It all has to go, as in sold, what are my options?

[espeenut]

OK gang, after all these years, life has thrown some major changes at me and now, everything has to go, I may hang on to a few collectible items, but everything else is going.
What are my options, practically and realistically? For several years there was, for me, a very effective Yahoo and then facebook page called HO Yard Sale that became HO Interchange. I managed to sell virtually everything I listed there and received all my funds via PayPal. I'm not a big fan of Ebay because I know of many people who have been totally ripped off trying to sell things there. I live in a town, Victoria BC as in Canada, that now has only one store that kind of caters to model railroaders, its main income is from RC stuff. Most of what I have was purchased south of the border in Portland Oregon, I know I could haul a lot of it down there but when you place things on consignment they give you store credit and not cash. That is not an option anymore.
Any genuine and realistic suggestions are welcome and appreciated, thanks.

cheers,

Lorne Miller

[antoniofp45]

Hi Lorne,

I understand that you're not an ebay fan, but I just want to add that I have two friends of mine that are regular ebay sellers and, from my understanding, have had no issues. I'm not a seller but have been a long time buyer.

If you find no other options and decide to take the ebay route, consider listing your items as BUY IT NOW at fixed prices. If they're in new to good condition and the prices are below MSRP, chances are you'll get some "bites".

I think a few of the guys here are ebay sellers as well. Hopefully they'll chime in and offer some guidelines.

[mvlandsw]

The HOswap groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/HOswap/conversations/messages is a good Yahoo site and the HOEXchange  groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/HOEXchange/conversations/messages  is still active.

 There are some dealers listed in the classified section of magazines that pay cash for collections, although I imagine their prices are far below retail level.

Mark Vinski

[scl1234]

Here's a thread from last November along the same lines...

atlasrescueforum.proboards.com/thread/4223/where-sell-surplus-items-ebay

I'd say, if you have more than ~500 items and don't want to deal with ~500 transactions (and shipping), it might be a time-saver to give Dan's Train Depot a call.

[Brakie]

Contact Dan's Train Depot. I understand he gives above average prices for quality collections.

[gnfan]

Lorne,

I have used the HOSWAP yahoo group with reasonable success. There is also a yahoo group called "The Backshop" which has also worked for me. I have used EBay with good results on everything but HO brass. I got either no bids or people sending me private messages offering ridiculous low ball offers on very nice HO Brass steam locos. The biggest issue with EBay is that you have to figure in the EBay and PayPal commissions into your pricing. You also need to be careful in your item descriptions. I got some feedback on an item because I forgot to mention that it did not have the original box. They buyer was a bit upset because he felt it "damaged the collector value" of the item without the original box. In my view HO Proto F units are not now and never will be collector items.

I shipped some of my EBay sales to Canada, Australia and Europe without any issues. Although Dutch customs seems to take their sweet time clearing items. The newer EBay international shipping system takes a lot of the worry out of shipping international from the U.S.A., but I don't know how it works from Canada.

I have used my local Hobby Shop to sell an airbrush compressor as a consignment item. They offer either cash or store credit. It took a bit over 4 months for it to sell so if you need fast sale then consignment may not be the best choice.

Good luck on your sales.

David Brockmeier

[kentuckysouthernrwy]

There are two levels of potential buyers, the first is some guy that would love to have what you have and will pay a fair market price. The second guy is the one that advertises buying collections, etc. That guy will give you 1/2 to 2/3 of the price and then try to reset it at the market price to make a little profit. You can get the first guy through eBay and the other sales sites mentioned, selling things off piece by piece, packing each up and then finding an open post office to ship it from. The other guy buys it all, takes it all off your hands and writes you a check.

I hope you can get what you want and depending on your urgency decide on how to proceed.

Which ever way you go, reasonable expectations are you won't get what you think it's worth using either venue.

Best to you and hope the underlying cause is handled to your best.

[Deleted]

Jun 17, 2016 11:25:14 GMT -8 kentuckysouthernrwy said:

Which ever way you go, reasonable expectations are you won't get what you think it's worth using either venue.  

This, a million times. Even assuming you do everything yourself. Back in the 90's, my dad bought me a Lionel HO automatic gateman for $45 (that's $45 in 1996 dollars). Today they go for $20 on ebay. Mine would probably go for less due to the condition. Chances are that Life Like Proto 2000 caboose you have isn't worth $10.

Meanwhile, people post 80's era Bachmann trainset quality freight cars for $10 each.

[Brakie]

Jun 17, 2016 11:48:12 GMT -8 @greenwizard88 said:

Jun 17, 2016 11:25:14 GMT -8 kentuckysouthernrwy said:

Which ever way you go, reasonable expectations are you won't get what you think it's worth using either venue.  

This, a million times. Even assuming you do everything yourself. Back in the 90's, my dad bought me a Lionel HO automatic gateman for $45 (that's $45 in 1996 dollars). Today they go for $20 on ebay. Mine would probably go for less due to the condition. Chances are that Life Like Proto 2000 caboose you have isn't worth $10.

Meanwhile, people post 80's era Bachmann trainset quality freight cars for $10 each.

Correct. One never recovers full MSRP on used items unless its very rare-I been offered $250.00 for my P2K Ohio Central GP7 because its a rare road name while my P2K SCL engines will bring far less-$25-30.00 on the used market if I'm lucky.

The funny part I was offered $700.00 for my IPD short line boxcar collection. Maybe I should have said "yes" instead of "no" but,that's around $3.00 a car with KDs and metal wheels.

[eh49]

I'm in basically the same situation. A year ago I was diagnosed with Cancer of the Pancrease, which the doctor says there is no cure. I'm getting Chemo to stop it from spreading. I have models, RR books (hundreds) and slides/digital train pics(thousands) want to hold on to the stuff as long as i can.

[ironrails]

Hello Lorne:

I note that you are in the Victoria, BC area. One strategy that might work for you is to get a sales table at the big Vancouver Trains show in November (http://www.vancouvertrainexpo.ca/). This has worked for me as a way to sell of large volumes of medium value items for which it would be too onerous to deal with Ebay listings. Not as useful for selling brass or other high value items though.

Of course there is the logistics of getting there and staying over night, depends on your how well this works for you.
Good luck,

Mike MacLatchy

[Deleted]

First, you need to accept the fact that the value of your items is ONLY what a willing buyer will pay. What you paid, "put into", or what you think an item's value is- is meaningless.

Or be prepared to become a collector.

I'd suggest using eBay. You can also try listing items on other lists, but since bidding isn't usually an option and exposure is limited, there's a good chance that you will either leave money on the table or the item won't sell. And you lack the eBay/PayPal protection. But I've sold a dozen or so higher-end items on the old HO Swap(?) list and was happy.

I've sold about 400 items on eBay. Had just two returns and two buyers asking for partial refunds due to finding/claiming some problem I was unaware of. I think that's a very good success rate.



HERE'S THE KEY - Use the auction feature and set your starting price at the lowest amount you would accept. Include your shipping and hassle costs in the amount. This way, if the item sells AT ANY PRICE, you are happy.

It will almost always sell for more because two or more people will bid, or it will get no bids.   If it doesn't sell, that's a really good indication that your expectations were unrealistic. Re-list it at a lower price and/or try to sell elsewhere. Or keep the item.

Unless you are a dealer or have multiple identical items and you use "Buy it Now" there are two possibilities, neither good. 1) It will sell, but you probably could have a better price via an auction (since that's what auctions do, determine the actual value of an item, or 2) it won't sell and you'll have to re-list or become a collector.

Don't set the shipping fees too high, people get offended, like it's a personal insult. Most people would rather win a bid for $120 + $10 shipping rather than the same item at $105 + $20 shipping. Go figure.

A lot of people want to make selling too complicated. It's not. Once you get an eBay selling "template" and system set up, it goes pretty fast. Taking & uploading photos and packing takes the most time.

[loophog]

There's at least a good dozen buy sell trade groups on Facebook, I've used them with great success.

[jacobpaul81]

Jun 17, 2016 8:32:03 GMT -8 antoniofp45 said:

Hi Lorne,

I understand that you're not an ebay fan, but I just want to add that I have two friends of mine that are regular ebay sellers and, from my understanding, have had no issues. I'm not a seller but have been a long time buyer.

If you find no other options and decide to take the ebay route, consider listing your items as BUY IT NOW at fixed prices. If they're in new to good condition and the prices are below MSRP, chances are you'll get some "bites".

I think a few of the guys here are ebay sellers as well. Hopefully they'll chime in and offer some guidelines.

I am a eBay seller and have had very good luck.  I sell everything at fixed price and I allow users to Make me an Offer.  

Set your shipping costs - don't set higher prices and offer free shipping - that's a big mistake new listers make.  eBay tries to make it sound like a good thing, but both they and PayPal get more money when it sells for higher.

Since everything is fixed pricing, you can offer combined shipping.  I insert a note to contact me about combined shipping.  If they want a bunch of stuff, you can bundle them into a new listing, post it, and save on eBay fees.

[Deleted]

Jun 18, 2016 6:09:45 GMT -8 jacobpaul81 said:

Jun 17, 2016 8:32:03 GMT -8 antoniofp45 said:

Hi Lorne,

I understand that you're not an ebay fan, but I just want to add that I have two friends of mine that are regular ebay sellers and, from my understanding, have had no issues. I'm not a seller but have been a long time buyer.

If you find no other options and decide to take the ebay route, consider listing your items as BUY IT NOW at fixed prices. If they're in new to good condition and the prices are below MSRP, chances are you'll get some "bites".

I think a few of the guys here are ebay sellers as well. Hopefully they'll chime in and offer some guidelines.

I am a eBay seller and have had very good luck.  I sell everything at fixed price and I allow users to Make me an Offer.  

Set your shipping costs - don't set higher prices and offer free shipping - that's a big mistake new listers make.  eBay tries to make it sound like a good thing, but both they and PayPal get more money when it sells for higher.

Since everything is fixed pricing, you can offer combined shipping.  I insert a note to contact me about combined shipping.  If they want a bunch of stuff, you can bundle them into a new listing, post it, and save on eBay fees.

What percentage of sales are at your BIN price vs. "Make Offer"? How do you determine the appropriate asking price (that is, the most a buyer will pay)? Are you ok with selling for less that you could get with an auction?

"Buy it Now" works well when the item's value is well-known, but for a lot of model RR items, the "best" price (for you and the buyer) can only be determined via auction.

If you don't care about making as much money as possible, "Buy it Now" is fine.

[areibel]

If you're listing something do a search for the same thing before you list it. You can go up the the little "advanced" tab beside the search box and click that, it takes you to a page where there is an option for "Search Completed Items". If you mark that you'll see a list of everything that has sold (or didn't), the prices paid, etc.. That can give you a good idea of what an item has been selling for.

[Brakie]

Omaharoad, All of my purchases is BIN with free or reasonable shipping. The few items I sell is BIN with free shipping.. I just add $7.00 to the price I want out of the car or locomotive to cover shipping and that seems to work quite well..When I sell my unwanted video games BIN with free shipping since it costs $1.98 on the average.

Its to easy for shell bidding in auctions or jack up shipping charges up to help cover e-Bay cost.

[jbilbrey]

I am a big fan of local shows IF there is a good one in your area. But finding one that has reasonably priced tables and a good, steady crowd can be a challenge at times. One advantage is that you'll sometimes have eBay dealers to go through the show to buy up tables and collections; I've had that happen to me twice. It is important to know how much you have left at that point in the day, how much you are willing to sell it for, and also knowing that while you may not get as much as if you wait around, at least the items will be sold when going that route.

The other problem is coming up with a realistic price to sell the items. Just because you took a $50 locomotive and added $50 in detail parts doesn't make it a $100 locomotive. On the flip side, some items may carry an unrealistic value because of the scarcity/rarity of the item.

James Bilbrey
LaVergne, TN

[canrailfan]

Hi Lorne,

Sorry to hear you need to sell off your models.

Depending on the time-frame you have available to sell everything, you should seriously consider selling the majority of the items in one lot. Have you asked your shop in Portland if they could perhaps help you do this? (Most shop owners I know are willing to help a good customer who is suddenly faced with such a situation.) One shop I know couldn't buy a collection being offered by the widow of a former good customer, but they helped her set up a one-day sale at the local church and advertised it to all their customers. There wasn't much remaining at the end of the day and the shop was then able to take what was left off her hands.

The reason I suggest letting it all go in a single lot is that selling a large collection of models takes a long time, requires a lot of communication either by email or phone with potential buyers, shipping many small parcels and possibly dealing with complaints if a buyer finds the item they purchased isn't what they expected. It can be exhausting. I have watched a good friend go through this experience and it compromised his ability to deal effectively with the crisis he was facing. In the end he regretted not just packing everything up and letting it all go at once. He said that money-wise, taking into account his time to post items (with photos) and deal with questions, the costs of packaging and mailing, and several buyer issues he had, he was no further ahead than if he had accepted the reasonable offered he received at the outset.

It may seem impossible to do but letting everything go at once can be much less stressful and better in the long run.

[jacobpaul81]

Jun 18, 2016 6:57:58 GMT -8 areibel said:

If you're listing something do a search for the same thing before you list it. You can go up the the little "advanced" tab beside the search box and click that, it takes you to a page where there is an option for "Search Completed Items". If you mark that you'll see a list of everything that has sold (or didn't), the prices paid, etc.. That can give you a good idea of what an item has been selling for.

Exactly.  On eBay you have all the information you need on past sales by a simple search.  Why go through the trouble / risk of auctions when you already have readily available market numbers to work with.

As for sales, at least 70-75% go at the fixed pricing I utilize - based on past sales and current inventory on the site while the rest go for inside 10%. I do try to undercut the price expectations of those whose items aren't selling.  

[Deleted]

Jun 19, 2016 6:18:30 GMT -8 jacobpaul81 said:

Jun 18, 2016 6:57:58 GMT -8 areibel said:

If you're listing something do a search for the same thing before you list it. You can go up the the little "advanced" tab beside the search box and click that, it takes you to a page where there is an option for "Search Completed Items". If you mark that you'll see a list of everything that has sold (or didn't), the prices paid, etc.. That can give you a good idea of what an item has been selling for.

Exactly.  On eBay you have all the information you need on past sales by a simple search.  Why go through the trouble / risk of auctions when you already have readily available market numbers to work with.

As for sales, at least 70-75% go at the fixed pricing I utilize - based on past sales and current inventory on the site while the rest go for inside 10%. I do try to undercut the price expectations of those whose items aren't selling.  

What is the "trouble / risk" associated with eBay auctions? "Buy it Now" and auctions both take about the same amount of time & effort to post.

If you don't care about maximizing your income, I suppose "Buy it Now" is fine. But I like to make as much money with as little effort as possible- so I usually use auctions. Especially for one-of-a-kind or used items where there is no way to determine the "optimal" value except by putting it on the market (aka offering it to many potential buyers).

Example:
1) List an item using "Buy it Now"for $50. If/when it sells, you make a MAXIMUM of $50.
2) List the same item in an auction with a starting bid of $50. If/when it sells, you make a MINIMUM of $50 (with one bidder). BUT you may, and usually do, make more $$ (two or more bidders).

[lvrr325]

You can never sell everything unless you blow it out cheap, unless you have literally years to market it. You're better off to just sell everything to a dealer for say half what it's worth and let him deal with it. The box of bits and pieces to projects, the opened boxes, the stuff that is only going to sell in ziploc grab bags for a few bucks a shot. Then it's all gone, all at once, no headaches, no hassles, no returns, no one rips you off, no packing hundreds of single items, no trips to the post office, no fees if you use eBay/Paypal.... etc.

It can take weeks to sell something relatively new, new in the box, at current prices. I put an Athearn Genesis GP9 on eBay, mine is the cheapest one listes for that road, and it's gone nowhere.

[markfj]

My only addition to the conversation is that the time of year will affect sales results a lot. Right now (summer time – first day of summer ), the average model railroader probably isn’t thinking about buying anything since their funds are going towards other things like vacations or outdoor activities and interests.

However, hardcore collectors seem to always be on the hunt. I'm not a serious buyer, but I do check eBay just about every day for deals.

Also, I’ll echo what lvrr325 said above; even the NIB stuff doesn’t sell quickly on eBay. Too much competition from online stores, cold market; who knows, but it just doesn’t move.


Good luck on liquidating your collection!


Thanks, MJ

[calzephyr]

I went to a train show in March and unloaded thirty years of kits and plastic models at a fraction of their original value, but at least I don't have to store them any longer. Some blue box kits items actually sold for more than I paid for them in the 1980 era. Surprise!! You never know what can happen at a show. Ebay is good for some items also.

If you have a brass collection and want to get rid of it quickly, I would recommend Dan's Trains. He will make a valid offer of about 50% of today's prices but that is a fair offer considering he has to market the models and make a profit. If you want to sell at a hobby shop that charges 20% commission, that will work also but takes a lot more time.

Larry

[Deleted]

Jun 19, 2016 21:30:21 GMT -8 lvrr325 said:

...It can take weeks to sell something relatively new, new in the box, at current prices. I put an Athearn Genesis GP9 on eBay, mine is the cheapest one listes for that road, and it's gone nowhere.

It can take weeks when the opening bid price is too high. Or did you try to use "Buy it Now" where people usually ask too much and items often sit for weeks? Pros/stores can afford to do that, to hold on to inventory and dribble the stuff out over a long period.

But I want to move my stuff. As long as you have your item listed in the correct category(s) and have a decent description & photos, an auction will get things sold at a price that satisfies seller & buyer. Your GP9 was not worth what you thought it was. The price is too high = no sale.

Use an auction and set the starting price low. It will sell. Bidders (one of which will become the buyer) will drive the price up. Just set the starting bid at the lowest price you would accept. If it doesn't sell that means you'd willingly rather hold on to it (aka, you're now a collector).

I've sold hundreds of items, mostly rolling stock and I've had to re-list about 10 percent of them because my initial opening price was too high. On the 2nd (rarely 3rd) re-list at a lower opening price, the bidding started and usually resulted in a sale at a higher price than my initial listing. You want to attract multiple bidders because many (most?) bidders are stupid and will get into a "bidding war" as if it's a personal vendetta against the other bidders. (Buying on an eBay auction is even easier. Never make more than one bid- but that's for another thread)

With BIN, you know the most you can make (IF it sells).
With auction, you know the least you will make.

See my previous post.

[Deleted]

Jun 20, 2016 4:51:37 GMT -8 markfj said:

My only addition to the conversation is that the time of year will affect sales results a lot. Right now (summer time – first day of summer ), the average model railroader probably isn’t thinking about buying anything since their funds are going towards other things like vacations or outdoor activities and interests.

However, hardcore collectors seem to always be on the hunt. I'm not a serious buyer, but I do check eBay just about every day for deals.

Also, I’ll echo what lvrr325 said above; even the NIB stuff doesn’t sell quickly on eBay. Too much competition from online stores, cold market; who knows, but it just doesn’t move.


Good luck on liquidating your collection!


Thanks, MJ

Stuff will sell if the price is "right" and it is exposed to a large number of potential buyers. Many "sellers" (not just modelers) are delusional about what the think their stuff is worth. So they become fist-waving collectors, blaming the system/eBay/weather/locusts/floods/Rothschilds etc. instead. (Watch Hoarders on your cable station)

But since you want maximum exposure, summer is not the best time to sell. Set auctions to close on weekday evenings for the same reason- people are home, looking for deals and able to bid/buy.

[Deleted]

Jun 20, 2016 6:20:22 GMT -8 @sppepfe said:

Jun 20, 2016 4:51:37 GMT -8 markfj said:

My only addition to the conversation is that the time of year will affect sales results a lot. Right now (summer time – first day of summer ), the average model railroader probably isn’t thinking about buying anything since their funds are going towards other things like vacations or outdoor activities and interests.

However, hardcore collectors seem to always be on the hunt. I'm not a serious buyer, but I do check eBay just about every day for deals.

Also, I’ll echo what lvrr325 said above; even the NIB stuff doesn’t sell quickly on eBay. Too much competition from online stores, cold market; who knows, but it just doesn’t move.


Good luck on liquidating your collection!


Thanks, MJ

Stuff will sell if the price is "right" and it is exposed to a large number of potential buyers. Many "sellers" (not just modelers) are delusional about what the think their stuff is worth. So they become fist-waving collectors, blaming the system/eBay/weather/locusts/floods/Rothschilds etc. instead. (Watch Hoarders on your cable station)

But since you want maximum exposure, summer is not the best time to sell. Set auctions to close on weekday evenings for the same reason- people are home, looking for deals and able to bid/buy.

If you have a lot of misc. stuff, you may want to sell it all as a lot to a broker/middleman just to be done with it. Time is money.

[Brakie]

Here's the thing to watch about auctions and I've done it in the past and still do in some cases.

A Atlas/Roco S4 with a $9.99 starting bid set for seven days and seconds before closing that Alco S4 was mine for $9.99 plus $6.95 shipping.

A new Atlas Precision Design CPAA boxcar for $8.99 starting bid-far cheaper then the going BIN at that time.

All of this was done the last week of the month and in the last few seconds of the auction.

[Deleted]

Jun 20, 2016 9:20:46 GMT -8 Brakie said:

Here's the thing to watch about auctions and I've done it in the past and still do in some cases.

A Atlas/Roco S4 with a $9.99 starting bid set for seven days and seconds before closing that Alco S4 was mine for $9.99 plus $6.95 shipping.

A new Atlas Precision Design CPAA boxcar for $8.99 starting bid-far cheaper then the going BIN at that time.

All of this was done the last week of the month and in the last few seconds of the auction.

Set your opening price at the lowest you'd accept and this will never happen.

When people search, they get results for auctions and BIN, so they'll see the results for both unless they have a filter permanently "on". I don't even know if that can be done.

[bnsf971]

Jun 20, 2016 13:17:27 GMT -8 @sppepfe said:

Jun 20, 2016 9:20:46 GMT -8 Brakie said:

Here's the thing to watch about auctions and I've done it in the past and still do in some cases.

A Atlas/Roco S4 with a $9.99 starting bid set for seven days and seconds before closing that Alco S4 was mine for $9.99 plus $6.95 shipping.

A new Atlas Precision Design CPAA boxcar for $8.99 starting bid-far cheaper then the going BIN at that time.

All of this was done the last week of the month and in the last few seconds of the auction.

Set your opening price at the lowest you'd accept and this will never happen.

When people search, they get results for auctions and BIN, so they'll see the results for both unless they have a filter permanently "on". I don't even know if that can be done.

Yes, simply change the button at the top of the page from "ALL" to "Buy It Now". You can also filter from "Relevant" to ""Price With Shipping--Lowest First".