Has anyone any experience of collection only sales, I need to cut down on rolling stock but it's reaching that balance of making it appealing/viable for someone to want to collect whilst still getting something back whilst not exactly giving stuff away?

I know I won't get what I paid for the things but I'm not stupid either!   

Advice more than welcome.
Ebay is a joke so no one mention that lol

But you don't have to use eBay to post stuff. Wrap things in bubble wrap, stick in a box, take to post office.

The trouble is that unless it's a large and utterly unmissable item, then people are unlikely to want to travel more than ~20 miles and that's just a tiny audience. I don't think the audience is particularly large on here either, which further compounds the issue.

Your choice of course but I fear you are very severely limiting your market by insisting on collection only.    I might have been interested in some of your items.

Ebay is not a joke, I make the vast majority of my purchases through that channel (probably £200+ per month on average) with no problems at all. The global marketplace is where it's at these days as far as I'm concerned, so I'm buying bits from abroad as well as the UK.

Understand both your posts. At the moment we're getting over a family loss so that's affecting thoughts a lot. 
Ebay I'm reluctant to sell on as I don't need the worry of cases being raised for no reason or risking items getting lost or not signed for etc.
I do buy on ebay though.

Last I had was someone raise a case against me because I hadn't posted it... this was after they had agreed on a day to collect and also to pay in cash on collection, so either way you risk getting messed about whatever you do.

More I think about it the more I don't know what to do.

Maybe need to recap what I need to sell then just make it an unmissable deal for someone.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't 

Quote from: Catsick on March 29, 2022, 10:19:38 AM
Understand both your posts. At the moment we're getting over a family loss so that's affecting thoughts a lot. 
Ebay I'm reluctant to sell on as I don't need the worry of cases being raised for no reason or risking items getting lost or not signed for etc.
I do buy on ebay though.

Last I had was someone raise a case against me because I hadn't posted it... this was after they had agreed on a day to collect and also to pay in cash on collection, so either way you risk getting messed about whatever you do.

More I think about it the more I don't know what to do.

Maybe need to recap what I need to sell then just make it an unmissable deal for someone.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't

I buy most of my locos second hand on Ebay. I never buy from anyone with less than 100% feedback without delving into why. It can work the same for sellers, you can block sellers, and remove bids if you're not happy.

If you want to go collection only, expect to see a substantial reduction in selling price. £5-£10 p&p against £10-£30 travel cost + 1hr-2hr travel time, + inconvenience.

Thems ya choices!

My willingness to travel to collect would be determined by the size and value of any purchase. For n gauge both are likely to be relatively small, so as suggested above ~20 miles would be about it. FWIW, I wouldn't buy more stuff just to make the journey worthwhile, so larger bundles are unlikely to attract me (others may feel differently). I'd rather pay a little more for tracked/insured post than undertake a long journey to obtain model railway items. Perhaps I've been fortunate, but I've had no issues with model railway items arriving by post whether from private vendors or retailers.

One option - which I fully accept won't attract the best prices - might be to sell via one of the retailers who advertise regularly - Contikits came to mind for continental stuff, but there are others - as this would enable you to sell securely as a single transaction?

Sorry to ask but is there a particular reason you won't use a Post Office? I've sold hundreds of pounds worth off the N'Porium and sent it all round the world with no issues, but use the following procedure:-

Securely pack and label the item and, armed with the destination address, visit the Post Office to see what it would cost to send - including insurance cost if deemed suitably valuable. I always send either 1st or 2nd class signed for but if insured it tends to go Special Delivery

Include this cost in the advert placed on the N'Porium.

Accept payment only by paypal friends/family or by bank transfer and do not send item out until payment is received.

Track item via P.O. number - most polite folks will advise of arrival anyway.

Request feedback on the forum whether you be the buyer or vendor. This can be given under the appropriate persons profile and shows next to your avatar.

Be prepared to accept someone's word if they are not happy with the item and want to return it. In all the items I've sent out (over 100) I've never had a complaint (apart from folks requiring a controlled explosion to get into my parcels) as I only send stuff I would be happy to accept myself and I've never thought a forum member would do the dirty on me. Maybe that's a little naive but trust has to start somewhere

there is of course one advantage to meeting to collect an item, apart from saving postage and meeting another member, and putting a face to a name.

you can see if the other member is after anything else, and if he might be interested, take any you have to dispose with you.

he can have a rummage careful look at any items he might be interested in, and if he sees something he wants can take it.

if he doesn't see anything, it's no loss, the items just come back with you, and go back into the stash.

All points taken on board thanks.
Maybe it's too soon for me to be trying to sort this, maybe I need to bite the bullet and redo stuff and use ebay to reach the wider audience.
The answer is right in front of me I'm just missing the point at the moment.

An easy option would be to sell the lot to a reputable dealer. You'll get less money, but have fewer worries too. I believe most will make an offer based on a detailed inventory, which you can then take or leave.

Mike

Quote from: maridunian on March 29, 2022, 11:19:13 AM
An easy option would be to sell the lot to a reputable dealer.

Mike

Railway Modeller has a number of private individuals and collectors advertising for stock.

I can see from your posts you appear not to be a member of the N Gauge Society. If you know someone who is, then perhaps you could consider selling via the NGS as a (possibly) easier/non-eBay method?
Just a thought (as a well known Goon once said)
Cheers
Keith

Selling to a big trader like Hatton's will get you only a half or less of item value. And they likely won't collect unless it's a high value sale.

Did try Hattons for a quote and that's as far as it got, not doing that again!
Not a member of any clubs or societies or know anyone who is.

I would suggest trying the N-porium, but you need to be aware of the usual time wasters...

'can I see a photo of it ?'
'how many hours has it run ?'

I'd really be interested in xxx'
never to be heard from again.

don't get me wrong, there are many genuine buyers on here, who will offer an honest price and go through with the transaction, but there will be time wasters, which may mean you lose a genuine buyer', and I have even had a seller return an item, demanding a refund, which ran perfectly before packing, but which arrived back missing the PCB board, even Royal Mail would have a job to manage that.