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General Discussion / State of the train marketplace.
« on: December 04, 2020, 09:59:07 PM »
I looked at all the ebay listings in the standard gauge category tonight. I do this once a week.
I bookmarked one item I might bid on but probably won't.
That's it.
I grabbed another early Lionel O gauge loco this week in a buy-it-now listing because I have poor impulse control.
There is nothing there.
Last week was nothing at all.
I watched about an hour of a Bertoia train auction last month. I was after a Lionel 1910 loco, but didn't get it. The trains seemed to be going cheap, but I'm not familiar with early European trains. Lots of them did not reach low estimates and sold for less. Only the American Miniature RR trains consistently met and blew past estimates.
Based on what I'm seeing the bottom has dropped out of the common just good trains to play with, but not all buyers know this so some sellers are still getting the prices from 6 months ago.
Earlier this week I scrolled through the 50 most recently ended Lionel Standard Gauge listings. Only 11 had ended with buyers. That is a 22 percent sell through rate.
Just now - Friday night - I saw 26 of 50 sold for a 52 percent rate. That might be high as someone sold a catalog collection one at a time with low opening bids.
Here's a link so you can count for yourself:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=lionel&_sacat=180508&_sop=1&rt=nc&LH_Complete=1&_ipg=50
Based on what I see, that is a good range. 20-50 percent. Probably usually closer to 20 percent.
This week I have been selling Postwar transformers on eBay. I put cords on them and spritz them with Lemon Pledge and away they go. The Christmas trains I held all year mostly brought good money. Any G gauge track sells, but I can't give away Lionel tubular track. I just listed more tonight for a dollar a section.
I threw out all the Marklin HO track, and all the 027 track. If you put it in the big garbage can at the bottom, it cleans out the can when the truck comes by and dumps it. I never know if I should put it in the recycle can so I alternate.
Here's a transformer I sold this week. First broken train this year:
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
It's common to say that's the temp. workers, but it could just be a worker having a bad day. I'll refund the buyer's money and then file an insurance claim. Then I'll sell him another one!
Shifting gears. . .
I looked at a collection a while back, and I am scared to put out the money. This collection has two stucco 184 bungalows that I'll keep. That's it. I can buy them on eBay anytime I want for $30-50 each. More than the money, I don't want to store the trains and then have them be worth less when I go to sell them.
There will not be any shows until at least April. Denver and LA are both saying they want 60% vaccination rates before they allow large gatherings, and even then, they'll require masks and distancing.
Based on the outdoor show we had here last month, lots of people knew about it, but did not go because they were afraid to get sick.
My friends and I are going to start a monthly Parking lot swap meet in Jan. But that's more fellowship than sales.
eBay is done.
I can't rely on eBay going forward. . . The payments system is a mess, the help staff is ignorant and just doesn't care. I'm tired of it.
I call to order a pizza and the place knows who I am and what kind of pizza I buy. I think they have their phone caller ID connected to a database. I have eBay call me repeatedly about me not getting my money since November 3rd, and every time it's a new person and I have to start all over.
"Let me put you on hold so I can look into this. . . "
It's too aggravating.
That's the smaller eBay account so I just gave up and told them to mail me a check. I'm done.
Instead of listing on eBay twice a week, I'll list once a week and do something else. I keep driving past the golf course and thinking I should play a round. I haven't played in years.
But the good news is I'm having fun with my layout. I'm going to wire the middle loop this weekend so I can run two trains with relays. I'm also going to start painting the wood for the standard gauge layout this weekend.
I think one of the important things in life is having something to look forward to. I'm really looking forward to running the state set past the 921 scenic park.
I bookmarked one item I might bid on but probably won't.
That's it.
I grabbed another early Lionel O gauge loco this week in a buy-it-now listing because I have poor impulse control.
There is nothing there.
Last week was nothing at all.
I watched about an hour of a Bertoia train auction last month. I was after a Lionel 1910 loco, but didn't get it. The trains seemed to be going cheap, but I'm not familiar with early European trains. Lots of them did not reach low estimates and sold for less. Only the American Miniature RR trains consistently met and blew past estimates.
Based on what I'm seeing the bottom has dropped out of the common just good trains to play with, but not all buyers know this so some sellers are still getting the prices from 6 months ago.
Earlier this week I scrolled through the 50 most recently ended Lionel Standard Gauge listings. Only 11 had ended with buyers. That is a 22 percent sell through rate.
Just now - Friday night - I saw 26 of 50 sold for a 52 percent rate. That might be high as someone sold a catalog collection one at a time with low opening bids.
Here's a link so you can count for yourself:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=lionel&_sacat=180508&_sop=1&rt=nc&LH_Complete=1&_ipg=50
Based on what I see, that is a good range. 20-50 percent. Probably usually closer to 20 percent.
This week I have been selling Postwar transformers on eBay. I put cords on them and spritz them with Lemon Pledge and away they go. The Christmas trains I held all year mostly brought good money. Any G gauge track sells, but I can't give away Lionel tubular track. I just listed more tonight for a dollar a section.
I threw out all the Marklin HO track, and all the 027 track. If you put it in the big garbage can at the bottom, it cleans out the can when the truck comes by and dumps it. I never know if I should put it in the recycle can so I alternate.
Here's a transformer I sold this week. First broken train this year:
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
It's common to say that's the temp. workers, but it could just be a worker having a bad day. I'll refund the buyer's money and then file an insurance claim. Then I'll sell him another one!
Shifting gears. . .
I looked at a collection a while back, and I am scared to put out the money. This collection has two stucco 184 bungalows that I'll keep. That's it. I can buy them on eBay anytime I want for $30-50 each. More than the money, I don't want to store the trains and then have them be worth less when I go to sell them.
There will not be any shows until at least April. Denver and LA are both saying they want 60% vaccination rates before they allow large gatherings, and even then, they'll require masks and distancing.
Based on the outdoor show we had here last month, lots of people knew about it, but did not go because they were afraid to get sick.
My friends and I are going to start a monthly Parking lot swap meet in Jan. But that's more fellowship than sales.
eBay is done.
I can't rely on eBay going forward. . . The payments system is a mess, the help staff is ignorant and just doesn't care. I'm tired of it.
I call to order a pizza and the place knows who I am and what kind of pizza I buy. I think they have their phone caller ID connected to a database. I have eBay call me repeatedly about me not getting my money since November 3rd, and every time it's a new person and I have to start all over.
"Let me put you on hold so I can look into this. . . "
It's too aggravating.
That's the smaller eBay account so I just gave up and told them to mail me a check. I'm done.
Instead of listing on eBay twice a week, I'll list once a week and do something else. I keep driving past the golf course and thinking I should play a round. I haven't played in years.
But the good news is I'm having fun with my layout. I'm going to wire the middle loop this weekend so I can run two trains with relays. I'm also going to start painting the wood for the standard gauge layout this weekend.
I think one of the important things in life is having something to look forward to. I'm really looking forward to running the state set past the 921 scenic park.