Where to sell N Gauge stuff

[davecttr]

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?

[Shiney Sheff]

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.

[weave]

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 

[AlexanderJesse]

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.

[davecttr]

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?

[ntpntpntp]

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!

[dannyboy]

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.

[MJKERR]

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

[MJKERR]

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.

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)

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?

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!

[davecttr]

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.

[Newportnobby]

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

[weave]

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 

[Ian Morton]

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.

[njee20]

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!

[Mr Sprue]

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 ! 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.