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Post by loco8107 on May 18, 2023 5:27:10 GMT -8
I’m posting here unless it gets moved to the lounge because I’m strictly HO. Are there any other good sites besides eBay to purchase used HO locos -particularly Athearn BB ones (mainly undecs)? I’m one of those modelers who still enjoys fixing these units up but I’m always open to other manufacturers. I’m getting tired of the insanity of eBay and am wondering with the other sites coming along recently if folks who sell trains also got tired of eBay and their shenanigans and are selling elsewhere. Thanks in advance…..
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Post by edwardsutorik on May 18, 2023 5:33:00 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2023 5:35:35 GMT -8
Hello loco8107--
Well, some others of us have tired of Ebay. I still sell on there but stay under the $600 total yearly sales limit because I don't need any tax hassles.
You might try various small train stores. Sometimes the local stores will have items on consignment. My local store has 18 locos of mine right now, most of which would meet the ebay definition of Like New, as well as a bunch of freight cars.
There are other ho forums where members do trade trains (you actually can on these forums if you follow the rules). I think if you post what you are looking for, or looking to sell, someone that sees your post can then contact you via private message. I've sold a couple engines through this forum and have had the privilege of seeing a huge layout--the fella is definitely a heavy hitter in the model train world. I just wouldn't post the price in the thread but leave that to be private, and I think you'll be basically following the rules.
Folks on these forums have helped me to find some difficult to find models as well. All I did was post a WTB topic with the model description, and forum members told me where I could find the items. Some of us may be cranky at times but these forums have been immeasurably helpful overall. Anything of note on here gets passed along to my local train store and vice versa.
My horsetrading experiences through these forums have all been fantastic.
Happy hunting.
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Post by cemr5396 on May 18, 2023 6:23:08 GMT -8
I have found FB Marketplace a decent place to do business as well. Lots of the modeling groups have associated buy/sell pages.
Similar deal to on the forums, you shoot the guy a PM and work out the details.
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Post by cpr4200 on May 18, 2023 13:11:09 GMT -8
It's getting harder to find a good deal on eBay. In general prices are pretty high. $80 for a non-running P2k Geep? No thanks. OTOH, last week a nice Weaver O scale RS3 went for less than $40, I've gotten a Spectrum New Haven EF3 for $80 and a new in box Atlas HO CP C424 for $48!
There are some good deals on Facebook model railroad sale pages. Lots of Athearn BB stuff there, and everything else. I've also found some very good deals at Trainz.com, but some of their stuff is overpriced, too. Sometimes they'll list two identical locomotives right next to each other and one will be priced $40 more than the other. In general, I've been very satisfied with them.
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Post by fr8kar on May 18, 2023 15:18:26 GMT -8
I've also found some very good deals at Trainz.com, but some of their stuff is overpriced, too. Sometimes they'll list two identical locomotives right next to each other and one will be priced $40 more than the other. In general, I've been very satisfied with them. A couple months ago an ebay listing of theirs caught my eye: a pair of Athearn UPS drop frame parcel trailers for really cheap. I'm often on the lookout for these and have sometimes found them for a good price as a load on a flatcar. But not this pair; it was just the trailers only. In fact, I was sure I'd seen this listing by Trainz a week earlier for much more (maybe double?). Just for grins I thought I'd look for the higher priced listing to see if maybe it had been discounted to match this much lower price. Nope. Same higher price I had seen before. I even found another listing of theirs for another pair of UPS trailers for a third price. I just bought the cheapest pair of trailers and moved on.
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Post by lvrr325 on May 18, 2023 15:22:02 GMT -8
Train shows is where I sell most of that stuff. I have a few pieces on eBay, a couple of undecs, but I ended up putting some custom painted shells on them and selling them for $75 a shot.
I have a batch of them with no box from an estate, now, that I haven't tried on eBay yet, had them out at one small show but not much interest. Mostly wide-body stuff, plus some PAs. I prefer to sell the used stuff at shows if I can because I don't have to worry about returns where somebody dropped it on the floor 28 days after they got it. Also the stuff with no boxes eats up a lot of shipping supplies (I usually put them in a PM large video box, then put that in a second box).
My experience with the various email trade lists and FB groups has been poor, so I don't post anything on them.
My only issue with eBay is the visibility games they play, I can get an item, see it's sold several times in a particular price range, put it on at the low end, and if it doesn't sell the first time, it will be on there for ages and some weeks get zero views. I have an AHM Amtrak GG1 on MIB for $60, it's been dead in the water for weeks, I happened to look and just a week or so back another one sold for $63 with multiple bids. So I know it's priced right.
I am actually thinking about doing an all-train yard sale over the summer just to see if it's workable. A guy in a nearby city did this but indoors in his auto detail shop and I guess got a decent crowd.
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Post by 12bridge on May 18, 2023 17:39:52 GMT -8
I have been getting a kick out of train show prices lately, it is almost worth going just for the entertainment. I have seen 1st generation Proto engines for well over 100$ each. My favorite at our last local show, was an older guy trying to sell a worthless IHC passenger car for 75$, and the gentleman trying to buy it offering a fraction of it, with the seller getting bent out of shape with "I am going well below my dealer cost on this item!"
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Post by riogrande on May 19, 2023 6:02:15 GMT -8
I have been getting a kick out of train show prices lately, it is almost worth going just for the entertainment. I have seen 1st generation Proto engines for well over 100$ each. My favorite at our last local show, was an older guy trying to sell a worthless IHC passenger car for 75$, and the gentleman trying to buy it offering a fraction of it, with the seller getting bent out of shape with "I am going well below my dealer cost on this item!" As always, people can ask what they want but most will know the asking price is unrealistic and item will collect dust. As the old song goes, "walk on by". Kind of goes without saying anymore.
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Post by lvrr325 on May 19, 2023 7:29:16 GMT -8
Those IHC passenger cars sold for $6.99 in Ollies Outlet stores not long after the guy behind IHC passed on. I would have openly said that and that if he paid more he's a fool because no one will ever pay more than about $10 for it. Sometimes it's a struggle to get $10 for the much better Rivarossi cars.
Proto engines, some of them still pull $100-ish but it varies by roadname and which engine. Most, do not. Those that do will only pull that money on eBay.
Usually though it's the other way around - the customer has no concept of the list prices or much of anything else. How long were Athearn kits on the market in the same box and I still see people pick one up, look at the box top, and put it back having absolutely no clue what is actually in the box - they're lucky to put it back with the label end out. Accurail kits that I plastic wrapped so you can see them, they pick up and look at the plain box end, and put back down never occurring in their brain to look at the other end. I'll stack up the same Atlas cars three high and people still dig and leave a mess to see the same cars beneath the top ones. Or they look at it marked with the list price, the discounted price, see no one else in the building with what I have, and still put it down. Then they dig in the junk bin of loose HO cars and buy some Tyco or Life-Like car for $3 and want to offer less than that.
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Post by Deleted on May 19, 2023 9:41:17 GMT -8
At Timonium there was a dealer who had the Athearn Genesis Rio Grande Heritage unit (plain dc) for $160. I see folks on ebay are asking $499 for them (at least the versions with sound). I might like one, but not for $499. Maybe $249.
My dealer friend collects old Athearn freight car kits. He carries a list with him of what he has, and he'll buy if the price is reasonable. Has many hundreds of them...just likes them from back in the day when some of us were young...saving up for his railroad.
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Post by sd80mac on May 26, 2023 6:02:42 GMT -8
Speaking of ridiculous second-hand pricing, apparently MTH exiting the HO business has driven up the price of their locomotives, too. There are 2 HO MTH Big Boys on ebay right now for north of $800. $800!!! They were only $600ish new!
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Post by tony on May 31, 2023 15:29:42 GMT -8
If you have an eBay account used for selling you should be be watching your statements very closely. I was not, but the Pay-Pal investigation team did. They found eBay double billing me so they opened an investigation into eBay - still open. IMHO, eBay needs to get cancelled and go away to be replaced with something new and trustworthy.
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2023 19:02:44 GMT -8
I ordered two MTH HO DM&IR 2-8-8-4's from the very last run, and son and I seldom used them.
I had $540 cost into each of them. Brasstrains sold each of them for $1100, one a couple months ago, and one a year ago. That price point has held for a few years, as first run MTH 2-8-8-4's routinely sell for $1100 at Brasstrains. The most recent steam loco sold as soon as it was listed!
BrassTrains only accepts limited items for consignment, and condition can be everything to them.
Ebay sucks, and I still do use them, but now have to stay under the $600 per year in total sales to avoid tax hassles. It is easier, and less frustrating than dealing with Ebay, to send models to Trainz and let them sell them, or to let my local train store sell them on consignment.
I can attest that Trainz.com did everything they said they would do and I got paid in about 6 or 8 weeks after they got the items because they had to get through their inventory of what was waiting, to assign the value to them so that they could pay me for them. They purchased my 17 or so locos and 18 passenger cars and I cannot complain regarding the timeliness of the process or the amount they paid me. It was a fair deal all the way around for them and for me.
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Post by loco8107 on Jun 1, 2023 5:26:06 GMT -8
Believe it or not I never heard of Trainz.com. Looks like I’ll have to check them out.
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Post by sd80mac on Jun 1, 2023 5:32:05 GMT -8
Believe it or not I never heard of Trainz.com. Looks like I’ll have to check them out. Buyer beware. The people listing the models they have for sale most often know next to nothing about them. Most of the models are used and some are pretty-heavily damaged. They will also routinely sell models in the wrong boxes (been burned a few times by that, the worst of which being a Centralia Car Shops UP CA-3 caboose which was actually a Marklin model in a Centralia box). To their credit, they have been getting better about posting lots of photos so you have a better idea of what you're getting.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2023 6:50:17 GMT -8
Trainz.com is one of the big ebay sellers. Most of the time they do a decent job with listings.
I actually have purchased mint/lightly used items from them and I felt they were adequately described. They like to use lots of photographs, and typically that is what I as a buyer want to see: photos of the item from all angles that do not hide any imperfections.
So when I the little guy list an item, I'm competing against them anyway. Just seemed easier to let them sell.
I think they prefer to have a $1000 minimum payout, which means under normal circumstances if they are buying a collection or group of items from you, they want their selling price on the items to be approximately $2000. They pay about half of what they believe they can sell the items for, unless you specifically choose to do a consignment process, in which case you can do better than that 50% but it will take longer to get your money back. I already had a bunch of models on consignment at a local train dealer so opted to just sell them a group all at one time.
I never had good luck with the HO swap groups. The people in those groups expect you to give the items away, and I was taken advantage of on a brass model that looked ok but actually had bad paint that chipped off right away and would not run at all. There is no remedy for that situation. I ended up selling that brass model to a collector friend but for half of what I had in it.
If the items you want to sell are especially desirable it is possible that Trainz.com will pay more than 50%. It all depends upon what you actually have.
When buying from them, I usually know all there is to know about the item I'm buying so I would catch any mistakes and sometimes any QA/QC issues just from looking at the photos that Trainz posts. I do my research off Ebay (on current/recent production diesels--to know all the features of that model and the road-specific details--before I ever bid or buy it now)
John
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Post by atsfcf7 on Jun 2, 2023 8:05:50 GMT -8
There is an Athearn buy/sell group on facebook. Seems to be more recent products than blue box.
I have had good luck finding blue box locos at local train shows; not always NIB, but rather, as finished models, handrails and couplers installed. Still useful for my purposes.
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Post by michaele on Jun 3, 2023 9:16:05 GMT -8
I have gotten some good deals from Trains on Euro equipment. Probably because that stuff is harder to move in the States.
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Post by tony on Jun 9, 2023 15:36:13 GMT -8
Trainz.com - is the the company that offers seven cents on the dollar to widows of train collectors?
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Post by Mr. Trainiac on Jun 9, 2023 15:47:59 GMT -8
Trainz.com - is the the company that offers seven cents on the dollar to widows of train collectors? maybe? Any dealer is probably going to lowball. I don't think I can really blame them. If you care about getting top dollar, sell your collection before you pass away. Don't leave that burden to your family who may not be equipped or knowledgeable to sell each item at the proper resell value. Have a will or an estate executor you can trust to handle the collection; either sell it, donate it, or pass it on to relatives. It doesn't need to be a lawyer, you can get help from friends or local modeling clubs to manage it. They may have the manpower and time to run an ebay page or set up a booth at a train show on your family's behalf.
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Post by lvrr325 on Jun 9, 2023 22:11:28 GMT -8
There's more money in used trains. It's better to buy a whole collection for 25 cents on the dollar, flip the hot stuff for whatever it's bringing on eBay and if you have to trash the stuff no one cares about, than to buy new and make maybe 10% on it.
And it's easier for you with the trains to sell it all for 25 cents on the dollar than start a new eBay account or go to shows and sell it yourself for 50 cents on the dollar and be stuck with the same stuff no one wants unless you put it in big box lots for 1 cent on the dollar.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2023 8:47:14 GMT -8
I have dealt with Trainz.com twice this year and am happy in both instances.
Misconception: "They offer 7 cents on the dollar."
Reality: Maybe if you have absolutely no idea of what you have, have no idea how to pack and ship it and expect them to come pick it up in person, figure out what it is, made by whom, and they are just going to take it off your hands. In short they do all the work.
IF you know what it is you have, can reasonably communicate accurate condition (honestly, using ebay's condition definitions), and best yet have the actual boxes it came in, you can do very well.
They factually pay 50% of what they think they can sell the items for. They will consign items from collections for the same percentage because they have even more work to do to get them ready for sale when the sellers have no idea what they are doing.
I have assisted with liquidation of HO brass model collections after people died or went to jail (I didn't know he was turning odometers back; I never bought a car from him). I personally boxed up well over 200 brass models and dealt with the highly reputable brass dealer (it was John Glaab, now deceased) to liquidate the collection. The wife factually got 38 cents on the dollar for the brass models, based upon average value at the time (I checked each and every item with online prices). It went to help pay for that friend's legal expenses.
Dealing with Trainz is a good deal; they are reputable. They do what they say they will do, and they cut checks typically once per month. They pay all the shipping and insurance costs, too.
If my local dealer sells a train on consignment, it might take as much as 1 to 2 years. Selling western road stuff in the east does not bring as much money. I'm doing ok letting Trainz sell the items. They offered me almost exactly what I thought they would offer, and I'm awaiting my second nice sized check this year. Most items are disbursed now and I only have a few un-needed trains remaining.
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Post by Baikal on Jun 14, 2023 9:50:54 GMT -8
I have dealt with Trainz.com twice this year and am happy in both instances. Misconception: "They offer 7 cents on the dollar." Reality: Maybe if you have absolutely no idea of what you have, have no idea how to pack and ship it and expect them to come pick it up in person, figure out what it is, made by whom, and they are just going to take it off your hands. In short they do all the work. IF you know what it is you have, can reasonably communicate accurate condition (honestly, using ebay's condition definitions), and best yet have the actual boxes it came in, you can do very well. They factually pay 50% of what they think they can sell the items for. They will consign items from collections for the same percentage because they have even more work to do to get them ready for sale when the sellers have no idea what they are doing. I have assisted with liquidation of HO brass model collections after people died or went to jail (I didn't know he was turning odometers back; I never bought a car from him). I personally boxed up well over 200 brass models and dealt with the highly reputable brass dealer (it was John Glaab, now deceased) to liquidate the collection. The wife factually got 38 cents on the dollar for the brass models, based upon average value at the time (I checked each and every item with online prices). It went to help pay for that friend's legal expenses. Dealing with Trainz is a good deal; they are reputable. They do what they say they will do, and they cut checks typically once per month. They pay all the shipping and insurance costs, too.
If my local dealer sells a train on consignment, it might take as much as 1 to 2 years. Selling western road stuff in the east does not bring as much money. I'm doing ok letting Trainz sell the items. They offered me almost exactly what I thought they would offer, and I'm awaiting my second nice sized check this year. Most items are disbursed now and I only have a few un-needed trains remaining.
Thanks, I appreciate the facts.
I've only looked at a few used SP & MP locos on Trainz. Maybe not typical but they were priced below all the comprable listings on eBay, so I was tempted. But I passed- need to thin the herd before adding any additional cars or locos.
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Post by grahamline on Jun 14, 2023 10:48:00 GMT -8
Many spouses (and model owners) have been deceived about the real world market value of collectibles including brass trains. My local open and friendly hobby dealer says prices on some of the inflated consignment items in his brass case are set by inflexible sellers. Generally, they get rotated out to another shop after sitting for a year or two.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2023 10:48:11 GMT -8
Immediately before my latest thinning of the herd, I actually overpaid for an Atlas HO ICG orange wide vision caboose. It was indeed mint, brand new in box, so I was happy. Somebody at Trainz apparently thought I overpaid (buy it now at like $75 plus shipping and taxes) because they gave me a discount card for my next purchase from them.
My good friend is selling items on consignment at his local store, but he prices the items to sell. I can give him a nearly new, mint Tangent freight car, and he's going to sell it for $30 or maybe some at $35. Doesn't matter what I paid for the item. We are across the river from Harrisburg, PA, and things only bring what they bring. High end used freight cars are $35 tops, maybe $40 or $45 if it was a $70 to $90 autorack new. The local buyers will just not pay more than that.
So for all those reasons letting Trainz sell some items has been worthwhile. No stress for me, and I get cash money back relatively quickly (might take 6 weeks).
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Post by fishbelly on Jun 14, 2023 11:05:33 GMT -8
I am in full agreement with lvrr325 on the comment about "And it's easier for you with the trains to sell it all for 25 cents on the dollar than start a new eBay account or go to shows and sell it yourself for 50 cents on the dollar and be stuck with the same stuff no one wants unless you put it in big box lots for 1 cent on the dollar."
I would much rather take the hit and be rid of it all rather than spend my time sitting behind a table at a show or taking all the photos I needed to take and listing them on ebay. Then packing and shipping and then the feds saying I made more than $600.00 so I need to pay a bunch of tax on it all even though I took a loss. Not worth it.
Heck, if I could get half the value of what I have on my shelf right now, I would definitely give it all up and move on to another hobby.
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Post by lvrr325 on Jun 14, 2023 11:38:04 GMT -8
Immediately before my latest thinning of the herd, I actually overpayed for an Atlas HO ICG orange caboose. It was indeed mint, brand new in box, so I was happy. Somebody at Trainz apparently thought I overpaid (buy it now at like $75 plus shipping and taxes) because they gave me a discount card for my next purchase from them. My good friend is selling items on consignment at his local store but he prices the items to sell. I can give him a nearly new, mint Tangent freight car, and he's going to sell it for $30 or maybe some at $35. Doesn't matter what I paid for the item. We are across the river from Harrisburg, PA, and things only bring what they bring. High end used freight cars are $35 tops, maybe $40 or $45 if it was a $70 to $90 autorack new. The local buyers will not pay more than that. Then my friend (has to run a store) takes 40% and I get the remaining 60% as store credit. So on some freight cars I only get $18 back 75 is about what the market is on those. I pre-ordered for the next run which is somewhere in the pipe because of it. Your good friend should open an eBay store for that stuff. HO auto racks in the box I'd buy all day long for $18.
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Post by typhoon on Jun 14, 2023 11:53:58 GMT -8
They factually pay 50% of what they think they can sell the items for. That sounds like a horrible deal. Count me out, and I will continue to sell on eBay. The tax thing is of no bother to me, it is just one more piece of paper to send to the accountant.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2023 12:00:54 GMT -8
Ebay became horrible to deal with, as well as buyers expecting the moon.
I'd deal with Trainz again as they remove all the hassle and stress.
I've sold hundreds, perhaps even a thousand model train items on Ebay through the years, and it became no longer just people cleaning out their basement but this expectation on the part of buyers that everyone is a professional seller just waiting to answer their questions and ship immediately.
Sorry, there is a life to be lived.
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