What would you offer for this lot of PW Trains?

I know I'm too young for you, even though I have many thousand purchases completed, but $300 I believe is about right. The Lackawanna is obviously to highest $ unit.

300 is a fair price in todays market   Amazes me how the price dropped out of postwar trains since ebay took over.  I sold my Lackawanna Trainmaster years ago for $450   Granted it was in better shape than that one and in the box with wrapper .

I think $300 is a pretty good deal.

the price is going to boil down to how bad do you want it, and how willing the seller is to part with it. If you are in love with the stuff, price is irrelevant, if the seller is in love with the stuff, you might have a hard road to hoe.... 

I've had the same Lackawanna since I was a young guy and its a beast of a puller. If it runs ok and the rest of the stuff looks pretty good I'd go for the $300.

Paul. It seems fair. When we get stuff at the club, we sell it through an auction house. Sometimes we get terrible returns and other times, pretty decent. They will not take any track or transformers.

I would ask 400, it's worth that much and you have some wiggle room.

IF the engines are in working condition.

If you get all of it for $300.00 you've done well.  If I was the seller I'd ask for $450.00 with a little wiggle room.

gotta start somewhere. Let us know how you make out.

I think you're in the ballpark, assuming that the Trainmaster doesn't have a crack under the screw hole. 

Thank you everyone for your input. I will let you know how I make out. 

Paul

Paul:

I just did a quick review of eBay "sold" listings and this is what it would cost you -- on average -- to replace each individual item.  Where I wrote "Bonus", it's an item that's either unclear, or an item that has no real value or which any seasoned collector doesn't necessarily need (e.g., the 1044 transformer, couple of stray lamp posts, etc.).  You'd just be taking those items off the guy's hands and leaving them under your train table.

Here is what I see.

2321-82 Lackawanna engine - $125
601 Seaboard Diesel Switcher engine - $50
6376 Circus car - $20
6460 Work crane - $25
3424 Brakeman car - $20
3494-275 Pennsylvania operating box car - (275 was the State of Maine car, I believe) - No idea
6417 Lehigh Valley caboose - $40 (scarcer than you'd think)
6814 First aid medical car w accessories - $50
6119-50 D. L. & W. brown work caboose - $25
3461Y Lumber car w 4 original logs - $35
6414-01 Automobile car w 4 original cars - $50
6362 Rail truck car, orange with trucks - $20
6462 NYC gondoal car - red - $20
3482 Operating milk car w accessories - $15
3356-150 Operating horse car & corral w 7 horses - $45
RW-70 110 watt multi-control transformer - Bonus
1044 90 watt transformer - Bonus
199 Microwave relay tower - $15
151 Semaphore tower - broken signal flag - $5
252 Crossing gate - $10
UCS Remote control track section - 3 - $15 (all three)
260 Illuminated bumper - $5
O22 Remote control switch track - 1 left, 1 right - $15
O42 Manual switch tack - 1 left, 1 rith - Bonus
145 Automatic gateman - $10
?? Automatic switch controller - 2 - ?
Lionel lap posts - 2 - Bonus
072-3 Marx lamp post set - Bonus
65 pieces 10" straight track - $20
13 pieces 11" curved track - $5
1 piece 6" curved track - Bonus

The above numbers assume, as you say, thatmost of the items have their original boxes.  I'm further assuming that most are in VG-Exc condition.

The numbers above sum to $660.  When I first saw your list, I thought $500.  If you can get it for $300, you've done quite well.  

He'd be well within his rights to start at $500.  So, if you settle at $400, you'll still be ok.  IMHO, the items to keep are the FM, the LV caboose, the 6414, and the 6814.

If you dusted them off sold the rest on eBay, you'd pay for the ones you kept.  If you brought them to York, those pieces would fly off your table at the prices listed above.

HTH.

Steven J. Serenska

Paul:

I forgot to ask: What's your purpose in buying these trains?  Are you looking to be a dealer and flip them?  Or are you looking to be a collector to keep them?

I gave you my quickie assessment of the cost of replacing those items above.  If you're looking to sell them, then $300 is about right. That would give you a markup of 100% which would pay you for your time and trouble.  If you're looking to keep a few of the nicer/rarer items, $350-400 would be good.

Let's discuss over beer on Tuesday.  

SJS

Nice looking trains, If your comfortable, offer him 250-300 maybe.  That said, there is something to be said for asking what they want first.  I worked for a shop owner who used to start that way (after he determined how high he would go) and he once ended up with a complete (in the box) US Marines set with the 45 missile launching engine for the price  of a couple of new LGB cars with sound.  I think he sold the set pretty quickly for $1200 plus.

Either way good luck!

Serenska posted:

Paul:

What's your purpose in buying these trains?  Are you looking to flip them?  Or are you looking to be a collector to keep them?

If you're looking to sell them, then $300 is about right. That would give you a markup of 100% which would pay you for your time and trouble.  If you're looking to keep a few of the nicer/rarer items, $350-400 would be good.

 

After reading your original post, this was exactly my own thought.  Ergo, I'll simply say to Serenska's post: "Ditto!"

KD