I am aDC only guy .I would buy the engines as is . Then I would domy own lighting add weight or other modifications. If I was DCC I think I would rather do my own mods and DCC that would be of my choice.
I’m a DCC guy and have no problem installing my own decoders. I would rather buy non decoder over a user installed. I’ve seen too many rats nest from people trying to install their own.
I’m starting to standardize on Loksound decoders. While I have decoders from every manufacturer except for Digitrax, I am really trying to set all my sound decoders up to standardize the functions. I also like to keep as much weight in a locomotive as possible.
What I see nany sellers, both on eBay and specialty lists like LEMswap, doing is provide the options on top of the final price: the buyer contacts you through Messages or whatever, says they want DCC and lights for the extra $$$, and sends the extra via PayPal or whatever as an added transaction.
I see many eBay listers providing a list of configured products with selections you make from a checklist; the displayed image then changes to reflect the choices you made (e.g. so you can see how a watch looks in rose gold with a white dial and brown strap).
I don’t know how to code that, nor how much the listing cost increases when you do; I just know it’s possible.
Once you do all the upgrades you will arrive at a price that you’d like to sell the loco for. But what you’re really selling is old stock with lipstick.
Someone will look at the engine and do some mental gyrations to make a purchase decision between what you are offering and what a more highly detailed loco would cost.
I’m not sure what you mean when you say a negative return. On what? The initial outlay? Sentimental value? You need the money (and don’t just want to see if you can recoup some of your cash purchase prices)? Your time, even if on ‘improvements’?
I think looking around at similar offerings, hopefully finding truthful final bids/selling prices, and then knowing the comparative rarity and draw for those items is going to be time well spent if you’d just like to recoup some of your orignal costs and some of your time. I suspect, as it seems from other responses so far, the market is likely to comprise do-it-yourselfers who know the value of those items, are familiar with them, and would at least like them for parts if nothing else, now 30 years into histories of using them.
I do wish you success. Might take a few weeks, but it shouldn’t be very tough moving almost all of it if it has any parts value, or still looks and runs well with a bit of cleanup and re-lubing.
When I began my current layout over 20 years ago and decided to go DCC, the plan was to convert my old roster, mostly Athearn BB diesels and Rivarossi steamers to DCC. Instead I ended up buying new locos, either with factory installed decoders or DCC ready and never did a conversion for my old DC locos. I recently sold all my Athearn diesels to my LHS for not a lot of money. I probably could have got more through ebay but didn’t want to bother with the hassle. I think my Rivarossi steamers would fetch a better price and worth the effort to sell them online. To answer your question, if I had an interest in converting old DC locos to DCC, I would have done it with my own. I think your best bet is to sell them as is to someone who is still running DC locos. There’s still quite a few of them. I don’t know what the percentage is of DC vs. DCC, but I’d better you’d have more interest from the DC guys than the DCC guys.
Being a DCC person an engine has to have a decoder or be plug and play. With the price of engines now, unless you have something special to make it worth converting it is not worth converting. There are a few exceptions like a Kato NW2 and super detailed units.
I would never buy a locomotive that has had DCC installed aftermarket. I would rather do my own decoder installations. Whatever price differences there are do not concern me.
No. A decoder will cost me $20, and if it’s DCC-ready I can just plug it in. If it’s not a DCC-ready locomotive, I don’t know the skill level of the installer nor the quality of the installation job – in fact for that reason I’m less likely to buy a locomotive with DCC.
No. I actually prefer the look of incandescent bulbs (though the latest LED-equipped Athearns I’ve seen look pretty good).
Nope. Same reasons as above. $85-$100 for a decoder and $15 or so for a speaker, right?
And incidentally, $150 is about my target price for used DCC locomotives with factory-installed sound. I’ve bought several new for that price or cheaper.
Yes, that’s the one! I much prefer to buy locomotives that have been unmolested, unless it’s something I can test and inspect before I buy.
Hope this helps (and when you sell I’d be intereted in seeing the list).
I’ve had considerable experience selling MR stuff on Ebay, with about 500 auctions in the last 20 years. All of the auctions were started off with the absolute least amount I would accept for said item. Most ended up selling for more, some a lot more. The thing is, they all sold.
In the process I’ve found that even as a “knowledgeable” seller, I really didn’t have a good feel for what would sell for how much. It’s all about timing, supply/demand, and all the factors of the item itself (i.e. condition, road, etc.).
Don, I am aware of your electronics skills, so I would trust you to install decoders for me. But, to buyers on eBay, you are just another seller. So, my answer to all of your questions is No, I would not pay the prices you suggest.
As both a buyer and seller on eBay for 22 years now, I have always shied away from buying used locomotives unless the decoder is factory installed. As a seller, I have sold DCC Ready locomotives with non-sound decoders that I have installed, but not at the price markup that you have suggested.
When I sell locomotives, I list them as Buy It Now, and my asking price is 70% of what I paid for them. If they were originally DCC Ready locomotives, I add 50% of the cost of the decoder and LED lighting to my asking price.
I always sell my used (pre-owned) locomotives using the Buy It Now feature. To my way of thinking, auctions are more risky. The auctions that generate the most bids are those that start at $0.99 or $9.99. But, the risk there is that the winning bid may be less than what you would have listed the locomotive as a Buy It Now Item. If you use the auction method and the starting bid is the minimum that you would accept, there will be far fewer bids in the usual situation or
Rich is correct, IMO. To a buyer, once the box is opened, its no longer NOS. Once the shell has been removed, the loco has been fiddled with by the previous owner.
OP should expect to get half the price he’s stated, at best, IMO. Expect to lose money on the components installed. Expect to get $0 for the labor it took to install the components. No buyer would know what the quality of the install would be.
Also, if OP gets a sales price that exceeds the cost of the loco, component, install etc., then the IRS might interpret OPs activities as a for-profit-business. In which case all revenues received would be subject to either income tax or capital gains taxes (less costs of course).
I suggest leaving the DCC ready locos as NOS as best as possible and sell them that way. Prices seem to be higher now more than ever, so OP might get back what he paid for them originally.
But, you never know what the market will bear. I’m just talking about expectations. But if you make money on the stuff, don’t sell them at a loss, then the excess revenue over cost is subject to tax, and Ebay will send you a 1099 for total revenues over $600 in 2022.
NIB stands for new-in-box, does it not? NOS is one I hadn’t seen before. I’m going to take a stab and guess it stands for new-off-shelf. If that is correct, how does that differ from NIB?
I’ve seen NOS around long before eBay. New Old Stock. I used to buy old car parts and it was a treat to find parts still in the original Delco cardstock “tins”.
I much prefer to buy locomotives that have been unmolested, unless it’s something I can test and inspect before I buy.