What do you buy at Train Shows?

[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!!!

[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

[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...

[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?

[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

[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.

 

[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...

[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.

[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"

[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 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??????

[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.

[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

[CAZEPHYR]

 

 

Really good bargains only.

 

 

[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.

[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.

[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

[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 

[Last Chance]

Forget asprin. Break out the Oxcodone.

[tangerine-jack]

Train show.  Let me see:

1. Parking fee

2. Admission fee

3. Asprin.

[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.

[vsmith]

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.

 

[Paul3]

I go to 8-11 train shows a year as a dealer with either the NHRHTA (www.nhrhta.org) or with my club (www.ssmrc.org):

September - Taunton, MA
October - Hingham, MA
November - Brockton, MA
November - North Haven, CT
December - Marlboro, MA
January - Fall River, MA
January - Springfield, MA
February - Foxboro, MA
March - Hingham, MA
April - West Barnstable, MA
May - Waban, MA

I go early and stay all day for each show.  Fortunately, since I'm with my friends, it makes it easy to hang out and talk New Haven with the other guys.  We also have seats, which helps a lot.  Some of these shows are huge (Springfield - 2 days, 4 buildings, probably the largest in the USA), while others are very small (Waban - 2 hours on Fri. night with maybe 20 tables).  Sometimes I get lucky, and sometimes I don't buy a thing.  But I always have fun.  It's like the old saying, "A bad day at a train show is better than a good day at work."

I always look at every table at all shows.  I'm always looking for a deal on something I want, but that's not the only factor.  If I see something I just gotta have even if it's priced over what's on eBay or online, I'll buy it.  I'm always interested in NH paperwork (not just TT's, but drawings, booklets, etc.) as well as NH railroadania (lanterns, signs, etc.), NH videos, etc.

It's also fun to find stuff for your friends at the these shows.  I've become quite the finder of things my friends just have to have.  They often curse me while getting out their wallets! 

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

[Autobus Prime]

Folks:

I buy old magazines. That is easily the most useful and most enjoyable thing I have ever bought from train shows. Reading them gives you good ideas, so old they're new, lots of plans and data (good gravy, do the old RMCs ever have lots of plans and data) and an appreciation of our hobby's history. Really, there are more similarities than differences, when you compare past generations of hobbyists to the current ones. Even the 1930s flamewars (on the letter pages, natch) are eerily familiar. Lack of craftsmanship? Check! Too many K4s, not enough small steam? Double check!

I buy brass and steel snap-track in large boxes. It's cheap. I "gleam" it, replace the joiners, and use it. I may not do this at the next show, since I don't really need more track. Ha.

What I do not buy:

I do not buy new stuff. I can always get that online or at the LHS. I do not buy Bachmann trainset flatcars for $10 at the Lionel dealer's table.

What I buy but should not:

Partly built kits and half-finished projects at a bargain price. I don't know what I'm thinking when I do this. I've got enough half-finished projects already; why take on somebody else's? Obviously the only solution is to get a table myself and sell some of them.

(I wonder how many hands some of these have passed through...I had an Arbour 4-6-0 once that is probably still floating through the world, leaving a trail of broken, drooling madmen in its wake.)

[mfm37]

Nothing specific. I just look for out of the ordinary items and bargains.

Guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I get to go in on Friday afternoon with the club and set up our layout. Then play trains all weekend. It's a lot of work, but you have to keep the patrons happy

Stop by the BANTRAK layout and say Hi.

 Martin Myers

[Last Chance]

We had a show like that a few years ago. That was the very last one of it's kind in our area.

I hit the subway for a foot long sub, packed and ready to go. Pour a thermos of coffee in the morning with additional provisions for the day. I cannot recall buying anything that is intended for human consumption these last few years LOL.

 

Once in a while you find something and buy it. I think once I paid 20 dollars for a warehouse made from a walthers complete and with all it's parts installed. I was very happy until I learned the spot I planned for it was not big enough. Well, it went onto Ebay and sold for 50 bucks plus. So, that eases the loss a little. LOL.

[R. T. POTEET]

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?

[dansapo]

trains

[dinwitty]

I look for anything, and be money ready, quite often you find really good deals, even if its a new product, one of the last shows I went, there was one of these animated light up signs for the Illinois Central, and I went WHOA!!! I remembered that sign in Chicago and I am modeling the area.. wowsers, I bought it, about 39 bucks or so,  that was nifty rare and will compliment the layout fabulous. Now if the maker would make that huge beer sign....

 

I visied a Grand Rapids show, it was very small, but there were some unique items there, I bought some narrow gauge turnatbles and a power drive for one. Nice price.

A Kalamazoo show a vendor was selling a North SHore MD car, I saw it and went whut?!?!? Marked at 25 bucks he went down to 20 bucks, found out it was a Walthers kit, built. I didnt expect that they made those, later I found a kit on ebay unbuilt.

I go to expect the unexpected and be ready but do also look for stuff I need. 

 

[BRAKIE]

I never use a list or anything..At train shows I look over each dealer's offerings and see what he has I might be interested in-use HO or N Scale,odd road name boxcars,Micro Train  cars,vehicles,structures,decals,books etc.

I spend close to 2 hours at a show looking and buying (if I see anything I like or need)...I may spend another hour or so talking to guys I know and haven't seen for awhile.