I think many/most dumped stuff early on in the recession, i.e. fall of 2008 & winter 2009, at least that's how it seemed on eBay.
Definitely. My LHS has an area that he puts closeout stuff and the old trains people bring in to unload. Mostly nothing or junk, but once or twice a year there are unbelieveable finds.
My LHS has a closeout section but the prices listed aren't a cutrate price in my opinion. Deals for the time being are gone from what I'm seeing, or far and few inbetween. Many factors are to blame which have all been mentioned here. The economy, Pre order system which I don't see going anywhere recession sell offs. It's like welcome to the new world of Model railroading
I find good deals on E Bay. I use a filter and only look at the auctions. The people selling on the "Buy it Now", which are most of the items, seem to have a highly inflated idea of what their merchandise is worth.
Bringing this up again to report that I did manage to score a fantastic deal on a loco on eBay. So yes, there are still deals out there. However... It took me several weeks of intense searching and bidding (often losing to crazy bids). So patience is the key word.... and a lot more than I wanted to practice. :tb-frown: Some observations. This is the first loco I've purchase in over two years, and my experience was a lot different this time around. I found it much harder to find and score a deal this time. There were plenty of the loco's I was looking for, but many were being sold by eBay stores with high "Buy it Now" prices. Most online stores had prices that were close, and in some cases less than the eBay store prices. However, I found that stock levels were generally low and they didn't have what I was looking for. I followed a number of eBay auctions, including some items that I wasn't looking for out of curiosity. Most with "Buy it Now" prices didn't sell. Most with low starting prices drew the most bidding activity, but they often ended with winning bids that were crazy - and even higher than the "Buy it Now" prices! Bottom line - despite the economy, there is even more crazy bidding going on than I have seen before. Go figure. I also checked out the TrainStore section here. There are some decent deals there. Too bad there wasn't anything for sale that I was looking for at the time, but it's worth checking out.
The search function on ebay allows you to save searches as your favorites. Then you set it up so that ebay will email you immediately if something that you want is posted. This works for me if something I want is rare. Of course if you are searching for a "boxcar," you will probably get 1000 emails a day so that is not good. You have to be selective and, as Bruce says, be patient. Always be patient; it will come by again. If not, you probably didn't need it.
Oh that’s cool. I was unaware of that and I’m going to have to take a look at setting up that function. Thanks :thumbs_up:
These are the best of times, and the worst of times............ I just started collecting my retirement pension and social security a year back, and spent some of that time since getting out of any indebtedness. Also during that time, I sold off my excess N and HO scale trains first for the money needed to live, and second, to relieve myself of some space needed in my new place, since I also became single. Having been in N scale for 30 years, I never worry about the availability of good deals, or even fulfilling any of my wish list items. My first lesson is: BE PATIENT Then when I realized I missed some of the stuff I sold, I sought to replace some of the stuff and just mentally write off the stuff I didn't mind getting rid of. Over the past 4 months, I purchased 25 locos and some passenger cars, some new, some used, and some in-between, but I always kept my eyes and ears open. First, the Here are some tips, leads and advice.... Patronize Hobby Shops Often. Often LHS's have items on sale, purchase estates and sell off the inventory at discounts, have a pulse on the hobby, and often there are people who "hang around" who might have some stuff on hand to sell you. Good idea is not to discuss personal sales with the owner present. You will also get a line on upcoming events like swap meets, club shows, major train events, etc. Network This means keep in touch with any local clubs and their members. Quite often even if they are HO primarily, you will find some N scalers and who may have a list of items for sale. Educate Yourself If you plan to buy used, you need to be quite versant on the manufacturers and their products, so when you see an item, you know the mechanism. It is quite easy to buy a snazzer, but once you get it, it is such a dog it barks. Test your equipment before you spring for it. Have Fun Never panic or make desperate choices. If you blow a trade or deal, there is always another tasty deal just around the corner. Enjoy the hunt as much as the catching. Negotiate with a sense of humor and not with bitterness or anger. Be flexible, and walk away with a smile on your face win or lose. Ebay Make this work for you. Too often people get very dependent upon it and get burnt then turn bitter. I tried a new tactic to use the search feature for obscure titles, from which I found my best deals, like $49 for a ConCor Kato Hudson, $50 for a Model Power Pacific, and so on. Mail Order Talk to your mail order houses and inquire if they have any leftover stock from prior specials. Most have an 800 number. I do regular business with several houses, but have my primary, which is in my home state. They are familiar with my voice and know what I am looking for, and have been known to save stuff with me in mind. Make friends in N scale Every friend I know has a fluctuating inventory, always selling and buying, and always keep interested in what he is doing. There are probably more sources, but those are the ones I have used in the past few months. Heck, I even found a discount hobby shop who just bought out a hobby shop that went out of business, and I scored great. Last of all, remember that you never get anything unless you ask for it. Don't be afraid, but don't be a jerk either. Back off when you know the time is right. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
I haven't found many good deals on ebay lately. On the other hand I've been getting more certain items now than I would have gotten in the past. However dealing with the site itself has become more and more of a hassle. I wish the days of yahoo auctions were still around, when ebay couldn't put people over a barrel and stick it to them (speaking figuratively of course hahaha). I have noticed that h.......com usually has most items on discount (though some of these are "imaginary" discounts off of suggested prices nobody ever really pays).
Not an over-supplied market... I second the prior comments regarding scarcity of locos and rolling stock since the 'Built to Pre-order' paradigm began around 2004. We just don't have an over-supply... yet there is some demand from modelers coming into the market since then which were unable to buy when the products originally were released. The interesting thing about the N scale market is that it may still be growing and the relative scarcity of some of the more popular items keeps their value up even in a recession/depression (whatever). That's not to say there are some desperate folks which are liquidating their collections... but... as someone else mentioned... those deals may have already passed (early 2008 to 2009). Now... the items are back on the market for a profit... and usually near retail prices. You have to be patient to find deals. I do remember the Model Expo blow-out of LifeLike products... but... that was because of massive over-production which preceeded the take-over of LifeLike by Walthers. Very unlikely to see that happen again in our lifetime... though... I've read that Bachmann might be doing things like LifeLike used to do. I know there have been some ridiculously low bids on eBay for some Bachmann/Spectrum steamers over the past year from a seller called Favorite Spot... but... I don't see that happening anymore either. We probably will have to get used to paying the market value of items from now on... unless there are some LHS liquidations in the future.
As a former hobby shop worker when I started back when I was 14 they hired me cause I knew more than they did.That was Foglers Variety had over 400 ho and N scale locos on hand and thousands of cars detail parts etc.I had hobby shops bidding on me to work for them.Thats when A you can pic up cars for 5 bucks and up and locos 9 bucks and up.Iv recently owned a popular hobby shop and Ebay killed me. I got out when the economy went south. But people what deals all the time but they do not remember thet the owner has rent to pay bills etc. when people buy one car instead of 100 that hurts the hobby shop.I always buy from loco hobby shops and give them the extra money cause wasnt for them this hobby wouldnt be where it is at.And there always be someone that wants something for nothing.That is what killed the hobby shops.
i got a good deal for you A 12 year old atlas sd60 (any road name) with hook horns for a cool $99.00 plus shipping....:thumbs_down: for the same $99.00 you can get a brand new gevo or bachmann 8-40cw you SEE some moron thinks he's got gold then you go to sell your stuff seeing his price and next is every body is selling at a ridiculous price next thing you know your better off buying from a brick and mortar store :tb-err:
Well don't forget that people these days think that mashing a button on a video game controller improves hand eye coordination - and have little to no appreciation for the actual hand eye coordination and finesse needed to build models of any sort. Hobbies change. Even the big chains stock less of models these days. I think that Toys R Us doesn't even carry any sort of toy train these days except for the wooden push variety. What happened there? (well there aren't really any cheap sets to bring in beginners anymore either). Model building just isn't as popular as it was 15-20 years ago. And it's hard to compete, it costs just as much to make the jump into model railroading as it does to buy a video game system. But while you can probably find at least a couple games you like, you may not end up really being into model railroading - so it's a bigger risk to take on a hobby like this.
Yep I still do it but I have select people that I deal with.I just have more time for myself than sitting at a shop all day. Even know I can get a deal down the road I always try to spend it with a hobby shop.
I feel sorry for the LHS... but... Its not just eBay that has killed the local hobby shops. In reality, if not for the internet, more brick'n morter hobby shops would be out of business. With an internet presence and competitive pricing e-tailer/LHS combination stores have managed to keep going. The key is the level of pricing and the exposure they have on the internet to carry them through even if no one is coming through the doors. Undoubtedly, the overhead costs of an actual store will severely cut into profit margins... but... if you're well established have reasonable prices and give good service... the LHS/e-tailer will do okay [not going to get rich... but... make a living]. Here in So FL, we've had many really great LHS go out of business or curtail their operations. The most shocking was Orange Blossom Hobbies in 1998. They couldn't compete (so they told me) with the online stores. Some have mentioned other problems with inventory control and excessive costs as well. Certainly a poorly managed enterprise will eventually fail... but Orange Blossom Hobbies had been around over 30 years when it failied. I recently found out that the Tex-n-Rails store is no longer open to the public... they've strictly gone to online sales due to overhead [staffing the store]. They operated from home and have a warehouse only to keep inventory. The proprietors are constantly on tour of different model railroading shows or conventions to keep their name out in the mainstream. Right now the best deals are still on the e-tailer sites and occasionally on eBay. My concern with eBay has been the potential for getting burned... ergo... Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware). It certainly doesn't work well to buy a loco that is flawed, you can't check it before bidding, and returns are a chore. Most e-tailers are very careful to sell brand new items backed by manufacturer warrantys... this is not the case with eBay. So paying a bargain price for something on eBay or other auction sites may not be all that its expected to be. For me, the local hobby shop gets some business from time to time... but unfortunately it is usually in the under $100 range... though a few times... I've thrown them a 'big bone' on some pricy steamers. Their discounted prices are about 85% of MSRP... but... I have to pay sales taxes as well. If I buy from an e-tailer or eBay out of state... the prices are usually over 30% discounted and no sales tax. The positive trade-off in shipping costs versus sales tax is whenever the purchase is over $100.00. On items exceeding $100... I'd be paying an LHS more than 25% more than buying from an e-tailer. That's quite substantial... and could cut down on how much I'd purchase. While I don't like the idea that I'm hurting the local hobby shops by purchasing 'bargains' off of eBay, swap meets or out of state e-tailers, I know that one way or another the hobby will suffer. If we buy from the LHS and have to pay 25% more for stuff... then we likely won't buy as much... and that would reflect poorly on sales to the manufacturers. That in-turn would send a message that the market is weak and perhaps less products would be made. It's a Catch-22 situation.
I've still been able to snag some great deals out there. I picked up a mint condition, custom painted super, detailed Kato SD40-2 on eBay for $65. I couldn't buy the engine and the parts for that much. You just have to know how and where to look (and be really lucky). I guess that's what makes a deal a deal.
While I don't like the idea that I'm hurting the local hobby shops by purchasing 'bargains' off of eBay, swap meets or out of state e-tailers, I know that one way or another the hobby will suffer. If we buy from the LHS and have to pay 25% more for stuff... then we likely won't buy as much... and that would reflect poorly on sales to the manufacturers. That in-turn would send a message that the market is weak and perhaps less products would be made. It's a Catch-22 situation. I do buy at swap and ebay but for out of production models I like the good deal also but I will pay the extra 20 bucks to keep the coffee hot and stories going. Good thing we still have a couple good stores close by I still will open another shop but has to be location location location.I miss it I dont care about making the profit just to keep the doors open and chat.I love the time away from running a shop gives me time for my trains.But I will open another shop soon the hobby is there.I had tons of people coming to my shop on the weekends watch trains and buy them I miss the people but I dont miss the overhead headache takes a ton of inventory to do it correctly
