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Selling to Hattons


Triumphman

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I am slowly selling all my ringfield based steam locos on EBay. It is a lot of work, taking the pictures and writing suitable text and in my case making sure I am being realistic and don't rip people off. The trouble is I don't know what Dealers offer, so it is hard, to work out if I get more money selling privately. I seem to get between £30.00 and £50.00 per loco, of which, the ones I have sold far, have been mint in the box with original instructions. I did get some stupid offer prices on EBay, which I assumed were Dealers, lower than my starting bid. I must admit so far, I am pleased with the results. I use the money to buy new locos or sound decoders. I generally scan EBay to see what other people are asking for a particular loco (with Hornby models it is easy), wait for that auction to finish and then list mine for a price I think is fair, generally a bit lower than what it sold for.

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Colin I just couldn't face packing up just over 100 locos plus a few hundred wagons and sending them to different places. 

Bloke called round, had a look, made an offer, gave me a huge wad of £20 notes and disappeared over the horizon to a  destination in the North. Perfect. 

Fazy it was a huge decision but I'm glad I made it. 

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I must admit for a 100, it is a bit of a pain. I tend to do 3 at a time, so not a big deal, for packing I just use the loco boxes that my new locos came in and the associated bubble wrap, but each to their own. I have about twenty to get rid of, so yes it is going to take a bit of time. As for sending them, copy and paste address into "word" print on adhesive backed paper and a trip to the local Post Office when I go shopping for food. It is entirely up to the individual. I must admit it does take time but then that is why the rich get richer because most people can't be bothered. Remember Lord Sugar started off selling car radio aerials from the back of his car.

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I've sold lots of locos on the other forum to individuals with no problem. Wander up to the  post office, dead easy. Trouble is I wanted to get rid of the lot quickly. I have plenty of brown paper and bubble wrap plus all the locos boxes, but would still need boxes to put the boxes in. Also there was all the wagons and coaches, would have taken months and that's assuming the eBay customers were honest and not claiming  things were damaged. 

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I used to sell a lot of mine on ebay, but I won't anymore, their system is abysmal if things go wrong, all the blurb about seller protection is just that, if you are aware that sometimes you will get rogue buyers, and can accept the risk, fair enough.

I can't be bothered with the hassle,even though the prices some people will pay is tempting. Generally dealers will pay approximately a third of what they will sell it for. 

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I suppose I have a different attitude, I just assume that every time I sell something I might have issues, that way I am not disappointed when I do. I usually make enough from the ones I do sell, to offset the ones that are an issue. I have sold a load of motorcycle parts on EBay (my other hobby is building Classic Bikes) and so far no real issues. I must admit I always post "signed for" which reduces the risk. There will always be 5% of people that are a pain, but if you are making more from the other purchases then although it is not ideal, overall you are still making more than selling to a Dealer. As I say it is entirely up to the individual, my mate pays for insurance on every new appliance he orders, I just assume that if the appliance goes wrong outside the warranty period I will either fix it or get someone in of my choice. So far I have saved a lot more than he has, but he is quite happy to pay for the insurance, so I leave it to him. As I say if you don't like selling on EBay then don't, EBay is just an electronic Swapmeet or Autojumble once you accept that then there are no issues.

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