E-Bay may be your best bet by listing it as an auction item. Another possibility would be a local train show if there are going to be any in your immediate vicinity. Selling is not allowed on these forums.
Despite what you think it might be worth, be prepared for a big shock of getting only 1/10th that amount. Personally, I would never buy someone else's layout because they probably didn't build it the way I would like for it to have been built. Complete layouts rarely sell for a good price.
cacole wrote: Despite what you think it might be worth, be prepared for a big shock of getting only 1/10th that amount.
1/10th might be too generous. Worth [to the builder] versus its cost versus cost to replace versus resale value are all very different matters. There has been a revolution in quality and accuracy such that many model railroad items from even a decade ago have been superceded and are not particularly desirable now. On the other hand some things that were fairly inexpensive at one time, such as brass locomotives, have a collectors value now.
And as for the actual layout, meaning the benchwork, track, wiring, controls, scenery -- most model railroaders who start over with layouts try to salvage the best buildings, some salvage portions of the track, copper wire has value given where commodity prices have gone, but frankly, even the greatest layouts in the world have often gone unsold when offered.
I hate to say this but a wonderful layout might be worth, literally, zero dollars.
Dave Nelson
There are several non-profit childrens clubs. Many times you only get 1/10th of what you expect its price to be as cacole said. If you were to donate this to a non-profit group, you would get tax-benefits. http://www.ymr-online.org
http://www.tamr.org
Alex
Your best bet would be to find a local model railroad enthusiast who is both knowledgeable AND trustworthy. It is difficult to sell a layout lock stock and barrel, typically because what fit into your friend's basement won't likely fit into mine, etc.
However, if you have someone who knows what they're looking at help you, you might be able to part the thing out and sell it off piecemeal. Some things will not get much of a return, but other items might be valuable, and if properly described and offered could net a pretty healthy return.
But it will be a lot of work to figure out what you've got there...
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
Hi,
I have to totally agree with wm3798. Great advice to go by.
Frank
"If you need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm."
welcome to the world of model rail road. and i hope the elephant of paradise flys over your layout after eating 5 tons of exlax....lol
i would wonder who priced the layout at 35k. does that include rolling stock and engines???
i also wonder why you dont have pics.
i think you should keep it and wait for the hobby bug to bite you, maybe you should visit a runnibg layout and see what this hobby is all about before you make a decision you may regret.
if you insist try kijiji.com or craigslist.com
a is a
as long as reality is acknowledged the motor of the world will run
It would be helpful to have a classified list of items. What type of model, by whom, purchased when? That information will be a strong indicator for the more knowledgeable responders to give you an idea. But, in any event, you have a large inventory there, and very very few persons will want to shell out much money for a lot of what would really be little more than dated items (read problems). Folks will want certain items, and then only if they know precisely what they are getting...we're back to an itemized inventory with some descriptive information that will convince folks to lighten their wallets.
You may just have a surprising number of rare building kits if they are in that bunch. Some go out of production, and when the odd one goes up on ebay, for example, the competition can be fierce. So, what you don't realize in the way of a decent return from an engine or cars, you may compensate by selling a few prized and rare kits. Back to an itemized list with descriptors.
Just a thought.
New Haven I-5 wrote: NO EVILBAY!!! (eBay). Sell it to a person who would be willing to pick the stuff up.
So HE can sell it on Ebay?? Or are You hoping to pick up a bargain?
To the OP: There's nothing wrong with selling your items on ebay. It's a lot of work selling that many pieces individually. There are a lot of ways to do it and with a collection that large, it could take up to a year to move it, on an individual item basis. My suggestion would be to inventory Everything. Noting, Item, Brand, kit or assembled, etc. Depending on the items you have you could easily realize several thousand $$ for the collection, when sold in parts. Try and sell it as a whole, I'm afraid most of the people here are correct. Pennies on the dollar because most people who would buy that way are looking for resale items to profit from. WHY GIVE IT TO THEM????
Offer items to USA bidders only. Go to the US postal website, sign up for an account (costs nothing), and they will provide you will all the Priority mailing boxes you need. They will deliver them, and either free or a small fee will even collect them. Old newspapers make great packing material.
If you like, contact me at rolleifix at rolleiman dot com and I'll be happy to assist you further (within reason).
Good luck..
Start inventory the entire railroad.
Engines.
Structures.
Kits unopened.
Buildings BUILT.
Rolling stock subdivided by:
Boxcar, Hopper, Covered Hopper, Gondola, Caboose, MISC, Passenger cars, Flats etc etc etc.
Further inventoried by road name and number.
Take pictures of EVERY item.
Inventory the electronics. Any analog power packs? DCC systems? Signalling etc.
Inventory the track and swithes.
Inventory the bridges.
Inventory any signalling or stationary decoders.
Inventory misc scenery items.
Inventory model vehicles and people.
Inventory Towns and associated stuff.
Inventory brass engines and any other special items that obviously are not considered normal items.
Take pictures. Arent you glad you can take thousands of digital pics for free and drag them onto your computer?
Burn everything onto a DVD or CD ROM. When your computer fails you will be glad you did.
It aint going to be worth 35 thousand dollars. I say maybe ten.
For example. I have a Proto Heritage 2-10-2 with DCC and sound. I paid retail for it months ago at about 300 dollars or so. Today on ebay there is one availible for 195 buy it now and no one is buying it yet. If you dropped the price down to about 120 or so, someone will definately buy it.
But I bet the seller does not rely on Ebay for income and will leave that engine until someone comes along and buys the thing for 195 without researching other similar engines.
Wait long enough someone will buy it.
Dont try to sell a choo choo on ebay when there are 1000 other choo choos JUST LIKE YOURS. You wont even get a buyer for it sometimes lost in a sea of many identical choo choos.
Then there is the ebay fees. Paypal fees. tracking fees, shipping costs. You literally need a seperate bank account that does NOTHING but ebay. DO NOT connect this bank account at the same bank you use for your regular banking.
I have a industrial building on ebay right now for sale, that one is going to cost 7.00 for a box, 3.00 for a foam popcorn to pack it with, 12.00 for complete priority mail fees including delivery conf and insurance. Ebay fee of about 1.00 to start and I expect about 12 more dollars more in fees. Already Im past about 30 dollars in costs to get rid of this building to a buyer. How much did I pay for it retail from walthers? 40 dollars plus about 24 more in additional parts to finish it.
At the end of the day I might see 5 dollars profit but happy to see the item go to a new home and a new life.
Oh by the way, set your ebay account for USA buyers ONLY. Shipping overseas and enforcement/recovery of problem bidders, lost monies, scams, problems etc... is most difficult and EXPENSIVE.
Be very crystal clear about each item you sell. The buyer is likely to understand it far more than you do.
Keep your buyers corraled to US Post Office Money order due in 10 business days or paypal ONLY. dont get sucked into western union (VERY BAD...) or other easily cammed payments.
Therefore I say to you will need to remove the dancing elephants of your dreams and come down to the reality that you might see 10% of retail minus fees for each item on the railroad.
You are going to be doing this for a long time.
You will want to find any town dumpster or availible large waste volume remover because that wood work will need chainsawing when everything is sold and removed.
There have been many beautiful layouts for sale on ebay usually due to death of the builder etc. Rarely do these layouts sell as a complete unit from what I can see.
Now... if there are fine craftsman kits such as FSM or others... Be prepared to handle very large amounts of money as many of those are out of production for years and there are people who will fight each other to get hands on these items.
DONT be surprised to find your sold items being resold on ebay or at local trainshows for prices more than what you recieved for them. You had your turn, someone else sees a profit oppertunity and will strike while the iron is hot.
If you do get into the selling, pace yourself. Do groups of items at a time dont start a new group until ALL of the ones you sold arrived at their customers, fees paid, monies recieved etc.
Finally but not last. Should you bring in alot of money on ebay... check with your tax person, there might be a cut for dear old Uncle Sam due.
Finally but not last, consider a local train club, museum or other organization that might be able to show up and remove that awful layout that you are not interested in.
Or just chainsaw the lot, toss it all into a ro ro dumpster and have the trucker haul it straight to the landfill for a few hundred in dump fees.
Disclaimer: Im not responisble for weak hearts that failed on those who read this last sentence lol.
If the railroad occupied a basement or finished room, it is likely that it will contain special wiring. Have the electrician track this wiring and make it safe for anyone who might buy the home someday. Have the room refinished once the railroad is gone.
Dont forget to inventory the workbench, use caution when around paints, chemicals and solvents and also the work area. be very careful. YOU might not be interested in choo choos.. but there are dangerous things that can hurt you in those model workbench areas.
For example, drop a large metal object like a tool, watch it punch through a small half gallon tin of acetone on the floor and you have a genuine emergency on your hands.
Now that Ive scared you, go slow and pace yourself.
Good luck!
lon wrote: thank you for your input i did not give enough info obviously. what i got is several boxes of railroading acessories ie:700 train cars, 50 locomotives, boxes of track, alot of different buildings and material to build a model railroad. most of this is brand new in unopened boxes.
Lon,
As already noted, you definately need someone with model railroad expertise to inventory your collection. Check to see if you have a local model railroad club. Enlist two or three local people from the club to do an initial review of what you have. Having multiple knowledgeable people involved will keep you from getting low-balled from one person.
Once you have an initial feel for the potential value of the collection then you can decide your next steps. For example, if the collection contained cheap plastic structure kits then you might as well find a youth group to donate them to. As noted above you will actually loose money trying to sell them on e-bay or similar.
However, if you find Fine Scale Minatures (FSM) craftsman kits (look for pale yellow boxes); then you may have some significant money in the collection. If this is the case then you really need assistance properly describing what you have for sale and setting minimum pricing.
You also need to get some tax advice. I assume that the estate was properly probated or testated. Based upon what you said, the estate essentially paid the taxes on the $35,000 that you received. Probably it was under the value where actual taxes needed to be paid but in theory it paid taxes. You may need to know how to handle this income going forward.
Good luck,-John
p.s. If you find that the collection is just run-of-the-mill stuff and you still want to try to sell it, then consider selling it (on e-bay) in big lots to minimize your hassle. For example, sell the 700 train cars in 14 lots of 50 cars each. You may only get $1.00 per car (gross) but your shipping expenses will be minimized. And yes, the buyer will probably turn around and sell them individually or in smaller groups for $3.00 a car but they will have the hassle, not you.
An honest model railroader would give you a rough estimate and be in touch with fellow modelers who may be interested,much too much stuff for ebay unless you have nothing better to do, Also this post should be at the top of every subject line on all postings, 700 cars 50 locomotives and no one knew of this???? most still in boxes??? sounds like he had a lot of fun(and money) So all you guys out there with 5 times as much ''stuff'' this is what will happen to your empire if you don't think about it now. The advice in the above posts is spot on.
lon wrote: thank you for your input i did not give enough info obviously. what i got is several boxes of railroading acessories ie:700 train cars, 50 locomotives, boxes of track, alot of different buildings and material to build a model railroad. most of this is brand new in unopened boxes. no one in the family new any of this stuff even existed. im sure that this explaination gives you a better view of what i got. your further advice would be greatly appreciated thank you again
Where do you live? Someone here might be able to suggest a reputable Local Hobby Shop (LHS) that will sell things on consignment, or someone else that does this kind of thing.
Another option might be a Train Show. These are flea markets which show up from time to time. Vendors pay a "table fee" to display and sell their products. I'd go to one of these and talk to some of the vendors, asking if they take things on consignment. You could do this yourself, of course, but you may need a license, and you would likely need help in pricing each item.
You might also give a call to the law firm that handled the estate, and explain the situation to them. They can probably recommend someone who deals in estate sales. I don't think this would be the best way to go, but you might luck out and make the right contact.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
In general, I agree with most of the previous posters.
Depending on whether you are in a model railroading rich area (i.e. Chicago, and other NE cities, etc.), there may not be many folks around that would be a potential customer. And the valuation of $35k - which sounds like what someone estimates was put into the layout - is way too much money for someone to pay for a second hand layout. People with that kind of money would probably want one designed specifically for them. And for a lot of other reasons, I would say that your chance of selling the layout as a whole and getting 1/10 of that $35k are slim.
What I would do is get all the locos and rolling stock (hopefully the original boxes are still at hand), and start selling off on Ebay. The fall/winter is the best time for this, but really special items sell well all year round. Structures are feast or famine on Ebay. If they are really nicely built, they will sell - but safe packing/shipping of a delicate structure is a real job. Track and turnouts and power supplies can be taken up and grouped and sold in lots. These seem to sell well especially in the fall/winter season.
The problem with the above (sell on Ebay) is that YOU will have to learn about trains and model railroading so as to know what you have and how to advertise it and what is worthy and what is not. Actually, you might be better off if you knew a MR that was an EBayer who would sell all the stuff for you, and take in a percentage of the selling price for their efforts.
Good Luck!!!!!
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I WOULD Print up some 8x10s and post them at LHS's.
Most important is realistic pricing. Track, turnouts, and Power pack @1/4 Dealer selling price, tops! - minus age and condition. Assembly work (Buildings, benchwork) ZERO.
ACTUAL VALUE is the sum of the parts - used. Alternaties is an 'open house' and auction. or 20% consignment comission. Engines etc. have to be 'bargains' in original boxes to sell.
Another alternative: find a 'swap meet' and set up, and demonstrate to sell it. Your 'fee' will probably start @ $25, depending on amount of floor space you take up.
loathar wrote:Why is it always the people that don't give a crap about trains the ones that inherit them??
Fill in the [insert your hobby here] blanks on this one. I "inherited" my mother's cookbooks and while she prized them they seem to have almost zero actual value. My wife "inherited" her father's stamp collection and is finding that while it is easy to ascertain the "value" of old stamps, finding anyone who actually wants them is an entirely different matter.
We had some nickels from world war one years that were quite worn, we used them as we would any other nickel. Eventually they would be taken out of circulation by someone who knows these coins and what to do with them.
The moral of my paragraph is this: If you dont know what you can do with a item you think has value, historical or otherwise then it's best to have open hand and let item go to those who do know what to do with them.
However, with this railroad being talked about here given to someone who apparently has no interest, what then would I think for a short time if... perhaps that railroad becomes a object of study, learning and then finds new life with the once dis-interested person?
Some hobbyshops will buy stuff like this: my LHS specialises in buying estates and have done a lot of them. The most recent was valued by the shop at about $100,000.00, but we're talking major amounts of high-end stuff. Lots of brass, much of it recent and in multiples, plus unopened craftsman kits, etc., etc. As suggested, you need to do a detailed inventory of what you have. Then check around on the internet or at a hobbyshop to get an idea of what those things are worth. Lots of knowledgeable people on this Forum, too, if you can provide more detailed information.
Wayne