HUUuuu ... uuuGe ebay estate sale

[loathar]

TYCO my Precious!

GET OUT OF MY BASEMENT!!! AWAY FROM MY PRECIOUS TYCOS!!

[vsmith]

I'm at a disadvantage as I cannot access evilbay from where I'm at but if this collection is as enormous as it sounds it could still be a small gold mine depending on how you approach it.

The thing is that if you have the patience to sift thru all this and seperate the wheat from the chaff, you can still make alot more than you spent for it by selling it off the crap in lots of say 10 cars each, and selling the better items off individually.

Its been my experience even if you think the buyer bought a basement full of junk, when one parcels it out and sells it, even on the cheap on e-bay, they usually still come out ahead as they can sell the smaller lots for alot more relative than they could a large mass lot like this. People are more willing to bid higher on a smaller lots than they would relative to a single large lot.

Assuming 1000 crap cars; at 100 boxes of 10 cars at $30 each box ($3 a car?) = $3000

Now add 100 crap engines at $10 each = another $1000

Now add just 10 good engines at $50 each = $500

Total $4500

Anyone care to guess how much 'stuff' there really is here?

 

PS I would also be worried about shill bidding as well, its a real problem on Evilbay

[reklein]

I wonder if the collection belonged to one of those strange people the movies keep depicting. Interestiing, this thread comes off as a spectator sport,unless of course you are bidding on the stuff.

[CPRail modeler]

This is kinda crazy because this guy devoted his entire life to trains and became one of the few people that actually kept on collecting and eventually running out of room for them. The bidding for this massive collection hit over 3500 dollars last time I checked and that is amazing. Whoever gets it will probably sift through everything and find something rare that they can sell for 200 bucks up. It is also sad that this great collector died. I think he even cut himself off from the outside world to be with his trains. A majority of (no, make that ALL) the trains were of the lower end stuff like Bachmann, Tyco, Mantua and maybe some Rivarossi. It could be worse...he could have been a crazy cat or dog collector. Those stories are always sad because people just keep on buying animals with no regard for their well being and keep on neglecting the older ones...its just so sad...

[loathar]

I agree there is a lot of stuff of base quality.  There is also a lot of Tyco items.  Now, if they were just in museum quality clear plastic cases..... The "Tyco Collectors" would be all over this one.

Tilden

You guys are forgetting something. There were no "Tyco Collectors" that bid on that Choo Choo set in the acylic case. There were zero bids on it. Tyco stuff NEVER even comes close what an empty Lionel box fetches. Which would an 8 rear old kid rather see under the tree on Xmas? A running Tyco train or an empty "Collectors" box?

The more I look at the photos, there's a lot of non-Tyco stuff in there. Somebody gonna make some $$$ off this provided the reserve isn't $10k.

[csmith9474]

 $3691. WOW! These must be the same guys that were bidding up that Tyco trainset.

There is something wrong with this.

I feel revulsion and disgust that such junk can pull a wallet out of pockets... and STILL no reserve met?

I think someone is being greedy.

I hate to be such a cynic, but I personally never bid on auctions where the user ID is kept private. Shill bidding is a huge problem on eBay (one of many), and I just don't trust auctions like this. I have seen many of these large lots bid up with zero IDs that are years old, or a lot of golden boys.

[secondhandmodeler]

This has to be dealers.  Nobody else would get anything of value from it. It's kind of like a salvage yard.   You pay somebody $50 for the junker car then sell the drivers side mirror for $75.  You just have to be willing to have a junk yard.

[Tilden]

I agree there is a lot of stuff of base quality.  There is also a lot of Tyco items.  Now, if they were just in museum quality clear plastic cases..... The "Tyco Collectors" would be all over this one.

Tilden

[Anonymous]

 $3691. WOW! These must be the same guys that were bidding up that Tyco trainset.

There is something wrong with this.

I feel revulsion and disgust that such junk can pull a wallet out of pockets... and STILL no reserve met?

I think someone is being greedy.

[aloco]

Junk.

[marknewton]

sad that people don't understand they're missing special time with the family.

Ever considered the possibility that some families aren't worth spending time with? Everyone on this thread seems to assume that the putative dead Tyco collector was the one with "issues"...

Except in the case of a parent. The parent establishes the tenor and quality of the relationship with the child, popular notions and horror stories like "The Excorcist" and  "The Omen" notwithstanding. Children aren't born evil, and no child sacrifices a relationship with their father if he is a loving and attentive dad. It takes something traumatic and abusive to sever that instinctive bond.

Righto, Dr Phil, whatever you reckon...

[snagletooth]

 $3691. WOW! These must be the same guys that were bidding up that Tyco trainset.

[SteamFreak]

sad that people don't understand they're missing special time with the family.

Ever considered the possibility that some families aren't worth spending time with? Everyone on this thread seems to assume that the putative dead Tyco collector was the one with "issues"...

Except in the case of a parent. The parent establishes the tenor and quality of the relationship with the child, popular notions and horror stories like "The Excorcist" and  "The Omen" notwithstanding. Children aren't born evil, and no child sacrifices a relationship with their father if he is a loving and attentive dad. It takes something traumatic and abusive to sever that instinctive bond.

[marknewton]

sad that people don't understand they're missing special time with the family.

Ever considered the possibility that some families aren't worth spending time with? Everyone on this thread seems to assume that the putative dead Tyco collector was the one with "issues"...

[csmith9474]

Shill bids possibly??

[snagletooth]

Yikes! It just jumped to $2,596.99, and the reserve still hasn't been met!

Maybe the sympathy angle is working its magic?

 

No, just people greed combined with idiocy. Such a tasty combo when you're trying to cook up a nice dish of profit.

[SteamFreak]

Yikes! It just jumped to $2,596.99, and the reserve still hasn't been met!

Maybe the sympathy angle is working its magic?

 

[reklein]

I spent all my money on Tyco and Mantua and the rest I just wasted.

If yer front porch collapses 'cause there's to much train stuff on it,it could mean your a model train nut.

 If yer dog sleeps in a house made to look like a caboose,it could mean yer a train nut.

If yer boy says "Dad I wanna go to bed now" and you say "shut up and program the consist" it could mean yer a train nut.

If yer bed frame is held up by stacks of MR mags . It could mean yer a.......................

[loathar]

It almost looks like what was left in the back room of a hobby shop after people bought all the good stuff at a going out of business sale.

[Anonymous]

1,200 dollars for 30 year old outdated technology JUNK.

[JON168]

$1225 as of 2100 EST....and reserve not met?   thats already about $700 more than a sane person would even THINK of bidding!!! I foresee this thing getting out of hand towards the end, with rampant ''auction fever'' infecting all those involved.

 The only bidder that could possibly want all that stuff and be willing to pay that much  is a dealer.

 Good deal for the seller, maybe not such a good deal for the buyer.

[snagletooth]

 Does it come with a big empty box?

[BRAKIE]

This is eBay.

I don't know that you can trust the "backstory" that goes with the auctions.

I certainly don't.

I don't believe that sob story either...I doubt if a train show junk dealer would buy that mess.

[IRONROOSTER]

From what I can see in the pictures none of it looks like anything special - mostly TYCO type stuff.  You have to wonder what kind of shape any of it is in - it is all just stuffed into boxes with no packing. If I was in HO I'd still pass on it.

Enjoy

Paul 

[csmith9474]

Looks like a lot of "low end" stuff (Tyco, Bachmann, and the likes).

I think I see a single LGB C&S box car in there....

There are a couple of gems in there, but it looks like a huge pile of junk more than anything. I would hate to see how many stirrups and other details were broken off in the hasty packing job. As hinted to before, it is better to see someone that hoarded model trains rather than animals.

[Gandy Dancer]

Looks like a lot of "low end" stuff (Tyco, Bachmann, and the likes).

I think I see a single LGB C&S box car in there....

[SteamFreak]

This is eBay.

I don't know that you can trust the "backstory" that goes with the auctions.

They might be trying to elicit sympathy bids.  I had that I have to be this cynical, but this story seems a little wierd.

As Zeke has taught us, not all words on a computer screen are truth.

Sympathy for whom? For the dealer having to remove and store all of that dust-laden crap? By their account the old guy is gone now, and his family has nothing to do with the disposition of his worldly possessions, so it just comes down to an explanation of how the dealer acquired such a huge collection of schmutz. If they're trying to elicit sympathies with that story, they'd better go back to the word processor.

[Midnight Railroader]

This is eBay.

I don't know that you can trust the "backstory" that goes with the auctions.

I certainly don't.

[Cederstrand]

***Big John, ever figured out how many feet of track is on your layout? Do you run AC in the summer in there? Kiva is neat RR name...I take it a fictional one? Kiva was also the name of the elementary school I went to in Scottsdale. Ever run into a fella with a huge O scale collection with the last name Mays? (or was it Meyers?) Better drink a second cup of coffee and rev up the ol' brain. Anyway, nice layout you have going there.

Rob

[canazar]

Well, they way I see it, the man lived alone in a small house.   Sounds like collecting his trains was the only thing he had.   I do feel bad for him and it is sad..

 

Chances are, his collection will be bought by some one who hits the train show circuts or sells on Ebay.   Looks like there is more than enough to keep someone busy.