Inherited stash - best place/way to sell

[Rachel-362862]

HI everyone :)

I've inherited a stash of Hornby and triang and lima trains from my uncle. I've no intentions of keeping them so they will be for sale. BUT! I've looked online on eBay and google and I'm just confused!

Here's what I can tell you so far.

I have some empty boxes. I need to identify which trains went in them as i'm sure it will be worth more WITH the box.

I have looked at a couple of carriages and I cant see any model numbers on them

Some are made of metal/tin... and some are made of plastic.

Hornby branded track as well, lots of it.

Judging by the other items left at my uncles I can imagine it could be from 1940's up.

Ebay fees annoy me but im thinking that may be the best place to reach the most people? sell individually by brand or small bundles or one big job lot?

Any advice welcome! thank you so much.

[RDS]

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

As you are probably aware buying or selling is not allowed via this Forum although it is obviously OK to ask for advice. Old track can be more of a problem than anything else because it is made of steel, which rusts, compared to the modern Nickel Silver track.

Despite the fees eBay is probably the best way to sell stuff, although Gumtree is good for local sales without any fees. Other than that Facebook.

[ntpntpntp]

Do you have a model railway club near you? You probably need someone with knowledge of the models to help re-unite models and boxes where possible, and maybe give you some advice on age/rarity/value? The club may also have members who would be interested in buying the items, or perhaps they have a regular exhibition with a club sales stand where your items could be offered with a small commission to the club funds?

There are shops and dealers who will buy entire collections but of course they do need to allow for storage, cataloguing, testing, advertising etc. as well as making a working profit so their offer will be less than you might achieve selling through ebay or similar. Auction houses are another possibility though again there will be commission costs etc.

[Rachel-362862]

Thank you! Yea just looking for advice mostly!

Great idea about Facebook or model railway club! I will happily donate some to good causes also :)

Im off to google train people near me :)

[atom3624]

If you know anyone who can identify the models, items, or help you do same, then I would make a list and approach several of the different shops ...

Hattons

Rails

Collett's

The Model Centre

many others ...

See if they are interested.

Ebay is high maintenance, particularly for a large collection if splitting.

As one unit, they may not sell very well or be difficult to get a sale in view of the combined value anticipated.

Al.

[Barry-350851]

As always, it is a trade off of effort and reward. You'll always get more by splitting things out and selling them separately rather than in a job lot but how much more will vary by item.

It might be a case of splitting the most valuable items out for separate sale and then there might be a residual amount to sell as a job lot.

Given this could go back to the 40s you might have some quite specialist stuff to sell, maybe even some 3-rail.

[AndyMac1707817969]

If you have boxes then they should have part numbers (Hornby will begin with an R). If you type these along with the make into searches on eBay they should show you what should be in the box, you can search completed listings as well as active ones. One thing to note though is Hornby did reuse R some numbers. Most people use eBay to value items, nowadays everyone knows what everything is worth because of eBay.

 

Whatever fees eBay charge will be small when it what dealers and auction houses charge in commission. Fourteen percent all in is a lot less than people like Vectis will charge. Dealers will only give you probably less than half of what they would achieve on eBay but the problem is with eBay you really have to know what you are selling, its condition and how well it runs, selling ‘sold as seen’ will just mean it be assumed not to work well or at all and will guarantee a rock bottom price. It does not matter that you a private seller who may not know about the items that will go straight over the heads of many buyers who especially at the lower end of the market want to pay as little as possible and don't take into account its age. If you have never sold on eBay before, if the buyer has a problem with an item then eBay’s solution is always to reverse the transaction, you get the item back and the buyer gets their money back, you pay all the postage there and back. You get no say in it, you are responsible for damage in the post etc. It’s like if you purchase something and it does not arrive as you expected then your buyers too expect you to sort it out. There is none of this ‘it’s not my problem’. You need to read eBay’s terms and conditions carefully, any disagreement and they virtually always come down on the side of the buyer irrespective of what some sellers put on their listings, such as ‘my auction my rules’, well it’s not its eBay’s rules.

You can contact the big dealers such as Hattons or Rails of Sheffield. They will ask you to photograph what you have and send them the photos. They will give you an estimate of what it’s worth. This does not cost anything but it will be a cautious estimate as they have to make money else there is no point in doing it. If you decide to go with them then you generally pack the stuff up and send it off and once they check it and if the items are in a good working condition they will make a final offer.  

    

 

People have a tendency to collect things from their childhood so stuff from the 1950s and even 60s nowadays is getting worth less and less as there are fewer buyers. It is unlikely to be worth a much as you think it will be, condition is everything but again if there are a lot for sale on eBay then it’s a buyers’ market. Again if you can find the items on completed eBay listing it will give you an idea of value. If the track is old steel track (try a magnet on it), many people will not touch it, as it’s already been said its more trouble than its worth to most people.

[Rana Temporia]

I am in the same boat with my late father’s collection. You need to know what you are dealing with and that is where I suppose I am quite lucky as I do. I have sold some items to a dealer, got ripped off, agreed a price for some other items with a different dealer who then made an insulting offer thinking I would take it. I didn’t. I tried a swapmeet, dealers bought most of what I had as I had priced it to sell but the general public didn’t buy much as they wanted me to give stuff away.

I have now found a dealer who is being sensible for rolling stock but I am selling the locos and high value items on eBay myself. It is a pain and taking a lot of my time but even with the eBay charges I am getting around three to four times what dealers have offered per item. I have heard some dreadful stories relating to one dealer mentioned on here and some of the auction houses. OK you are using them for their expertise and to collect and sell on your behalf but they will want to make as much as possible out of you, it’s how they keep going. Also be aware of firstly friends who tell you it’s worth a fortune, it probably isn’t, or dealers who tell you it has no value, it may have some. Look on eBay for the same items in the same condition and look what they have actually sold for, you can check this, see what the last ten sold for for a good average for what you can expect. Ignore the idiots who put stupidly high prices on items that are there for months and give a false idea of the value of items. You can always put everything on at 99p start and see what you get for them, they generally get to the right area.

[atom3624]

As implied by RT, it would definitely be worthwhile finding somebody 'in the know' who you trust, to give an idea of any items which could be 'a little special'.

Al.

[Simmo009]

If you have a local model shop, they may know which of their customers can provide knowledge for you. The going rate may be a cup of tea and some biscuits. Also, your local club as above.

I recently sold a box load of unwanted mainly locomotives to Rails. I got £300 store credit, cash would have been 10% less. If I had gone the Ebay route, I may have got £6 - 700, but that would have involved a lot more work on my part that I didn't have time for.

Ebay is good for you to get an idea of likely returns on a private sale, but a dealer will only give you 50% of this at best.

Good luck, you have wandered into a minefield.

[Tony57]

If it was me I would try and get hold of the Ramsey Model Train Catalogue as compiled by Pat Hammond latest version. I use edition 8 parts 1 & 2 at present It gives a more realistic guide to what things are worth, allowing a little extra for inflation.

 

[Engine shed 1]

And another place you could try is classic rail in east Sussex

[Aussie Fred]

This has reminded me of what my wife and I discussed, should i go before her. The family are not interested, so she said she would probably contact local service club or "mens shed" and see if they want it for free, just need to dismantle and take away. Otherwise, she just doesn't want the hassle of trying to sell it, even though there is a couple of grands worth of loco (on the second hand market) there, let alone all the track and wagons etc.