National Convention train show today = Total bust

[clovis97]

I've been known to scour toy train shows for toy trains, and flip them on ebay or at the flea market.

Today could have been a good one. A nationwide toy train club/association held their national convention in our state, and today was the grand finale, the train swap meet with over 200 vendors.

I've done well at these type of shows in the past, but not today. Prices were outstandingly high, and to be honest, I was shocked a few times. Apparently, not one of these vendors ever check a website called eBay.com to see what current train prices are. Some of those guys are still living in 1996, and have not looked at a calendar since then.

"Years ago, you could sell $1,000 in the first few hours of the show" I overheard one of the vendors say. Then his buddy chimed in and said, "There just isn't any crowd here, and those who are here, just aren't buying."

I looked at two engines today, and came extremely close to buying those. I was reaching for my wallet when the deal went south. The dealer tried to up the price by $25 on one of the engines, and then started being a jerk, so I walked.

The bad thing is that I went to the show, loaded for bear. I had cash to spend, and was ready to pick up high quality stuff, as well as high volume. Before I went, I had envisioned myself wheeling box after box of trains to my car, so I could bring them home and get them listed.

I spent a whopping 75 cents on a single part for an engine that I already own.

 

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[diggummup]

You should have chimed in on that conversation with a little advice of your own.

It's the same way at the depression glass shows and the militaria shows. Some of these dealers still have pre ebay prices on their goods. The trick is knowing who the "new" sellers are. They will usually always have the best prices. Problem is, the other dealers know this too and will flock to them like buzzards on fresh roadkill, before the general public arrives first thing in the morning.

 

[Paleo_joe]

The arrowhead market also sells higher in person than on ebay, but people are willing to pay a premium to hold something in their hand and inspect it before buying. I think if there's a lot of fakes around, especially on higher end items, sellers can get more in person. I know people who buy on ebay to sell at shows.

If you think about it, any item sold in person ought to be higher than the same item sold on ebay, because on ebay shipping costs go in. Also, the risk of fakes, shipping losses, inaccurate descriptions, whatever, is lower in person.

 

[clovis97]

Thank you for the comments.

I totally agree that prices are generally higher for face to face selling at swap meets, but some of these vendors are out of touch. I don't expect the vendors to match or beat eBay prices, and of course, those vendors own the trains and can ask whatever they want. But, at the same time, I would have thought that more of them would be in line with real market value.

I was very surprised to see the high prices. It was common to see an engine on a dealer table that was priced at $140, when better examples are commonly found for $65 on ebay. I was surprised to see common 70's era cars, almost not worth listing on ebay, and the dealers were asking $30 each. I would suspect that you could buy those for $10 each on ebay, and not have to work hard finding them at that price.

Also surprising was the lack of 'top shelf' stuff. I am referring to the hard to find, rare, and ultra pristine trains. The 'top shelf' stuff always sells for a premium, and can bring CRAZY prices anywhere. I saw a few pieces, but nothing extravagant. I have actually seen more 'top shelf' stuff at a local train show.

There was no one at the show, and those that were there, they weren't buying. I don't blame them at those prices!

 

[OldSowBreath]

I wish there was a way to get in the noggins of estate sellers, flea marketers, thrift stores, specialty shows and garage sellers that the market is down across the board (and especially on ebay) for most items we look for. My laziness in getting things listed has cost me about 30%, if not more, in revenue from two years ago due to decreases in value. I think this is due to ebay making it easier for dinosaurs like me to sell, and the saturation of the market by the great increase in sellers as a result. Certainly, there will be exceptions, but not on the junk I usually end up buying.

Just one example out of many: Two years ago I could sell a Polaroid SX-70 for around $150.00. Today, I have one on ebay on its third re-list that has camera, film, flashbars, case and instruction book for BIN at $99.00 with no takers.

Lately, Antiques Road Show has been re-running shows from 1998, 1999, and 2000, and then comparing the prices today. To me, on a rough count, 75% of the items remained the same value or decreased. Not a good return on investment for 15 years.

 

[diggummup]

I wish there was a way to get in the noggins of estate sellers, flea marketers, thrift stores, specialty shows and garage sellers that the market is down across the board (and especially on ebay) for most items we look for. My laziness in getting things listed has cost me about 30%, if not more, in revenue from two years ago due to decreases in value. I think this is due to ebay making it easier for dinosaurs like me to sell, and the saturation of the market by the great increase in sellers as a result. Certainly, there will be exceptions, but not on the junk I usually end up buying.

Just one example out of many: Two years ago I could sell a Polaroid SX-70 for around $150.00. Today, I have one on ebay on its third re-list that has camera, film, flashbars, case and instruction book for BIN at $99.00 with no takers.

Lately, Antiques Road Show has been re-running shows from 1998, 1999, and 2000, and then comparing the prices today. To me, on a rough count, 75% of the items remained the same value or decreased. Not a good return on investment for 15 years.

I hear you and I completely agree. I am the same way with my stuff. I held on to my American art pottery collection for too long. I sold most of it for pennies on the dollar comparatively speaking.

examples- this Jensen Rookwood vase was appraised at $2000-$3000 10 years ago, it sold for $500 after months and months of listings.

This Rookwood pitcher was appraised at $2500-$3500, it sold for $450.

I just sold an SX-70 $29.99 and it took 2 weeks to get that bid.

 

[masterjedi]

I started on Ebay when it only had 1200 items for sale on the whole site... It drove the prices way up for years and now after all of these years the prices have came down to the real average selling price... I used to have 600 auctions running at all the time... Today I have none...

 

[dumpsterdiver]

I think some of the train show crowd is just there to brag to the other people with booths at the train show. I haven't been to one in many years. But I think for some people its a nice way to dust off their collection, show it off, and complain about the thing people didn't know about their collection. Then I think there are people who are actually trying to make money.

Would you consider getting a table?

 

[clovis97]

Would you consider getting a table?

Actually, I would.

Not sure that I would try the national convention of this organization though. If I could get enough trains bought, and could have decent margins, I would certainly try it.

I almost set up at the last local train show. I had enough to fill a table, but it was either scratch a spring break vacation, or set up and take the chance of not selling much. I opted for the vacation.

There is part of me that wants to load up on trains off of ebay, and start setting up at the local shows. The trick will be setting an attractive price to get the stuff sold. The bad part is that, as a vendor, you have to agree to set up by the opening time, and stay there until 3 pm. Those are some long days.