The two best items that I purchased in all of my years going to train shows were a plastic model of a Jordon Spreader. Never knew any existed. All of the others were over priced brass models. It was overpriced, but it was so rare that purchased it. The other was a brand new Kato N scale three car stack trains set with six containers for $15.
In my area, the local train shows send out flyers to hobby shops and clubs for the event, which also have the contact info of the show sponsor. If one is on the fence about attending, due to distance, etc., you can call the sponsor and ask how many sellers/tables will be there, and about how many are dealing in your scale.
I’m generally open to new (to me) shows, and if there was not much for me in my scale, I’ll think twice about attending again, as the shows tend to have the same group of sellers every year.
Another factor is the state of completion that your layout is in. If its gotten to the “plywood pacific” stage" (all or most of the track is in place and running) train shows are a great place to accumulate the many buildings, freight and passenger cars, and detail items needed (cheap!). If still in the early stages - still building benchwork and laying track - maybe waiting til next year would better.
Jim
Sometimes you find great bargins at train shows, old and new stuff.
Sometimes, you find almost nothing, but can still enjoy the show itself.
But there are very few shows I have not gotten at least one thing at.
One of the fun things about train shows is often the “let the buyer beware” aspect of shopping; be sure to look inside of boxes! Sometimes I’ve bought a kit at a train show that seemed like a good deal, only to find the components inside incomplete, or something else entirely inside the box; other times, I’ve found extra stuff in the box! I bought an old Magnuson kit at a train show earlier this month, and when I went through the box last night I discovered that, while it did contain the kit advertised on the box with all its parts, it also included two other kits: a Magnuson “starter” kit (basically a sub HO scale retail store, as a way for people to learn how to handle & assemble resin kits) and an already-painted Leviathan Manufacturing kit (basically a “mini industry” kit still produced by Walthers in plastic), which even had glazed windows already, so I just glued the walls together and put it right on the layout! (I had a spot on the layout with an old handcar shed kit right next to another Leviathan kit that I had bashed into a double-width background building, adding the new one gives it a bit of “family” feel) So be sure to check those boxes for extras, or absences.
Hello All,
I agree with most that it can be hit-and-miss.
Going into a train show I set a budget. I use cash for transactions. I take a wide variety of bills; $1.00’s, $5.00’s, $10.00’s, and if my budget is big enough $20.00’s.
This gives me better bargaining power. Having the correct change might get you a bundled deal rather than the seller having to break a $20.00 for a $3.00 item. This also gives the seller much-needed change for their bank.
Most sellers will have some way to process your credit/debit card but that usually involves transaction fees that someone has to pay. With cash it’s immediate.
Also, be prepared to pay sales tax. Some sellers will charge sales tax while some will charge the as-marked price and pay the sales tax based on their gross sales.
Getting a 10% cash discount might just cover the sales tax that some sellers will charge. Also, not all cash transactions might be declared by the seller for tax purposes 
.
Knowing the “street price” or value of the item you are looking at is really helpful. At one train show I attended I offered the seller $30.00 for two used turnouts that he had marked at $17.00 apiece.
I knew that I could get the same turnouts for $18.00 each at my LHS brand new. The seller wouldn’t bargain so I passed up this “deal” which was no deal at all. The key thing is not to get “spending fever.”
On the other hand when you see a deal buy it then not later. I came across a mine structure kit for $5.00 (retail $25.00). I passed it up figuring I’d check out the rest o
All great advice, thank you.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone !
Many vendors will also take Paypal Friends and Family, which in person is not a big issue like it can be with an online purchase off someone you do not personally know. Just another option once you run out of cash. Most of the shows here in Indiana have an ATM on site or are close by where you could give the vendor a deposit then step out to go to the ATM nearby. Prices have been good locally, better than on ebay once shipping and other fees are figured in. The major ones locally are NMRA CID division shows. Peru, Indiana is a new twice a year show that started right after covid lock downs lifted and it is a really nice show. Another new one is Flora, Indiana. I was pleasently supprised by the turn out of both vendors and buyers at that show. They are out there, many only advertise at other shows or on facebook/word of mouth. For those posting they have no local shows, they are out there. Just not as easily found as in years past it seems. I didnt even know out the recent Ft Wayne Indiana show. So even I miss local ones at times.
Hello All,
Good point!
There are also other payment methods like Vinmo and Zell.
Although convenient, on-site ATMs often charge a fee.
I don’t like to use them because I have to pay for my money.
Hope this helps.
You can’t really judge a train show based on one experience (IMHO). I purchased things at a great price at train shows, but you have to know the market value of things. It’s very easy to fall into the “gotta-have” trap and over-spend.
Sometimes, you luck out with finding reputable people who are trustworthy and genuinely kind. They are out there! Just go for the experience and if you come out with advice and contacts, consider it a win! Get some stuff you didn’t expect is just icing on the proverbial cake.
I remember a local show, one of those with the vendors on the edges sitting on the bleachers because it was at a high school gym. I didn’t go for anything in particular, but I came home happy. I found an IHC steamer, new in the box, for a good price. I bought the engine and then found a Soundtraxx decoder for it. Like most of my purchases, I count the effort needed to bring it to my pike as part of the “play value,” so I started the project.
All went well, but the engine didn’t run. I contacted Soundtraxx, and they suggested sending the decoder back to them, which I did. It took a while, and I heard nothing. Eventually the tech sent an apologetic email that he got behind because he and his wife had a baby. As the father of a young girl, I told him no problem, the baby comes first. I got the decoder and it’s never been a problem since.
And I have this story AND a good engine because I went to a train show!
One of my favorite bargain hunting strategies is, when visiting a seller’s table, is to gather up several items that I’m interested in, and then say “Make me a deal!” The seller will always discount the total from the combined sticker prices. Usually I’ll accept the offer, but I’ll still have the option to make a counter offer should I so choose.
The chemistry here is that the perfect day for the seller would be to sell everything on the table, and go home with an empty box and a wallet full of cash. So he is motivated to discount prices to move the inventory. For me, I might include a few “iffy-items” - those that I need, but maybe not anytime soon.
After all, I want him to come back to next years train show!
Jim
There are two Ohio train shows that I really enjoy finding true bargains within. One is in the fall and is held at the fairgrounds near Cleveland, Ohio in Berea and the other is farther south in Amish country called Mount Hope.
When I am looking over my stash of model railroad goodies I like to recall the ‘bargains’ I’ve come home with. One fellow at a table saw me looking over his boxes of HO detail parts. I already had a few packages in my hands and he asked me “Do you use these detail parts?” Well, yeah, I do was my reply. “Twenty bucks for everything” he says. For everything in my hand, I ask. “Twenty bucks for everything in both boxes” he says.
Berea Detail Bargain by Edmund, on Flickr
I didn’t hesitate to get my money out fast enough. There were two boxes stuffed like this and I’ve used dozens of the parts on little projects already, probably saving lots of money plus, in some cases, these parts are impossible to find.
Sometimes brass engines are a good find as well. I was in search of an Overland ERIE gas electric ‘doodlebug’ like the one I remember at the Ohio Railway Museum and had been outbid several times at eBay (one going for $900!) when I stumbled across one at Mount Hope.
ERIE_Gas-electric by Edmund, on Flickr
He also had a New York Central K-5 pacific from Samhongsa —
NYC_K-5_Samhongsa by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/gmpullman/]Edm
I use the train shows, specifically at Allentown, PA, and Timonium, MD, to find new old stock items that stores in my area don’t have at prices often significantly below current Ebay prices.
So for me, the train shows have provided relative bargains even once food, gas, etc. is accounted for. Plus there is the cameraderie of attending with my buddies…
Like others stated it depends on what part of the country you are in. The Northeast along the I-95 corridor seem to have the best shows IMO from the Great Scale Train Show in Timonium, MD to the biannual TCA Show in York, PA, to the Amherset Show in MA.
The next best area is a vector encompassing Ohio-Chicago-St. Louis-Milwaukee, that part of the Midwest since it historically is a major rail corridor of East, West, and Southern railroads.
Other areas outside of those two areas I hear the most complaints from other modelers about train shows. Having lived in Florida for a few years the shows there were not that great and visiting my father there last year, the show in Deland was a fraction of the size it used to be! Used to be two buildings full of stuff but this time it could barely fill a gymnasium! Granted, the two areas mentioned have the greater chance to find things you want with more people and vendors available to choose from but another factor is what you model.
So if you want to see a good train show, I would recommend looking at the Northeas
I can’t vouch for the train shows in the East Coast, but I’ve been to train shows between California and Minnesota and practically all of them have a 60-40% or 70-30% sellers-to-layouts ratio. So the exhibition portion isn’t that insignificant.