buy for re-sale

I always do that.  I target DCS, TMCC, and Legacy engines.  The market has thousands of good locomotives that were made bad by user error.  Many came from the factory with an issue.  Some people would rather dump an engine for short money than admit they did something wrong.   I have people call me often telling me about the great bargain they got from flea bay.  The prior owner stated it ran before.  I stay clear from these items.  That can be a suckers game.  Bargains can be had to resell but you have to be selective where they come from.  It helps a bit to be able to fix them.

I only buy mostly new stuff. I don't collect, just accumulate, so I have no idea what any of this stuff is worth. Wouldn't know where to start doing something like this. And with my luck, everything I got would probably only be worth about half what I paid for it.

I've done that fairly regularly, years ago.  Not so much anymore.  I'm not all that familiar with current pricing, especially of collectables, these days.   Besides most of what I now do is in Hi-Rail, semi scale trains.

Best deal I ever made on trains was in purchasing a collection of mid-1950's Marklin HO stuff.  Paid $800 for the collection and my wife was furious at me for spending all that money at the time.  Took it all to York, back when the meet was only on Friday and Saturday, and sold the whole collection, piece by piece, to bunch of guys who all seemed to have German accents, for some $3,800, total.  And that was all on Friday!  When I told the committee that I didn't have anything left to sell they insisted that I have to stay at my table all day on Saturday.  I told them that I didn't have a train left to sell but that I would put my "fanny" on the table if they wanted me to.  Problem was solved when a guy heard our discussion, had just arrived at York and wanted a table for only Saturday.  Everybody was happy.  (Particularly my wife, who was sure that I was out of my mind for throwing that much money away.)

Paul Fischer

I do that sometimes, but I try to keep it to a minimum because of a shortage of storage space. Sometimes a deal will come along for three or four cars cheap, and maybe I want one and I can sell the rest, essentially getting me the one I wanted for free. I have to be very careful about it, because the resale market for trains is limited where I live, and if you go online or especially to eBay, shipping and fees can eat up anything you might make on the deal. Also if you misjudge the resale market, you can get stuck with a relatively bulky item for a long time. 

I collect WW2 US military stuff as my primary hobby, and I couldn't begin to write down all the amazing stuff I used to stumble across at flea markets and such...

Many of the structures on my On30 layout (which are just sitting on the plywood right now as scenery will start next month) were from train shows or ePay. I got most of them crazy cheap, but now I have way too many structures than I can use.

This sounds to me like day trading on the stock market or buying houses to flip, you better know what your doing.

20 years ago yes, today no. Todays trains depreciate like HO or a new car.

I plan to buy the new $1,900 Big Boy for $500 10 years from now.

As I always say, I buy high, and sell low.  I make up for it all in the volume.  Anybody need their taxes or books done?   

My place is like an old folks home...nothing leaves

Lol, don't hold your breath... the Vision Line 2-10-10-2 is still holding its value... so is the black vision line Hudson.... could be a long weight.

 . . . a long wait too.

.....

Dennis

No, just buy for me purposes.

I have always done this.  I will buy and flip houses, speciality cars, and the right trains.  yes, most trains will never be worth plus money.  I target those with operating issues that are priced as such.  I have had great luck buying from forum members.  Like anything else, stay with what you know.  I have been a car guy all my life and I have seen a few people I know loose money trying to be like the TV car buying guys. 

From time to time I run a post looking for non operative engines on the forum and have had great luck. 

I buy a few trains and related items from online auctions (Proxibid, Live Auctioneers, AuctionZip) and sell on ebay, usually much lower than other similar items and still make a little hobby money. Keeps me in the hobby and I get to have and hold different items for a short time. i have learned a lot that way. 

The 2-10-10-2 has never been done prior, and whether we'll ever see a Lionel re-issue is anyone's guess.  But I'm not holding my breathe.

The Big Boy, OTOH... how many times has Lionel produced this loco in recent years?  Will this be the third time?    Nothing that unique about it.  A few new features... Yes.  But not enough to give the big guy legendary status.  Sorry, I don't see the Big Boy following along in the 2-10-10-2's footsteps, IMHO of course.

Hopefully most folks buying a BB will either be running it (best use) or displaying it (OK use) for their enjoyment.  Running it would be ideal if someone has the right layout.  But buying one or two with hopes of selling them later for a profit is pretty much a dim prospect in this day in age.  I just don't see the demand for it.

David

To answer your question, no.  I buy things I want to keep.  If I find things I think are terribly under-priced -- I tell the seller.  

I buy what a like.  I collect some and operate others. Sometimes I will sell or trade for another item of interest.

Contrary to some previous comments on this tread I believe buying or reselling recently produced toy trains for profit is not desirable and certainly not smart - period. For what its worth, my advise is buy trains because you like them and run them, not because your hoping to resell or flip them for profit. Financial speculation on new or used trains really hurts those how enjoy operating them - i.e. artificially hiking up prices for would-be profiteers and collectors!

That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it!

By the time you factor in the high eBay and PayPal fees, it's just not worth it usually.  Back in the early days of eBay when the fees were lower AND the cost of shipping was a lot less lower, you could get a higher overall price because the shipping cost was lower.  And with fewer fees, that would increase your net as well.

No, the only flipping I do is when I flip over a great train that I had to have and finally acquired. I buy my trains to have fun with them rather than looking at what I can get out of a deal when I sell what I bought. As far as what I buy from forum members, I buy because I want it and don't have in the back of my mind plans to take adavantage of a fellow forumite who's offering a great deal here at a llow price because he feels the buyer really wants that item and doesn't think the buyer might only be using that seller to make money off the seller's genuine generosity of selling an item for less than it's worth bercause he thinks that buyer actually wants that item for himself. 

ny, I buy all the trains I want for myself.  I finance this partially with money made from repairing and selling inoperative trains I buy.  This works very well for me as I have an MTH account and a Lionel account. 

I average about 40 locomotives each year from the forum.  Some I sell on the forum and the rest get sold at York.  I am retired and do this for fun.  I also report any earnings.

How bout this one.  Guy comes to my table, picks out a few items, makes a kinda low offer with some story added on, and I accept.  Later on I'm walking around the show and see that guy with the trains I sold him on HIS table for sale with MY price stickers still on them. 

Wild Mary, you are a very lucky man if you do not like to make a buck.  Most of us took economics in school and understand the principal of making money.  I buy inoperative items, make them work and stand behind them.   Many people have trains that do not run and are very happy to find someone to give them money for them.  I am in a position to fix trains.   People are very happy to be able to sell an inoperative train.

I have several trains and buy new.  Legacy, TMCC, and DCS are what I buy.  If someone has PW, I direct them to a friend.  I do agree with one point you make about telling a person the train is for your collection.  I do not encounter any of that as I buy new.  I have a few engines and enjoy them all.

I agree. After factoring in the shipping and fees, I usually net out about $0.55 / $1.00 on eBay. It won't stop me from selling, but I seldom come close to breaking even.

If something was "stupid cheap", I may buy to resell. Not my usual approach to trains.

Gilly

If folks can buy and resell what the market will bear more power to them.

What Marty does in fantastic.  He buys stuff that doesn't work and fixes them, stands behind his repairs, and sells them.  He has time and effort into them so why shouldn't he make some money?  What would become of these if he didn't.  Shelf queens?  Land fill?

I buy and sell on ebay a lot; my dad always wondered why I never asked for spending money in college.  Anyway, I taught myself from a young age to repair postwar lionel (my tinkering probably contributed to me becoming an engineer).  

My two best flips:

1: A friend of the family's colleague had his trains from when he was a kid in the late 50s.  I wasn't able to see them before I bought them; all I had was a list of car numbers to go off of.  So not knowing condition, I got the lot for $35.  Turned out he got it for christmas and the transformer burnt out the first time he used it, so it was a mint Lionel postwar set (lower end, plastic engine) with all original boxes including the set box.  Also included was a beat up marx set and a cheap japanese tin set.  In the end I made about $200.

2: bought a lot of beat up lionel postwar accessories on ebay.  Included barrel ramp, operating frieght station, semaphore, automatic gateman, horse corral, and the sructure from a culvert unloader.  They all had missing parts, but I cleaned them up and fixed/replaced what I could.  After selling the gateman (I already had one), corral (didn't have the car), and the freight station (missing carts), I was able to keep the barrel ramp and the semaphore and still made a profit even after all the parts I had to buy.

So usually I try to buy a lot, keep what I want, and sell the rest. 

This has been happening as long as I recall. Dealers at shows sweep through and pick up all of the reasonably priced stuff and mark it up at their tables. I always thought this was wrong because at that point the average buyer gets left out and rarely gets a deal to keep them interested. I recall years ago when I was forced to sell off my AF S collection. This big time AF dealer saw what I was unpacking and started rudely routing through all of my boxes looking for the Northerns and Switchers. Then he wanted everything cheap. He was angry when I would not move on my prices. Some buyers got a good deal that day, but not him. Now that I am serious selling my collections for retirement, I don't care as sometimes buyers are scarce for some items. I still stand firm on my rare items if I know that the buyer is a big dealer.

As a buyer nothing feels better than getting a great deal on something the scarcer the better. I mainly bought to keep back in the day only selling when I upgraded. In the last few years I became a picker. I do not do shows, but I would scour garage sales and flea markets looking for stuff I could make a buck on. Most of it was stuff in dire need of repair, or a rust bucket needing restoration. Occasionally I'd get a good item like the time I got an early Lionel O 150 electric loco in just excellent condition. It was an early Manufacturing loco and the man wanted $40 which I was glad to pay. Some new wires, a good cleaning, and some brushes and she sold for $135.

Gandy

There's ALWAYS a story, and I seldom believe it.    People often lie through their teeth.  

I've heard all kinds of stories from folks here responding with low-ball offers, because they're all tapped out, tough times, blah, blah, blah...  Then the next day you see them back here on the forum responding to another for-sale thread regarding a different item that's twice as expensive as the item they were crying poverty to you about.  

There's one in every crowd.

I think we all know "flipping" occurs.  And there are lots of ways to sugar-coat it and/or justify the practice by those who do it..  But at the end of the day, it's just not the kind of thing we tend to think that highly about or are all that impressed with.  Generally speaking, it tends to NOT bring out the finer aspects of this hobby -- the exception being when recognized value is being added to the deal.  

I'd like to think we'd all agree there are enough "middlemen" in the supply chain already.  We don't need fellow toy train enthusiasts looking to make a fast buck off each other.  But it happens... always has, and will continue as long as some folks smell an opportunity lurking to push the envelope a bit further and pocket those dollars.

David

 I haven't yet sold a train. I might buy an extreme deal from an owner if I had intentions on keeping it, and it edged beyond my normal economic limit. They would get a thank you, and an invitation to visit it. I would likely sell it back if asked to.

 Too good a deal I may exceed the asking price if I could. I have questioned good deal prices, skipped further haggle, then found the reason and my regret later. At each deal, it is a unique issue really. Such ugly greed as Rich encountered does not sit well here either. Likely I would have been escorted from the premises that day. I might buy something at your price, and raise it. But those who use "sob stories for suckers" and say "its business" as they steal your sale are just morally bankrupt thieves, common conmen. Buying, selling, and trading trains was how my Grandfather paid for his hobby. He loved horse trading, and buying low was a requirement, but always a "square deal". Waiting till the next show to display it again if a resale hadn't been discussed would have at least been somewhat respectful. We run out of room, pass, change focus, etc, and lowball sales do get made. Many locos Gramps bought had the price paid, name, and number of the former owners with them, and courtesy calls were known to be made upon thoughts of trades or resale. I think His reputation for doing this helped his collection grow much faster than selling for profit did.

I used to enjoy doing a little of this, but haven't in quite awhile.  Recently anything I have bought and didn't need I have sold to my friends at my cost. 

Art

Prior to fleabay and the internet, I used to buy locally in train shows, keep what I

wanted, and take the remainder to Wheaton or York and resell it, and not lose money.  I did that in the early days of fleabay, too, but, as stated above, fees and shipping

made that a losing proposition.  And the general public wised up and learned they

could make more themselves selling on the net.  I rarely did garage sales, as the

gas costs did not offset walking through junk furniture and baby clothes..too much like panning for gold.  You would  be thinking, "Oh, boy..it is a young couple with screaming little monsters...they will be lucky to have some plastic HO." So, today, I see very little I could resell for a profit, and worse yet, little I want for myself.  But it is a lot easier today to search sitting in my Lazyboy eating breakfast and punching keys, than the long drives and goose chases I used to take, although some finds in the past were fantastic.

More power to those who can successfully buy trains for resale and actually make a profit.

In my area there are fewer train shows along with less interest in trains. Those who want something for the holidays are very likely to purchase something at a department store like Boscov's, a local hobby shop, or through the internet.

quote:

How bout this one.  Guy comes to my table, picks out a few items, makes a kinda low offer with some story added on, and I accept.  Later on I'm walking around the show and see that guy with the trains I sold him on HIS table for sale with MY price stickers still on them. 

When I was setting up at train shows, it was common for fellow table holders and some of the local store owners to purchase a lot of the items on my table. I knew they were buying them for resale and were going to mark them up. I didn't care. I usually priced my stuff to sell. I got my money. They were probably going to carry those things for quite a while to get those higher prices.

Lowball offer? - the seller is under no obligation to accept it or even dicker at all.

Many people will recommend leaving a little room to dicker. Some folks won't buy unless they can dicker, no matter how low the initial price may be.

Sometimes I think that setting the price too low can be a problem too. It seems that when the price is too low, folks think there must be something wrong with the item.

If something was "stupid cheap", I may buy to resell. Not my usual approach to trains.

 Gilly

Agreed. I usually don't flip but if the opportunity does present itself, I am going for it.

Although many people will recommend leaving a little room to dicker. Some folks won't buy unless they can dicker, no matter how low the initial price may be.

          C.W. Burfle

Soo [line] true!

Then I strongly recommend they waste neither their time nor mine.  

David

No; just buy for myself.

Yeah, saw that at the last model train show I had a table at. And the buyer scratched over my price stickers. I know it's fair, but that never sat well with me.

As far as sellers being taken advantage of, I think most sellers have a 'lowest' price in mind when they decide to sell something. I can't see these 'hard luck' stories working on too many folks, unless the seller is just wanting to get rid of the item. And while we all get 'taken' occasionally, and I'm sure we've all had our share of bad luck, I think most of us have been around long enough to know better. It would be my thoughts that the buyers get 'taken' much more often than the sellers. Happens to me every time I fall for something that looks 'too good to be true'!

I also see nothing wrong with buying broken engines, obtaining parts to repair them and then re-selling, especially someone willing to stand behind their work. Might do this myself if I had the skill to do it. I think it would be a fun thing to do. And as others have said, you might just be saving an otherwise very nice engine from the dumpster and the seller gets something to boot instead of having to dispose of it.

Clearly your experiences are rare in this neck of the woods these days.  Please send your "customers" my way!!!    With rare exceptions, nobody buys stuff these days on the secondary market at prices that yield profit -- or even break-even -- for the seller. 

You may stay above water with excess layout building supplies (i.e., unused track, scenery items, wiring components, etc...) that you over-purchased.   But the trains themselves?  No way are you NOT gonna take a hit -- unless you have something that happens to be that year's "hot item".  The list is VERY short indeed... and in years past it's included the Lionel black VL Hudson, Lionel Milwaukee Road S-3 (especially #261), Lionel VL Ethanol tanker with freight-sounds, along with -- of course -- the Lionel die-cast GEVO hybrid and other die-cast ES44 locomotives.

Dealers have long ago sold through their inventory of those "hot" items.  Or in the case of the occasional special club car sold exclusively to club members, dealers never had them to begin with.  So buyers are "forced" to look in the secondary market to obtain those desirable items.  Aside from stuff like that though, you're basically competing against authorized dealers who are selling products with an importer-backed warranty (in most cases).  So why is somebody gonna buy something from you at the same price they can buy from an authorized dealer with warranty protection?    Ain't gonna happen.    And that's just the current generation of product!  Forget about trying to break even or make a profit trying to sell "n-1" or "n-2" generation product.  The technology treadmill is obsoleting items at an ever-increasing pace these days.

David

Dear L..I. Trains,

Avast ye! That's bloomin' Pirate talk if I ever heard. Parlayed comes from old French which means "to speak"

I'll swab the deck wit ye!

I'll keel haul ye!

I'll run ye through!

AAARGGHH!!!

DEAD eye Mike Maurice

Well, that's all of two. Maybe. But the definition of "holding its value" is an elusive one. Dennis is correct - you better know what you're doing, and even if you do, it's virtually impossible to predict what items will "hold their value." Pretty much everything will lose its value, in that almost no items will ever sell for more that what was originally paid for them. And with inflation, things would have to increase in price just to "hold their value."

I suspect that there will be large discounts on Big Boys after a few years, given that there will be a lot of them around, and an ever-decreasing number of people who would want to buy them.

Fair enough. I model On30, not 3-rail, so I'm totally unfamiliar with the values of any of that stuff. All I've been getting rid of were excess supplies and some structures that were good to start with.

That, for most people, is the only way it's a venture that justifies the investment of time required to make it work with a reasonable rate of return.

I am in it as a hobby not a business. Recently passed on a like-new  Lionel FM Trainmaster  that wa under priced. it was too big for my layout so I left it for someone else. It didn't last long.  I have had "good deals" but figure they balance all the others.

Where do you guys get off telling us how to support our hobby?  Like it or not, this is a COMPETITIVE hobby with a lot of COMPETITIVE people.  Some of you spend less than $500 a year which is fine.  Some of us spend thousands per year.  There is room for everyone.  Enough of the petty jealousies of people turning a buck...TINPLATE ENVY is not a desirable trait PEOPLES!  I know a lot of you are of the "no one should have more than anyone else"(gee wonder who gave you that idea), but if I drive 2 hours, spend a whole day at an auction, and turn a few trains to support my train addiction, then who the heck are you?  I work very hard at my job, but it does not fully support my train wants.  Also, I can make the case that I am making a lot of trains available to collectors out in Kansas, etc. where collectible trains may be fewer.  Sadly, people on here often are not tolerant of others' pursuits.

quote:

Sadly, people on here often are not tolerant of others' pursuits.

There are people who confuse J.L. Cowen and A.C. Gilbert with Santa Claus.

Good one Burf...sometimes I think we are one and the same...the only 2 collectors here?  And everyone tells us how to go about things.  That takes away from the reason I visit here...TO GET AWAY FROM THE NASTISITIES OF LIFE!

Ron, it's the classic issue with any hobby and how many people see it:

• Anyone less into it than you isn't really into it and not worth the time.
• Anyone more into it than you really needs to get a life.

But as for the, "I deserve what i can't afford," I don't get this. Communism doesn't work in real life, that's been proven time and again. But even if it did, it sure wouldn't apply to hobby stuff. yet, some people feel it's your duty to make things as cheap for them as possible (and then, a little cheaper than that).

At a show a few years ago where I was selling off my G scale stuff at bargain prices, I had to tell a couple of people, "maybe you should look for another less expensive hobby, or go to HO scale" as nothing in G scale is cheap. They wanted LGB at used Tyco prices and took serious issue with me not going along with that...

Buy low. Sell high. Lemme see...I think there is a name for that.

Oh yes...I remember! It's called CAPITALISM and it is a GOOD THING.

Those of you who are critical of people who engage in the "Buy low, sell high." process fundamentally don't "get it."

Amen!

Now I get it, just the opposite of investments!

Do it any way that you want. I have no problem with dealers-part time or full time. Glad they are out there so I know where to look. I was an industrial salesman for 40 years so I stayed away from selling in connection with my hobbies. It i the "buy high"  and sell low" that kills you.

Some shows I've been to, it's close enough to the same thing...

Stuff goes in and out of vogue all the time.

Ask any 'collector plate' collector or anyone into beanie babies...

Collector plates?

Was there ever a secondary market for them?

Back in the day, I was a regular at a weekly country style auction in the Capital district. Collector plates as well as any other items manufactured as collectors items generally did not do well.

The auction was attended by NYC antique dealers.

Rich beat me to it.  I was going to say it sounds like good ol' capitalism at work here.

.....

Dennis

Rich, nobody could say it better.  I have been wheeling and dealing all my life.  I have never gone into anything that is over my head.  My thing is real estate, cars, and trains.  We all hear people saying how much they wish they had something and have no money.  People, this is America and everyone has the same opportunity.  Get up every day and go to work and you can achieve anything you want. 

Back in the 80's and 90's I used to buy post war locomotives and part them out. I could double and triple my cost of the items I bought. I did it with scale Hudson's, F3's, trainmasters, etc. 

There were guys who hated my guts for doing it and would confront me at some meets saying I was ruining the hobby. I paid them no mind and kept buying and selling. To me they were only toys. 

If if you have a problem with what I did just read Rich Melvins post. 

Rich nailed it.  Wish some more in DC saw things this way.

David, they were jealous. They did not have the means or your talent to do so.  I know you told them the same thing I tell people like that.  If you have the know how, you deserve to score.   Thank you for sharing.

Interesting topic.

I too try to support my hobby by looking for items that can be resold at a higher price. Funny enough, I have had great success with limited run "S" gauge items offered by NETCA and have on order some "S" gauge cars from METCA. I look for limited runs that I think will appeal to a large audience.

I do this with some "O" gauge items as well by purchasing SELECT items from LOTS, LCCA, TTOS and other groups. If this offends some people it is unfortunate, but I can't be concerned.

Paul

quote:

Back in the 80's and 90's I used to buy post war locomotives and part them out. I could double and triple my cost of the items I bought. I did it with scale Hudson's, F3's, trainmasters, etc. 

 

There were guys who hated my guts for doing it and would confront me at some meets saying I was ruining the hobby. I paid them no mind and kept buying and selling. To me they were only toys. 

 

While I wouldn't do it, as far as I am concerned, you were providing a service to those who wanted an original part.
You weren't the only guy doing it either. Off the top of my head, I can think of two other people who were parting out trains. One guy put out a fairly thick catalog. (I wonder whether I kept one)

Yes, interesting topic.

Here's what I don't understand,

I see for sale items where the seller says "It's new, mint, still in the shipping box" and he's selling it for 1/2 of what he paid for it.  To me that means he's losing money from the get-go.

Why would anyone buy something new (and maybe at MSRP), then turn around and sell it for 1/2 price?  The only reason I can think of is the seller spent too much and now the bill is due, unless what he's saying isn't the whole truth.

quote:

I see for sale items where the seller says "It's new, mint, still in the shipping box" and he's selling it for 1/2 of what he paid for it.  To me that means he's losing money from the get-go.

While some people buy for resale, and some people buy trains as an investment, there are plenty who don't.  And those who do often buy things that they collect too.

There are any number of reasons why a person would sell their trains at a loss.

Maybe they need the money.

Maybe they need the space.

Maybe they are planning to relocate, and don't want to move the trains.
Maybe they are doing some "advance estate planning", and don't want to leave the stuff for their family to deal with.

There is one fellow I always make certain to visit a York. He is not a dealer, but he purchased a lot of current production stuff though out the Modern era, and never used or displayed them. He is now selling that stuff off at a fraction of what he paid. This time he had NOS Lionel GG-1's and NOS Lionel FM Trainmasters, among other items. Made me wish I could use them.

I know that a lot of people here don't understand why someone would buy something and not use it.
The answer is simple, those folks take pleasure in ownership.

Thanks CW

There's another reason I just thought of, one that I have experienced myself in another hobby.

We get caught up in the feeding-frenzy whenever new items come out and for whatever reason, feel the need to buy 1 (or 2) of each, trying to acquire the complete collection or series.  Maybe we think the manufacturer will offer these only once, or a small quantities, only to realize a few years down the road that they're still pumping them out.  All of a sudden you have a room full of stuff and no where to put it.

I have a hard time keeping things in the box, therefore anything I would try to resell later would be less than what I paid for it, unless it was so collectible that folks didn't care.

Most everyone here knows I'm in the same league as CW.  I collect (first), operate (second), service, repair, (third) and buy the value and resell it.  I've done this since day one, sometime back in circa '72.  I've gone thru several collections and have always done well.

I've posted many pictures of my Pennsy by Lionel collection and my operating accesories layout, also my service bench/work area.

I service for two local dealers and I am always on the lookout for good buys, whether it be for parts or to sell to the shop owners so they can in turn sell to the public.  I bought a heavily discounted Lionel medium/high end CSX set from the local Hobby Town.  I added a decent profit and sold it to the dealer that operates out of an Antique Mall/Flea Market near Kutztown.  He in turn sold it to a very pleased buyer the second Saturday he had it, and cleared $90.

Items for sale get a second look from me if they are in EXC or better condition or priced very low.

At a local flea market a couple had a table full of Marx, Scout Lionel and a Lionel Prewar set or two.  Nothing I could use pricewise but off to the side was a little rusted, Postwar, plastic trucked, whistle tender chassis.  I asked how much, the woman said five bucks, I said "sold".  That's the stuff I can always use.

For me, the hunt never ends, and there's some OGR Forumites that use the FS board that can attest to that.

This is a fun hobby, that I enjoy, and for me, it is mostly self sustaining.

Bob D.

I do this quite often. 95% of my stuff was purchased new.  Sometimes, I buy something, and don't like it after it arrives.  It didn't meet up to my expectations, or it fails to fit in to my most current scheme.  Or maybe I just want to make room for something newer.  Anyway, I check the current market for similar items for sale, and always price mine lower to help insure a sale.  Even this sometimes doesn't result in a sale, and I end up keeping the item.  

Unfortunately,  it seems the items I have for sale don't command high prices, and if I do sell them, it's always at a loss.

But, that said, I enjoyed the original hunt for the piece, enjoyed buying it, owning it (for a time), and had some enjoyment in the anticipation of possibly selling it.  

I know this won't make sense to many of the members reading and posting here, but,  it satisfies me, and that's my story.

Bob Severin

One more reason comes to mind: D-I-V-O-R-C-E.

Great stories so far>

I see "new, mint", etc. on the bay and the item is 30 years old. Really? Did they buy it and hold it that long just for this?  

I have bought for re-sale a couple of times. Years ago the Little Choo Choo Shop in Spencer was blowing out lots and lots of trains. I purchased quite a few trains them and sold on Ebay. The money I made on those paid for the trains I kept.

Last December I bought several items from the Lionel sale and flipped them on the Buy-Sell Forum and on Ebay and that paid for the items I kept. If my wife knows that more money is coming in than left she is a lot nicer about the trains I decide to keep.

Scott Smith

A bit paraphrased, but I could not agree more, although almost none of the stuff I buy is new. I enjoy buying, owning, holding (just to look at and understand its scale and dynamics) and then selling (some items). I also enjoy finding a neglected piece and making it run or work again. I need to learn more, but that gives me tremendous satisfaction. As such, I like post-war trains the most, but have a handful of newer items. Ironically, I like SCL, ACL and Southern (post-war railroads), but most items made with those road names are more modern. 

Many people would rather buy something used from a certified Lionel or MTH service tech that will stand behind what they sell.  That is much safer than to roll the dice on flebay.  Many do not follow this but do follow the price.  Good luck with that. 

quote:

I see "new, mint", etc. on the bay and the item is 30 years old. Really? Did they buy it and hold it that long just for this?

As has already been posted, sometimes the answer is yes.

But on EBay one has to be careful. Words like "new" and "mint" seem to have little meaning there. I cannot count the number of listings I've seen where the seller's title says "new" or "mint" but the body of the ad states that the item has been used, or the pictures indicate use.  Buyer beware.

      When I was 12 years old (72 now ), I raked leaves, mowed grass, shoveled snow etc. to earn  money.  My dad repaired trains for Wm. Becker & Nicholas Smith in Philadelphia, Pa.  At that time, the 'repair shop' was in our basement. We did not sell new or used trains. I was out w/ my mom one day, and we came across "The Bazarr of All Nations" store comprised of many 'little stores' selling all kinds of goods. One shop sold used Lionel, American Flyer and HO trains. The prices seemed really cheap, and I bought a box full of 'goodies' and took them home. My dad let me set up a card table in our repair section of the basement and I sold out in about a week. Naturally I went back for more. I was very proud that I was a "BUSINESS OWNER" at 12 years old.

   Dad built a 25 x 25 ' garage several years later, half was train store and repair. I was allotted an 8' x 8' area for my stuff.  At 15 years old, mom would now drive me to Phila.to a distributor called "Bernie Paul Dist.".  They sold all kinds of hobby items. I surprised Mr. Paul one year at a "Christmas open house" that they ran, offering special pricing and for one lucky person, an additional 25% off any order placed that day and paid for.  I was the lucky winner ( I still think the drawing was rigged because I was only a teenager and they thought I had no real money). Not so, I had that day $1000 in my moms pocketbook.  My salesman was "flabbergasted"!!  From that point on we bought, sold and traded anything to do w/ trains. I wanted more room, so pop said you can expand if you pay for the work. We had a neighbor remove the garage door and replace w/ a picture window, I painted the walls, put up wood shelving, a sheet linoleum floor and some used show cases.

We are still in business and celebrating our 75th year as family owned since 1939.

We bought out 18 stores in the 60's of all of their 'train' parts and related items. "Hill Cycle Shop" in Chestnut Hill was the biggest thrill .  Jerry Casalle was the owner and was in failing health. He was an old Lionel / AF repair shop and bought direct from Lionel. After years of getting cut back on his orders, Jerry doubled his order, thus expecting to receive close to what he actually wanted. That was the year Lionel shipped 100% of his order.  It arrived in one large box truck.  It ended up that Jerry's parents mortaged the property to pay for the shipment and Jerry's staff ended up dismantling many sets, locomotives etc. just to be able to walk around in their store and house.  The basement was 60' long, lined w/ parts cabinets, floor to ceiling on both sides.  I got the whole works in my purchase. I reassembled many F3, FM, GG1 etc. locos from the parts. No boxes, but the locos were "MINT". 

   Hope I did not bore you, I get carried away when writing about "TRAINS" or my "Lionel Lat Model Dirt Race Car". 

          Thank you for your patronage!!

           "  The Old Man"

Harry:  A great story, filled with a great personal history.  Glad to have been able to read it.

Bob Severin

Great, great story. Thanks for sharing, will see you on Nov 1st.

Art

There are TONS more reasons why somebody would sell an item for less than they paid originally.  CW listed quite a few.

Sometimes folks buy stuff for years in hopes of building that huge basement empire down the road.  But for some reason, it never materializes.  Life has a habit of upsetting the apple cart.  

Perhaps they joined a huge club or modular club, and no longer need a home-based layout.  Perhaps they bought a lot of conventional or TMCC equipment, and now they want the latest Legacy locomotives.  Or as in my case, my toy train interests have changed substantially toward Standard Gauge trains. I still buy new O-Gauge items from time to time, but not nearly as much as I did years ago.

The list goes on and on.  The one nice angle to this hobby is that there's any value at all that can be garnered from selling older items.  Not every hobby has that outlet.  In some little corners of the world, older stuff is viewed as junk with no inherent resale value.  And even when resale is possible in our little corner of the world, it's done in the shadow of the technology treadmill which exerts downward pressure on prices.  This is particularly true in the operator's culture we find ourselves in today (as opposed to the short-lived collector's culture of the 1980's), where importers continue to crank out new product in an  already-oversaturated market.  

So don't assume all sellers are looking to make a quick sale at fire-sale prices to pay impending bills, with daily price reductions on their for-sale listings until all items sell.  I've kept for-sale listings active for weeks -- or even months sometimes, because I take the view, "When it sells, it sells... and hopefully what I view as a fair win-win price.  And if an item doesn't sell, I'm more than happy to keep it in my roster rather than give it away.  After all, I bought the item in the first place because I liked it -- not because I planned to sell it.  

David

What about the 'pawn stars' mentality?

At the last show I had a sales table at, people would come up wanting discounts because, "I gotta make a profit" from it. I replied to each, "Yeah, these are retail prices, I'm selling to a secondary market already. I don't care if you 'gotta make a profit' or not, just like WalMart wouldn't care if you bought anything from them and used the same line. These are the prices. Take 'em or leave 'em."

Man, did that not go over well with them...

Not boring at all, would really enjoy reading more stories like this. If you have more to post, please do!

p51, that show and the pickers show has hurt selling between people.  That Mike guy pays stupid money (scripted) for JUNK bikes and now everyone who has a junk bike thinks they have gold.  Same thing with signs and old cans.   I smiled to think they got screwed on the standard gauge train.  The so called expert they consulted with knew less than nothing.

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I smiled to think they got screwed on the standard gauge train. 

Me too.

Marty and CW, I agree 100%.  These shows have such inflated prices on junk, they have hurt the market on darn near everything used and collectible.  

"these nickel and dime flea market guys are a waste of time"

I look at it as a two way street!

If the buyer buys an item at a certain price and the seller sells that item at a certain price, what is wrong with that?

If the buyers price is too low, the seller don't have to sell it and if the sellers price is too high, that buyer won't buy it!

Its like everything else in the market, price is too high, you don't buy it!

As for these so called"reality" shows, they are all set up staged with the items that are being bought!

You can't tell me Mike and Frank drive thousands of miles, look at a huge building full of "treasures" and walk out with only a few items!

I "met" Mike & Frank before the fame. They stopped at a pals place "because it looked like you have a lot of stuff at this house". My pals property had been robbed of some items just before their visit, so he chased them of in a not so nice way, and copied down the plate & business name for authorities.(dog was a start, they are lucky they left quick, my pal don't play). In the end their flyer helped us contact people in their area that new them as good people. While the show may be scripted, they do go hunting the back roads for treasure. I also think if they don't start making more noise approaching private property, their carriers may end "suddenly" one day.