Selling trains during the summer months

[Anonymous]

There's definite phases in ebay sales - more large scale equipment seems to be put up in spring/summer, though you'll usually find some around January - guessing this is either unwanted gifts or people looking to thin out a growing collection. Certainly buying "off-season" can be a way to bag a bargain - anyone considering taking up winter sports would be advised to read up and track down skis etc now, as the prices are ludicrously low (one example). The same goes for models - in recent weeks I've seen some astonishingly low prices (particularly on "Buy It Now" items) even on scarce and unusual equipment. It's very definitely a buyer's market right now, as winning bids are noticably lower than later in the year. I'm not sure that different scales sell better or worse at a given time - maybe large scale doesn't fall off as much over the summer but it seems to be about the same year-round on some items.

[Anonymous]

I imagine things do slow down a bit in some segments of the hobby during the summer months, but since I'm also active in Large Scale, I don't see it all that much because summer is a very active period for many garden railroaders. I don't "do" eBay for a variety of reasons, but I have been selling trains on-line for about 10 years now and I haven't really noticed that sales fall off appreciably over the summer months. I just sell a few items at a time to avoid all the hassles involved in handling transactions (especially packing and shipping), but I have pretty much been able to sell everything I've offered--at a price I can live with--regardless of the season of the year. And if an item doesn't sell the first time out the gate, I just put it back in storage and try again a few months later. Eventually, I've been able to move just about everything I have posted.

However, there's no question that for-sale ads for train attract more eyeballs in the late fall and winter seasons, so the potential market does expand somewhat. The reason for that is obvious. I generally try to tailor my sales to the season, to some extent--selling Large Scale items in the spring and summer, and selling O gauge trains in the fall and winter.

[Anonymous]

Summer is a buyers market on Ebay. I too have found some great deals during the summer. I've been able to turn some of them over in the fall at a nice profit. If you are selling try and wait until the fall. I've actually found that the months Jan-Mar to be the best time to sell items. I guess a lot of people get into their layouts once the holidays are over and winter sets in.

[Anonymous]

Rlplionel's response is right on target. Just check out the listings on eBay right now and you'll notice that the MTH category is down to a little more than 700 listings, less than half the listings that regularly appear during the cooler weather months.

There is always a good market for good clean pre and postwar items, but junker or common items languish on eBay and never command decent prices during the warmer summer months when less
folks are searching on eBay.

Common or junker items are best sold during the pre and post Christmas season when the interest for and about toy trains is at its peak.

I've found that eBay sales of trains drop of dramatically around mid-May, and then begin their ascent around mid-August, They then peak around Christmas until late February-early March..

Now's a good time to buy, but check the listings often, as some dealers as well as collectors don't have access to train shows or need to blow out some of their inventoriies. Many use eBay's "Buy It Now" feature, so you have to watch frequently and jump on a bargain when you see it or it will be gone.

Anyway, that's just my observations.

BillFromWayne
www.modeltrainjournal.com

[pbjwilson]

John brings up a good point, e-bay is very unpredictable. I've been looking for some deals, and so far this spring/summer, I havent seen to many "good deals". Prices seem to be up on the items I've been tracking.

Before you list your trains, search to see if anyone else is selling similiar items and see what they're selling for.

Here's one with a very interesting bidding history. It was at 200.00 for a while and on the last day shot up like crazy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5979960939&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

[rlplionel]

My advice would be wait for the Fall, if you can, to sell. I do most of my train buying on eBay from late Spring until late Summer. Then, when interest (and bidding) in trains picks up again in the Fall, I sell what I have to sell.

Robert
http://home.surewest.net/rlplionel/Robert.htm

[csxt30]

Well, I don't buy very much, I wait for good deals & I got the 3 pack Lionel 6464 boxcars for only 42 dollars, Buy it now. Then just the other day I saw the same thing at 90 some dollars. They talked about this very thing quite a while back, & said traditionally they don't sell as well in summer. I really don't know, but Ebay sure sells em' like hotcakes!! Maybe you should just give it a whirl![:D] Hope this helps. Thanks, John

[Anonymous]

I have some trains that I want to put on Ebay but can't decide if I should wait until the fall. It doesn't seem that trains sell during the summer months but I may be wrong. What do you all think?

Red