Does anyone know of a brass dealer or dealers who may have an Akane B&O EM-1 locomotive? I’ve been involved in bidding on three or four on Ebay but have been “sniped” at the last second (literally). Since they come along, hit or miss, I’m thinking of going a different route and trying to find a dealer with one.
Can anyone help? Thanks.
dlm
Dan:
On a chance, you might try:
All three of them have fairly large inventories of used and consignment brass locos–I’ve had pretty good luck with all three of them. Caboose Hobbies can be a little ‘pricey’ on some of their brass, but I’ve never bought one from them that didn’t work like a charm. I also mention Peach Creek shops in Maryland, because that’s where I found one of my Akane Yellowstones at a VERY reasonable price.
Good luck. I really hope you can find one. Those Akane mechanisms are almost indestructable!
Tom [:D]
Ebay concept is to bid a high price, unless the other bidder has put in a higher price, he get’s it. I usually bid $50.00 on a $10.00 item, this method has never failed, if the bids reach@ $10 or $15 I sort of back off and have to make a decision whether I want it or not. Snipers feel they can get the items in the last minute by bidding $1.00 more, beat them at their own game. Knowing the appproximate value or what you will bid is important, as you have seen bozos bidding astronomical prices for junk. Also, my dealings with brass dealers is positive, as brass is going down and many dealers guarantee and have a return policy on their products
I’ve tried several different strategies that have worked in the past, but not on these. I’m thinking that it is because of the overall higher price. $400+ is the most I’ve ever bid on anything. It’s hard to determine a maximum price at that level; when you are at $425, what is an additional $5 to get something you want?
A few weeks ago, there was one that I put a nice bid on… only about two hours later, someone came along and made about 15-16 consecutive $5 bids until he reached my price. I also wonder how many people have multiple accounts, get friends to bid or use some other methods to manipulate the auction. While Ebay has allowed a lot of us pick up some bargains as well as get rid of some of our excess stuff, it isn’t a perfect system by any means. But let’s not let this thread become a “whip on Ebay” thread… there are enough of those around already! : )
dlm
The back of MR usually has a large assortment of dealers. There is one in Lafayette, IN, Hawkins Rail Service, that you have to write but they were very courteous, I believe they still advertise in MR.
Rick Keil
Dan:
I could be wrong, but I would think in today’s brass market you should expect to pay anywhere from about $400-$475 for a used EM-1. I’m going by what my Akane Missabe Yellowstone cost me when I got it through Peach Creek a couple of years ago. And brass prices seem to be coming down a bit from what they were even back then.
As I said, I sure hope you can find one.
Tom [:D]
There’e one for sale on ebay (France) for $438.00 and 13 bids, even though the seller is in the U.S.
Hello DanMerkel, A couple more brass dealers you can try is Dan’s Train Depot, Don Black’s Brass Trains, they both have extensive websites and are regular sellers on ebay. I’ve dealt with both and haven’t had any problems with either. Other than some of the other previous poster’s recommendated dealers ebay will be the next best bet. The Akane DM&IR Yellowstones are more numerous on ebay (usually). Twhite’s rating on the Akane brand is spot on, I have a number of Akanes and outside of previous owner’s attempts at improvements(?) I rate them as the Timex of brass engines for durability and longevity. Price wise I had to pay in the $450-600 range for decent conditioned Akane articulateds (you aren’t going to get one in Canada for less than that barring a miracle).
Happy Hunting
Andrew
My French must not be that good… I couldn’t find it at all by searching Akane nor 2-8-8-4 Any chance you could post a link?
dlm
Cette enchere est terminee------------(it’s over) It sold for $431.53 and was picked off at the last minute, the ebay # is 390006471707.
Hmmm… when he first started the web site, Jack would answer email. Must have had more inquiries than he had sales. : (
dlm
: ( Guess I’ll have to keep on looking.
dlm