Hi everyone. First off I hope this is the right forum for this. A friend of the family asked me if I could gather some information for her and after a google search I thought this forum might be able to help me out. Her husband was an avid railroad and model railroad fan and has hundreds of magazines on both topics. She is getting into her 80s and wants to move them out of her house as she rarely gets into the basement anymore. She would like to sell them but understands they might not have much value buy hopes to find them a home with someone that would find them useful. I volunteered to check around and see if I could find anyone who would be interested. Here is a sample of what she has (month/years): Railroad Magazine: 9/42, 6/42, 11/50, 10/50 Trains: 11/77, 10/77 Model Railroader: 7-12/1960, 11/67, 7/76 They are not in perfect condition by any means. Any assistance/suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated.
rrockw- Welcome to TrainBoard! You will find varying opinions on used magazine values. Much of the time, a sale price will be rather low. You can often find many popular titled issues at railroad swap meets in the 25 to 50 cent range. Sometimes even less. There are a few magazines, which have issues that are usually early in their publication, which do attain a higher price result. But most magazines are fairly common. Which holds value down. Railroad Magazine has a few issues which might be of interest to some folks. Condition also means a lot. Musty, smoky, wrinkled, folded, marked or pages loose/missing knocks the value to almost, if not zero. If you decide to try helping her via selling, please use our sales area: Another aspect sometimes offered, is charitable donation. To places such as schools, hospitals and so forth. Boxcab E50
Hi ROCKW, Welcome to the TrainBoard, we're happy that you came on board, and we'll do our best to help you and your friend. A member of our church has a strong love affair with railroading history and old magazines, so I'm sure he would be interested. Though before I ask him, I need to know the general area where they are located. Shipping costs could easily exceed their value, since many good quality mags are printed on enameled clay stock which is quite heavy in bulk.
I completely agree with Boxcab. I've been trying to find a good home for my mags for several months and am finding it difficult to give them away. Making worse the low value of magazines is the cost of transportation. I priced out one banker's box of mags from Oregon to California at $30. Add to your list for possible give-aways: veterans' facilities, local libraries, model RR clubs and Cub Scout/Boy Scout groups. Good luck! Scott
Yes, I believe old mags are mostly not worth much unless there's something that interests someone. I had many years of Narrow Gauige Gazettes, not all of them but quite a few. I was going to take them to a local show and offer them for a buck a piece. A friend said that he believed he could sell them on ebay for a little more. After a couple of months,(I had fogotten all about the mags) this fellow came by with an envelope containing about 400 bucks. He had sold almost all the Gazettes and had taken himself a "cut" for doing it...and I still got 4 big bills! You can never tell what may sell, now I wish I had another collection of Gazettes...I could use some extra cash! Woodie
NG&SLG is one of those I mentioned, which will have some value. Earliest issues can fetch a handsome price. Boxcab E50
