I think that the market for used trains is soft as some folks mentioned above. I was at the Allentown train meet today. Some sellers had things priced to sell and others didn't. One guy had a bunch of Atlas Trainman and Master rolling stock for $25 to $50 with no obvious damage but no boxes. I didn't have much money so all I bought was a Trainman gondola for $25. The only thing wrong with it is it is dusty. I saw MTH Premier PS1 CNJ Blue comet steam locomotive for $390. I felt that was a little high for PS1. Not outrageous but a little high. Last year I saw a PS1 Premier NYC Hudson for $280. I am still kicking myself for not buying that one. One guy had a very old 2 rail hopper. It looked terrible and he wanted $150 for it. No way I am spending a $150 on something that looks that bad--I don't care if it is brass. (It might have been. I don't know. I didn't ask)
I think a lot of stuff on eBay is people fishing. They are selling something that they know is worth X amount of dollars and putting a minimum price on it on eBay that is way more than it is worth. I think they aim to catch someone who doesn't know the market or who can't get to the market and get them to overpay for the item. For instance just today I saw an Atlas (Roco from the '70s) stock car (No way I would pay more than $10 for one of these at a show) for $10. I thought about it and it was a fair price but I really don't need another project right now as I would have to get trucks with metal wheels and install Kadees. Add the cost of trucks and couplers and I am almost at the cost of a used Trainman car. So I passed on it. I was just surfing eBay today when I got home and I saw the same exact car for $19 plus shipping. To me that is way over priced.
Sometimes deals can be found on eBay. But you really have to be streetwise so to speak. Recently, I saw a MTH Premier PS1 SP GP38-2 for $79.95. I don't remember exactly how the seller described it but I read through the lines of what the seller said and I was fairly certain that this locomotives didn't run at all. But I didn't care because I planned to gut the electronics and convert it to 2 rail. I meant to bid on it but I forgot all about it and someone else got it for $80. I hope that person knew what they were doing and were not one of the people that Marty described.
I think the reason why the used train market is soft is because there are a lot of used trains out there from guys who have bought newer stuff and are getting rid of their old stuff or from guys who have passed on and their collections are sold. So you have a lot of trains in the market but less buyers. Therefore the buyers can afford to be more picky. Then to make sales some sellers lower their prices. In some rare occurrences a seller will have an item so uncommon and desirable that they will make a profit on it. It happens once in a while but not often.
This is just my opinion. I'm having fun even in times like this when I don't have a lot to spend.
