# Pricing/Valueing an Estate



## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

A friend has a new neighbor moving in who is looking to sell off their G-scale collection. I've been told this includes about 100 railcars, engines, a few dozen structures, etc. Most of the rolling stock is LGB with original boxes. How does one go about putting a value on this stuff so as to get a good deal with resale in mind, but not slap the owner in the face?

Thanks


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## Andre Anderson (Jan 3, 2008)

Greetings,

Well sir this can become a whole can of new worms. The best place in my opinion to establish the price of items like this is on E-bay by checking the completed auction items. Once you have determined the price that people are willing to pay for the item you then can make the decision as to weather you will sell the items on E-bay or go some other route.

The First way is to sell the items to a dealer in on large or several smaller lots. This will be the fastest and least aggravating method but will net the least amount of cash. The dealer will be buying the items for resale so he will offer you less that market value so that he can make a profit also understanding that he will be sitting on some of the items for awhile.


The second way is to buy tables at local train shows. With this method you will be dealing with the public on face to face bases, this may not be the easiest thing to do as most will want to haggle with you on the price. What I do if I am selling at a show is to price things a little higher than the price I want so I have some wiggle room when some comes up and offers less than the marked price. This method also takes some time as you have to pack everything up, take it to the show, set it out on the tables and pack up all that did not sell and bring it back home. Now I have to admit I have usually enjoyed going to shows because of the great people that I meet at these kinds of shows.

The third way is to use E-Bay itself. This method has the advantage that you don’t have to go anywhere but it has its own set of pitfalls. First you will have to set up an e-bay account, then a Pay-pal Account, then list the items, get paid for the items and then ship the items. All of these things will take time with getting things ready for and shipping them. One recommendation with e-bay is to have several small lots or individual items rather than one or two larger lots. The reason for this is three fold, first some one might be looking for just a particular item, second people may not have the money available for a large lot, and third most people buying large lots will be dealers and such that will be breaking the lot up into small parts and reselling them that way. When you sell an expensive item on E-bay insist on having shipping insurance, that way if the item gets damaged or lost you are protected.



I hope this is of some help, if you have any other questions don’t feel afraid to ask.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Thanks.

With ~100 pieces, I doubt that I will find a representative sampling of what they probably have on ebay in a timely fashion.

I think that there may be an LGB pricing guide, but it would probably be outdated, and I imagine that that is for collectors, not resellers. Certainly I could turn someplace like BridgeMasters on to the collection to purchase as that is what they do (maybe for "pick of the litter") but would like to see the neighbor happy with the deal too. 

I doubt that they have an inventory and I think they want it out. It would be a matter of me going over, pulling the boxes out of the attic and figuring out what they've got. It may come down to something like, "OK, 65 freight cars at $30 each (regardless of type), plus 12 passenger cars at $40 each, plus 10 engines at $250 each, plus 30 structures at $40 each" or such.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

There's an auction house in PA that specialises in auctioning collections or estates - Maurer. *MaureRail Auctions** 
*
They are the center of the Train Collectors Ass'n, so a lot of their estates are old Lionel, but they often get LGB or other large scale collections to sell. I've bought stuff and bid on stuff - they allow phone bids and will bid for you. hey will travel to view and discuss collections, they say. 

The website also has "Prices Realized" section and while it isn't indexed for just LGB, you can find a few sales of G scale or Large scale, like this one *10:00 A.M. SATURDAY , 02/20/10 (604) G GAUGE TRAINS* with prices that were paid.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Thanks Pete. That's a great help.


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## Madstang (Jan 4, 2008)

First thing I can say is watch Ebay at any given tiome you will see a mariad of LGB "stuff" on sale. Don't be in a hurry if you are selling on ebay look watch and learn..THEN sell. In that time frame you will also have time to go online and see if they are sellig any of the items on the retailers site, though I doubt that one. Or any place else.
Now what you need to really pay attension to is if any of the engines or cars are collectors items or items that are in GREAT demand. If they are they you will get more for the item as it will start a bidding war on Ebay!
Now if the items are just average items then you will not get much for any of it close to what was spent, again you will learn this from watching Ebay as I do. Seasons matter when selling also closer to Christmas the better your chances are.

If you want to UNLOAD this stuff quickly, you will not get much of a return at all without knowing just what you have and it's resellable value.

Selling it to a train shop, you might as well give it away, they will not give you much for it. If you sell to a person that is into trains you can expect approx. 50- 70% from this kind of person. LGB purist must have the items in prestine shape with correct boxes or count them out also for high $$.

If they are used and abused OR weathered it will be a turkey shoot as they will bring a lot less. Missing or broken parts will play a part in recieving high $$ returns.

Bottom line it is not hard to get an account with Ebay or Pay-Pall, it is keeping track of the end times and hassles of SHIPPING as that can get confusing if you do not have help or a shipping dept.

Watch Ebay daily and study.

IMHO


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

One possibility if you have enough track and power supplies: 

It's getting close to Christmas. You could try making up several "train sets" to sell. Keep them simple, an engine with a few cars, an oval of track, a structure or two and maybe a power supply. Advertise for a garage sale. Garage sales aren't usually very good for getting a decent price for individual items but a complete, ready-to-set-up train makes a great Christmas present and I think non-hobbiest people would be attracted buy a "set" where they wouldn't be interested in individual pieces except at giveaway prices. 

The remaining individual items could always be sold as mentioned above. Just an alternative to try if you want to keep it simple. It wouldn't cost much to try it and if successful would save a lot of work collecting money & shipping, etc. In the meantime you could be checking out ebay & other options.


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

PEte,

That's a great auction site!! I looked back through their archived auctions, and I think I found the FA-FB I purchased several months later on ebay. I'll keep an eye on the site and any G auctions. It is close by...


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

Maurerail is good, another one is Choo Choo auctions.com. Ebay is not a very good pricing guide anymore, as prices there are all over the board!! If it's listed what I really like to do is use Trainworld, they are usually the most competitive of all retailers,(no offense against advertisers on here or others), but if it's listed there, what I do if the item is used I usually figure it at 1/2 the price of new give or take, and depending on condition also, original box, like new, ets! then price accordingly somewhere between 1/2 off and the new price. Lately when I sell on Ebay nothing sells at a fair price. And just before, or right after I sell and don't sell the item it shows up and sells usually at a god awful price!! Example there is a Aristo Pacific on right now and the guy is asking $680 something for it. We all know it probably will not sell, but things we all have seen lately going for higher pricing than you can buy new on some items!! And i see people all the time paying a price that is above retail or MSRP! Go figure! Me thinks there are SOME top sellers that drive up the bids by shill bidding, which we all know happens! I have kinda lost my interest in using Ebay for selling I still look at what's there, but lately the prices are way too high or the bidding goes way above what I feel is a fair price for alot of the items there!! But they continue to sell???? Regal


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

I really think that your first step is to make an inventory and was it used or not. Any dealer interested in buying it will want that as a minimum. Questions I'd like to know is it American, European, or a little bit of both. LGB has two axle and four axle cars. Some of these will have very different potential values. 


Watts train shop in Indiana advertises that they will by collections. 


Regal's suggestion of TrainWorld is excellent. Their ads in Garden Railway list more LGB engines and cars than any other site I know of. If this stuff is older, some of it may not be there.


Chuck N


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Thanks guys.

There is no shortage of places that will buy up LGB collections, even locally. It may be that I have no interest in the stuff (e.g., all European, no Southern Pacific, or ...). If I can't find some stuff that I would want, I would probably turn them on to one, maybe for "pick of the litter" from the collector/reseller.

But the nextdoor neighbor who found me is a good friend of mine and business acquaintance of >15 years and asked that I do right by them. I know that most places that buy up collections pay minimally. It may even come down to asking the seller to get a bid from a local collector/reseller and determining whether it is worth the effort to better that price on my part, and go from there. That would certainly be the simplest way to go.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Another place to try is Trainz.com or 1-866-285-5840, they show having LGB for sale and also they will pack and pick up your trains. See there add in Garden Railways.  Later RJD


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

One way you can "do right by them" is to offer what you think is a reasonable price based on the bulk-pricing method you described above (X cars at Y$/car average), and tell them if you later find any real gems in the collection that are worth way more than you expected, you'll make it up to them. The probability of there being such is low, but it could happen - some car or loco that happens to be rare and highly desirable on the collector market. That would be a better offer than they would get from most (any?) dealers, who would quickly figure out the seller doesn't know the value and who would feel no compunction to sweeten the pot if they struck gold.


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