My Dad passed away almost 10 years ago and I would like to start selling some of his trains. However, I’m completely overwhelmed by his collection and I really have no idea what I have or how to advertise it. For example, how can I tell what scale a car is if it’s not in its original box? I’ve figured out HO and O (I think), but he had some larger items and I’m not sure what they are (N?). I would really appreciate any advice you could give me for starting the selling process. Thanks so much.
There is no telling what you have…I would take a few pieces to a local Model Railroad hobby shop and to a model rr club in your area and maybe email some photos to different dealers like mitchels,the caboose dan’s trains etc.do you know if you have any brass items? It would be nice to get what they are worth and not get ripped-off.Good luck,you may get a honest estimate but be careful.Some people may tell you that it’s not worth much but they will"take it off your hands"
The scale and gauge thing is probably the easiest to determine on locos and cars. Just measure between the backs of the wheels, then use NMRA Standard S-4.2 dimension B (back to back) to determine the scale.
http://www.nmra.org/standards/S-4_2ScaleWheels.html
Also, look for a manufacturer name on the bottom, this will make it easier to determine the value. Once you know these, go to Ebay and search out these items and see what they’re selling for.
We can also help if you have mores specific questions.
Get a digital camera if you don’t have one already and take photos of each individual item (or groups of identical items). This will dramatically improve your options to sell it any way other than to the LHS. If you decide to sell it on E-bay, online classifieds, etc. - anything that’s not “in person” - you’ll need pictures. The more, better photos the better.
The LHS will almost always be a lower price than selling it “yourself”… for the simple reason that they will sell it to the same folks you might have. To make a buck on the deal, they have to pay you less than they can sell it for.
I would first try to sell it as a “lot” rather than piecemeal. You’ll probably end up about the same. If you sell individual items/groups, you’ll find that many things of lower value don’t sell at all, while the few higher value items sell nicely. Easier to sell it all at once, the value will even out, and you get the whole schmear off your hands.
PS - If you wanted to post a link or something once you have pics, I (for one) would love to see what he’s got, just out of curiousity. Would be happy, at that point, to weigh in with specific advice on what I think you could get for it… Betcha others would feel the same way.
Selling off model trains without a reasonably good knowledge of what you have with regard to scale, what the item’s original pricing was, and roughly what they are worth today, makes for an extremely difficult situation. There are no really viable, accurate, published “guides” for items outside of Lionel and American Flyer 0 and S gauge, while eBay (if by some miracle you can locate a similar item) only gives the price of the latest sale(s), which can be dramatically above or below the actual value.
The best advice is to find a local hobby shop with an owner willing to expend the time to identify what you have…in small lots…and then ask him for some names of folks in the hobby that might be willing to assist you sell the items on-line (eBay). You really need someone who can provide an intelligent description for each item for listing and who can provide at least some idea of value, especially if some of the items are brass, before attempting any sale.
Regardless, unless you simply want to give away stuff at rock bottom prices, you are in for a long, slow, involved process.
CNJ831
Here’s a link to an chart elsewhere on this web site. SCALE & GAUGES.
Check out the National Model Railroad Association’s web page for Where to turn for help estimating the Value of Your Collection]
Most likely the models you have are long out of production. You might have to try several hobby shops to find someone who really knows model trains. Usually the guy or gal behind the counter is into RC cars (if anything) and knows little or nothing about model trains. Sometimes at hobby shops I run into sales people who act or think they know everything about model trains. Often their information is incorrect and usually I know more than they do. So try to find a hobby shop that specializes in model trains. I bet the guy to talk to will be over 50, wearing eyeglass and will talk your ear off about trains or whatever.
The trains you have could just be cheap train set stuff, which is most common with old trains, but there are people interested it those too. Whatever someone is willing to pay is what they’re worth. If you feel overwhelmed, then start off with selling a few pieces at a time.
If you could post a good photo of the side and bottom of a locomotive or two here in forums for a sample, I’m sure most of us can figure out what it is or could be. Certainly you’ll get plenty of opinions.
We are always willing to help here (when we ARE here) in MR Forums. If you want to send some photos or have other questions, you’re welcome to e-mail me by clicking on the e-mail icon at the bottom of this post.
Why don’t you get into the hobby. sounds to me like you have more that enough stuff to start. The men and women on this forum are very helpful with all kinds of questions. My advise is don’t sell
A few more thoughts, sort of random, that might help us guide you better and/or help you get a better idea of the situation (without going through and photographing/inventorying the entire thing):
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Go to E-bay, go to the trains area, and type “Lot” as a keyword. You’ll see many sales offered of big chunks of stuff all at once. After you look at that, go over to the left and find the checkbox that says search “completed” sales, redo the search and that will show you lots that actually sold, and what they sold for
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Are there any brass cars/locomotives in the mix? Those will normally be your high-dollar-value items.
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If you sift through the items, a rought idea of which manufacturer names (normally stamped somewhere on the bottom of the item) and in what proportion the seem to occur can be very helpful in giving feedback on value. It won’t allow anyone to give you specific dollar figures, but (to give an obvious example), if 90% of the items are Tyco and Life-Like, that would be a whole different world than 90% from Rivarossi, Stewart, etc.
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Last but not least, how many (if any) of these things are in their original boxes? That is also a key determining factor.
Nice try Sledge. But I’m guessing mandyhege is a lady named Mandy Hege, and women generally have a natural immunity to Model Railroad Fever (RAF). Consider that she probably grew up around dad’s trains and the trains have been in her possession for ten years with no effect.
About couple years ago I started a thread on Women Model Railroaders. There’s quite a few women model railroaders out there and some are certified master modelers .
Mandy, have you thought of keeping one or some of the best pieces for a sentimental keepsake or a Christmas display?
Mandyhege
I’ve been selling my dad’s collection off so he could go into assisted care living. Luckily for the family, I have been involved in model railroading myself. Although most of what he had does not fit into my wants and desires, I had least had a good idea of what each item was. This is what I have learned:
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Selling on eBay is time-consuming, especially if you are trying to maximize return. It takes time to examine each item, determine what it is and it’s condition; a good marketing approach; take, edit, and resize photos; and write up the description. There is more time involved in monitoring the auctions, responding to any questions, invoicing and tracking payments, packing, and shipping.
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The junk, broken, toy, and heavily worn stuff is seldom worth putting on eBay. Unless a good condition version is worth more than $20-$30, I wouldn’t put poor condition stuff on eBay. My reasons, the time factor as discussed in the 1st bullet, the damage it does to your reputation as a seller, and Ebay, PayPal and Post Office fees and costs. There are more likely to be issues of description accuracy. These can negatively impact the price you will get for the “good stuff”. So I only sell the “good stuff” on eBay. The various fees and costs are loaded against merchandise that sells for less than $20.
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On eBay, the buyers determine the value, not the seller. There is enough model railroad stuff on eBay that buyers tend to be fairly discriminating. I found starting the auction off at about 25% or less of what I think the item will go for works much better than a high starting price or a reserve. This approach has a real risk that the item will sell for less than I want. But most times I am pleasantly surprised, and it seems to even out in the end better than I thought. Risk or not, to me it sure beats not having any bids at all - which I see all the time for dealers with their high starting or reserve prices. My analysis is that dealers selling the sa
Hi Mandy, you have some great advice from my friends in the hooby noted above in their replies…I can only add one more thing, do not rush into selling anything. If you can find a trusted friend who can help you, all the better. It is so easy to be taken by someone who seems genuine, and gives you a price for the whole lot, that makes you say wow!! However, you do not know the true value of what you have. If it is a large collection, seek knowledgable help of people in the hobby.
Good luck Mandy
Some good advice above, inventory the good stuff , ask a reasonable price, this will be an ominous task and won’t be easy, I got on an auction 2 years ago on the internet from a guys estate, no one knew anything about trains, the owners the auction house, no one, it was a disaster, they made very little money, but Boy ! did I get some unbelievable brass engines for a song, I also helped him to describe correctly some of his trains, there was simply too much stuff, let this be a lesson to all you train guys out there.