Best Way to Sell Train Collection?

trainz.com they will come and pack it up for you

send list to them if you have one and they can

price from list

Trainz.com (an OGR Forum sponsor) will sell a collection for you.  I believe they have forms on their web site where you can itemize your trains by brand, type, condition, etc., and they will make an offer for your collection. I’m not advocating them or implying they are the way to go, but I believe some of the folks here on the forum may have had experiences with them in the past.

There are also several auction houses that specialize in selling train collections. I’ll let others in the know weigh-in on those in more detail.

For less than half what you might get selling it yourself.

Everything is a trade off. If you're willing to do some work, like packing and shipping, you're going to get A LOT more money. If you don't want to pack and ship and take photos and list, you're going to get pennies.

There are also other advertisers in both OGR and CTT that advertise that they buy collections.

Another option is to have an auction house sell off the collection.  Two that come to mind that specialize in trains are Maurer and Ambrose Bauer.

I have no personal experience with any of these auction houses.

Andy

If you want to "give" your stuff away save for a few pennies then go with an auction house.

You'll do far better finding the patience selling individual items here on the forum or at the very least on ebay.

Just sell it off in bits and dribbles and deal with the minor shipping problems as they come.

As with everything in life, if you are not willing to do the work then don't expect the outcome you want.

Besides why sell your trains now? Retirement is the best time to build a layout and finally have some fun without the worries of working.

Another option that might gain you more money in return is to find an Ebay trading partner.  There are people who will Ebay your collection for you. You just have to find them and be sure they are reputable.  Maybe an out of work unemployed friend who does a lot of ebay?  They do all the work and take a commission.  I did just that for a friend and his boyhood collection who had no computer access.  Some of his American Flyer I bought outright.  It's been awhile but I think I took a 20% commission after all expenses to ebay and shipping.  He enjoyed receiving a check from me for around $800 for the small collection he had.  It was work for me but I was unemployed and thinning my stuff too.  Side story--He owned a restaurant and when he got his check and a printed breakdown of the transactions, I also got a free huge platter of appetizers and drinks.  :-)

Phil  

I believe PWTrains has given you the correct advice. Many shippers will properly pack the items for you at a very reasonable fee. Our Sell Forum is your best bet.

I agree completely, but ptalar wants to avoid doing pictures and spending time selling.  The only shipping company closest to me is a UPS store 25 miles away, and the cost to pay for boxes and packing materials could drive up the shipping cost.  It may be different for others.  Me?  I ebay and might get a couple bidders to drive up the price.  It happens.

Phil

If you ship USPS "Click'n Ship" Priority Mail the postman can actually pick up the package from you.  They also supply the boxes which you can order online for free.  On eBay you can print your labels directly(and they know the address of the buyer already).  With about 1000 transactions on eBay I have only had a handful of shipping damages.  The buyer can pay for insurance as an option which eBay can add if desired with just a click.

Alan

I think there is no way out unless I want to get pennies.  I will have to do it a little bit at a time in the OGR buy/sell forum.  Thanks for all your input.  There is no easy way to sell off unless you do the work.  I get it.  But I have to check with the OGR  brain trust, you forum members to make sure I did not miss any thing.

The reason why I am downsizing is because we bought a smaller house in Las Vegas, NV.  We live in California now.  I don't have a basement in either house and I don't have the room for the entire collection.  I may keep a couple of pieces when and if my son ever gets married and brings me grand kids but right now nothing.

Thanks gang.  I appreciate all your input.

Enjoy your retirement and good luck with selling your train stuff.

I agree with previous posters to sell it piece by piece or at least in logical groupings yourlself for the best return.

Most of the train collection buyers and auction houses are on the east coast so its likely you would be hurt on shipping the collection.

Selecting someone to sell for you would be just as bad a return maybe worse if they dont specialize in model trains.

One suggestion might be to take a car or van load to a train show (sacramento has a big one) and sell it off there. Just price it right and it will sell.

If you have some high ticket items , you may do better using the big auction houses back east .sometimes you get quite a bit more than ebay and they handle collecting money etc.  You can search what items go fot at the big auction houses on http://content.liveauctioneers.com/.  For common or lower priced items , I agree with above methods. The more work you do the more you will get. But a large collection will take time.

 Ihave used Stouts in Pennsylvania  http://www.collectorauctions.com/index.html for expensive items and been happy with the results.  They charge 15percent if you auction just a couple of items. 

Not if you do the description write up properly and supply them with documenting photos.

Why pay fees if you have the time?  Depending on your patience and need I would do it myself, maybe as suggested in lots or some type of order.  JMO. 

THERE IS ALSO CHARLES SIEGAL AT TRAIN CITY WHO BUYS COLLECTIONS.HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN FAIR IN ALL DEALINGS I HAVE HAD. traincity.com

Ptalar,

    If you have a local model rail road club in your area contact them to see if they purchase collections for resale in their company stores. My club the BDSME in Bethlehem Pa buys collections and offers them for sale when we have open houses or attend train sales. The profits from the sales keep our membership fees low so you are helping support the model RR community as well as making some money.

Even if you local club is not an O guage outfit they maybe interested because of the resale values.

JohnB

Maybe try a local train show in your area... rent a table and display what

you have. May be a way to get rid of those hard to ship items.

You may also have an afternoon of fun.....

Check your local auctioneers.

I know the ones near me have trains up for auction once or twice a year.

They may have an upcoming auction with collectible toys or trains where you can add your collection to it.

They will take their cut and you get a check.

I have seen a lot of stuff go for the price of what is listed for in Greenbergs price guide or above for Lionel trains!

Either way, selling a collection will cost either time or money.  I personally would avoid a local auction because the audience may be limited and selling price might be low.  I've bought estate lots because the folks just wanted to get rid of it and be done with it.  But I also did all the work over several months ebaying and made the money they could have made.  It's a tradeoff.  Either you put the work into selling it yourself or do no work and take whatever you can get.

Phil

can you email me with a list of what Ringling Bros items you have?

IMHO....To maximize the amount you will get sell it piece by piece at different shows in different areas and on different buy/sell sites. This is a big pain but will net you the most money.

Are you a member of TTOS? Monthly swapmeets in Anaheim and Arcadia, although they are seperate clubs. Another swapmeet you cluld sell out is the Orange Empire Train Museum swapmeet in the the spring. In June, you could sell at the ATTGA in La Jolla. Tables are very reasonable at these venues, ranging from 5 to 20. I have at times and have done very well.  I have had many transactions on the buy/sell board here, and great people to deal with. If your not in a hurry, I would try this to maximize your dollars.  There are many forum members in so cal that would probably be willing to drive to San Dimas to pick stuff up and save you the aggravation of packing and shipping.

Bob

I am not sure how you are going to maximize your return without selling it yourself.  I think CP Bob gave you a few option for the West Coast.  Shipping is expensive, you dont want to pay shipping to get it to an auction or a service to sell it for you, who is going to want a fee to sell the trains.

I was also going to suggest going to a train show and setting up a booth.

Another suggestion that I see a lot where I live is Antique Malls that are bascially indoor flea markets and several vendors have numerous train items for sale.  They have a booth or set of tables with their products already priced and the customer pays at front counter if they like something?

I've seen ads on Craigslist too...people buying and selling entire collections. 

Just a few thoughts if you decide to sell the items yourself.

Most important thing is that you have to be organized.  I think a spreadsheet as previously mentioned would be helpful, but you also need to be organized in packaging and shipping the items as well. 

One way to simplify shipping, would be to arrange for the shipping company to pick up the items at your house.  This would involve the investment in a balance to weigh your packages, but would be well worth it.

I also think that accepting Paypal would also simplify things are there would be no waiting for checks or money orders to arrive, no waiting on the time it takes for these to clear.

Jim

Post your items on the buy/sell forum here, make the prices hard to pass up and simply state that items are to be picked up at your home, cash only.

You'll probably get a few extra bucks, you'll meet some great people and probably share some train stories,  you'll see those who will be enjoying your trains, and you'll have some cash in your pocket. 

Just my thoughts.

Let us know what you decide.

Keep your trains and get a part time job. With retirement you'll have time for 10-20 hours a week.

Steve, while he doesn't want to "Give Away" his trains pricewise, he is not selling them because he "Needs" the money, but rather because, they are downsizing to a smaller home, and don't have the needed space to keep the whole collection.

Doug

Gang,

Thanks for all the great ideas.  Joining TTOS is a good idea.  I could sell at the Arcadia swap meet.  There are not too many train shows in the So Cal area that I know of other than Cal Stewart, that is focused on O Scale.  However, i will take your advice under consideration.

Phil

The Southwestern Division meet is this Sunday I think. The TTOS Southern Pacific Division meets the fourth Sunday of the month in Anaheim. Both are great meets with good people. This Saturday and Sunday there is a Great Train Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center. If you have a list I suggest bringing it to the show as there are several dealers that buy trains by the piece or the whole collection. In addition, there will be members from Southwestern and Southern Pacific at the show with their club layouts. Not sure who is handling the Southwestern layout (just go over and talk with them, they are very friendly) but J Keeley is the President of SP (also very friendly)and I am sure they can give you some direction.

Regards,

Randall