I am trying to sell my small Santa Fe brass collection to buy my little boy his first electric train for Christmas. How can I determine what the market value is of my small collection? I would also appreciate any information on who I could contact to buy/consign the items.
Thanks.
SantaFeFan
Check out Ebay to see what similar items go for. Put a watch on them until they’re sold.
Andre
You might also check with your LHS to see if they take consignments to sell the items. Unfortunately that does not help with setting a price on the items that will be attractive to you and potential buyers. Andre’s suggestion would be a start on establishing a good market price.
Will
To sell or consign try the following: Mitchell’s at www.mitchells.com, Don Black Trains at www.donblack.com, Piermont Division (a division of Dan’s Train Depot) I can’t find the url for Piermont right now (sorry), I have bought from these dealers and they all seemed to be a good bunch of folks to deal with. However you might get a better price on Ebay selling your collection yourself if you don’t want to sell to a dealer or consign your collection with one. If you Ebay it maybe do as anrdechapelon recommends and watch the auctions and see what is around and for how much, if you aren’t in a hurry to move your trains that is.
A word about using eBay as a barometer of brass prices. Although I, too, have sometimes recommended checking eBay for recent auction sales, the selling price for any given item can vary enormously from day to day and is far from being a true gauge of an item’s market value. I’ve seen brass locomotives go for much less than half their old, rather out-of-date, Brown Book value one day but nearly twice the published figure a week later. It often depends on who’s watching eBay that particular week.
My advice would be to get an idea of what the particular locos are listed for in the Brown Book (if earlier than 1994) before setting any minimal figure you are willing to accept and then check what the recent sales, over a month or two, of similar items may have brought. This should give you some very general idea of current value and selling prices. It must also be understood that interest in the brass market is steadily shrinking, with fewer and fewer individuals looking for older, less detailed, models. Items issued lately are holding their value far, far, better than older models. If your stuff is older, this will limit your potential customer base such that it may be necessary to list an item several times with a reasonable reserve before you get realistic bids.
CNJ831
Answer in short. As with all things, It is worth who ever is willing to pay the most for it at the time of sale. With the hobby disintigrating around us as we sit, I don’t expect trains, brass or otherwise to be worth much in a few years. meaning I can scavange the parts I need cheap.
James.