How does the lower prices on modern used trains effect your buying of new trains?

I don't buy new locomotives.  The "newest" locomotive I own was made in 1990.

 

The dropping prices of the trains that I already own hurts.  Unfortunately, that is just the way it is and I have to accept it.  At least there is a market for older trains.

 

I don't buy a new engine just because the technology has changed.  I keep and run what I have.

 

NH Joe

 

I only pre-order and pay full price if it's a must have item for me. Otherwise it's stupid to preorder right now on most items.

For example I heald off on purchasing the legacy light mikado mainly because it wasn't released in an EJ&E version. I waited a year and paid hundreds less than if I would have purchased it right away.

I'm preordering the new Lionel EJ&E SD 38s because they are a must have for my layout. If there's not enough preorders they may never be built. With that said the pre order pricing for them is around 520 for each unit right now. I'm guessing next year at this time they will be going for 420.

I am a huge fan of the trains Lionel offered around 2002 to 2006 (just before Legacy).  I think many of the sounds are far superior to the Legacy versions of the same engines.  Therefore, I have been buying a lot of very nice engines from that period that I never felt I could afford.  But at prices of 35 to 50 percent of what they originally sold for, I do not seem to be able to pass them up. Even some of the first Legacy offerings are popping up with really good prices. 

 

I do purchase some new items but 60 to 75 percent of my purchases in the last few years have been 10 to 12 year old Lionel.

 

By the way, I hardly ever purchase a new car either.  My last auto purchase was a 6 year old car with only 6,000 miles (it still smelled new) for 30% of it's list price.

 

Always glad t find a deal!

 

Happy railroading,

Don

 

For me, we are not able to afford to buy new engines, especially for what they are asking for them.

I think the "newest" engine I have is from 2007, I just picked up a Lionel 1645 for 40 dollars at the first train swap of the year. Before that I "splurged" on a 565 for 75 after a trade in at my local shop. I'm finding a lot of the modern stuff being on par expense wise with some Postwar and MPC era stuff, which is fine by me. As long as it runs and pulls some trains, I don't care when it is from.

I don't know if I'll ever be in the new train market, but what I'm happy for is being able to buy some fairly inexpensive trains to run around the layout for myself and my three year old. I can actually let him play with them and have fun and let him have the train bug.

Same here. With that said, I'd still buy primarily used if I were buying modern Lionel items. There's really little reason to buy a super-expensive item if it'll be a fraction of the cost on the second-hand market.

I always buy used as it is normally less expensive than new.

 

Define "modern"

Does modern mean electric rather than wind-up?  lol

Postwar rather than prewar?

Trains produced after the demise of the original Lionel company?

Trains made in the 21 century?

I think I just have too many trains, but the new sound systems has made me re-think buying trains that are 10 years old.

 

I do not buy Kline trains with TMCC any more... the electronics are just too unstable.

 

PROTO1 and PROTO 2 5 volts are on the same issue line.

 

I think I'm at the point now where I am looking for a certain few remakes with the latest Legacy updates and I'm done buying....

 

Major negative effect. I have about all I want and my storage space is full, which means that I need to clear out some space in order to accommodate anything "new" (new or used) that I buy. So, with prices depressed and nothing moving even at depressed prices, space is not opening up. I currently have nothing on pre-order. I'm adjusting my expectations for what I can get out of what I have for sale, but I will be buying very, very little that is new for the foreseeable future. 

 

Fall is coming and demand should pick up some, but I think the lower prices on the secondary market will be with us for a while. I see a lot of very unrealistic asking prices on the Bay, but the items don't sell. What actually changes hands mostly goes pretty cheap, except for a few very desirable items like Lionel PS-4 flatcars. 

 

The combination of escalating prices for new trains and falling prices for used will not be good news for the manufacturers. Buyers will be price-shocked out of the new market and look to the very attractive prices for used trains.

98% of my post 1990 stuff is pre owned. 100% of my pre 1990 is pre owned. I factor in replacing the electronics when purchasing older engines. With current retail prices I can build an engine approaching the performance of new for about a third of the price and have equal or better detail. Works for me.

 

Pete

Define "modern"

Does modern mean electric rather than wind-up?  lol

Postwar rather than prewar?

Trains produced after the demise of the original Lionel company?

Trains made in the 21 century?

I am referring to the Modern Era Trains 1970-Present.

Scott Smith

I'm only buying Proto Sound 3's.

So if you are trying to sell trains to get that new item, that means your used train is bringing in less money. Does this effect the ability to buy more new stuff? 

Scott Smith

My collection is so big that new to me means a new model that has not been offered- such as the SD38. Will pre order to make sure it's made. I wil not sell off my Blowout TMCC equipped PRR M1a for the Latest PRR legacy M1a model though or the TMCC PRR Y3 2-8-8-2 version compared to the current Weathered Legacy version.

Is the fact that used stuff is going cheap make you want to buy the used trains instead of the new trains?

Scott Smith

Yes! NOT only are the trains bargains but the "thrill of the Hunt" comes to mind! Most of the used items that I seek are the "hard to find" ones that I missed out on the original order. However some items when compared to new may and I stress MAY take a back seat to new. Case in point are MTH PRR Centipedes. Recently a shop was "blowing out" the new PS3 versions and I would take them over many PS2 version and any PS1 version.

 

The pre-war/post war market has changed, now the modern train market is dropping as well. A friend of mine use to say, just expect .50 on the dollar when selling your trains. .50 on the dollar is no longer the reality. How does this new reality effect you?

Scott Smith

Well I am now curious as to what the current price is if $0.50/$$ is not the avg.

With the baby boomers aging or dying off I have noticed a glut of pre/post war trains selling for pennies on the dollar. Unfortunately as this community of hobbyists age there doesn't seem to be any younger generation hobbyists to fill their shoes. It doesn't seem as if the interest is there or the money is there either. Next time you are at a show take the time to look around at who is at that show. Nothing but blue and gray hairs mainly with maybe a few grand kids thrown in. Same with local old car shows, same thing. A bunch of 60 and 70 year olds reliving their youth sitting around telling stories.

 

I have seen too many families where the hobbyist has died off leaving them the burden of ridding themselves of a collection of this or old car that, that the family has no interest in. Thus the overabundance of pre/post war trains available rather cheaply. I think it is great myself because I can not afford to buy Lionel's new train asking prices but I sure can fill a shopping bag of old used Lionel rather affordably at the shows and on ebay. I know most of what I buy is common older Lionel but when the economy was booming 15-20 years ago it was priced out of my affordability range.

 

Moral of this story enjoy getting deals on used while it sells cheaply. If Lionel sees that no one is willing to purchase at their inflated prices for new, sooner or later they will have to drop their prices or they will be stuck with a bunch of over priced inventory.

 

I will keep buying and playing with cheap used post war trains!!!!!! They may not have all the bells and whistles with fancy electronics but hey sooner or later that Chinese electronics will fail anyhow and you will be left with basically a post war train anyhow less the accessories.......

 

Happy Hunting!!!!

Like the "Tin Plate World".

Traditional Prewar for me.

 

What is surprising is I have boughten 2 locos that are hard to find and MTH will not make another run of these. I picked up a Railking Mountain and Hudson from the same guy all together for 429.99 both had less than and hour of running time. Fair enough to say the used modern locos are sold cheaper because the miles on them and the hours. I have seen a weathered Lionel Dash 9 with TMCC a few years ago sell at TTOS Cal-Stewart meet in California for 125. 

 

I try to buy something that has been made that MTH sells at retail that I can get cheaper. Proto 2.0 is just as good a Proto 3.0. Sounds are nicer but I have 8 Proto 2.0 locos, they run just as good as Proto 3.0. Now I know that I will get 3 more Proto 3.0 locos and  my question is MTH uses a "wireless tether" but I do not consider it wireless, your still hooking it up not by a electric eye.

 

quote:

 So if you are trying to sell trains to get that new item, that means your used train is bringing in less money.

 

My observations are a bit different.

IMHO, the prices on early MPC are on the rise. That is, after you factor out the "instant collectable" prices that some of them hit.

The prices on the 18005 (700E reissue) Hudson have bottomed out and are up a bit.

In general I think the pieces with electromechanical e-units, and perhaps some of the pieces with simple electronic e-units are holding or going up.

Maybe the prices on more recent "older" trains with electronics are

dropping.

 

I will agree that prices on most rolling stock are soft, but with the ever increasing price of new trains, they may start going up too.

When it comes to locos, I have always maintained that preordering is the way to go to ensure that you get what you want.  I passed on a couple of items and now I am kicking myself because it has been several years and I have yet to see them come up for sale.

Rolling stock, not so much.

And I am at the point now where my wish list is VERY short and I don't buy trains nearly as much as I used to, as I am seeing reruns of a lot of previously released items, and they are not being offered in the road names I want.

Engine if its something I really want and not available used, I'll buy new. But cars, accessories I buy used, many times a 1/3rd what a new car cost.

I do weight in adding or replacing command systems, lights, etc. upgrades to make the decision.

But many of the high priced items are just same old same old rehash. "O" is not "HO" when it comes to manufacturers taking a chance to produce something new and bold.