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Selling G Scale

4K views 11 replies 9 participants last post by  FlagstaffLGB 
#1 ·
Hello!
Many years ago inherited a very large G Scale Train Set. Several cars, 2 engines, TONS of track, die cast people, some trees, water tower, building, and several other things.. 90% of it in original boxes.

I thought I might pull it out one day, but I am going to sell it instead to help pay for some upcoming things.

Any advice on how to sell it (as a whole? Part it out?), where to sell it, pricing guidelines, etc. much appreciated.

I attached as many as they would allow, so let me know if you want to see everything.

Thank you for your help.
 

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#2 ·
You can sell all of it to a dealer, like Trainz (!) https://www.trainz.com/. Convenient but you will not make a lot of $$.
Selling each piece will be tiresome (shipping, packing, dealing with requests for photos, etc.) but will maximize the $$.
Pricing is tricky but one way is to do an Advanced search on eBay which allows you to check the "sold" box and see what the item sold for. Another way is to google the item which may produce a current or prior sale - if it is at Trainz.com or Onlytrains your sell price will probably be 1/2 their sell price.

There are 2 Facebook groups that have thousands of active members always looking for a good deal. "G Scale Swap & Shop" is better (imho) and is private.
 
#3 ·
From the age of the Aristo controller your Shay may be very early, and may need replacement trucks, so buyers will want to see a picture of the underside of the shay.



I second the recommendations of Pete for selling. If you sell it as a lot you will not get as much as individual prices.


Greg
 
#5 ·
I second the recommendations of Pete for selling. If you sell it as a lot you will not get as much as individual prices.

Greg
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Oh so somebody has to blather through with a little tough love...

If the trains have been sitting for many years there are 2 primary factors you have to deal with; 1. You have limited to no knowledge of the stuff; 2. You have limited to no knowledge of the model train world toda, possibly let alone the hellish world of eBad. Just my assumptions, if I'm wrong, I apologize. Nevertheless given the two we move on...

Sell it as a single lot, enjoy whatever dollars you get and move on. Life is too short to deal with any other way of selling and what comes with it. Guarantee if you try to sell individual pieces you will look back and regret it.

Why? Best, most desireable, etc. will sell first and you'll be stuck forever trying to sell the remaining stuff. Buyers are the worst people - they will drive you far more than nuts, suicidal at worst. You will experience the worst of humanity - a bit harsh, but there you are. Everyone says their one of the nice ones, good luck with that. Buyers are 2nd only to shippers, UPS, FedEx, etc.

Do not try and squeeze a few buck or cents out of the things. Think of it as, today you have some train stuff you don't want. Tomorrow you will have some money. It may not be winning the Lotto but it's more than you have before you sold the trains.

Last, do not look back at what might have been.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Best of luck. Remember advice is worth what you pay for it. This advice is free. ;-)
 
#8 ·
I am here! Thank you everyone for all your responses! I really appreciate it.. and I agree with all of you. I just need it gone and hopefully I can find someone to sell it to soon as a lot. Someone who will enjoy it. Not looking to bank in on anything, just something to help pay for a trip for my son
I am in Phoenix.

I checked out the facebook page - very interesting, definitely helpful. Ebay scares me and the Trainz site will probably not want it because it is too small, we will see.

Again, thank you!
 
#9 ·
I have been collecting rolling stock, track and buildings, with the plan to build a nice outdoor layout. It turns out "the boss" (aka the yardmaster) wants to downsize to an apartment. I have been listing on ebay (as plane_rider) for awhile on and off . I find I can get a reasonable selling price, but the listing creation is tedious, and the fees, commissions, and mostly errors in the ebay shipping calculator make it frustrating.

I listed 25 freight cars in the last few days, all NIB Aristocraft, at basically the same price or nearly so as what I see at online retailers, and sold 9 in three days. After fees and shipping I net about what I paid, ten years ago. I wouldn't call it breaking even, as 10 years of investment returns would be much better, but at least I'm not gouging, and the buyers know what they are getting, at what price.

I still have about 80 more cars to list, I'm going to keep whatever doesn't sell when I get down to about 2 dozen for me.

So yes, ebay is a PITA, but it works, reasonably fairly for both buyer and seller, within limits. And the pond is wide, though not deep. That is what makes it worth the effort.

I've made sales even in Europe and Japan in the past, with the Global Shipping program, and the customers were happy.

I agree the best way is to find some local folks so I could sell 8 or 10 at a time instead of 1-4 a day, and avoid all the hassle of shipping.

Anyone around Chicago should contact me.

I don't mind reducing the prices to what I've been netting, about $60 a boxcar, and let the buyer save all the money that currently ends up with UPS, ebay and Paypal.

I'd even sell lower since I wouldn't have to stop at UPS every morning. 😉

Anyway in the western burbs of Chicago (Elmhurst) wanting to raid my stash is welcome to contact me.

For the fellow in Phoenix that started the thread I wish you luck, and gird yourself for the grind if you go the ebay way. It won't get rid of it in one go, but eventually I'm just jealous I'm not there, virtually round year railroading with the good, dry weather.

Cheers
 
#11 ·
Hi Traniz.. You might try the swap meet at The Adobe Mountain Railroad park..

http://adobemtndesertrrpark.com/

I believe they have a meet coming up in March.. Unfortunately, there's nothing on the website I can find for the 2020 dates.. Try the phone number listed on the contact us link

Here's a link to a couple of other good swap meets in Phoenix..

http://www.arizonamodeltrains.com/
 
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