I'm getting ready to sell my excess NOS stock. A lot of these units are GPs, DC and not DCC. Some are not even DCC ready (older Athearns)As a buyer would you:Pay $50 more for a model that has DCC installed/converted? (no LED)Pay $60 more for a model that has DCC installed and LED lighting?Or would you pay $150 more for tsunami 2 sound. (Requires homemade speaker boxes and weight removal using cutting tools)Or do you want the bargain basement DC ready price and "I'll do it myself"?I'm trying to decide if my investment will generate a negative return, or help me sell the units in question.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
I am aDC only guy .I would buy the engines as is . Then I would domy own lighting add weight or other modifications. If I was DCC I think I would rather do my own mods and DCC that would be of my choice.
Ron High
I don't know if this answer will help.
I'm a DCC guy and have no problem installing my own decoders. I would rather buy non decoder over a user installed. I've seen too many rats nest from people trying to install their own.
I'm starting to standardize on Loksound decoders. While I have decoders from every manufacturer except for Digitrax, I am really trying to set all my sound decoders up to standardize the functions. I also like to keep as much weight in a locomotive as possible.
wrench567 I don't know if this answer will help. I'm a DCC guy and have no problem installing my own decoders. I would rather buy non decoder over a user installed. I've seen too many rats nest from people trying to install their own. I'm starting to standardize on Loksound decoders. While I have decoders from every manufacturer except for Digitrax, I am really trying to set all my sound decoders up to standardize the functions. I also like to keep as much weight in a locomotive as possible.
Same for me. I have had to rework many "professionaly installed" decoders.
JJF
Prototypically modeling the Great Northern in Minnesota with just a hint of freelancing.
Yesterday is History.
Tomorrow is a Mystery.
But today is a Gift, that is why it is called the Present.
What I see nany sellers, both on eBay and specialty lists like LEMswap, doing is provide the options on top of the final price: the buyer contacts you through Messages or whatever, says they want DCC and lights for the extra $$$, and sends the extra via PayPal or whatever as an added transaction.
I see many eBay listers providing a list of configured products with selections you make from a checklist; the displayed image then changes to reflect the choices you made (e.g. so you can see how a watch looks in rose gold with a white dial and brown strap).
I don't know how to code that, nor how much the listing cost increases when you do; I just know it's possible.
I suggest you follow a few auctions and see. Road names are a major factor for me. And BB generation as well.
Simon
Once you do all the upgrades you will arrive at a price that you'd like to sell the loco for. But what you're really selling is old stock with lipstick.
Someone will look at the engine and do some mental gyrations to make a purchase decision between what you are offering and what a more highly detailed loco would cost.
I am a DCC guy. All my puchases were DC except for 3 factory installed DCC locos.
I want my choice of decoder and LED lighting. Why should i trust someone on Ebay's skills?
I don't see that it would be a money making venture for you to turn these into DCC locos
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
DigitalGriffinOr do you want the bargain basement DC ready price and "I'll do it myself"?
That'd be my choice, especially so if it were an undecorated kit. As best as I can recall, I've bought only one r-t-r piece of rolling stock that actually was "ready-to-run".
Wayne
DigitalGriffin ...I'm trying to decide if my investment will generate a negative return, or help me sell the units in question.
...I'm trying to decide if my investment will generate a negative return, or help me sell the units in question.
I'm not sure what you mean when you say a negative return. On what? The initial outlay? Sentimental value? You need the money (and don't just want to see if you can recoup some of your cash purchase prices)? Your time, even if on 'improvements'?
I think looking around at similar offerings, hopefully finding truthful final bids/selling prices, and then knowing the comparative rarity and draw for those items is going to be time well spent if you'd just like to recoup some of your orignal costs and some of your time. I suspect, as it seems from other responses so far, the market is likely to comprise do-it-yourselfers who know the value of those items, are familiar with them, and would at least like them for parts if nothing else, now 30 years into histories of using them.
I do wish you success. Might take a few weeks, but it shouldn't be very tough moving almost all of it if it has any parts value, or still looks and runs well with a bit of cleanup and re-lubing.
When I began my current layout over 20 years ago and decided to go DCC, the plan was to convert my old roster, mostly Athearn BB diesels and Rivarossi steamers to DCC. Instead I ended up buying new locos, either with factory installed decoders or DCC ready and never did a conversion for my old DC locos. I recently sold all my Athearn diesels to my LHS for not a lot of money. I probably could have got more through ebay but didn't want to bother with the hassle. I think my Rivarossi steamers would fetch a better price and worth the effort to sell them online. To answer your question, if I had an interest in converting old DC locos to DCC, I would have done it with my own. I think your best bet is to sell them as is to someone who is still running DC locos. There's still quite a few of them. I don't know what the percentage is of DC vs. DCC, but I'd better you'd have more interest from the DC guys than the DCC guys.
Being a DCC person an engine has to have a decoder or be plug and play. With the price of engines now, unless you have something special to make it worth converting it is not worth converting. There are a few exceptions like a Kato NW2 and super detailed units.
I would never buy a locomotive that has had DCC installed aftermarket. I would rather do my own decoder installations. Whatever price differences there are do not concern me.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
DigitalGriffinAs a buyer would you: Pay $50 more for a model that has DCC installed/converted? (no LED)
No. A decoder will cost me $20, and if it's DCC-ready I can just plug it in. If it's not a DCC-ready locomotive, I don't know the skill level of the installer nor the quality of the installation job -- in fact for that reason I'm *less* likely to buy a locomotive with DCC.
DigitalGriffinPay $60 more for a model that has DCC installed and LED lighting?
No. I actually prefer the look of incandescent bulbs (though the latest LED-equipped Athearns I've seen look pretty good).
DigitalGriffinOr would you pay $150 more for tsunami 2 sound. (Requires homemade speaker boxes and weight removal using cutting tools)
Nope. Same reasons as above. $85-$100 for a decoder and $15 or so for a speaker, right?
And incidentally, $150 is about my target price for used DCC locomotives with factory-installed sound. I've bought several new for that price or cheaper.
Yes, that's the one! :) I much prefer to buy locomotives that have been unmolested, unless it's something I can test and inspect before I buy.
Hope this helps (and when you sell I'd be intereted in seeing the list).
Aaron
I've had considerable experience selling MR stuff on Ebay, with about 500 auctions in the last 20 years. All of the auctions were started off with the absolute least amount I would accept for said item. Most ended up selling for more, some a lot more. The thing is, they all sold.
In the process I've found that even as a "knowledgeable" seller, I really didn't have a good feel for what would sell for how much. It's all about timing, supply/demand, and all the factors of the item itself (i.e. condition, road, etc.).
Good luck!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I echo the sentiment of most. I would rather by as DC and do my own DCC install with the decoder of my choice.
Modeling the B&M Railroad during the transition era in Lowell, MA
DigitalGriffin I'm getting ready to sell my excess NOS stock. A lot of these units are GPs, DC and not DCC. Some are not even DCC ready (older Athearns)As a buyer would you:Pay $50 more for a model that has DCC installed/converted? (no LED)Pay $60 more for a model that has DCC installed and LED lighting?Or would you pay $150 more for tsunami 2 sound. (Requires homemade speaker boxes and weight removal using cutting tools)Or do you want the bargain basement DC ready price and "I'll do it myself"?I'm trying to decide if my investment will generate a negative return, or help me sell the units in question.
As both a buyer and seller on eBay for 22 years now, I have always shied away from buying used locomotives unless the decoder is factory installed. As a seller, I have sold DCC Ready locomotives with non-sound decoders that I have installed, but not at the price markup that you have suggested.
When I sell locomotives, I list them as Buy It Now, and my asking price is 70% of what I paid for them. If they were originally DCC Ready locomotives, I add 50% of the cost of the decoder and LED lighting to my asking price.
I always sell my used (pre-owned) locomotives using the Buy It Now feature. To my way of thinking, auctions are more risky. The auctions that generate the most bids are those that start at $0.99 or $9.99. But, the risk there is that the winning bid may be less than what you would have listed the locomotive as a Buy It Now Item. If you use the auction method and the starting bid is the minimum that you would accept, there will be far fewer bids in the usual situation or it may not sell at all.
Another consideration is the term NOS (new old stock). If the seller is a retailer or eBay Store, that may be true. But if the seller is someone like you or me, the item is "used" or "pre-owned" as eBay calls it. So, the item will typically command a lower selling price.
So, my advice is to sell those locos as DCC Ready and be done with it. Unless you can get discount prices on decoders, you won't likely recover your cost, let alone the value of your time.
Rich
Alton Junction
Rich is correct, IMO. To a buyer, once the box is opened, its no longer NOS. Once the shell has been removed, the loco has been fiddled with by the previous owner.
OP should expect to get half the price he's stated, at best, IMO. Expect to lose money on the components installed. Expect to get $0 for the labor it took to install the components. No buyer would know what the quality of the install would be.
Also, if OP gets a sales price that exceeds the cost of the loco, component, install etc., then the IRS might interpret OPs activities as a for-profit-business. In which case all revenues received would be subject to either income tax or capital gains taxes (less costs of course).
I suggest leaving the DCC ready locos as NOS as best as possible and sell them that way. Prices seem to be higher now more than ever, so OP might get back what he paid for them originally.
But, you never know what the market will bear. I'm just talking about expectations. But if you make money on the stuff, don't sell them at a loss, then the excess revenue over cost is subject to tax, and Ebay will send you a 1099 for total revenues over $600 in 2022.
- Douglas
NIB stands for new-in-box, does it not? NOS is one I hadn't seen before. I'm going to take a stab and guess it stands for new-off-shelf. If that is correct, how does that differ from NIB?
I've seen NOS around long before eBay. New Old Stock. I used to buy old car parts and it was a treat to find parts still in the original Delco cardstock "tins".
I've seen NWT for clothing, too (new with tags)
Here's the rest:
https://resellingrevealed.com/best-ebay-listing-abbreviations-for-sellers/
Good Luck, Ed
Hello All,
John-NYBWNOS is one I hadn't seen before.
NOS stands for "New Old Stock"- -which is a bit of an oxymoron.
In practical terms, it refers to "Old" items that were bought and never used.
These items might not be in their original packaging. So the term MIB ("Mint In Box") does not apply.
Back to the topic at hand...
I agree with the majority of responses, I would rather buy DC and install my own decoder(s) and upgrades.
The four (4) unit consist of HO Bachmann GP40s on my pike were all purchased separately and used.
Some were DCC ready while one had an OEM PCB decoder.
Three (3) motors had flywheels while the fourth did not.
I re-motored all of them with the same motors and standardized the decoders by hardwiring them and adding LEDs.
Now I have a consist that runs well with little CV manipulation, something the individual sellers could not have done.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
jjdamnit NOS stands for "New Old Stock"- -which is a bit of an oxymoron. In practical terms, it refers to "Old" items that were bought and never used.
OK, I've got lots of that. Mostly structure kits. Items I bought for the previous layout and never got around to building. Some were items I ended up with two of because I bought one forgetting I had the same kit on back order with another vendor. Some were impulse buys.
One old thing I have that I have never used was the Rivarossi Cardinal Train that's about 25-30 years old in the original box. It has DC Hudson painted Cardinal Red and the old Rivarossi generic heavyweight cars in the same color. I had an idea to dress it up and run it on my current layout which was still in the planning stages when I bought it. Now it is a bit of a collector's item but not in high demand. I think I paid around $300 for it when it came out. I saw one guy asking over $900 for his. I think he will be asking a long time. I've seen them go in the $300-400 range in recent years. I think $350 would be my bottom end price. Less than that and I think I would rather do what I originally planned for it.
The red box is badly faded but in solid shape. I guess this would qualify as NOS.
I have always understood NOS (new old stock) to be acronym used by retailers, not consumers who bought an item but never used it.
Here is how Wikipedia defines NOS, and it is a definition that I agree with.
New old stock (NOS), or old stock for short, refers to aged stock of merchandise that was never sold to a customer and still new in original packaging. Such merchandise may not be manufactured anymore, and the new old stock may represent the only current source of a particular item. There is no consensus on how old a product must be to be NOS, and some people reserve an NOS label only for products that are actually discontinued.
richhotrainHere is how Wikipedia defines NOS, and it is a definition that I agree with.
You quoted Wikipedia as a credible source...
jjdamnit Hello All, richhotrain Here is how Wikipedia defines NOS, and it is a definition that I agree with. You quoted Wikipedia as a credible source...
richhotrain Here is how Wikipedia defines NOS, and it is a definition that I agree with.
That's up to you to consider whether Wikipedia is a credible source - - or not.
hon30critter I would never buy a locomotive that has had DCC installed aftermarket. I would rather do my own decoder installations.
I would never buy a locomotive that has had DCC installed aftermarket. I would rather do my own decoder installations.
I think this may depend on models. If we're talking Athearn BB, I wouldn't bother, if you are doing say Stewart/Kato F units and used Kato board replacement decoders, then you might be able to upcharge. Especiallyf if your photos included photos of the work done.
As for NOS. My understanding is it's term that ONLY applies to stuff that a vendor is selling that has NEVEr been purchased by a modeler. it's the old AthearnBB/MDC stuff that sat in the LHS for years gathering dust. Once it gets purchased by a consumer, even if the box was never opened, it's no longer NOS.
YoHo1975 As for NOS. My understanding is it's term that ONLY applies to stuff that a vendor is selling that has NEVEr been purchased by a modeler. it's the old AthearnBB/MDC stuff that sat in the LHS for years gathering dust. Once it gets purchased by a consumer, even if the box was never opened, it's no longer NOS.
I think any modifications will yield a negative return. Sell the stuff as is. Few buyers will be willing to pay much for modifications.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
I bought a locomotive that someone had installed a low-cost DCC decoder. It lasted all of 20 minutes on my DC layout, which required me to install a higher-end decoder. As has already been mentioned, it's pretty much a guessing game, with no knowledge of the seller's DCC skills.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR