude, was super friendly and he was cleared out after a couple of shows.

Shows are great for certain ticket items, the bigger the show the better. I have better luck on Ebay and here on the forum, but then you have to deal with the shipping hassle...

There are only a few shows left here in the Detroit area that are worth going to. The rest seem to be the same ole' same ole.

What is interesting is usually the big ticket items just don't move. But the little items if priced right get snapped up.

If you have any helpers, or ask anyone to watch your table while you take a break, make a list for them. The list should include:

-the description of the item

-the PRICE of the item

-whether it has a box or not

-most importantly, how low you will go if the buyer wants to haggle

I cannot tell you how many times I would have purchased something, but the wife/GF/friend/helper had no idea if the price was negotiable, or to what extent it was negotiable.

Help your helpers out. You want to sell, so give them some information and room to haggle.

Our tables down south go for a whopping $10 in the Memphis area. Our shows only bring in between 50 and 100 people depending on the time of the year. My table at the Nashville December TCA show cost $30,  but you are talking about close to 1,000 people walking through the door. I had several low end items to sale and I did ok.

I base my prices on what I originally paid for the item less 25% to 50%.  However I also stick to the idea that I can always come down, but never go up, and when leaving a train show it is always better to leave with some money as apposed to leaving with no money.

As mentioned above sellers who base their prices for items on their tables using EBay, or price guide books usually leave the train show with most of their inventory  intact.

Finally I remind my wife that when I spend money on new trains there will come a time when I can sell that train item for something, as apposed to the $100 +++ pair of shoes she bought at Massey's  

Hope this helps,

Richard

Ebay and shows, pros and cons with both.  I have tried them all and there is good advice above.  I quit selling at York because I was trapped at the table, when I'd rather shop, and tolerate selling through the mail more easily, even with the wrapping and shipping, but Ebay kept getting snottier.  Local shows for selling just don't seen to get the traffic...no Wheaton/Dupage here...

Check with Ben, at the NJHR, maybe there will be tables at Trainstock on the 16th.

Hi, our saying their is a open house on the January 16,2016 NJHR ?

Thanks, John

Done both.....sold here on the forum and at shows. No HUGE advantage to either....depends on many factors.  For me a train show is at least 2.5 hours away.....so a day long train show means I need to stay one night for sure. Table, food, gas and time add up. 

Selling via forum means Paypal or checks and MO, packing and tracking. 

So it depends on what you feel like doing and how far a show is away from home. 

Well, I just couldn't help myself, so I'll toss my 2 cents in as well. My Dad (sadly, I've been without him for 15 years ) and I used to be "weekend warriors" back about 20 or so years ago. We did shows in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and we even did Timonium once. We loved the shows and we did very well which kept us going for several years. Enter the "Tax Man" and we both decided that we couldn't survive as a hobby/business with Uncle Sam in our pockets. Fast forward to the last couple years and I've been selling the "stock" that was left over on Flea Bay. Yeah, there's the packing and all of the related "BS" but if you work it right (free boxes and free pick-up from the Post Office) you shouldn't have to leave the house.  As far as fees are concerned, think of the scope of buyers you are able to attract. I don't ship internationally, but that is an option that wouldn't normally be available at local shows (obviously).  Also, if you are a "Power Seller" (which require that you meet certain sales and performance standards ) you may be eligible for fee listings and discounts on certain fees. Sure, it's time consuming, but you can do it at your leisure and in the comfort of your home. Oh, one thing you'll not hear is, "Would ya take.....?  Bottom line, it's whatever works for you.

Chief Bob (Retired)

The larger the box, the harder it is to ship it. So, pack the biggest things you want to sell first.

Put a price on the box. I use post-its. Don't know about you, but if I don't see a price, it probably means the guy wants an arm-and-a-leg for it, and I can summarily skip right over it.

Don't do your research on pricing the morning of.

Don't put two of the identical items out on the table. Leave the second one either under the table, behind you, or in the car.

Have a plan how you are going to eat and use the washroom. That plan might be as easy as, "Say, would you mind watching my table while I take a short bathroom break?" Or go with a friend.

Southern division members pay $20 for a table at our shows. Attendance in the area of 400-500. Other Florida shows have tables for $25 to $50.  I believe the average is around $35.  There is a social aspect to selling at shows which can't be duplicated on EBay and is certainly worth the price of the tables.

Al

Appreciate all of the responses.  Not attending Trainstock, have to work that day.  Tried Craigslist once, that seems to work for bicycles and bike parts, not so much for train stuff.  My thought was if priced aggressively (ie buy my stuff prices) and it being after Christmas when interest is higher it might go away.  I also figured it would be save on a bunch of EBay fees.  The local shows are close, in one instance 15 minutes away, so travel is not an issue.  I work on my feet all day now, so working a show is no different, and I have no intention of being a regular seller, just want stuff gone.  I guess I could list it here except none of it is the modern scale stuff folks seem to want.  I noticed the older none command control items don't seem to generate any interest on the Buy/Sell list.  Thanks all, lots of food for thought.

At the Rocky Mountain Train Show (March 5th and 6th) tables start at $40.00 We are expecting 10,000 to 15,000 attendees. We are open to the public.

Aside from the plug for the show, I to have seen some items on the same sellers tables for years and others move 75% to 100% of what they bring. I always offer (as a joke) to help one of my friends load-out. He is one of the guys who sells everything .

Been there, done that. Went to shows, usually paid top dollar and sales tax from vendors who were reluctant to budge at reasonable offers and went home with their stuff. Not to mention entrance fee, gas, people coughing in my face, etc. Sold at shows. Paid for the table, set everything up with below market fair prices. Besieged by tire kickers and hagglers for hours. Either gave it away or took it home. Haven't been to a show in over fifteen years. Yes, there is the hassle of buying, selling and shipping on the forum and ebay but at least it is less painful from the comfort of home.

I prefer shows, because you can find cool stuff before the show opens and often get good deals among the table renters before the doors open to the unwashed masses. Some of my best deals have come from having a sales table at a show.

I agree that shipping and worrying that the other person is trying to rip you off is a real issue anymore. At least at a show, once you have money in hand, that's it and no other shoe will likely drop later. Can't say that for online deals... 

The Timonium show near me has a "White Elephant" table. They take 15%. I drop stuff off before the show, pick up the money and what's left at the end. I've been more than pleased with the results.

I also like train shows.  if i'm buying, I like to look right into the eye of the seller, ask questions and get a personal feel for the item.  Can't do that with internet transactions.  And, if I'm selling, I feel I owe it to the prospective buyer to be right there to answer his questions.   Twice I have purchased on the internet and twice I was disappointed.  No more!  I want to see it before I buy it.

Furthermore, I never consider it a "waste of time" to attend a show;  I always meet and talk with interesting people there.  Met some of the people I consider as good friends, at train shows.  And, as for not being able to walk the show myself, baloney.  I can leave my table for ten or fifteen minutes at a time, take a walk up and down one aisle and head back to my table.  Eventually I cover the the whole show and still managed to have made a few sales.

I do agree that you might not sell everything that you'd like at a train show.  Not all prospective buyers for you particular item might be in attendance.  But, where you might not be successful at one show, you just might be at the next.

Paul Fischer

Well, I enjoy train shows. I'm not a hermit. Selling by mail I've done a few times, and will do again. But why would you not want to go to a show, when practical, or, sometimes, even when marginally practical, and hang with your peeps.

Admittedly, at every train show, there is a rude jerk or two (I've met some of the nicest, and some of the rudest, people at train shows). I've been mentally cataloging them, lately. I always get some form of mad as a train show vendor. Gotta be one bad apple - as often as not, it's another vendor. But, that's just a detail.

Tables in the Mobile "region" (Mobile AL/Biloxi MS/Pensacola FL/New Orleans LA) tend toward the $18 - $25 range. The market is small, and most of what we call "shows" would be called "swap meets" by you dudes in the Train Belt. This hobby is just not much south of the Mason-Dixon, at least among the Native Southerners. I'm one of those, but at least half of my model RR acquaintences are transplanted Yankees (oh, the accents!) It's considered an activity that is a little...odd, by many.