Since I live way off the beaten path I don’t get many opportunities to go to train shows, swap meets, other gatherings. My local NMRA locale is inactive - too rural for most local people to organize, I guess. These forums are pretty much my only regular contact with other modelers. I have some questions about swap meets & swapping that may be old news to some people, but I’d like to go prepared, to the extent that’s practicable, to make hours on the road worthwhile.
Getting ready to finally build a transition era layout I’ve gone through my rolling stock to identify the stuff that’s too late for mid-50s use. I’d like to trade it for other stuff, since that seems lots easier than eBay-ing or Craigslist-ing it. Observations and tips from the folks in this forum have always been useful to me so I thought I’d run this matter past you folks. Here are some questions:
How do I consider placing a specific value on an item? Is it as simple as “Hey, I’ll swap you this thing for that thing?” because I want what the other guy has and he seems to want what I have?
Are there usually fees involved in participating in swap meets?
How do I even begin to think about whether or not I should “clean up” things I want to get rid of by swap? Is it as simple as thinking that if I clean up this thing I’ll be likely to get more of value in a swap?
Do swap meet participants have to register in some way as participants, or rent a table, or can you just walk in the door with a box of stuff and have at it?
I know these are very basic questions, and have some obvious responses. I know I’m asking some elementary questions too. But I’ve not seen a discussion like this here and thought I’d run this up the flagpole to see what discussion results. Thanks for considering this.
Sure ain’t much of nothing when it comes to model railroading in northern michigan, now is there. The only hobby shops are in traverse city and harbour springs.
Well… I’m not sure how much in the way of an actual “swap meet” goes on in Michigan any more. Generally a trading-oriented swap meeting happens on a small group level, informally, such as at club meetings. More common are train shows.
From my experience (30+ years) in Michigan both selling at shows and helping to run shows, if it’s billed as a train show, not a lot of “swapping” tends to go on. Sales for money rule the roost. By a train show, I mean things like the show at the high school in Troy next week, the Ann Arbor Model Railroad Club show in Saline next month, or the semiannual shows run by the Gratiot Valley Model Railroad Club or the Redford Model Railroad Club. These are fundraising enterprises for the host organization.
At a train show, if you intend to sell anything, you need to buy a table, or get together with some other people to share a table. Most train shows around here are built on a model where the table sales at least pay the fixed costs of the show (venue rental, advertising, insurance, etc.), and the admission price is generally where most of the profit is made. Table fees tend to run from $15 to $25 per table for a one-day show, $20 being a typical price, lately.
The best advice I can give about setting prices is to attend a few shows and observe what people are getting for things. This varies by region. Some of the things that can affect an item’s price are:
The condition of the item.
What the popular prototypes are in area where the show is being held.
Whether a piece you wish to sell has been superceded by a nicer or easier to use model that’s on the market.
How common a given item is in a given market.
Whether any customizing work has been done to it, and if so, the quality of the work.
Original list price generally isn’t a good indicator of street value for anything more than five to ten years old.
Basing your pricing on the closing price on comparable items on eBay can be
Never have been to anything where I was aware “swapping” was taking place. That is other than swapping money for goods.
Some things you could consider:
There are folks who seem to deal in used items. Clean (not totally necessary) a few items up, take them with you and see what you can get for them.
My local hobby shop sells used items. I think they will take consignments or will purchase outright.
Many clubs that are non-profits will accept donations. This doesn’t result in cash in your pocket, but it does result in a tax deduction.
As mentioned, you could rent or share a table, just contact the group sponsering the show and see how things sell.
Pricing depends on what it is, what it looks like. I have seen many built, used items selling for quarter to half the original kit price, i.e. built from BB type kit box car selling from $4-$7, locos often half price, unopened kits, building and rolling stock, often 75% to close to full original cost, except for very common items at around 50%.
I have attended numerous train shows and, like the other posters, have never actually seen any “swapping” going on. But, just like there is after-hours trading on the stock market, I think there is before show opening trading going on at these venues. I believe that many vendors will make a quick trip through the show before the doors open to try and spot any bargains, especially if there is something they need. Most of the vendors are the same from show to show in any particular local and they get to know each other and what the others carry. I would guess that there might be some horse trading going on in addition to any cash deals.
However, I would also guess that any trading would be for high ticket and/or rare items. If what you are looking to trade would be considered common or run of the mill and likely to be found on multiple show tables, I think you’ll be disappointed.
That said, there is a yahoo group called HOSwap2. They basically have three categories: for sale, want to buy, and for sale or trade. I have seen several listings there that start out “my interests have changed”, “changing eras”, et cetra. It costs nothing to join, and listings are free. Only HO equipment is allowed. The down side is that you are dealing one on one with whomever the other party turns out to be, so there are no protections like you get with EBAY and PayPal and you need to look out for yourself.
Our club is a non-profit, and folks sometimes donate items to us. But this does not result in a tax deduction because we are classified as a non-profit social organization. No donations are deductible. And, in my opinion, any deductibility for typical model railroad items is minimal because you can only claim the fair value of the item (this would be the used value, not what you paid for it), I think your total charitable contributions are limited by some amount related to your adjusted income, and you have to have other deductions that exceed the standard deduction amount before you even see that incremental amount.
Unless you have at least 30-40 items to move, a show probably isn’t worth your while. Remember, you won’t sell all of it, or even most of it, at a single show unless at give-away prices. When I attend shows, I see essentially zero individual hobbyists selling. Everyone is a dealer, either full-time or part-time.
Given your location, I would suggest that big online auction site. This will get the process over quickly, and you can move on. If you want to maximize the money you get (so you can buy more stuff from said auction site), then list each item individually. But then you have the overhead of dealing with a lot of sales and shipping. If that doesn’t appeal, group the items into several large groups and list them that way. List at no reserve in either case, and the items bring what they bring. Then go buy more trains!
I switched from N to HO about 2 years ago. I thought that N would work for me as I didn’t have a very big room for a layout, and with N you can put in almost twice the stuff. Well, getting old forced me to go back to HO as I had problems with putting/keeping stuff on the track. Building stuff wasn’t an issue as I use a headset to see. Anyway, I decided to eBay the N stuff. I have been an eBay’r since it’s inception and think that I have a good handle on how to sell stuff that brings in the most cash. These are in order of priority!
Sharp clear well lit pictures of the item - 6 sides ( top, bottom, end, end2, side, side2 ). Make those pix thumbnails which bring up a larger pix if clicked. One thing that amazes me is that you see beautiful train stuff ( engines, cars, buildings …etc … ) just sitting on a formica counter top and that is where the pix is shot. Put your item in its environment - Engine on ballasted track; cars to. Building in ground cover - you get the idea. Learn to use your macro lens and watch your depth of field. If it is to small, your item is partially out of focus. Sometimes you can’t help it, so minimize it as much as possible.
Very clear description in a small paragraph of what you are selling and in your case …why. If it is an unique item, tell folks about each of the pix. If you have a ( for instance ) Hormell box, then the pix pretty much tells the story. List the manufacture and tell about how good ( or bad ) the shape of it is.
Tell about your shipping - USPS, UPS FedX …etc and what it will cost. Combine items if you can and adjust shipping accordingly. USPS flat rate boxes are worth thier weight in gold … and they are free.
This is your auction and you are trying to sell an item. Keep in mind that shinny hub caps sell cars! Keep all the other crap out of your listing so that the potential bidder
In all my 30 plus years of going to “swap meets”, I have swapped exactly one item. I traded a yellow box Atlas RS-1 in Rock Island (black & maroon simplified scheme) for an Atlas yellow box RS-11 in NP canoe paint scheme.
All the remaining times I purchase with cash, and get a table if I want to sell.
One thing is to have everything priced before the show. There is nothing more frustrating than walking up to a table and having to ask the owner the price for each thing. Even worse if the owner has to scratch his head and think about it as if he is trying to figure out the max you will pay for a unit. I come to a table like this and just move on. It is way not worth “shopping” there.
I actually have swapped stuff at a Swap Meet! [:D]
Having settled on modeling the early 1900’s, I had a number of transition era cars that I didn’t need. I did a quick, kitchen sink clean-up on 'em and took them to the swap meet. When I found someone who had some period cars, I gathered what I wanted and offered him some items in exchange.
Keeping in mind that he is there to make a buck and is incurring expenses, and I just wanted to do a reasonable exchange… I let him have the benefit of the bargin by about 10-20%.
I went home with some nice plastic and craftsman kits that I needed, leaving behind those Roundhouse ore cars that I had no use for.
