I have bought some terrific trains from Stout Auctions. Greg Stout runs a top notch shop and his grading, pictures and honesty are always the best. You can register to bid on the auction via the web. You can also follow along on the eBay live auction website. The above picture is of an Ives transition set he has out there. Pretty darn nice and something you don't see boxed everyday.
By the way, I'd urge all of my readers to periodically check out the eBay live auction website. There are tons of trains (especially standard gauge) that sneak up in bigger auctions that don't get mentioned. I've seen some amazing prices on these live auctions because an estate gets auctioned off and the trains aren't the premier items. Just be patient and keep an eye out for the future auctions. Then there are bonehead auction houses that think every train should start at $20k. Uh, no.
1 comment:
We could go into a long discussion on prices for vintage and current standard gauge. Most of the people that actually live in the hobby don't overcharge. I actually have found people that really understand the market to be consistent and usually very reasonable. That doesn't mean they are cheap, just realistic.
Than there are the dealers (Hobby, Antique and Auction Houses) that think:
1. You should be glad to pay list because nobody carries this stuff.
2. Items in good or better condition are rare so you better be ready to pay a mint.
3. I can find a whole bunch of people after you that are willing to buy this, just be glad you got into this show to see my outlandish prices.
There is always the mythical "bottomless pit" buyer that has $500k to spend on toy trains just this year. He's always looking for the next boxed & mint Blue Comet set or Mayflower set that hasn't seen the light of day since it left the factory. I have met a few of those and they usually burn out. Somemtimes it is after their first bypass operation. Usually it's after their second wife figures out how much they are really spending on trains. I absolutely don't like what they do to the market because it inflates expectations about what real trains are worth (you know, the one's that were scratched, played with and are generally still the one's I want to buy).
Then we have the dealers that are married to a price guide and think that it's the only guide. I know one dealer that is in the process of going out of business, yet every standard gauge item and even the current MTH and Lionel O Gauge stuff in his store is still at retail, list price. He says he can't understand why nobody is buying! He finally marked down the Hellgate Bridge (current Lionel release) from $499 to $425 and he can't understand why they aren't blowing out the door. Hmmm, let's see - because you're charging too much!!
Ok, let em finish this rant by saying that I think all of us are willing ot pay for value and quality. We even will stretch when it's a rare item that just tickles our fancy and is something we have really wanted over the long run. But this thing called greed seems to avail iteself in any buyers and sellers market. Fortunately for us the old adage is really true in our hobby: "What goes around, comes around." "What you put out comes back at ya tenfold." It's the only truism I have seen in my little life so far that really takes hold consistently.
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