I am considering selling my entire N scale layout. Eight locomotives (half Atlas, half Kato), a large number of Micro-Trains cars, two Kato RDC’s, lots of Micro-Engineering flex track (code 70) and turnouts, etc. Would any of this bring in any $$? I am approaching broke (can you tell?) and need some dough. One friend told me not to sell anything, but I am still considering it. Opinioins??[?][:(]
Well, I personally wouldn’t sell unless I absolutely had to. You might have some collector’s items in the lot that will appreciate in value if you hang onto them longer.
N Scale Supply will buy used equipment and you can check Amherst Depot to see what the engines might fetch. I have not used or even shopped on EBay, but that’s another possible place where you can get a feel for value and / or sell some things.
I’m always interested in diesel ATSF, SP and CNW engines. And tank cars - gotta love tankers [:D]
The first thing I would do would be to check on Ebay. You don’t have to sell them there, but if there are similar pieces selling there, it will give you a pretty good idea as to what people are willing to pay for them.
If you go the ebay way, I wouldn’t suggest selling it as a whole lot. I think you’d get more for it if you sold things seperately. Plus it might tide you over a while. Sell a couple of pieces, and maybe something else will come to help out your situation.
Good luck in your endevours.
Kevin
PS. What roadnames do you have?
Well don’t count your mega $$$ bucks to fast.Remember the use locomotive market has to compete with the deep discounters.Some MT cars are worth several dollars while others are worth a lot less.And again like your locomotives the use price is already set against the lowest discount price.
Use track prices vary.
A lot depends on condition. The more it has been used, the less you will get for it. Mint, unused commands the highest prices. Used Kato engines generally get the most on the used market because they are well made. Micro Trains cars get the most on the used market for the same reason plus Micro Trains are sought after by collectors. If you wi***o sell everything as a lot, expect to get 30 cents on the dollar for it all. On a good day.
I would be interested in buying some of your collection depending on the roadname(s). I’m interested in diesels and I model Southern railway.
Well,in order to give you a TRUE USE MARKET PRICE I call your attention to this use equipment list.
http://www.nscalesupply.com/pon/Preowned.aspx
Then I urge you to check the going prices for NEW locomotives and cars.
\http://www.nscalesupply.com/CatalogMain.html
This should give you a real world view of the use market value of your collection.
For the record; I have three Milwaukee Road Alco’s (RSC-2’s & RS-1), 2 GN Alco’s (RS-2’s), 2 RDC’s in CNW, 1 SOO Line Alco RS-1, 1 Canadian National FM Trainmaster, and 1 totally misplaced GM&O GP-38. Needless to say I like Midwestern and Northern Midwestern roads, and most of my Rolling Stock indicates this as well.[8D]
Lets look at your RS1. Those can be had at $64.95 new…So,a fair use price would be $40-45.00.Recall though some of the older road names can be had at $53.50 new.Of course the rarity of a given road name could up the price.
Oddly the use MT car market seems to take on its own life form…Some cars sell high while other cars go cheap.
I hope this helps you and of course the best of luck…[:D]
None of that stuff has any value at all.
Tell you what, send it to me and I’ll “dispose” of it properly for you. Heck, I won’t even charge you my usual fee for doing it!
Just kidding.
I hope things pick up for you.
Ebay may be the way to go for you if you do need to lighten your load.
I never considered selling at a loss as a way to solve a problem on the long run unless you can get a healthy amount out of it and don’t plan on re-purchasing such items in the future.But if you must absolutely sell,Ebay is a good place to do so but don’t expect too much though.
As a buyer,allow me a few hints…first,everything you’ll try to sell will be discounted the shipping fees,possible taxes,etc by potential buyers,so to attract interest minimum value lots are a must so that S&H don’t take too much of a bite out of your sale.I would never buy a single boxcar,or a $5. item for that reason.
On the other hand,selling huge lots is the quickest and simplest way to sell,but not everybody can afford big outlays of dough,so that reduces the amount of potential buyers (and bids) substantially thus your chances of getting fair amounts.
And,most important in my mind,set minimum prices so that less “desired” items don’t get taken away at prices so low that selling them isn’t worthed the effort to you after packaging.There are a lot of people searching Ebay just for that…dirt cheap items.
Last but not least,check the Ebay selling service fees carefully along with Paypal’s if using it,as neither offer their services for free.You might change your mind about selling…