Should you wish to dispose of your trains, the following options describe your primary choices. We have tried to indicate the benefits and the drawbacks of each option. Based upon this, if you wish any additional information about any of the options, or if you decide upon one and would like some specific referrals suggested, we would be glad to assist.

I. Piece-meal sales: You can dispose of your trains yourself, item-by-item, in any of three ways.

(a) Create a Sales List, advertise its availability in the “train press”, mail out copies to all who request it, and fill orders as received.

BENEFITS: You realize maximum $$ return at minimal cost to you.

DRAWBACKS: Time. Slow $$ return. You will never sell everything by this method, and you’ll be left with a large number of less-desirable, lower-value items to be disposed of in another manner.

(b) Rent sales tables at area train shows, and sell things off as a dealer.

BENEFITS & DRAWBACKS are the same as above, except that both your expenses and your time commitment will be greater. The advantage is that items are visible to the prospective buyer.

(c) EBAY: You sell the items yourself by listing them on-line with EBAY, FACEBOOK, (or other similar on-line auctions).

BENEFITS: You control the rate at which things are sold. You can also set a minimum sale price for each item, if you wish; however, there is no guarantee that the item will achieve a bid for that amount. EBAY charges a percentage of the final selling price as a commission. This can run as high as 20%, depending upon the selling price. In addition, EBAY prefers buyers pay with PAYPAL, which costs the seller an additional 4-8% fee. Adding digital photos to your listing is required, and essential.

EBAY currently (2015+) allows a seller to list a significant number of items per month with no listing fee. However to make up for that, they also increased their % charged for every sale. In addition, they now charge the same percentage on the shipping fee you receive from the buyer. 

DRAWBACKS: On-line auctions consume a fair amount of your time to create and post them, and results are unpredictable. Digital photos of the items for sale are essential; it’s a significant step above “buying sight unseen”. In creating your posting, you need to know what you’re selling, and what fair value you might expect to receive for it. Fees vary, but can be a significant, percentage, especially for items that sell at a low price.

Fall and winter are the best seasons for EBAY train sales; summer is the worst.

II. Outright sale of the entire collection: You invite one or more reputable train dealers to inspect the collection, or at least a detailed listing of it, and make you an offer for the entire lot.

BENEFITS: Quick sale of everything. Negligible expense to you.

DRAWBACKS: You can never expect to receive full value. The better the quality

of the collection, the higher the percentage of value you can expect to realize, but most dealers will offer you between 40% and 60%, even for the best items. Remember that the dealer must be able to realize a profit within a reasonable period of time, while experiencing the same drawbacks listed in [I] above.

III. Auction: You consign any or all items to a reputable toy/train auctioneer for disposal.

BENEFITS: Quick removal of everything. Everything goes! No hassle; limited effort on your part.

DRAWBACKS: The actual auction sale may be delayed by several months, as the auctioneer must process all items, organize and catalog them appropriately for the auction, and then advertise the auction. Unpredictable $$ return. A knowledgeable toy train auctioneer will offer the better items individually, but the average and lesser-value items will usually be sold in “box lots”. Typically, box-lots in particular do not bring full value; box lots can be the bargains for dealers at the auction. In addition, the auctioneer will, of course, charge you between 15% - 40% commission.

A lower commission can be misleading, as the expenses of running the auction may be borne by you prior to the calculation of the commission. Some auction houses now charge a “seller’s premium” %, as well as a “buyer’s premium” %. Many auction houses will also charge you a mandatory additional fee for insurance coverage while the items are in their possession; others include it for free. This is usually determined as an additional percentage of the final sales price. Almost all will also charge you for their time and expenses as they come to pack and remove the collection. Read the fine print!

IV. Consignment Sale:  You consign any or all items to a dealer willing to advertise and sell them for you for a predetermined commission (usually 25-40%).

BENEFITS: Quick removal of everything. Little effort on your part. Reasonably predictable $$ return. You may retain the option of terminating the process after a given period of time, and dispose of all remaining items by one of the other methods.

DRAWBACKS: Slower $$ return. You will probably receive monthly payments as items are sold and accounted for. (Sometimes, this can be an advantage, especially if the income is sizeable and is spread over two calendar/tax years. Any sale of over $10,000 must be reported to the IRS by the dealer.)

SUGGESTED AUCTION HOUSES FOR TRAIN COLLECTION DISPOSAL: