Toy train operating and collecting

The other day, I asked a couple of guys if they had ever purchased anything from a live eBay Auction, and they replied they had not.  I have purchased a few things from eBay but never from a live auction. 

Has anyone had experience with the live eBay Auctions?

An example can be seen at : http://www.liveauctions.ebay.com/catalogs/21495

I've watched a few and bid on a few items, but as far as postwar items are cocerned, the prices are way to high. If you factor in the buyer's premium it's just crazy to me. I'd rather go to York.

Mike S.

Yes, I have done before and since I only purchase high-grade collector items I generally am interested in the live auctions.

Its actually quite simple. Just sign up (like signing into eBay) and your done. Next input your highest bid. Once the auction is going you can actually watch the your lot # bidding. 

I have purchased only from Ambrose-Bauer auction and the shipping and item quality is exceptional. 

BUCKEYE,

  I won two Lionel baby hudsons from the KUHUN Auction a few years ago, for $120.00 then I had to pay a premium and shipping.  Total came to about 150 bucks so not to bad for 2 conventional engines?

laz57

I was going to start a tread along the same subject.  I won this auction earlier today, and was looking for some input.  I know I didn't get a "great" deal; but I figured I did OK.  Other cars like this went for as much as $300.  This one went for $110 + 18 (Premium) + S+H witch I figure will probably be about $10...Total about $138 (OK...now I don't like that figures).  Live and learn; it could be worse.

Live Auction

If you scroll down on the page and click on the "prev" button under the large pics; you'll see what others went for.

What do you think?

darianj wrote:

I won this auction earlier today,

I think you got a really really exceptional car for a more than reasonable price.

I have been trying to buy one of these for a few weeks from my local shop. No box, and the condition is probably "very good". They want $80.00 for it, which is way overpriced for the condition. The one you bought appears to be a better value.

I'm suspicious of some of the so-called "live" auctions. One of the more well known collectors used to sell on regular Ebay auctions and has now gone "live". Good way to add xtra profit to the sale in the form of the buyers premium, and without declaring a reserve that would increase the seller's Ebay fees, it seems possible to void a low bidding auction by declaring it was "won" by some anonymous live bidder as opposed to an internet one.

It's already bad enough trying to score a good deal on Ebay thanks to all the rookie knotheads that keep bidding up items because they think that they have to be top bidder throughout the duration of the auction instead of just the end.

I suppose if you have more cents than sense, "live" internet auctions are just fine... 

Frank53 wrote:

darianj wrote: I won this auction earlier today, I think you got a really really exceptional car for a more than reasonable price. I have been trying to buy one of these for a few weeks from my local shop. No box, and the condition is probably "very good". They want $80.00 for it, which is way overpriced for the condition. The one you bought appears to be a better value.

Actual experience beats speculation any time.

Buckeye Riveter wrote:

Actual experience beats speculation any time.

Frank53 wrote:

Buckeye Riveter wrote: Actual experience beats speculation any time.

Though I only have experience with Barrett Jackson live car auctions !! I'm still deciding on which one to bid on !!

Thanks, John

 Buckeye,

I took the plunge recently for the first time. Did not expect to win a live auction, but did. 

I bid for the Marx 999 shell only. It's an embossed pilot, harder to find than the two solid styles. 

The rest of the items will be trading stock I figure. Paid 100.00 for the lot. 

Anyway, took the plunge, easy to sign up, did win, and paid quickly with PayPal. Auction ended 3/17/07, the Conestoga Auction Company notified me on 3/29/07 item shipped that day.

So not sure of the quality of items I purchased yet, but I can tell you they are in no hurry to ship to internet bidders.

Rod L.

One big drawback to live auctions is, if you decide to follow the auction while it is happening, you can literally be all day on a Saturday, which is when most of the good quality Lionel postwar is auctioned, unless you can guess from the lot number of the item, and the amount of time it takes per auction item, as to when to "tune in".  The other option is to place an advance absentee bid, but from my own experience, somebody almost always outbids, unless my advance bid is somewhere in the stratosphere.  Some train auctioneers know how to properly grade auction items;  some of the others, including one well-known so-called hi-end guy who shall remain unnamed, only THINK they know how to grade.

I was looking back on some of the other posts regarding prices paid for Lionel post-war, and I too was surprised at the prices that were paid for some items, but if you want something to knock your socks off, someone paid 77000.00 (that's right, seventy-seven thousand) plus a buyer's premium for a 1950's vintage 6464-100 blue feather boxcar.  Granted, only a few of this version were made, but that's really having a "train-jones" for something, isn't it. Last fall or early this spring, a standard gauge lover paid over a quarter of a million dollars for a "rare" pristine passenger set.  J. L. Cowen must be rolling over in his grave. 

As far as internet auctions (Ebay, etc.) go, I fully agree with the comment about some hotshot always wanting to be on top as far as bids go.  Some of the prices that are bid are just insane.  I often wonder how those people are ever going to recover what they paid, a few years down the road, if and when interest in those particular items disappears.  Who knows. Twenty-five years ago, I thought paying 35.00 for a fairly hard to find boxcar was crazy,  but some of these same items today are going for twenty to thirty times that much.  Even the boxes, that were once torn up and thrown away as so much garbage (and not too long ago, at that) are commanding absolutely wild prices. I guess what I'm saying here is why the heck didn't I keep some of the stuff I had that long ago.

I  guess the moral of the story is don't ever throw anything away.  If you keep it long enough, and live long enough, it could be very financially rewarding.

I tried one in February in hopes of snagging a nice 2339 Wabash Geep.  But within about 10 seconds the bidding ran way over what I was willing to pay.  In the time the lot was active I had time to bid only once.  I did watch many of the other lots, and the auction had a very fast pace.  You have to be ready to bid immediately as soon as "your" lot opens because next thing you know, the hammer has fallen and the next lot has begun.  On average there was a new lot every 20 seconds or so.  Not surprising when you consider that what you're doing is watching the auction on TV, as it were.  Of course the big difference is that you don't see the auctioneer.

The buyer's premium runs pretty high due to the convenience they afford Internet bidders in not having to travel to the auction site.  On the one I participated in, I think it was 17%.  I watched one rare MIB Lionel scenery item (I don't remember exactly what it was) that ended at $5400.  The premium worked out to $918.  Ouch!  But I guess if someone can afford an item that pricey, they can afford the premium.

Joel

c50truck wrote:

Anyway, took the plunge, easy to sign up, did win, and paid quickly with PayPal. Auction ended 3/17/07, the Conestoga Auction Company notified me on 3/29/07 item shipped that day. So not sure of the quality of items I purchased yet, but I can tell you they are in no hurry to ship to internet bidders.

I felt I owed a public follow-up to Conestoga Auction Company. They may have been slow in shipping by my standards, but I've never received a package, from a private seller or buisness, packaged with such care.  These folks set the bar high.

The items I received are better than I'd hoped. I'd planned on trading most of them off, but not after I saw them close-up. I'll certianly give this type of buying a try again. 

Rod L