I just returned home from a wonderful weekend away with my wife in the picturesque Ozark mountain town of Eureka Springs Arkansas. We got married there 13 years ago so this was a nice weekend break without the kids to unwind and be a little carefree. We spent some time browsing the local antique malls, which really is a misnomer as most of the stuff on display is far from antique. What amused me was the MRR stuff that was on display. A far from perfect HO scale Tyco caboose reduced from $11 to its bargain price of $7.50. Anything with Lionel on it autmatically gets 3 digits. It makes one wonder if anyone actually buys this stuff?
There’s always one thing I keep in mind when visiting antique stores (which my wife and I like doing): Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it isn’t junk.
I used to go to a local flea market, and a few local antique dealers would be there. I can recall seeing an Athearn heavyweight passenger car in its original box, for only $25.00. They were still available new at that time for about one third that amount. That made me wonder how such dealers price the rest of their “junque”; do they just pick a wild guess and use any price that pops into their head?
Simon,There is some Lionel worth 5 digets…One needs to know the value of Lionel as far as what item is worth what…Even new Lionel isn’t cheap.
I have found that a lot of antique dealers seem to be more afraid of under pricing than losing a sale. My favorite was the Stanley #48 plane that not only was missing all three cutters but the front half of the plane casting had broken off as well. Guy still had a $75 price tag on it!
Enjoy
Paul
My local antique store has a Walthers C&NW H10-44 for $75.00. I can’t afford a engine without detail parts or a box for that price. They also have a Proto 2000 Burlington GP30, but the cab is broken. That is $45. Anyone interiested???
Phil
HINT!!! to antique dealers. Just because it’s beat up and dirty, that doesn’t make it an antique!
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with some rolling stock that really is antique, but not for sale)
Just remember that last century’s antique stores and flea markets are this century’s eBay![:P]
There will always be sellers in each that don’t know the true value of an item.
A guy by me had a Tyco (shark nose) type unit. Gears gone, wheels broken. All the foot ladders broken off. Wanted $20. I offered him $1 for parts. He laughed. 3 years later, it’s in even worse shape. Been dropped a lot. Now it’s marked down to $1 but I don’t want to give it a home anymore.
I have to laugh when I watch Antiques Road Show. I want to vomit evey time I hear them say “folk art”($50,000 for a used corn whiskey jug[:O][xx(])
I use the “folk art” excuse with my wife all the time. If you had seen some of the stuff that the National Museum of American Art classifies as “folk art,” you would, too.
The Colorado Railroad Museum just helped me out by sending out a flier advertising an exhibit on “Model Railroading As Folk Art.”
Sadly, I don’t think that nonsense goes on only at antique malls or stores. I see it at most train shows as well. In my mind, if it was junk twenty or thirty years ago, it’s still junk today. And if it’s broken or has parts missing, it sure isn’t priceless.
Tom
Antique dealers are notorious for being clueless when it comes to trains. I’ve given more than a few of them some helpful hints on eBay, and they’re usually really grateful. Why do the uninformed often assume that any model train is a Lionel?
As far as train shows go, it always amuses me to see some of these guys that have old beater locos that look like they were dragged to every show for the past 15 years – you know the ones – broken handrails, chipped, cracked, dropped, and maybe flood damaged, and they want $45 for it. Then at the end of the show when it once again hasn’t sold, back into the box it goes, probably with the rest of his stock piled on top of it. This is what is known in the biz as the “antiquing process.” [D)]