Generally, people on ebay will buy postwar trains at a fairly reasonable price.
You dont need to worry about people taking advatange of anything - just start your bid at the lowest amout your willing to sell the item for, or use Buy it Now.
I would try eBay before other things, IMHO its better.
"Lionel trains are the standard of the world" - Jousha Lionel Cowen
Okay thanks. I mean i worked hard to get all this money to buy my collection and i hate to lose money, with the trains getting older, more rare, values going up i hope. Why are the thing I have selling so cheap on ebay? I bought a 2046 w/2046w tender boxed for $325 in 1994, my first engine, and they are going for like $175 to $225 on ebay with the boxes. This confuses me. Also, no one is buying at trains shows anymore, when they can get it 50% off and stay home on ebay. Because train shows sell at book price and no one wants to pay that. I dunno, its just that people should redo the prices according to ebay or something, so train show dealers sell according to ebay prices so more people will go to train shows and buy.
Your making a good point about the way ebay have changed the O Gauge market.
I think the primary reason is, not every collector out here has $15,000 in the bank ONLY to buy trains.... and eBay offers a cheap alternative.
Also, with ebay, its much, much easier to find those hard-to-find postwar and modern items. The demand is higher, and the supply is higher, so prices drop.
It also depends on the condition of the item, when you bought it a Ex+ plus item may be worth what a LN item is today...
I dont know the condition or your 2046 and 2046w tender, but it is possible that when you bought it the seller was over pricing you.
Good luck.
I would hope to be wrong, but if you paid market or better for exc or better trains 10-15 years ago you may not get what you paid out of them now. I could be and hope I am wrong, but that is why they do say to not rely on these trains for your retirement!
There are so many new trains on the market now plus the ease of using Ebay. These both come together and make it difficult to extract the $$$ out of old trains you could 20 years ago. You can't say "its rare" now since anyone can go on ebay and find 20 of them instantly. Instead of seeing items from one train show in chicago, I can see them from every household in America and beyond so as was stated the supply is up so to speak. So don't expect to get what you paid in 1994 for that 2046 and tender off ebay, sorry to suggest that as it is not what you want to hear. I will say good luck!! If its worth anything, high quality stuff has retained its market share the best.
To sell now or later is up for debate. Postwar prices 10-15 years ago were skyhigh. Some argue that the baby boomers were coming to the age where they had disposable income to buy the toys they could not afford when young. In the past few years postwar prices have come down significantly. In the past two years with the ecomony so bad, prices of most postwar habe declined even furthur. Mint boxed pieces have retained more value.
Regarding the future, many argue that when the baby boomers move on, the desire and prices of postwar will drop even firtuher. However, the number folks who owned prewar in their youth has diminished and the demand for O and Standard Gauge is still high.
Personally, I would not sell until the economy grows. If you need to sell soon, I would wait until the fall when the desire for Christmas items goes up. It seem as though train valuse are higher during that time.
I agree with what elvisp said. If you don't have to sell them now, hold onto them until the economy is a little stronger. If you need to sell them sooner, I would suggest that you list a few pieces on ebay, with your reserve, and see what happens. Just bear in mind that buying and selling on ebay can be really unpredictable.
lionel2 wrote: Okay thanks. I mean i worked hard to get all this money to buy my collection and i hate to lose money, with the trains getting older, more rare, values going up i hope. Why are the thing I have selling so cheap on ebay? I bought a 2046 w/2046w tender boxed for $325 in 1994, my first engine, and they are going for like $175 to $225 on ebay with the boxes. This confuses me. Also, no one is buying at trains shows anymore, when they can get it 50% off and stay home on ebay.
Okay thanks. I mean i worked hard to get all this money to buy my collection and i hate to lose money, with the trains getting older, more rare, values going up i hope. Why are the thing I have selling so cheap on ebay? I bought a 2046 w/2046w tender boxed for $325 in 1994, my first engine, and they are going for like $175 to $225 on ebay with the boxes. This confuses me. Also, no one is buying at trains shows anymore, when they can get it 50% off and stay home on ebay.
Dude, Have you REALLY looked at what's been happening in America lately, High gas prices that trickledown to every last good and service, foreclosures, etc. etc.? I guess not by your statement! I have a feeling that trains on e-bay won't even go up during the holidays as they normally do that time of year. People just don't have the disposable income anymore like a year ago. I think you really need a reality check!
Ok whatever dude. Just makes me sick people taking advantage of other people just for trains. Its pretty low in my book. Yeah the economy is bad, then why are people still buying like crazy on ebay, its not just trains, its everything. I dunno. Maybe i will just hang on to my trains and pass them down or something. Thanks everyone, except stubbs
Hi!
I have a large postwar Lionel collection and have bought from shops all over the country and Ebay. I have sold to an individual and on Ebay. Your question especially interests me as I am in a similar situation - contemplating selling off my Lionel.
Most of my "stuff" was bought in the '90s and early 2000s. These were heady days for collectors, and there was a lot of money and competition around. Thus, prices tended to be pretty darn high. After September 11, 2001, and for that event and other reasons, the postwar market went down dramatically. I paid those high market prices for my stuff, but today I would be lucky to get 50% of that. Almost all of my pieces are excellent condition, but few have boxes. This is the stuff that really got affected by today's market.
The exception to the above is "mint in the box" or extremely rare pieces. Those have held their value or increased.
If/when I decide to sell out, it will be on Ebay. I've had a lot of positive experience there both buying and selling, and know it very well. Make no mistake about it, selling on Ebay is work, and can be very difficult if you have a lot of auctions going. Last winter I held 100 auctions and 85 sold, and I speak from experience. Ha, as others have told me, you might be better off just holding on to them.
Oh, one more thing...... those "I buy collections" or "Lionel wanted" ads will not bring you anywhere near the money you could get on Ebay (especially prior to Christmas).
Sorry for any negativity here, but the situation is what it is.
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Give me steam locomotives or give me DEATH!
Berkshire Junction, bringing fourth the cry of the Iron Horse since 1900.
I do not fall into the categories of folks on this Forum who buy and sell; who have large collections and wish to thin out the herd; or who simply want out. Your decision is what counts. I expect to be buried with my postwar stuff.
I agree with Jon that Ebay is "the market" for most, if only because of the sheer volume of listed items and the ease of acquiring. You will find the price "range" but not necessarily the relative price "condition." You are dependent on the vagaries of the photos, description, Q&A, and the satisfaction rating of the seller, and your bidders.
Last week I was prepared to bid on an AA engine pair on Ebay (what is irrelevant) from Ambrose where I would be competing with live floor bidders. The items were listed as excellent plus with boxes and "in our opinion totally original." Pictures were very good except the color looked off, not uncommon. However, I noticed nose decals missing on both of the A units. So I sent off an inquiry regarding the missing decals and asked if they were perhaps repaints. My Q was not posted nor was there a private response. Of all the bids, only one was from a live floor bidder, and that person outbid the rest by over 150%.
My point is that market averages may drive the routine prices for the knowledgeable, but "who shows up" on any given day can skew the prices a ton.
My wife's take, who is an avid Ebay shopper, was that the seller would be stupid to post and answer my question and raise any doubt about the originality. If the buyer was unhappy, they would make him whole. If the buyer was emotional or uninformed, the high price would hold.
Ebay is not only market driven, it can be widely speculative outside the averages.
Jack
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
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