No need to close it…but we do need to get back to talking trains…or, at least, the original topic at hand. The current one is more appropriate for the Diner thread - Thanks.
Tom
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Here is the funny thing… We were going to buy a red Flex from Brandon Ford. I don’t recall the particulars on the car, but it was the only red Flex in stock anywhere in Florida.
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Brandon Ford has a big sign that says “Open 7 Days a Week”, and we drove up to get the car on Sunday, Mothers Day.
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We got there, Brandon Ford was closed for Mother’s day. I was all excited to buy a new car, and we drove by Ferman Chevrolet. They were open, and they had a red Impala in stock.
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That is why we don’t have a Flex.
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True story.
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-Kevin
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That “station wagon” was built on the exact same frame as the same year Malibu coupe and Monti Carlo, and had the suspension upgraded to those standards.
Don’t let body style or shape fool you, many cars are really the same underneath.
A 1968 NOVA and a 1968 Camaro - same suspenson and drive line.
A 1965 Mustang and a 1965 Falcon - same story.
My FORD FLEX pictured above is nearly mechanically identical to a FORD TAURUS SHO - same 3.5 liter Eccoboost engine, same 6 speed trans with paddle shifters, same suspension, just in a slightly longer, boxier body.
Looks do not make cars fast…
Sheldon
Well if it was upgraded for it OK then, my dad once did 90 in a Chrysler Town & Country…
Well this is our second FLEX, only because the first one got crunched. We loved it so much we found another with the same options as fast as we could. We could never go back to a low to the ground sedan, I’m spoiled.
Best car I have owned since I owned a Checker like this:
and this was our first FLEX:
Sheldon
Okay, let me try this again…
Can we get back to the original topic at hand? Thanks.
Tom
Sure Tom, but keep in mind two things.
The OP brought up cars and has been part of that conversation.
And his original question has been answered, not to mention the fact it is a topic that often goes off the rails on its own account…
Just saying…
Sheldon
Sheldon,
Despite who may or may not have brought up the topic about cars, it’s still “off-topic”. If we’re done discussing selling trains as a dealer or on ebay then let’s move on. If not - and someone has something else to add to the discussion - keep it going.
Tom
This can work, with a couple of provisos.
First, you have got to know the market COLD. Memorize every ad in MR from modeltrainstuff, TrainWorld, and Factory Direct Trains. Then go to Ebay and look at the auctions that SOLD. Not what is “for sale” – look at what SOLD. Because the SOLD auctions are the ones that tell you what people will actually pay.
Also, in this context, “not a lot of startup capital” means “a couple of thousand dollars,” not “forty three dollars and seventy-nine cents.” You see, I pay $30 to get my lawn mowed. So if you find an engine at a garage sale for $30 and sell it for $60, that’s nice… but it will take you more time to do that then it would to mow somebody’s lawn for $30.
So you need to have cash in hand to go into a closing store, or an estate sale, and offer a serious amount of cash. If my hobby store is closing, I’ve already had my sales and what’s left is likely the slow moving stuff. Closing stores often go down as far as 60% OFF retail price. So by the time the retail customers are done picking my bones, I just want it to be over. I will listen to somebody who is offering to take the whole thing, but after three months of watching my shop die, I am tired of playing onesie twosie. I want to be done.
Estate sales, Widder Jones just wants to get rid of this garage full of her late husband’s stuff. His friends have already taken what they wanted, and once again, she wants it GONE. She doesn’t want to fart around.
Good luck.
It’s great that you want to get into business and all but I don’t think that model trains would be the way to go anymore due to the fact that the hobby is in decline which I’m sure you realize. You might try to get into locomotive repair if you’re good with your hands. I know of several people right now that have locos that need work and I’m sure there are people here on the forum that do as well…
And here we go…
Yes it is a tough business, but there is no real evidence that the hobby is in “decline”.
The hobby has changed a lot in the last 20-25 years and is continuing to change.
Manufacturers have a long list of new conditions to consider.
The population in general is aging, so it follows that this population is aging even if new younger people enter this hobby.
This has never been a hobby for the poor, so it follows that many wait until they are more financially established before getting real deep into this hobby…
BUT, virtually every company that makes model trains is a relatively small privately held company. That means their sales numbers or total business value/volume is not public knowledge.
So we have no idea how big the market is, or is not. We have no idea if it has grown or shrank in the last 20 years. We don’t have any idea how many trains Athearn, Walthers, Atlas, Bowser, MTH, Broadway Limited, Rapido, Exact Rail, Accurail, etc, etc, are selling each year.
We only have a small insight into Bachmann as they are part of one of the few public companies, Kader in China. But their business volume represents what they make for their own Bachmann brand, and what they make for some of these others on the list above. None of those companies use Kader exclusively and the smaller contract manufacturers in China are also small private companies with no publis
People who say you can’t do it are all still working for a liveing, I first retired at 29. It dose not mater what buisness you go into and you can start with no money too but it will cost you. For your specific idea using trains to make money, yes you can make it work but it will mean long hours, I mean very long, you will have no free time! Now if you have money you can spend less time. For you I would sell things on e-bay and take a 20% cut of what it sells for, the more you do the more you make. Have a freind who dose my stuff, he dose it for alot of people and he looks for deals also on things so he can make all the profit. You then get enough capital to play with the big boys.
I’ve sold stuff on Ebay for people and know a couple folks who do it full time.
Yes, 20% is the ABSOLUTE minimum you should charge. And don’t forget shipping and handling, and it takes time to pack something well.
And that extra handling cost could cost you a sale…Just shipping charges is the better deal maker.
With today’s shipping peanuts it a matter of seconds to pack something well.Even stuffing newspapers and adding sales flyers into a box takes seconds. Does anybody use paper these days?
Almost any business, even a small part time Ebay business is going to have at least 10% overhead and more likely something close to 20%.
That means to make any money at all you need a 30-35% gross margin, and 40% would be better.
Example:
You buy item for $60.00
You sell item for $100.00
Your overhead:
packing materials, Ebay fees, PayPal fees, etc = $20
Your net profit = $20, or 20% of your gross sales.
Much less than that and you are wasting your time.
But what would I know, I have run a model train department in a hobby shop, sold MATCO TOOLS fro 8 years, sold my own custom tractor parts on Ebay, and been self employed in design and construction for the last 20 years.
Sheldon
Plus, you’d have to include in the overhead some sort of cost/factor for all those times you bought something for $60.00 but it did not sell for $100.00; especially those times it did not sell for even $60.00.
Robert
Oh, and I’m sure you realize if you have been around for very long that people have been saying the hobby has been in decline at least since the 1970’s. Good grief, the horse was beaten dead a long time ago and is not only decay’d and a skeleton, but a distant memory. [D)]
Its been said “What’s the fastest way to become a millionaire?”
Answer: Start out as a billioniare. And then buy yourself an airline!
Let’s see if I got this right…You are going to need to buy packing peanuts every time you ship? Why not buy bulk and save? Recycle the peanuts you get when you order something. I have three large garbage bags worth at zero cost.
I sold some excess models on e-bay several times and made money.
I may not be a business man but,I know how to make money on e-Bay or train shows.
You can get USPS shipping boxes at no charge and your friendly mail carrier will drop the boxes off at your house and pick them up when they are ready to ship.
All that is well and good Larry, but you will still have some expenses in that area. Of course you will buy those supplies bulk, and take advantage of free boxes and packing where you can, but you will still have costs.
I’ve been selling tractor parts (and other stuff) on Ebay for years, I know all the tricks, but you will still have costs.
Sheldon