Resale value of Dept 56 and Lemax buildings ??

The dept 56 stuff seems to hold a pretty good value depending on the piece, though most of it is still for sale at pretty high prices, assuming in like new condition.

The Lemax stuff would probably vary.  I've bought some Lemax new from a CVS drug store for $15 a building, while others sell new for $30-40 per building.  You may want to go look to Ebay and previously sold listings for different pieces to get an idea of what the average price they're selling for is.  Obviously it won't be 100% accurate, but it all comes down to what the buyer is willing to pay in the long run.

 I usually look to Ebay for a piece or two to add to my collection each year, and the same buildings from different companies can range from $20-$100+ for the same piece depending on the seller, so it's definitely a big variable.  I think it would be safe to assume that he shouldn't expect the full original cost back, just like trains lose value over time.  He might come close on the Dept 56 ones.

We have a bunch of this, 3 different villages. As with trains, how he plans to dispose of it makes a tremendous difference.

If he wants to sell individually, maybe ask 70% of new. If he wants to sell it all at one time, it is likely to be a good bit less as the buyer will need to make a profit. Wouldn't be surprised to see it go then for 33-37% of new, maybe less.

There used to be books that listed the values of each retired item. They should be listed on the Internet. Some pieces are in more demand than others and it would pay to know which they are. Wish him good luck.

I am by no means an expert on this. I do have maybe 10-15 Dept.56 buildings on my layout. I have found that I spend about on each building what I spend for a building kit. We are talking $45-$60 per building. The Dept.56 prices in their guide is what I used as a general guide, emphasizing general here. Certainly their are a select group of building in demand for high prices but in general I expect to pay around 40-50% of what they originally were selling for when issued.

Ace,

We've been setting up our initial layout and buying buildings for the same. The Lemax buildings sold through Sears, Kohls, Michaels, Ace Hardware lose 70-80% of their retail value right after Christmas. Unless it's something someone really wants, the Lemax items priced at $70-80 can be bought post Christmas for $10-20. Even at shows/meets I've bought Lemax buildings for $10-15. There is another forum member who has had a few Lemax buildings for sale on the forum for several months at $20-25 a building. Nice buildings no doubt, but they don't command a price.

Department 56 items might hold better value but you can go to a local consignment store and find boxes of them for $20. I bid on certain items on ebay, and prices are all over the place for the same building much like trains. I've been using this site to see what is a reasonable price for things I want - D56info.com. 

I'm not so sure he'll get his money back on most of this stuff. To give you an example, I just bought Fisherman's Nook 2 Cabin set for $17. D56info shows them originally selling for $43 and with a current value of $25. Looking at sold listings on ebay for this set you would find it sold anywhere from $11 to $45 (1 listing) with more under $20 than above it. Of the 10+ buildings I've bought so far, this is pretty typical of the pricing.

Hope this helps.

If he has a list, I'd be interested to see what he has. My email is in my profile.

I have sold many of these buildings at garage sales.  $5 to $10 is the best that I have been able to get.  There are very few "collectors" of these pieces.  Most are viewed as used Christmas buildings.

NH Joe

The best way to find a "resale value" is to find out what the exact (such as box/no box) item recently sold for. This is easily found out by doing a eBay "advanced search" for items actually sold. You can view items sold in the past 2 months to get a idea of high/low/average. It will also give a idea of supply in the marketplace (in 2 months, 2 sold or 20 sold?).

Understand that eBay has millions of lookers...a yard sale, maybe 50.

For the most part, "Value Guides" from a company, like Hallmark, should be called "Wishful Thinking" books.

If he has any carnival rides as part of his Lemax/56 collection give me a shout.  I may be interested.

as always E**y,  is the place to get the going value,  My family quit buying these things at Hallmark,, stores, and now

get same or different buildings for about 30% of new value. from the bay  and they have been arriving in good shape, whether new

or used.  these things kind of went the same route as NASCAR, junk back in 90's,  it aint worth ,what you wrote check for

back then,  BUT, still purty !!!!!

There are certain Dept 56 pieces that are worth much more than others.  Generally, $45 - $55 retail priced buildings will sell for $15 on eBay.  However, a Starbucks or Allied Model Trains Lionel Toy Shop or a Victorian Train Station will sell for close to original retail.  Any chips or nicks make the piece virtually worthless.  There are several different lines of Dept 56.  Dickens Village used to be popular, but not so much anymore.  Snow Village and Christmas in the City are popular for train layouts. Boxes also add some value if they are in good condition.  

For Lemax, the animated pieces, such as the carnival pieces, are worth much more.  

You won't find many sales until closer to Christmas.  Oct is the start of the selling season on eBay.  Also, there used to be a lot of shops that carried Dept 56.  I have found that most have gone out of business.  This hurt the value of the collectible market.  I suspect Lemax had something to do with that.

George

My wife collected these for a few years to put together our Christmas display. It was very easy to find them at York for $10 to $20 each complete in the box. Only a few special edition pieces for members only issues have held their value for the odd holiday items like Halloween and Easter. The Christmas stuff is common as nails and goes cheap. The only way E-Bay is a price gauge is because it in many cases is the only place to find them for sale outside of the manufacturers web site.

Tin

I got some Lemax buildings a few years ago for $5.00 a building.  If I was doing it today, I would go for Menard's for an 6' x9' layout.

Thank you all for the input. I will pass along the information. I have to say I don't envy this guy, trying to sell off all these items collected over a few decades.

"Joe" told me a story about one of his encounters with a dealer with who he had hoped to make a mass sale of train items. Joe was irritated with the guy's lowball offer, virtually pennies on the dollar, dealer saying that he needed to cover his time and overhead and needed to make a profit on resale etc. Joe was carrying a Lionel passenger car and tripped, reached out and smashed the car on a table edge by accident -- but then turned to the dealer guy and says, "I'll smash all these trains before I give them away to you !!!  And the guy hustled out, freaked ...

Wife and I have been assisting folks in Joe's situation for about 15 years now.  More often, though, Joe is gone...it's the heir(s) who are left to clean up, clean out.

But from your last story of his encounter with a dealer, I'd say Joe is not seriously ready to sell.  The only way he'll make a single sale of the lot at a value that he feels is reasonable is to find someone who has been searching for his collection for their own use.....and have a lot of discretionary money on hand.  Geographically speaking?.....nothing short of a miracle.

There's a lot of emotion involved in this sort of life change.  Some of it, we've learned, comes from a mix of disappointment that 'it's over!', and some of it from the realization that what was spent on this hobby is not going to return the financial nest egg that your heir(s)...spouse, kids, etc....might better use after you're gone.  In many respects it's easier to assist in disposing of a collection such as this AFTER they're gone, rather than with the hobbyist yet filled with the passion wrapped up in everything.  We're somewhat going through that right now with a prospective client.  It's not easy for any of us to deal with.

Better are the situations where the individual has found a new passion for which, considering their age and mortality, they're eager-to-desperate to be rid of all 'anchors' on their way to something new and exciting....like moving to that spot of heaven on a sunny beach in a climate that never disappoints.  We've experienced folks like that, too!  Much easier....several quotes, pick one, pack it up, done.

Were I in your shoes....as a friend, not as a potential 'dealer'....I'd be helping Joe sort through his options, understand the market, find and work with reputable, understanding potential buyers, find something positive to look forward to in all of it...a trip or cruise, the freedom to pursue some new interest, that classic car he always imagined being behind the wheel of.....a second honeymoon.....something.

If the layout is yet intact, though, be sure to take LOTS and LOTS of photos, videos, etc..  Preserve the memory, the smiles.  If (as it sounds to me) he created all this for the fun of it, then document his having fun with it.

OTOH, if he really expected to recover a lot of money for the fun he had, well......that's where your friendship will be of value in helping him get through it all.  Good luck!

Just some empathetic thoughts...

KD

What KD said.

The "pennies on the dollar" common complaint needs to be better defined to be a real complaint.  If someone is literally offering 2-5% of original purchase price, then yes, that would be a vulture (unless everything is totally trashed, and in that case the prospective buyer would probably just pass) .  But anywhere 25-40% (depending on condition) would not be unreasonable, for the exact reasons (though they seem stingy to the seller) the prospective buyer states. 

No dealer is looking to add any of our treasured items to a collection in their store to collect dust (neither trains nor D56 type stuff).  They are looking to be able to sell it themselves (and somewhat quickly).  The sale-ability of these 2nd hand items doesn't magically go up by a huge amount just because the store is now selling it rather than the individual.  They do have the benefits of being an established store, but that doesn't make it easier to sell items no one really wants for higher prices.

The other thing for "Joe's" collection not yet mentioned is the modified cords.  Whether this would be a concern to any of us or not, the modification of the cords could be an issue to the general public.  Most would probably consider this unsafe if they had splices in the 120 VAC cords, and would assume they have to buy replacement cords to make the unit usable.  Essentially any item without a un-modified "plug to bulb" cord is damaged or missing something, making it harder to sell.

The rarity and desire thing probably translates to several well known train examples.  For every Vision GE Evo Diesel or Ethanol Tank Car pack with sounds (both commanding higher prices now), there are many more single unit Centipede engines or NASCAR sets (still in the blow out lists of some dealers). 

There are also probably a few analogous cases to"collectible" boxcars, see Macy's Thanksgiving, Hellgate Bridge, HORDE, and Vapor.  All considered somewhat collectible at the time they were released (and for the Macy's, people running to God knows how many Macy's stores to find them), but now that their luster has worn off, there is little interest even if priced in the $20-$25 range per car.  (there were people easily paying $100 or more for some of these when they came out)  When is the last time you heard someone claim they got a "great deal" on something like this?  The interest just dies down after a while.  I suspect the same phenomena applies to quite a bit of D56 type stuff.

-Dave

I just pulled all of my Department 56 out of storage and placed them on my layout, so I am really appreciative of this thread and all the input.

I have about thirty buildings total, most Department 56 and some of the other brands. For lighting I plan on LED's at 18 Volts using three or four per building rather then the 120 VAC ,7W incandescent lamps provided. I left the lamp and pig tails in the associated packages if I should ever wish to sell them.

As for long term value, I am not too concerned about it. Just like my trains they are all for fun. I have all the boxes and they are saved, but to be honest the paper sleeves have developed rips, tares and fading over the years. I doubt if they will add much to the overall value of the items but because the buildings are in very good shape I think they will be worth keeping for shipping if it ever comes to that.

I told my wife when I'm gone to go on the OGR and other web sites to get a handle on what items are going for, but unless she wont's to make selling them a full time hobby she should get in touch with someone who does this full time and be ready to take a fifty percent hit on the going value. I never worked for nothing and neither do retailers.

In any case, thanks for the thread.   

Dave45681 posted:

What KD said.

 

The other thing for "Joe's" collection not yet mentioned is the modified cords.  Whether this would be a concern to any of us or not, the modification of the cords could be an issue to the general public.  Most would probably consider this unsafe if they had splices in the 120 VAC cords, and would assume they have to buy replacement cords to make the unit usable.  Essentially any item without a un-modified "plug to bulb" cord is damaged or missing something, making it harder to sell.

 

-Dave

I disagree.  The cord has no value at all.  These are always a separate, detached item and extremely easy to replace.  Many people don't want the original and are moving to LED.  Brand new cords are $5.  Selling a building in great condition without a cord will not change the price at all on used items.

George S posted:

Dave45681 posted:

What KD said.

 

The other thing for "Joe's" collection not yet mentioned is the modified cords.  Whether this would be a concern to any of us or not, the modification of the cords could be an issue to the general public.  Most would probably consider this unsafe if they had splices in the 120 VAC cords, and would assume they have to buy replacement cords to make the unit usable.  Essentially any item without a un-modified "plug to bulb" cord is damaged or missing something, making it harder to sell.

 

-Dave

I disagree.  The cord has no value at all.  These are always a separate, detached item and extremely easy to replace.  Many people don't want the original and are moving to LED.  Brand new cords are $5.  Selling a building in great condition without a cord will not change the price at all on used items.

Very  true George, but the cords are there none the less. I sort of look at them the same as I do the power cord to an old transformer. No one ever asks, " is this the original cord"?

What may be a factor is all the clear tape I used to repair the rips in the outer sleeves mentioned above.

Oh well, when it comes time for them to go on the market, I will definitely be gone.

 In about thirty years, I hope!

Yes, but unlike a transformer, these cords are not attached. With the relatively low value of these buildings, even taped boxes don't mean much.  It really comes down to how rare the building is and how pristine the ceramic and paint is.  I have lots of these.  I have sold a few and still buy a few now an then.

There is a pretty good market on eBay where you can search past sales for each building and see current listings.  For example, a Kingsford Road Brewhouse sold with a box for $7 plus $16 shipping.  There are currently 10 Starbucks Dept 56 buildings listed with some Buy it Now's listed for $199.  Sales are between $50 with no box, $65 with a box and $120, because someone really wanted it.