Hi:

I am in the process of selling my postwar collection, and I feel that the auction route is the best way to go. I am looking into Lloyd Ralston Toys for the transaction.

I was wondering what advice people may have on this?

Thanks,
Bob C.

Bob;

I am not familiar with that name. But if they are a reputable auction house, they will probably get more for your collection than you would on your own. The more they get for the items, the more they make.
They only question I would have is whether they are knowledgeable enough about toy trains to handle such an auction?

Lloyd Ralston is VERY experienced in dealing with classic train rarities. Sleep easy.

techie:

Yes, I thought as much and you have confirmed it. Thanks for the input.

Bob C.

quote:

Yes, I thought as much and you have confirmed it. Thanks for the input.

You are brave to go with only one recommendation. They should be able to supply you with a list of satisfied clients that have agreed to be references.

Good luck to you.

Hokk:

Actually, I have heard of Lloyd Ralston Toys a number of times in the past but your suggestion is still a good one. I have someone looking into Lloyd Ralston for me, and he will have the full skinny.

Bob, I've heard of Him... but that is all.

Will there be buyers is the question. I have a TON of Post War, But who wants much of it anymore?

At Shows here, Most admit that even the "purists" are dumping Post War in lieu of the "new stuff" ... hence, values suffer.

I'd really like to know what happens with you OK?

"Gese I wanna be wrong" !!

KEEP UP POSTED !!

Actually these guys are really good. I believe you have to pay a fee to list. But remember its all about timing. Yeah not many people are buying post war as much as they use to but now is not the time to sell, weak economy, summer time, etc. If you can hold out until after Thanksgiving or around Christmas you may be surprised. Have you tried the buy sell area of this forum?
What are you selling? Seems to me certain Post War items like a 733 or a 736 still hold their value, even on the Bay.

I do think that I have to watch the timing on this as has been suggested and I also realize that postwar will not draw as big as it used to. I expect Lloyd ralston toys to be savvy on all of this and I am checking them out now. they can also advise as to just what I can expect in sales. I am selling such items as the Canadian Pacific passenger train and the Congressional etc. It is prime postwar stuff.

do you have to sell now

can you wait and see if things improve money wise world wise

might test the waters and see what happens on ebay you can always set a reserve

For various reasons, I can't get involved selling as many items as I have on EBAY or I would consider that. I will get an estimate of the take from Lloyd Ralston and then decide if I should go ahead at this time.

Ralston used to be the best, and the busiest, but the frequency and depth of the auctions has fallen off in the last few years.

Somebody told me the business was now being run by the kids, not sure that's true.

If your collection would make for a good sized auction you can't go wrong here, but if it's only around 100 lots of good collectibles, they'll need to team it up with other collections to make a full day of auctions. Make sure you have the information on the other collection, it would be best if it matched yours in era and quality.

New England Toy Train Exchange is also in CT, you may want to check them out too.

Best of luck.

Tim

You can always sell to either TRAINZ or CHOOCHOOACUCTIONS.

Worth getting a quote. You may be pleasantly suprised; but, then, maybe not.

quote:

Originally posted by Thom Zemanek:
Will there be buyers is the question. I have a TON of Post War, But who wants much of it anymore?

At Shows here, Most admit that even the "purists" are dumping Post War in lieu of the "new stuff" ... hence, values suffer.

Thom --

The PW collector market is facing a triple whammy: the economy (doh!), fewer newer collectors that wanted the PW stuff as kids (a generational thing), and a surging supply as many of "old" PW stock ends up in collectors' estate sales which contributes to supply.

There is one more factor: there almost certainly has been a drop in operator demand for PW stock. I am an example: when i got back into the game in 2001, i thought i'd just build a layout & run my old PW; maybe get a few more. Virtually nothing on the rails is PW now. Frankly, the new MTH, Weaver, Kline/L,& Atlas stuff is soooo dang much better, i'd rather run them. The trucks/couplers functionality alone is worth it; not mention far better detail/graphics/road names. Let's not even start on engine performance.

Bottom-line: i see no end to the drop in PW value. If yer going to liquidate, i'd say: the sooner the better -- but wait until the fall.

- gary ray

quote:

The PW collector market is facing a triple whammy: the economy (doh!), fewer newer collectors that wanted the PW stuff as kids (a generational thing), and a surging supply as many of "old" PW stock ends up in collectors' estate sales which contributes to supply

I guess that I must be looking at the wrong stuff on Ebay. Prices on Postwar Lionel seem plenty high to me.

C.W. --

Since i am not in the market, i don't follow the prices almost certainly as closely as you do.

There are -- i'm sure -- some bits of Lionel-ia that have retained value over the past two decades. For the better-but-not-best stuff though (my F-3 model 2343 and silver streamliner Lionel Lines pax, for example), the loss over the period has been large (and that doesn't include interest and inflation).

I stand by my analysis of the market: the underlying forces appear to me -- short of a sudden 50s revival of interest -- arrayed against future price appreciation. I also think that the presence of, frankly, a remarkably rich set of current production options with better features and reasonable prices are an important factor.

At the University of Chicago, they used to tell us: "value information at its price to you".

This is free advice. It may not be very valuable.

- gary ray

sir-have you tried to contact stoutauctions.they
just had some lionel pw auctions .you can go on their site and
click on back auctions to see what prices the same items got.
remember there are a lot of factors-condition and rating of the trains.
boxes,etc.they have 2 locales also-pa and illinois i beleive.
trainz and choochootrains are going to give you about 30 % tops.
they have several people to pay salarys,rent,etc.s&H.
try trainz-email him what you have and he will reply with a quote.

i sold about 75 items ihad left when i switched from postwar to modern era mth in 199o's. it was the the right time to sell,it was just as the market prices were starting to do a nosedive. i felt i got fair prices considering it was a local auction. by the way, jim eastwood was the auctioneer.-jim

quote:

I guess that I must be looking at the wrong stuff on Ebay. Prices on Postwar Lionel seem plenty high to me.

C.W. Burfle

Are these CLOSED Prices after the auction has ended or are you just looking at asking prices- which don't mean as much becasue an Item can be relisted over & over again.

You should definitely go with whoever you trust, but I gotta go with ebay. I just like that feeling of total control over what you list and how you describe it. I always thought having a middle man tell you what your trains are worth might not always be accurate. And there's nothing like watching the last seconds of your auction and seeing all the last second bids roll in.

Hi Bob, I think you have picked one of the best organizations there is to auction off toy trains. As for Post War, that should attract alot of interest. The only thing that is selling right now is Post War Like new in the box.

Good luck Bob!

I just saw the "SOO LINE" 6464 boxcar go for 410.00 and the "Hoosier Line" 6464 go for 375.00. That's not bad. You won't get what it was selling for in the 70's and 80's but a lot of it still brings good bucks.
Rob

I refuse to attend train auctions any more because every time I would go someone would bid way more than a comparable item on e-bay would sell for. So I would not hesitate to go the auction route. Sell when you are ready, and forget about trying to outguess the "market".

Yes, my items are all strong LN but only some have boxes. I am continuing to look into doing business with Lloyd Ralston Toys. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, I am studying all the great input in the post replies above. Thank you to all for your insights.

Bob C.

Bob, Again... *look at all the enjoyment you had with your stuff! "PRICELESS"!

THAT'S what matters. Now?, Get a "fair" price and have no regret.

I have seen so many 736's and 2343's I'm num with it... ZW's all over... "Show after show", then, "lug it all back home". (Few want it) ... or to much $. always the same ole' thing...

This depresses Me no end, and Amer. Flyer's worse! (I have more of that then anything). All of us would like to think our Trains are a great investment... AND SOME ARE!

(Nothings worse then an: "I told you so" from the Wife

For us it's hard because when WE were kid's we longed to have ALL these things!

AGAIN: Keep us posted, I may follow your lead!, ALWAYS ... the "Purists" are nearby ($)

You'll be fine! LIFE IS GOOD !!

quote:

I have seen so many 736's and 2343's I'm num with it... ZW's all over... "Show after show", then, "lug it all back home". (Few want it) ... or to much $. always the same ole' thing...

I agree there is the same old stuff at every show. But the reason I think has more to do with prices. I walk by the guys selling the old F3's and nice looking steamers and hear them complain
that "nobody is buying anything". The reason is obvious. They think that post war stuff is a pot of gold. I only buy postwar but I am NOT going to pay those kind of prices. It won't be me financing their retirements.
Rob

How about Charles from Traincity. He bought a bunch of stuff from me for more than what I could have sold it for.


http://traincity.com/

quote:

I walk by the guys selling the old F3's and nice looking steamers and hear them complain

Your right on Rob! Those silly Greenberg books are waaaaaaay out there to!

"Worth" what U can get.

Todd: Charle's is a good guy (had correspondence with Him once)

quote:

How about Charles from Traincity. He bought a bunch of stuff from me for more than what I could have sold it for.

If I'm correct, he passed away....

This is not a POSTWAR LIONEL Forum in my humble opinion...this forum is a mix of operators more in tune with the modern production of MTH, Atlas, KLINE, and Williams in particular...and "New" Lionel with all the bells and whistles. One has only to check periodically the Buy/sell Forum to come up with this "train of thought"!!! There is precious little discussion of Postwar Lionel on here, and I would wager that most of you are operators, and not collectors...which is really refreshing!!! I spend several hours per week on Ebay, and this summer is the first that I can recall prices actually rising through the non-train season...quite remarkeable in light of the RECESSSION. As for less people collecting Postwar, I disagree. I collect Standard gauge and Prewar even though I certainly, at age 58, did not grow up with a State Set around the tree. Money has driven this hobby for decades, and as long as there is perceived value in electric trains, people will "hoard" or collect...More to the point of selecting an auction house, I believe Ralston's to be a league below NETTE, Stout, and Maurer's...at any rate, plan on paying 15% to the auction house unless you have some truly RARE collection...Ron!!!

quote:

Are these CLOSED Prices after the auction has ended or are you just looking at asking prices- which don't mean as much becasue an Item can be relisted over & over again.

Really?