Would There Be Any Interest in Die-Cast Semi Tractor Trailers on the Forum?

Dennis,  The FOR SALE Forum is designed to handle something like this.  Pictures would help, not necessarily of each item, perhaps groups of ten.  Have some sort of measuring device against one of the models and if possible, the width.  From that, both O and S scale modelers may judge for themselves.  Depending on the details and size, the competition for pricing would be Athearn, ERTL, Winross, etc.  I don't know what she considers 'low ball'  How much time and effort does she want to put into photographing, pricing, packing and shipping?  What is she going to do with those that have not sold within one year? Five dollars apiece may be a low ball offer and two dollars apiece may be over pricing them.  Just things to consider. John

From what you write, the trucks are probably those which were made by Winross for trucking companies as promotional items.  They are about the same size(scale) as the trucks made with the Lionel names.  At one time, they were very collectable  -- some company names still are  -- but most are available for minimal prices.  Probably why the auction house was not interested.

If they are 1/64 die cast trucks they are most likely AHL. Since AHL is long out of business these do have value. While there are some exceptions for rarity most are worth around the original retail price. The tag on the box in the picture is about what I could get selling it at retail. I have what I believe to be a complete list of all the trucks made by AHL, it is a long list. There are multiple cab brands such as Ford, Mack etc., and different trailer styles with many different names plus single chassis trucks. These are the nicest trucks ever made in S scale and there is some demand from S gauge operators.

Most are Winross, PEM - Precision Engineer Models (very nicely detailed items!), and Ertl.  The Winross are numbered sets and I do not know if they are complete, although my suspicion is that there are complete sets.  The deceased worked for Roadway.  The widow does not wish to do anything such as pricing, etc. as that is outside of her abilities.  Thus, she asked me to help.

The lowball was $300 for the entire collection.  She thought, and fairly I think, that they are worth more than $2 apiece.

It would be nice if there was a list that included some description, manufacturer and most importantly scale.  As for me 1/64 (which also include the early non scale Lionel) are of no interest, but 1/43 (maybe) and 1/48-1/50 (definitely).

FYI  common 1/64 is AHL, Winross, Diecast Promotion and (approximately) earlier Lionel

Only if they are 1/48!

@dennish posted:

The lowball was $300 for the entire collection.  She thought, and fairly I think, that they are worth more than $2 apiece.

They may well be.  Who is going to get one hundred fifty shipping cartons for one hundred fifty single unit buyers, packiing material, take them to the post office as the orders are paid for and at the worse case, handle the claims?  And what does she want to do with the twenty-five still on the shelf after one year?  And every time she looks at one she will be reminded of her husband.  Is that a way to grieve? At fifteen dollars(net) per unit that is only $2250.  How much time and grief does she want to expend for $2250?

If you want to get involved, take photos of ten or them and post them in the FOR SALE Forum and see what happens.

John

As I long time S gauge (1/64) collector and operator I will give you my analysis, which may not worth much. By far the largest pool of buyers of 1/64 scale vehicles are S gauge operators. 80% of those are still running Gilbert trains and only want vehicles from the late 1940's to the early 1960's. That is why the AHL trucks sell quickly at low prices (avg about $14 retail.) The Winross and PEM trucks are mostly the wrong era for S gauge operators plus the PEM price point is too high for the Gilbert operators.

I think $2 per truck is a bit low but I suspect the buyer who made the offer figures these will sit in inventory a while until they resell. I inquired a couple of years ago about wholesaling off around half of my AHL collection. I have about 300 of them. He indicated about $6 each for the 150 because he knew he could sell them quickly at double that.

With packaging saying," AHL", shown, brand should not be in question.  Ones l have seen for sale,  were early (pre- 1940) cabs and box trucks of a variety of interesting makes l could only wish were available in 1/43-1/48.  This was one plus the S-gaugers had over O, a variety of period trucks available.  When did AHL go out of business?

AHL was owned by Hartoy. Hartoy sold the brand to Tonkin Replica's in 2003. All AHL trucks were discontinued at that time. Tonkin began producing trucks using the old AHL castings painted in lesser known or fictional road names. After about two years of production no more were made. Tonkin also owns PEM.

Since her husband worked for a trucking company, maybe an appropriate tribute would be to donate the collection to a trucking-themed museum or historical society. An internet search turned up a few such candidates:

https://aths.org/

https://iowa80truckingmuseum.com/

https://www.nussgrp.com/the-tr...-doors-in-rochester/

https://www.goldenagetruckmuseum.com/

https://motortransportmuseum.org/

Thank you all for the input.  I figured trying to move them on an individual basis would be quite a bit of time and work.  Not sure what I am going to do yet.

@dennish posted:

Thank you all for the input.  I figured trying to move them on an individual basis would be quite a bit of time and work.  Not sure what I am going to do yet.

Dennis, I started a long winded reply and decided to keep it short; this is my second attempt. 😁  I wouldn’t mess with them. I’d politely excuse myself from the situation. Trust me, voice of experience.
Steve

I went to eBay completed listings and was surprised at the sold prices when you include shipping costs.  Most prices were in the 20 dollar range or higher.   How hard could it be for this woman to get a table at a toy or train show and price them at 10 bucks a piece. Do a couple of shows and then donate anything that doesn’t sell to “Toys for Tots” at Christmas or donate the whole Collection to “Toys for Tots”  and make a lot of underprivileged children very happy.  Her husband would probably be smiling as he looks down, knowing the happiness his trucks will bring to these kids.

Call other auction houses some will even pickup her collection for a price. Try cabin fever auctions. I believe they are a sponsor and do pickup collections from all over the country. An auction house is probably her easiest option and unless she is willing to sell them piece by piece which could take years is her best option

Call other auction houses some will even pickup her collection for a price. Try cabin fever auctions. I believe they are a sponsor and do pickup collections from all over the country. An auction house is probably her easiest option and unless she is willing to sell them piece by piece which could take years is her best option

I second this route. Once a month Cabin Fever does a toy sale.

I’m sad to say that most of the Winross trucks aren’t going to bring a lot of money. The collectors will probably give you $20 a piece if you’re lucky. I sold my collection of Winross about 6 years ago and it was a tuff sell even with them being in pristine condition in boxes. Good luck with the sale.

Look for a model railroad club in your area and see if they have a swap meet.

We have Beat The Heat here in Central Arizona.  It cost me $25.00 for  six foot table ($20.00 each additional table...I got three all together).

I got three tables and put a whole mess of old Marx and Plasticville stuff out and about 150 die cast, tin plate , and plastic cars and trucks, some of it frankly not in very good shape.  After deducting my fee for entering, a couple of box lunches (won't do that again), donating an old 2-4-2 loco and tender to a little kid who didn't have any money, I netted $502.00.

BTW, the boy's momma came back and bought a  little transformer and a caboose from me, some Marx 027 track and a couple of switches from the guy next table over and I threw in a Marx whistling station.

Odds pretty good are he'll be back next year and we can add a new railroader to our roster.

Dennis if you can send me some kind of list I may be interested in purchasing the lot for a reasonable price. I collect die cast trucks of several scales and eras.  My email is in my profile.

@RideTheRails posted:

Dennis, I started a long winded reply and decided to keep it short; this is my second attempt. 😁  I wouldn’t mess with them. I’d politely excuse myself from the situation. Trust me, voice of experience.
Steve

I second this. As others have said, Cain Fever, Trainz, etc is the way to go.

Brendan

My Lionel trailers are ok but the K-Line ones have metal rot. You might want to check them before selling, regardless of the brand.

Rick,

I'll see what I can do in terms of a list.

Thanks,

Dennis