What do you buy at Train Shows?

[BRAKIE]

OK I have a related question:

How many have had this happen to them.  If you see something you really really want but walk away trying to decide whether to buy it or not, by the time you return to look at it again, it's sold.

 

More then I care to remember..I also been the other guy that bought the item while somebody may have been thinking about...

But,its usually the other way around.

[tangerine-jack]

Train show.  Let me see:

1. Parking fee

2. Admission fee

3. Asprin.

[Last Chance]

Forget asprin. Break out the Oxcodone.

[IRONROOSTER]

OK I have a related question:

How many have had this happen to them.  If you see something you really really want but walk away trying to decide whether to buy it or not, by the time you return to look at it again, it's sold.

 

If I walk away then I didn't "really really" want it - at least at the priced asked. 

My problem is things I only wanted a little bit are still there later and I buy too much.  Hmmm can you really buy too much trains?

Enjoy

Paul 

[DavidGSmith]

I always take a list. I have a good memory just a short one. I look at all the tables but as I am in On30 there isnt much new or used. Three or four shows a year. There are a few good ones in Toronto and Ancaster (near Hamilton) and the local one in Barrie Ont. Get as little impulse as I can.

Dave

[Texas Zepher]

You mean you're supposed to buy something? After paying parking fees, the admission fee, and the exhorbitant price for a soda and a Polish who would have money to buy anything?

Heh ehehe, that is one reason I  became an exhibitor - admission is free.  In fact some shows pay you to exhibit.  Then I bring my own lunch/snacks. 

I've noticed several people saying they only purchase what they need.  Ummm we don't NEED any of this stuff.  It is all toy trains. 

I've noticed several people saying they only get deals and then I see their example of a deal.  Yipes, to me a "deal" starts getting interesting at 50% retail (if it is new), 75% off is where I really get interested, and in the pennies on the dollar is what I consider a really good deal.   I've often offered to buy "all" of something for a better deal. "Will you sell them for $5 each if I buy the whole lot?", type stuff.  Turn around and sell the extras so that my net cost is zero or negative.   I just missed out on such a deal at the last Denver train show.  At one table the people had cases of the old AHM O-scale stuff.  They hadn't sold too much and the last day of the show I was just ready to offer them $500 for it when another fellow ran right in and beat me to it.   He will probably be able to sell it off for 10x that.  I mean there were piles of 0-8-0 & 4-4-0 RTR (not the kits) locos in the lot.  Just the motorizing kits for these units have been going for $150 on the used market.

[Texas Zepher]

How many have had this happen to them.  If you see something you really really want but walk away trying to decide whether to buy it or not, by the time you return to look at it again, it's sold.

Oh yeah,  I use that for a control mechanism.   If it is a really good super deal it has to be purchased right now.  Things that are so-so deals can wait because there are too many of them.  By letting other people have a first go at them it reduces the decisions one must make.  So if it is gone it obviously wasn't that good of a deal cause you would have purchased it.  Or it wasn't' wanted that bad - right?   Plus there will always be another one - somewhere sometime.

[CAZEPHYR]

 

 

Really good bargains only.

 

 

[twhite]

I go to the one here in Roseville every year in late October.  I make sure it's the ONLY one I go to during the year, because I usually end up buying things like this:

Sorry, just can't seem to walk by used brass at reasonable prices. 

Tom

[MisterBeasley]

How common is this "Paying for Parking" thing in other parts of the country?

Here in Massachusetts, the only parking fee I've ever had at a train show was at Springfield.  The rest are all free parking, and usually plenty of it.

I seem to recall a show right in Boston that charged for parking.  (It might not even have been a train show.)  I passed on it, and the next year it was no longer there.

[tatans]

I fight in the line to buy brass track, big seller, as there is always someone who wants to buy it all, the price is right and it works well, there is a big demand as a lot of sellers are sold out in the 1st 5 minutes, I do notice some buyers will buy anything if it's cheap, whether they can use it or not(usually not) but they buy it anyway, the best part is to watch some mook banter with a seller for ½ an hour to get the price down from $2.00 to 85¢ then pull out his wallet with $1500.00 in it, who are these people??????

[tatans]

First photo of a beautiful layout and an unpainted brass locomotive I have seen, I don't know how to interpret it, is this common??

[tatans]

I attended a train show this spring and a seller had some great used stuff, I never bargain, I figure I'm getting it at ¼ of the price, I bought some stuff and hung around for a while and other buyers came by and offered him ridiculous prices for his wares, he replied  "the price is what the tag says" and of course they left fuming, but others came by and bought almost all his stuff, the others left with nothing, all for a few cents, now that's "cheap"

[Flashwave]

generally, I find lists cumbersome. As they'll have everything NOT on that lists. But a general idea is good. I try  to see all the booths before i buy anything major, unless I'm really worriesd something will move before I come back. The stuff I get is either bargain stuff for projects, or stuff that isn't normally carried or produuced any more. IE, convention and exclusive cars. I got my Tracks in the Sand set started at the Great Train Expo for example.

[rrinker]

 The only 'list' I ever take is a list of what I already have so I don't buy duplicates. Of course this time, that's not going to be a problem...

[fmilhaupt]

My main purpose in going to train shows is to find things that I just can't get from the local shops. These are usually items from product lines the local guys don't carry, or items that have been out of production for a while that I want for a project.

I tend not to buy things just because they are marked down- I only buy things that I have an idea of how I'm going to use. I have enough stuff accumulated for unfinished projects that I discipline myself to only picking up things for projects already in progress or that I have planned for the immediate future.

It helps that I have fairly specific modeling interests.

 

[twhite]

First photo of a beautiful layout and an unpainted brass locomotive I have seen, I don't know how to interpret it, is this common??

Tatans--

If you mean my photo, the answer is no.  This was taken after I'd bought the loco last year and rebuilt it, before painting it.  Just wanted to let people know how difficult it is for me to pass up used brass at a train show, LOL!

Here's the same loco after I painted it:

 

 

Tom

[Texas Zepher]

the best part is to watch some mook banter with a seller for ½ an hour to get the price down from $2.00 to 85¢ then pull out his wallet with $1500.00 in it, who are these people?

But that is why they have $1500 in their wallet. . . .

Just wanted to let people know how difficult it is for me to pass up used brass at a train show,

Me too!  I just don't find that much at "my" price.   I got an RGS 2-8-0 for $80, a Sunset Santa Fe 2-8-0 for $65, and a Pennsy 0-6-0 factory painted for $50.  I don't know if a $995 (1990 dollars) NP Yellowstone (regeared & can motor) counts as a good deal or not?

[BigOzzy86]

I look for for bowser 70 ton covered hoppers and 100 ton coal hoppers with car numbers that I dont already have..... (I take a spreadsheet of my current roster so that I can keep track)  I also look for old athearn blue box kits...

[twhite]

the best part is to watch some mook banter with a seller for ½ an hour to get the price down from $2.00 to 85¢ then pull out his wallet with $1500.00 in it, who are these people?

But that is why they have $1500 in their wallet. . . .

Just wanted to let people know how difficult it is for me to pass up used brass at a train show,

Me too!  I just don't find that much at "my" price.   I got an RGS 2-8-0 for $80, a Sunset Santa Fe 2-8-0 for $65, and a Pennsy 0-6-0 factory painted for $50.  I don't know if a $995 (1990 dollars) NP Yellowstone (regeared & can motor) counts as a good deal or not?

Texas--

Wow, I've got to visit YOUR train show, LOL!  To answer your NP 1990 dollars question, I'd say the answer was a resounding YES!   Last used one I saw at a brass dealer was in the $2000 dollar range. 

Tom

[R. T. POTEET]

. . . . . . . . . . since I'm with my friends, it makes it easy to hang out and talk New Haven with the other guys . . . . . . . . . .

With nothing to talk about except New Haven it must make for a long, boring day!!!

[Autobus Prime]

First photo of a beautiful layout and an unpainted brass locomotive I have seen, I don't know how to interpret it, is this common??

t:

In the early days of imported brass, apparently it was. They looked so nice, people hated to cover them up. You see this mentioned now and again in 1960s MR & RMC, though it rarely showed up in photos.

If the model is a CB&Q excursion loco, it might /almost/ be prototypical. :D

[whitman500]

I don't have any decent hobby shops in my area so I tend to buy everything online.  As a result, I focus my train show purchases on things that I like to see before I buy or items that are too difficult to search for at online websites.  Things I would put in this category:

Figures

Vehicles

Tools

Freight Cars (to an extent; I like to be able to look at the build date which you can't online)

I also check out brass locomotives.  I haven't bought one at a train show yet but there are a couple of ones I've been keeping my eye out for so I check the racks for those. 

I don't usually buy readily available big items likes locomotives or structure kits because I'm never confident that the train show price will beat what I can get on the internet.   

[Jumijo]

Some of the best bargains are under the tables, not on top.

Used HO frieght cars sell for $1-$5, so I usually pick up a few of those. If for nothing else, they make great practice pieces for weathering techniques.

I don't haggle much with sellers. If I like the item, I might try to shave some off the price. Then again, I might not. I figure the stuff is cheap enough as is, so I treat it all as a little game. Sometimes I win, sometimes I don't.

Jim

[shayfan84325]

I don't tend to haggle either.  Sometimes they'll see me examining something and come up and say "I can work with you on the price."  That starts a polite discussion that often saves me a few bucks.

My best find was an NWSL brass 18T shay for $300.  Looks good, runs well, and a very good price.

[Paul3]

R. T. POTEET,
That's cruel, man.  Just cruel. 

We've got 170+ years of railroad history to talk about, pre- and post-New Haven.  We have several ex-employees show up and introduce themselves (last year, I had a former VP of the NH's trucking company NETCo. stop by).  We have a regular show crew member who worked for the NH, PC, & Amtrak for a combined 45 years in engine service.  Another guy is a multi-book author on the New Haven and has one of the best collectors of NH artifacts I've ever seen: http://www.gis.net/~fm/museum.htm    Yet another is the NHRHTA's video editor who is always telling about and showing us new NH films coming out, and another is the former NHRHTA photo editor.  The rest of us are mere mortals that collect, discuss, and sell NH items to the public for the NHRHTA. 

We share modeling tips, talk about new NH models coming out, wonder if we're ever going to get the new "Shoreliner" magazine, you know, things like that.  And that's not even getting into hot button topics like "Buck" Dumaine, FL9's, and Patrick B. McGinnis. 

There's a good quote about the New Haven in Kalmbach's "Historical Guide to North American Railroads" that says, "The New Haven Railroad had more history per route mile than any three Western railroads combined."  I tend to agree with that. 

Paul A. Cutler III
************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
************

[rrinker]

There's a good quote about the New Haven in Kalmbach's "Historical Guide to North American Railroads" that says, "The New Haven Railroad had more history per route mile than any three Western railroads combined."  I tend to agree with that. 

Paul A. Cutler III
************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
************

 

 That's because McGinnis liked to change paint schemes like he changed underwear.

 

                       --Randy

[trainfan1221]

First of all, I like train shows because it still gives you a chance to go out and be with others who share the same interest, even if you don't particularly talk to or meet too many there but I like the atmosphere and sense of comraderie.  You don't quite get that doing everything online (not referring to these groups, by the way, I like it here).  But when I do go I look for things I don't see at a hobby store, which reminds me that one thing I don't see much anymore is a hobby store.  I look for various locos or different cars, sometimes at a real good price, but often I look for detailing parts, such as crossing signals or things like that.  I got a pair of NJ International flashers at a train show, only one I ever saw them at, I really like things like this and the better scale size and appearance works for me.  One of the things I really liked I picked up detail wise is an N scale 645 engine block.  Really neat little thing I might say.  I was at a train show in Allentown a few weeks ago that unfortunately didn't turn up much for me, but I will always jump at a chance to go to one.

[JimRCGMO]

Short answers:

1) Bargains

2) Things I can't find elsewhere (and preferably also #1 above)

...and to answer other questions: yes, I take a list, but usually it's the stuff I'm looking for (and one list of figures that I already have, to avoid getting a third set of those W-S dock workers...), and I usually have a set amount of money to spend. I also skip any tables that appear to be exclusively scales I do not model in (such as N, S, O...). 

Slightly longer answers:

1a) Bargains - looking for something that's 10-20 percent off normal retail (and may not get some of those, since one of our MRR members runs a LHS himself and gives us a pretty decent discount if we're club members)

2a) Things I can't find elsewhere (good if they're also bargains) - for a bit, I was looking for Bar Mills billboards, right after they'd discontinued them (but before I had almost a dozen and started wondering "Where the heck will I put all these, in my smaller layout?")

2b) Things not being manufactured for a long while - I got some of my old Revell HO scale building kits that way.

I will (depending on how much of my funds I've already spent) sometimes dig through the used freight car trays for interesting ones (got some of my MOW cars that way). But again, I'm not looking to pay $9-10 for a freight car that's not that much different than what I can order through our LHS owner/MRR club member...

I'm not into brass, no matter how great they look or how good of a (four-figure!??) price they're going for. I have - if not a beer budget, at least only a malt liquor budget. No champagne, thanks.

Besides, on most of the engines or cars, I'll be weathering them, anyhow (and repainting them if the paint job is a lot different from the RR's in my (fictional) RR's area.

My $0.02, anyway.

 

Jim in Cape Girardeau 

[Flashwave]

I don't tend to haggle either.  Sometimes they'll see me examining something and come up and say "I can work with you on the price."  That starts a polite discussion that often saves me a few bucks.

My best find was an NWSL brass 18T shay for $300.  Looks good, runs well, and a very good price.

I have, but I don;t liek it, as I don't knwo what I'm doing or want to hurt their feelings. Usually they try to entice me with deals though.