Saturday, December 11, 2004

Stout Dec. 10 & 11, 2005

I just tuned in to Stout's live auction on eBay. They have some nice boxed Lionel and some very nice prewar.

But, as you can probably guess, the prices are in the

STRATOSPHERE

This makes me kind of sad. I know most of the postwar stuff is "rare". One of the sets I just watched went for $20k (black GG1) and the old 6464 "feather" boxcar went for $65k plus. A boxcar for $65k? I know it is a rare mistake but $65k?

At $65k, I'd like some paint experts there to validate that these things are the genuine article. I really could care less, if you are insane enough to spend $65k on a platic boxcar, who am I to say you shouldn't? I'd rather have a dozen of the President Special's and State sets, but what do I know? What I do care about is that this kind of extravagant pricing does two things:

1) It jacks up prices for the prewar items in the auction way past what they should be (maybe that's because of all of the folks participating remotely via eBay). Guess it's good for the seller and the auction house but it is very bad for the hobby on the whole.

2) Every person with a postwar set in their attic thinks it's worth $65k. That's bad because it inflate prices throughout the industry. I've seen real prices reflected at some auctions (like the Maurer Auction I went to near Philly recently) and EVERYONE walks away with something they really like/wanted and the seller still does really, really well.

I am lamenting about this thing ad nauseam. I've done it in other posts. I guess this kind of thing rankles my rhubarb every time I see it. It irritates me on eBay as well. I am always fascinated by the folks that post the new MTH standard gauge at list prices and a higher "buy it now". Who are they kidding? The goofiness continues....

M

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