I have a friend who goes to local train shows. He looks for deals, buys them out of most or all of an item and then sells them on EBay. No license needed, and while he’s not setting the world on fire, he is making money and finding some things for his layout.
The key here is to know as much about the product as possible. Concentrate on one are, like vehicles, or certain freight cars. Know what the retail was or if it has the price tag on it and go from there…
Start small and build it up!
Neal
To have a successful business, there must be 3 specialties paving the way.
The first is a technical expert, one that knows the ins and outs of the product.
The second is a people person, one that can effectively deal with suppliers, employees, customers, etc.
The third is the money person, one that knows how to handle the accounting and logic and common sense of finances.
In very, very few cases does one person effectively cover all three of these areas. Usually, in “one man shops”, one of these areas is neglected, and will greatly shorten the lifespan of the endeavor.
Typically, it is the money man that is lacking. Time and time again I have seen folks with great ideas, great product, but no sense of financial planning or logic. The project is doomed for failure, often not lasting a couple of months.
I don’t think that the OP is worried about any of that stuff.
The idea here is to buy wholesale and sell retail on eBay.
As I consider this possibility, I ask myself, why Athearn?
I encounter buyers all the time on eBay looking to buy stuff cheap and resell it at a profit. You don’t need to limit yourself to reselling Athearn product on eBay.
Essentially, it would be a form of eBay arbitrage. Buy stuff for less and sell stuff for more. Might work,might not.
Rich
Here’s what I would do… I would attend closed LHS auctions, buy up modeler’s estates and would buy collections.
This would take investment money,you will need a pickup truck and enclosed utility trailer and would require commitment as a show dealer and e-bay dealer plus attending the afore mention auctions.
Be warned to do this you got to give up holding your wife’s apron string and letting go of your kids hands because you will be busy buying and then selling at train shows and e-Bay. There is money in it but,you gotta learn to be competitive in your pricing…Did I mention you start in the hole(table rental) and the not so tasty food? How about getting up at 4 am to head out to the show or maybe having the need to rent a motel room? How about doing two shows every weekend or doing a three day show? Having fun yet?
Its not a life style most folk would care to choose.
Larry, the OP has no wife and kits - thats probably a ways off. Still at home in his parents house and AFAIK, no car, no drivers license and very little funds - basically how I was when I was sixteen or seventeen.
It’s good to have grand plans of course, but one has to be realistic on what can be accomplished while under those circumstances. But, you gotta start somewhere, but it might not happen so quickly. Patience grasshopper.
I’ve been looking for a deal on CV bridges on Ebay. Very rare. $33 at MTS
Most often they start in the mid 30’s and trend to the mid $40’s One guy wants $60 with free shipping. The guys selling in the high 40’s and 50’s could be making more money, but maybe they aren’t selling any or just one or two a year.
How do you think Mom and Pop stores lasted decades and some of those folk didn’t even have a high school diploma.
Starting a small business doesn’t require a business degree it does require lots of commitment.
I’ve seen Asian restaurants where the owners could barely speak english yet the resturant was packed with customers…
That’s true, I have no drivers license (no permit for that matter), car I have one that I purchased (it just doesn’t have an engine, transmission, or interior), funds yes I am in a bit of a money pinch right now, that’s the reason I am trying to start a low investment business…
As I said my dad used to buy a case of a dozen action figures, list them on ebay, on would go for a fortune, the rest not so much, you’d make what you paid and at least 50% more, a case was only about 50 bucks so it might be the ticket…
I really appreciate everyone’s responses
Its tough to make money by just being a middle-man…buying from one group just to turn around and sell to another, without adding any value to the product. That business model is disappearing due to internet visibility and quick delivery of product. You need to have a huge investment to become the size you need to live off of low margin/high volume that’s becoming the norm.
You’d be better off as a cottage business adding value to the trains, which usuallly invovles a skill or talent.
Weathering models might be a nice way.
Buy from train shows, big lots on ebay to save shipping costs, estates, etc. If you learn how to properly weather these items, you may be able to triple or quadruple your purchase price. In this RTR world where modelers want to buy items ready to go, I see nicely weathered models sell on ebay at good prices quite frequently. Trains shows might be an outlet, but those patrons can be bottom feeders looking for you to give away the item.
Investment is only an airbrush, quality brushes, and paint/detail supplies.
Of course, you have to have talent and develop the skill; but you don’t need a lot of cash to get those things.
And in the end, you’ll probably only make enough money to finance your hobby or a few vacations. You’ll still need a “real” job to support your life when the time comes.
I fully undederstand that and think the kid has a lot of dreams right now.
I was mostly addressing the doom and gloom sayers. If one has the drive and some upfront money he/she can become a train show/e-Bay dealer and make money in the process…
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When I was fifteen I purchased a 1956 Chevrolet in similar condition.
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Oh the dreams I had for that car. I killed many weekends applying bondo and sanding bondo, then priming. That was all I could afford to do. I sold it when I was 18 in the same condition.
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I did not learn, later bought a Camaro and actually did some work on it, but ended up selling it at a loss.
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I bought a running 1966 Mercury when I was 16 and had that car for years. Paid $600.00 for it. I had it until after I was married.
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If you have plans for that car, that will eat up all your time. What about school and girls?
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Do they still have Junior Acheivement in schools anymore? That might be a good idea for you to get your feet wet.
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-Kevin
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I am homeschooled and in my parish (county) there aren’t any resources for us… I’m almost done though gonna be graduated in May,
If anyone is curious my car is a 69 Ford Mustang Coupe 302 Bullitt Green OE, got it for nothing and haven’t really had the money to invest…
So you’ve got a “Bullitt” with a 302? Just like Steve Mcqueens personal car? Uhhh…
It’s a 69 coupe, the Bullitt Mustang was a 68 fastback.
Mine doesn’t have an engine, transmission, interior… it’s just a bondoed body and frame, its OE or “Original Equipment” is a 302 and the paint was Bullitt or Hunter Green… I wanted a 69’ fastback with a big block frame to put a 460 in but I’m going to restore the coupe to OE condition when I have more money, and then I’m going to get a Fastback… I also want a convertible 67 Galaxie 500 for cruisin’ [(-D] one can dream[(-D]
BTW, I paid for it myself with my own savings, I was 13 at the time…[(-D]
When I was 18/19 I bought and restored/hot rodded this:
Here are few shots during the work:
It was not my first venture into auto mechanics, but my biggest project to that point.
It became my daily driver for the next 80,000 miles/7 years.
It’s specs:
1963 NOVA SS Convertible, SS convbertible only made that one year, NOVA convertibles only m
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Well…ince this has turned into an [#offtopic] car thread (which is an improvement), this is the 1966 Mercury S-55 I restored/rodded when I was 16-17 years old.
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This picture was taken when I was in college in Nashville way back in 1985, and is the only picture I have of the car. I wish I had some in-progress pictures.
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The Mercury had a 428 “Super Marauder” engine which was pretty much the same thing as a Cobra-Jet.
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Now my wife and I drive this, and like your Flex, it could be called a sleeper (can red cars be sleepers). It is also faster than my old hot rod. And… it has power seats, satelite radio, leather interior, CD player, airbags, navigation, and so on and so on. New cars are so much better.
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-Kevin
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My 2017 F150 with the twin turbo eco-boost could ALMOST have been a sleeper out off the lot, but it just wasn’t “there”… so I chipped it with a custom tune that is friendly with the cold weather in VT, new throttle body, increased the boost, upgraded the exhaust from the cat back, new downpipes for the exhaust, killed the auto-start/stop, and levelled the suspension. There is no longer any rev limiter or top-end cutout [:-^]
Kevin,
The new Impala is without question the best looking and overall nicest car GM has built in years.
For us, we need the extra room of the FLEX and prefer the upright seating and longer wheel base.
Like your Impala, the FLEX is loaded with goodies, memory seats/mirrors/pedals/stearing wheel, navigation, satellite radio we don’t even use, self parking, back up camera, power folding seats, glass vist roof, and on and on.
One of my other hot rods was a 1983 Malibu Wagon with an LT1 350, 350 turbo trans and a complete Monti Carlo SS handling package - I once got stopped by an officer on the Baltimore Beltway, going about 110. He did not give me a ticket, he just wanted to see what was in a station wagon that required him to go 135 to catch me…and then he told me to slow down…
Sheldon
When it comes to trucks, I needed an extended cab and 8’ bed which was not available in an F150 in 2015. So I bought this:
2015 F250, 6.2 liter gas, extended cab, 8’ bed, 4x4 - it replaced a 2000 F150 with 240,000 miles.
Not fast like the FLEX, but respectable for its 7500 lb weight with its six speed transmission.
Fuel consumption (economy is not a good word here) 12 mpg - up hill, down hill, loaded, empty, at 80 mph or 40 mph, and even pulling another 4,000 lbs - 12 mpg.
Already has 60,000 trouble free miles, tires, front brakes and oil changes the only maintenance so far.
And I have been self employed mst of my life - and the retail hobby business is the last business I would get into…
Sheldon
Sheldon, you are one brave fellow[(-D] 110 in a station wagon…[(-D]
If cars continue on the current path: auto braking, auto pilot, electric, all those fancy robotics… not me I won’t drive em, I want a key that I turn to start the engine, a shifter that has a position for each gear (PRND) no auto braking, self parking, self driving, don’t trust it… I stand pat on that…
My dad has a 1993 F-150 XLT extended cab short bed with a 5.0l 302 efi, that puppy will do 80 easy…
Moderators, please do not close this thread, it’s too much fun…