Need advice on where to sell somewhat rare (?) train.

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi! I’m helping my dad out. He ahs this train and would like to find a buyer who appreciate sit. Any advice on where to post a listing. I want to be sure to get a good price on it for him. It’s brand new condition, never been used and is in the original package in perfect condition. I believes it’s number 45 out of 55 sets.

info on the box:
UNITED SCALE MODELS
GOLDEN SPIKE CENTENNIAL
C. P. JUPITER
U. P. #119
Mfg. by Atlas Industries, Inc.
Kawaguchi, Japan

Exclusively for Pacific Fast Mail
Scale Model Locomotive HO scale
Infinitely Superior

Thanks! Jen

jrivaldo@babycrazy.com

2

EBay. If you are not confident, determine the minimum you will take for it and start your bidding at that point. There are collectors out there and if it is indeed rare, you will probably get a good price.

3

I agree with Chip, ebay is the way to go. If properly listed it will get the attention of the collectors and if rare, will become a high-bidding item.

4

Try to find a similar auction on eBay and see what the minimum bid is. I’d say about $200 would be a good starting point.

Bob DeWoody

5

You could also Google the info on the package to try and get more info on it and if it is rare or not. You might want to E-mail Atlas for more info.(Atlasrr.com)?

6

If it’s actually in the kind of shape you say it is, I’d make your minimum bid $500. Those sets were rare. I’ve seen them for sale in the $750+ price range.

Andre

7

I just checked out the original ad for these engines on the rear cover of the May 1969 issue of MR. They were originally $89.50 for the set.
Plugging that figure in to the consumer price index formula: http://minneapolisfed.org/Research/data/us/calc/index.cfm that’s about $474.57 in today’s dollars. But the rarity of these engines could put them in the $700-$800 range or higher. I would try to sell them on ebay with a $500. minimum.

Dale Latham

8

Per the Brown Book, there were 1669 of the CP/UP 4-4-0 sets; they are not especially rare. Typical selling price right now would be near $500 - maybe a little less. The $700 prices are from 5-6 years ago.

9

Check with some brass dealers for what they have in stock and at what price it is to get an idea before you try Ebay or watch Ebay for a while to see what is around and the price range. Production numbers can be a factor in the value of your set, but survival rate of those sets can also make a difference too (out of 1,669 sets how many are left in mint condition?).

10

Looks like they’re more rare in the UK than in the USA:
http://vectis.co.uk/auctiondet.php?item_id=211405&retPage=170404
L1600 works out to roughly $3000.

I’d place it on a 9-day Ebay auction, with the reserve somewhere around $500, and let the collectors battle each other.

11

Thank you all for the feedback- I appreciate each of you taking the time to reply. My understanding is that this was a Centennial Anniversary model and I believe the box says that it’s #45/55 (per my dad’s report) (The actual train is in NY and I’m in Georgia.)

I understand that a similiar set sold recently on a collector’s site for $3,000.00

Thanks for any more ideas or suggestions!

:o) Jen