I have been away from here for over 3 years as eyesight and arthritic hands somewhat curtailed my N Gauge interests. Meanwhile I have started a 00 scale layout but wanted to keep my N stuff. I now reluctantly realise as I am not going to use it again I should sell to free up space and fund 00 scale purchases. Where is the best place to sell? Here or Ebay or Hattons!
I have over 30 locos, 15 DMU and EMU, a couple of HST's, over 300 wagons, all modern image plus some Kato track and turnouts. A lot of it is as new and not out of the box.
A problem is a lot of the locos don't want to run. I have a Dapol HST NMT set which has never been out of the box but is dead as a doornail. I popped the bogies off followed by the lower chassis and applied power direct to the motor terminals. It ran sweetly. I applied power 'upstream' of those green resistor like components and nothing happened. I guess those green thingies must have failed?
I would avoid places like the box retailers as you are likely to get around 50% less than the secondhand value, you have to remember they need to make a good profit on all items.
Personally I would try on here, as there is no commission, unlike the well know auction site which at the moment takes around 11% of your sales.
Hi Davecttr,
I don't know but good question as I've got some stuff I don't need and want to sell in the future. I was eventually going to ask how much it costs to have a small sellers table at a local railway show to see if it would be worth it so if anyone could answer that it would be good and could help you too.
Where are you by the way? If you don't mind people coming round for a nose, could be an option?
Cheers weave :beers:
prepare a listing of all items, and post them here. then it's among "friends" that you know will appreciate the goods. What remains, is then another story...
In the swiss N-gauge forum a guy sold almost all pars of a heritage collection... he let the interesting people propose a price by PM or eMail and then also traded up or down according to "level of interest" by the bidder and number of peolple interested in a specific item.
Lots of good advice here peoples, many thanks, keep it coming!
Some other questions - I imagine selling locos/DMU's etc individually would be best and maybe wagons and coaches in batches. I have 18 Freightliner bogie coal hoppers. 3 batches of 6 or 6 batches of 3? I am thinking of economy of scale in postage and packing.
When packing would wrapping the loco box in bubble wrap and using a jiffy bag be OK or should I buy some suitable sized boxes?
Payment - I would prefer Paypal for convenience as it is easy to do. Would that be acceptable to buyers?
I would recommend a box rather than just a jiffy bag for posting locos and more expensive items. Jiffy bag probably ok for individual wagons. I've even had unboxed stuff posted in cardboard tubes (innards of kitchen rolls), not a bad idea as long as well padded.
Also, try and add additional packing/wrapping inside the box to prevent models scraping/sliding - it can damage paintwork. Remember stuff in the post gets chucked around!
Quote from: ntpntpntp on September 24, 2017, 01:48:51 PM
try and add additional packing/wrapping inside the box to prevent models scraping/sliding
A good point - I once received a loco and the outer protection was the best I have seen, but the loco had a couple of pieces broken off as it was not so well protected in the box and was able to move about.
As above, make a listing and then post on here
Allow about 4 weeks for interest, enquiries and sales
Next sell on eBay
Depending on your account type, you may be able to list for free (usually up to 100 items at up to £1), and may even have fixed fees on sales (such as £1 per item sold)
As you have a list, create listings for each individual item
The best results come from listing on either :
Thursday to Sunday (10 days)
or
Sunday to Sunday (7 days)
That way it gives people time to ask questions, take into account work, holidays, and so on
If an item is electrical advise if it has been tested and works, or should be considered as not working
I tend to list items should be considered as not working, this prevents returns
Quote from: davecttr on September 24, 2017, 01:42:45 PMI have 18 Freightliner bogie coal hoppers. 3 batches of 6 or 6 batches of 3? I am thinking of economy of scale in postage and packing.
I would recommend selling each item individually
This gives the best range of buyers, some may only want one, others may want the whole lot
On the listing advise buyers that discount will be paid once the auction ends
You can then work out the postage cost depending on how many items each winner has
On the listing put your postage options
I recommend using
Royal Mail Second Class Signed For, for items up to £20 (coaches, wagons, etc)
Royal Mail Special 1PM, for items over £20 (locos)
Quote from: davecttr on September 24, 2017, 01:42:45 PMWhen packing would wrapping the loco box in bubble wrap and using a jiffy bag be OK or should I buy some suitable sized boxes?
Assuming all the items are boxed
A single wrap of bubble wrap, rigid card, and then either a large A4 envelope or wrapping paper
My local Post Office prefer the large A4 envelope, as this gives room for the address and labels
The postage cost is the same!
So if I have 30 VTG hopper wagons I ask the price per wagon plus P&P etc?
Buying a single wagon could be expensive!
I paid £7 per wagon which would be about £10 now if you could buy them new. They are essentially as new so I was thinking of about £4 but I think a bit of research is needed as I am looking for a fair and reasonable price.
Dave - firstly take pictures of each individual item (or rake if selling several) as you'll need pics for EBay or this forum.
You can state on the forum N'Porium in an advert that postage depends on the number of items bought.
I have sold a lot of stock on the N'Porium and paypal seems to be fairly common for transactions.
It's not imperative but I always give a donation to the forum coffers from sales (usually 10%) as I think it's the least I can do for helping me sell items
Quote from: davecttr on September 24, 2017, 02:39:41 PM
So if I have 30 VTG hopper wagons I ask the price per wagon plus P&P etc?
Buying a single wagon could be expensive!
I paid £7 per wagon which would be about £10 now if you could buy them new. They are essentially as new so I was thinking of about £4 but I think a bit of research is needed as I am looking for a fair and reasonable price.
Dave,
I'm probably shooting myself in the foot here as I might want some of your stuff but don't put too many of your cards on the table just yet.
We're all lovely and fair here but there's always a wrong'un somewhere ready to pounce.
Try and sell on here but give a head's up they're up for sale or I'll forget.
Cheers weave :beers:
It is a trade-off between effort and return.
A dealer will give you a price for the lot - there and then and that is the end of the matter and you can get on with using your time for other things. You will get around half of the secondhand value - or less if the items are faulty/damaged/unpopular.
Listing items here, on eBay or elsewhere will take a lot of time to take the photos, research suitable prices, upload the photos along with the descriptions, answer questions, check payments against orders, pack and post, update the listings on line as things sell, answer more questions and you will almost certainly be left with a quantity of items. You then need to decide if you want to sell those to a dealer, reduce the price,.... etc. You will get most of the secondhand value (less eBay/PayPal/other fees, less postage, less packing materials) for the items that you actually sell.
Only you can decide which is the right course.
I personally agree with your sentiment to sell in small groups - 3 wagons etc. Very few people genuinely only want 1, I won't get involved in trying to buy multiple things off one seller unless they're particularly desirable.
In terms of where to sell - here is easy, you'll get more money on eBay, but more hassle and more chance of being messed about.
Would definitely be interested in the list of items!
I'm just really repeating whats already been said. If your looking to get the best price as already mentioned ebay is the best place to sell, make sure you list your item for 7 days and that it ends at around 19:30 on a Sunday evening. Package your items well and send them RM 2nd class recorded delivery.
The one thing that you may be lucky to encounter is a bidding war ! :claphappy: I know of one or two on here that have, then you will be laughing all the way to the bank! :)
But its worth pointing out ebay & paypal charges total about 13% (that also includes postage charges!) So if biting your fingernails is not your thing then of course the forum is the place for friendly and hassle free transactions. :thumbsup:
Quote from: Ian Morton on September 24, 2017, 06:35:31 PMListing items on eBay will take a lot of time to take the photos, research suitable prices, upload the photos along with the descriptions, answer questions, check payments against orders, pack and post, update the listings on line as things sell, answer more questions
This is why eBay separated out the bid and postage elements
You can now include any and all costs within the postage element, this includes almost all of the elements above
I include about 50p per item, this takes into account transport to/from Post Office
I once had a buyer complain the postage cost was too high, eBay accepted my response and quoted their terms to the buyer
I would do some browsing on ebay and follow some items that are similar and see what they go for, I think you will be surprised. You won't get many wagons for £4 these days, £6-7 is the normal price small wagons go for. Many things are going for silly prices because the new stuff is so expensive now.
I think it would be worth you paying someone to service the loco's, they are probably just gummed up from lack of use, but you will get a fraction of the price for things non running, or bad running. Freshly serviced and running well will make a decent hike in price. If you can get someone to check them as a job lot, with a bit of a discount it will be well worth it!
I would also second trying to avoid ebay for as long as possible, they can be useful, but charge a large percentage now, you sell a few hundred pounds worth and you will get a frightening bill the month afterwards, and they charge percentage on postage as well, so you have to take that into account. I had a right row with a buyer who complained that I had charged him what post had cost me plus the ebay percentage, he just wouldn't accept I had only charged him what it had cost me. Their terms and conditions also favour the buyer far too much, so if they complain about anything, basically they will take the money back from your account and you will have to argue about it afterwards.
Matt
ps-got any blue grey era stuff?
I am still confused about Paypal and money. If a buyer and I agree a price and the money is sent to me via Paypal where do Paypal collect their percentage?
If the payment is for goods and services, eg via eBay, the recipient pays a fee of 3.6% plus 20p. However transfers between friends and family are (mostly) free, so if you sell privately you may avoid fees.
Quote from: davecttr on September 25, 2017, 12:05:45 AM
I am still confused about Paypal and money. If a buyer and I agree a price and the money is sent to me via Paypal where do Paypal collect their percentage?
At source. So you say £50 for x. Buyer pays £50, you get £48 in your PayPal account which you can then transfer to your current account.
As said, there is also "friends and family" aka PayPal Gift where the buyer surrenders any sort of protection and there are no fees paid by you. The buyer pays fees to pay by credit card - so the £50 item costs them £52, but you get the full £50. Many buyers are reluctant to use Gift for goods because you forfeit any protection in the event you turn out to be a scammer!
Quote from: longbow on September 25, 2017, 01:00:38 AM
If the payment is for goods and services, eg via eBay, the recipient pays a fee of 3.6% plus 20p
However transfers between friends and family are (mostly) free, so if you sell privately you may avoid fees.
There are two types of PayPal accounts, and fees vary depending on the account type
Please remember that on a personal account using anything other than the Pay for Goods and Services is not protected
PayPal Business accounts standard rate is 3.4% plus 20p
This rate falls depending on sales volume
There is also Micropayments, 5.0% plus 5p, which is suitable for payments up to £9.00
Thanks for clarifying the payment issue.
I now need to research the postage charge issues.
If I wanted say £50 for an item I have the alternative of asking for £50 plus P&P or say £55 including P&P.
I am inclining to let the buyer decide on family or goods, with goods I will absorb the costs.
Thinks - I have a shed full of Hattons boxes. I could try recycling them into smaller boxes suitable for one or two items.
Question - does payment in euros or dollars work with Paypal?
Hopefully some stuff will be ready to sell by next week. As I don't want selling to take over my life, disposing of everything could take several months.
I think I will start with this forum and the related N'porium site.
- personally I think absorbing postage costs is a big plus on eBay, it makes you stand out, I wouldn't worry so much on here
- there would be no reason whatsoever for a buyer to ever use friends & family, personally even if a seller requests it I'll just pay via normal goods channels and pay the fees myself, just in case I have cause to use the buyer protection. I dislike people asking for friends & family payments personally
- Dollars, Euros, Yuan or Zloty all fine, you can either request payment in whatever currency from a buyer, or a buyer can send an amount in any currency they want. If a buyer sends payment in dollars you will have dollars in your PayPal account though, it's not all converted. You'll always lose out on the exchange rate at some point, so I'd be more inclined to just ask for Sterling, like I say, anyone can send payment in Sterling - let them absorb the forex fees.
Quote from: davecttr on September 25, 2017, 09:03:39 AM
I think I will start with this forum and the related N'porium site.
Next to each forum name on their posts is a trader count whereby you can tell if anyone has negative comments made from transactions, be it buying or selling.
It would seem I'm way too trusting as I always pay via friends/family paypal :hmmm:
I have heaps of Rails of Sheffield boxes I use to send stuff out in so am a good recycler of packaging :angel:
As I said earlier, you'll need a pic of what you're selling (and that pic must be of your item) to get an advert approved.
I've sent you a PM too, as I may well be interested in significant parts of your collection and won't need photos or anything :)
Quote from: davecttr on September 25, 2017, 09:03:39 AM
Question - does payment in euros or dollars work with Paypal?
I have noted your profile shows you are in the UK
By default you should be using GBP
Equally, try to avoid transactions outwith the UK, the postage costs are higher and you are open to fraud (buyer claims three months later they did not receive the parcel / item)
ebay UK has an option to use a fixed price onward posting service, but again once the parcel leaves the UK it is no longer covered
I used it once, never again as it was just the same as using Parcel Force
I've often wondered with the eBay international postage thing who's responsible. Your responsibility is to send the parcel to the eBay forwarding centre, thereafter I'd say it's their responsibility, so in the event the item doesn't arrive (having left eBay's distribution centre) I would argue they're responsible. Never looked if that's the case officially.
I personally don't restrict buyers to UK only, and have sold quite a bit of stuff to people all over the world. PayPal fees are higher from other countries, but as I said (and MJKERR has reiterated) there's no reason really to take payment in anything other than pounds.
What is the normal procedure, buyer pays when they get the goods or goods posted when the payment arrives?
Quote from: davecttr on September 25, 2017, 11:39:04 AM
What is the normal procedure, buyer pays when they get the goods or goods posted when the payment arrives?
That is how most of the auction site or private deals are done
Quote from: davecttr on September 25, 2017, 11:39:04 AM
What is the normal procedure, buyer pays when they get the goods or goods posted when the payment arrives?
Never post until you have the money. If you post the goods without receiving the money - and don't use tracked post - all the buyer has to say is that the item has not arrived. You are then out of pocket.
Yep, definitely payment upfront, always. Or cash on collection if you're amenable to such things (no issue not wanting to do that I'd say though).
Equally, when listing on eBay UK you have an option to change the dispatch time
I select 5 days
This means with the auctions ending on Sunday it gives the buyer 5 days to make payment (Friday)
I then send ALL the parcels on the same day
If the last buyer pays on Wednesday I can then send on Thursday
I then withdraw all the funds from my PayPal account
Once the parcels are sent I then marked the items as dispatched in eBay, and that is usually the end of the process
In most cases the buyers pay on the Sunday evening or Monday morning, a few after that but it is rare
As each payment comes through I prepare the parcel, usually on Monday evening
I appears I am pricing too low on the porium. either edge up the prices until interest stops or auction, but I have no idea of how to do an auction
Dave
Much as I'm not a great fan of EBay's and PayPal's charges, the former does provide potentially international exposure for your goods and so potentially a higher price and the latter provides security of the monetary transaction. These things don't come for free.
What bothers me more about EBay is that the buyer holds all the cards. If the buyer says the item does not arrive, then you as the seller are obliged to pay a full refund. I've had three situations in which I almost had to refund the buyer. In the first, the delivery card had fallen out of the buyer's mailbox as he found out later. In the second, the buyer asked me to send the item to a third address and then had forgotten he had asked me to do so. And in the third, the item took a month to arrive versus the 7 days or so that it should have. Two of these situations were the buyer's fault and who knows what happened in the third, but I was getting ready to provide refunds in each case. No seller's protection from EBay in sight.
What I think many people don't realise is that spending the extra $$ for registered mail or tracking really benefits the seller not the buyer. As a seller I don't use these mechanisms unless the buyer asks for them. I add the cost to the buyer's postal costa which can make them quite a bit higher. Based on my experience, I judge the failure rate of the delivery system to be 1% or less. It just doesn't make sense to me to add 10% to the buyer's bill to insure against the 1% possibility of loss especially on sales that are not of large value.
Webbo
Ebay seems to be the main channel, as an international buyer I have bought many things from the U.K., sure I pay a lot more for the ebay global shipping, I don't get a choice in that, however I've never had a shipping problem through them, and they provide full tracking (sometime a slight delay on updates).
It's disheartening to read advice being given to you not to sell internationally, if it is a concern or an issue then at least open your mind to people who do have a proven history (talking outside of ebay for this, and applies more to forum sales such as on here)
The private sales I have partaken in have used PayPal, when I choose send money it has an international option and asks me to verify which country I'm sending money to, PayPal shows the exact conversion amount so the recipient should get the exact amount requested, for the sender PayPal adds a small fee but it's pennies on the dollar, and is in this day and age not really an amount that should cause issues
Quote from: davecttr on October 04, 2017, 12:44:14 PM
I appears I am pricing too low on the porium. either edge up the prices until interest stops or auction, but I have no idea of how to do an auction
I searched items by davecttr, nothing was found
If you have no experience of any type of auction it can be concerning when you either start the auction at too high a price or too low a price
The key here is interest
Some buyers wait until the last minute in the hope of a bargain
Some buyers wait until the last minute to see what the interest was, to see if they can afford it
and so on
If you have a spreadsheet, send me a PM and I will return it with a column for
Start Auction price Nporium
Start Auction price eBay UK
Expected sale price
Postage cost (Royal Mail Signed For or Special Delivery)
Yes, I've also not seen anything for sale by you.
I wouldn't bother with auctions on here (sorry), the market's too small.
If you want maximum returns just stick things on eBay with a 99p start price, on a Sunday night and let them run for 7 days. Get involved in the international seller programme, it's zero hassle, expands your market significantly, and foreign buyers are tempted to the UK listings because of the favourable exchange.
Or, My offer still stands to send me a list and I'll probably buy a load!
As a non-EU buyer I find that Hattons pre-owned site often trumps eBay UK once you allow for deduction of 20% VAT, lower postage costs and their no-quibble returns policy.
You can't see any items for sale by me?
Let me explain!
My name on here is davecttr which I use on various other forums, especially those concerned with cruise holidays. davecttr is also part of my email address.
On RMWEB I am davetheroad because I used to work for the Highways Agency
My Facebook name is Dave Trainor. Why Dave Trainor? registering as Dave Ferguson, my real name, caused lots of hassle and confusion. I then needed to use facecloth to trace my cousin who lives in Australia and suffering nostalgia decided to use my maternal grandfathers name of Trainor as he was a LMS/BR driver at Upperby shed in Carlisle. I found her by the way.
Confusing eh!
apologies for the confusion
ps - I have tried deleting my Facebook Dave Ferguson account but it just ignores me so I gave up.
Thanks for all the extra detail, Dave, but there's nothing listed under your forum name :no:
Quote from: Lindi on October 05, 2017, 01:58:06 PM
Quote from: newportnobby on October 05, 2017, 01:16:11 PM
Thanks for all the extra detail, Dave, but there's nothing listed under your forum name :no:
Dave has been listing them of the Facebook N'porium which has a lot more items for sale than on this forum. Still run by Tank.
Yes, I am Dave Trainor over there
Ah ha, that makes sense, I was also looking here.
Quote from: njee20 on October 05, 2017, 06:52:43 AM
Yes, I've also not seen anything for sale by you
There appears to be an issue with the search by member username
I searched mine and nothing was found!
It does not search all categories, you need to select a category!
Quote from: davecttr on October 05, 2017, 11:57:50 AM
ps - I have tried deleting my Facebook Dave Ferguson account but it just ignores me so I gave up.
The process takes 3 months, you delete the account, it must be inactive for 3 months, then you can delete it
I managed to delete a facebook account a few weeks ago after waiting the required 3 months
The icon changes from eye with cover to spyglass to confirm the 3 months has passed
Quote from: MJKERR on October 05, 2017, 04:50:47 PM
Quote from: njee20 on October 05, 2017, 06:52:43 AM
Yes, I've also not seen anything for sale by you
There appears to be an issue with the search by member username
I searched mine and nothing was found!
It does not search all categories, you need to select a category!
I didn't search - just went to profile and did "show posts", which returns all your for sale items.
I tend to think inbuilt searches on forums are atrocious and just use Google instead!