Hi,
Would it be a good idea to have a list of locomotive prices we should expect to pay. This should be split between new and second hand. This list would give us some idea of what would or could be a good deal or not.
I just bought a second hand Dapol 73 of Ebay for £30 including delivery which I felt was a good deal, but was it?

That's a great idea, and in an ideal world it would eb a really useful resource.

However, I think it is somewhat impracticable, given the number of different items there are, the various differnt conditions that would influence price (mint, vs VGC or poor), and the time it owuld take to collate and update the list.

If anyone knows of such a database, then it would be great if we could get a link to it, but as for building one - we would need a volunteer with a lot of time on their hands.

As for new prices... they do change and I think Google can help there.  A search of the usual suspects like Hattons, Kernow, Rails, Obsorne's etc usually comes up with a winner, but Google will give you a lot more options like Addlestones, Signal Box or West Somerset where I have found bargains before by Googling.  I doubt anyone can keep up a list that would keep pace with what you could be paying.

But your 73 for 30 quid.  If it runs and isn't all scratched up,  Definite bargain.   You can pay almost that for a dummy 73.

For ebay, it's worth doing a search and including ended auctions to see what one went for recently.

Ebay lets you search completed listings. That's a pretty good guide once you filter the extremes