Well since i don’t see a classified forum, i am wanting to sell my layout and all my rolling stock. Its a 12’x14’ L-shape HO scale layout based on Vermont Railroad and Green Mountain Railway. Mostly Atlas and walthers rolling stock and structures, Atlas DCC system, hundreds of trees, many custom VTR vehicles, mountains, tunnels, rivers, bridges, ski lift, figures, etc. I am selling because its time to get my own place and need the $$ for a down payment. How do i go about selling and how do i figure an asking price? Hundreds of hours of work on the layout. Thanks for the help!
Once in a while members will buy and sell items among themselves, but I don’t think that the sponsors really want us using the forum in such a way. Otherwise, you might try eBay.
Good luck to you.
Tracklayer
Hate to sound harsh but forget about the amount of time you have into the layout. People looking to buy MRR equipment are rarely interested in completed layouts. Number one, the almost Always have to be modified to fit. Two, even if you do sell it as a complete unit you won’t get Anywhere near what you could by parting it out (engines, cars, track, etc all seperately). Three, again, selling as a complete unit requires you to find a local buyer. If you want to Try that option, go to Craigslist.com and post an ad there (free) in your area. I would figure however on dismantling the layout and selling the components seperately.
Good luck…
First, where are you located? If someone is interested, they probably would like to have a look at what you have without traveling thousands of miles to see it.
Shipping everything could also be a problem. If you go for e-bay, be sure you have a good handle on how much it will take to pack and ship the layout. Be sure you put a reasonable limit on how far you are willing to ship it, or if you will deliver or the buyer will pick it up. Something that large would be too large for UPS or FedEx to take so you are talking motor freight which can result in rougher handling or a moving company which would be expensive. Packing would include the cost of boxes and packing materials to safely ship rolling stock, buildings, vehicles, etc without damage. If the layout is to be shipped, you are talking about making wood crates and lots of packing materials to keep it from being damaged too much.
An alternative would be to contact local model RR clubs. Maybe a member would be interested, although they may be just interested in the buildings, rolling stock and maybe some scenry. You may want to consider a donation. As long as the club is a non-profit organization, you can get a tax deduction for the value of the layout which probably would be more than you could ever sell it for. The group I belong to does this. We keep what we want for out layout, and sell the rest as a fund raiser. For the past couple of years, we had small donated layouts that we raffled, they made a good fund raiser for us.
His layout is the exact same size as the one I’m planning. I would like to see pics.
As long as this topic stays general, then it’s OK. But, the forum rules specifically say NO ADVERTISING, which I would assume means personal sales as well.
So, I’d advise the OP (Original Poster) not to post pictures or an asking price, as that’s going to get the topic removed. Instead, send private messages (no harm there) for that kind of information.
General questions, like “How should one go about selling a layout?” are probably OK, as they are of general interest and don’t relate to a specific item for sale.
Welcome to the forum. I hope you will return when you get back to MRR. I sold a layout a number of years ago. I got about 10 cents on the dollor and I sold it to a wealthy friend who did me a favor. To dismantle it and take it to a flea market will get you 10 to 50 cents on the dolor. The time is not recoverable in my expetrience, except for trees and great buildings. Good luck.
I agree that the sum of selling the parts individually will be worth more than the whole as a single lot. I unfortunatly also agree that you will in all likleyhood never get back all of what you put into it. Nature of the beast in this hobby.
I have bought/sold several layouts. You will get nothing for all of your work, unless you have some very nice customized/detailed engines/rolling stock/structures. Trying to find a local buyer who has the same space & interests as you will be difficult. The actual layout:
Can it be moved out of the house or up stairs without damage? Usually not, and that is the big problem. I would box up all of your structures/rolling stock/engines and sell them through eBay or a local model train show. Strip the layout of ‘trees’ and try to remove the track without damaging it. Used Atlas track usually goes for about $1-3/turnout, and flex track is just about ‘junk’. I saw a guy at the last train show with a huge pile of used flex track and I think he finally sold it for something like $20 - He did not want to have to transport it back home!
Jim
You might consider donating the layout to a hospital or other facility where children might enjoy having it around. You could make some reasonable estimate of “fair market value” for tax purposes, and consider it a donation for tax purposes. (This is probably a Schedule A thing, so this isn’t going to do you much good if you are better off taking the “standard deduction” rather than itemizing.) If there’s a local civic group like the Elks, KofC, etc., that might be a place to contact concerning such a donation.
To maximize your return, there would be nothing wrong with selling most of the trains and valuable structures, and donating the layout base, track and maybe a token train or two.
Great idea MisterBeasley![tup]
I’d also reccomend that, take off your favorite structures and buildings, and maybe get some older Athearns for the layout, then donate it.