Hey Folks, I apologize up-front for the long post. I recently purchased an HO layout (5x9) and the entire collection of buildings and freight (with a few passenger). The collection consists of the gentleman's entire collection over several decades. I have noticed that there are no manufacturers identified on virtually any of the large numbers of the freight cars (probably 200 or more). The gentleman had previously sold most of the locomotives, but with his declining health, his family posted the rest of the collection for sale. Let me caveat as I am an N scaler but when I saw the ridiculously low asking price, I contacted the family. I eventually paid the family twice what they were asking and even then I feel like I made out well. My dilemma is that I want to keep the layout and some of the freight cars. I anticipate a lot of enjoyment from operating it. The deal is that I can't come close to justifying the number of freight cars in the collection. I have tables rented at a local train show at the end of April (which I do every few years to sell N scale). My question is pricing on used HO equipment. I believe the vast majority of cars and locos are Athearn with coupler upgrades. What should these older blue box Athearn cars and locos sell for? Is $4 per car low enough to sell out? $10-15 per loco? What would be the magic number that HOers couldn't resist? I am not looking to maximize profit. I just want to move them. Any advice would be appreciated.
Clint, I just was given a collection of N Scale, kinda in the same boat, I was thinking about selling the cars locally 2 for $5 or 5 for $10 (39 cars)
Athearn “Blue Box”, with Kadee couplers and no steps broken off…. Probably $10 each. Some things a little less, some a little more. I personally don’t pay over that unless there are upgraded trucks, nice weathering, etc. Athearn Blue Box locomotives…. Conventional gear drive non DCC….Depends on the model $25-$40. You could trim a few bucks off for a quick sale… or you could stick with your pricing and sell the whole lot to a reseller before the show starts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've paid $10.00 for old Athearn blue box cars in good shape with Kadee couplers, that seems like a fair price. The old blue box locomotives are like V8 flathead engines, they just keep running. While short on detail, they make up for it in durability and many a show stopping RPM model has been built from one. In good working order, these will run around $35.00 to $50.00 depending on the model. Standard Geeps, GP38-2s, 40-2s etc. would run around $35.00. I say use these prices as a guide and set up at the show. If you see an older or younger person who is a little light on cash but eager, work with them and pay it forward for the hobby.
