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Selling your surplus items.


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Once upon a time on the forum, we used to have a very simple but effective way of getting rid of our surplus items.

Times change of course nd that facility went by the wayside when RMweb changed hands.

Sadly, there are next to no substitute methods available today beyond a certain auction site that I utterly begrudge having to use these days.

Similarly, there are some sales groups on a well-known social media platform but these are all pretty useless and full of time wasters and panhandlers.

What’s a bloke to do..?

 

Davy

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Ebay has from a sellers point of view dropped off somewhat recently.  I have found that certain items, particularly OO scale steam locos like Bachmann Ivatt tanks and Hornby M7's have suddenly started selling for comparatively little money whereas a pile of old detailing bits that were thirty odd years old (at least!) were snapped up in the blink of an eye.

 

I am still plodding away with off loading surplus stock and bits as I find them in my garage on Ebay but am becoming more and more disenfranchised by the seemingly unfathomable to work out sale fees.

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EBay prices are a simple reflection of demand for items, if prices are falling it is not EBay that has fallen off but demand. Prices for hobby items like models are notoriously prone to a boom and bust mentality, people get carried away by clever marketing about limited edition, instant collectability, buy it or miss the bus (I believe this has evolved into "buyers remorse") which tends to inflate prices (sometimes to absurd levels) until people move onto the next thing and prices collapse. Personally I still think that despite all of its many faults that EBay is still a good outlet for private sellers.

Edited by jjb1970
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I've successfully flogged a variety of stuff on ebay....as was described above, it has it's selling 'trends' and randomly varying prices..it's ok for occasional use, but would find it a bit of a nightmare if doing it on a very regular basis.

It is a shame there doesn't appear to be an accessible for all, simple ' items for sale'  section on here.

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10 minutes ago, Porkscratching said:

It is a shame there doesn't appear to be an accessible for all, simple ' items for sale'  section on here.

 

There is, as per my previous post.

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This is one of the reasons why I've suggested that the new classifieds ought to be open to everyone, with a per-item (or per-listing) fee for regular members and free listings for premium members. The reality is that premium membership isn't going to be for everybody, so there are still going to be people who aren't premium members who want to sell things. And a classifieds that's open to everyone is also a potential draw to bring in new members.

 

One of the problems with eBay is that it's moved on a lot from its original purpose of facilitating second-hand sales, and is now primarily a marketplace for small retailers that don't have the facilities to operate their own website (and as a secondary outlet for large retailers that do). So "classic" used item listings can get a bit lost in the noise. And, of course, not everybody is keen on the auction format.

 

There are other online listings sites, of course, but they tend not to have the necessary critical mass. Gumtree is worth a look as a buyer, but I wouldn't use it to sell anything model railway related - prices there are typically below eBay, not least because most of the people selling stuff there have no idea what it's worth (typical extract from a current listing: "I've cleared a relative's house & have quite a few of these Trains to sell. I don't really know anything about them other than what I've read a little on Google"). 

 

From a technical perspective, it would be a relatively simple web development project to set up a listings site, especially if you don't charge a listings fee. Even if you do charge a fee, integrating Paypal isn't a particularly onerous task. I have toyed with the idea myself in the past, back when the original RMweb classifieds were discontinued. But, of course, forum rules mean I couldn't advertise it here, and without enough critical mass to be self-sustaining it wouldn't justify the effort.

 

So I think the answer to the original question, at least for people who have no other reason to be premium members (and you would need to be selling a lot of stuff for the free classifieds alone to justify the outlay) is, unfortunately, still eBay.

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14 minutes ago, MarkSG said:

This is one of the reasons why I've suggested that the new classifieds ought to be open to everyone, with a per-item (or per-listing) fee for regular members and free listings for premium members

 

Which would require RMweb to be a transaction platform to accept payments but due to it's complexities cannot be integrated with company payment systems. It would also be an additional workload for me to administrate.

 

Patterns are emerging that it is an effective selling platform and if you sell over £50 of items a month you would have saved the eBay fees plus get the other benefits.

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I do have quite a pile of varied and in some cases niche finescale stuff to get rid of so this is probably worth a punt.

Thanks for the heads up, Andy.

I’ve not been on the site much in recent times so I missed this development.

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It should be noted that the RMWeb gold "fee" at £5 a month equates to the ebay & paypal fee for selling an item worth £35 + £2 p&P once a month. Even if you were only to use it for selling things, the cost is very competitive. 

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Usually when using an auction sellers get wholesale prices, eBay came along and made both buying and selling at auction far easier and for both a buyer and seller an auction site with an enormous selection of items for the buyer and equally an enormous amount of buyers for the sellers.  As a buyer its a site where you can buy a large range of items ranging from a complete train set to the smallest part, for the seller buyers from the collector to a novice. In short parts can be bought or sold that in the past would have been hard to resell or find second hand.

 

I am changing gauge and would find it difficult to sell let alone get reasonable prices for my unwanted items, on the other hand local shops and stalls at local shows keep very little in the way of 7 mm scale items, however items can still be bought cheaply if you bide your time (I have recently bought an etched 4 wheel coach kit with wheels for £30 (new about £100)

 

Many moan about eBay's fees, forgetting auction sites charge 20% to both buyers and sellers, where as eBay charges a flat 10% to sellers if using PayPal another 3%, these are still far cheaper than traditional auction houses. However this can be minimised as eBay regularly has offer weekends, last weekend I sold one item for £40 and another for £80 and was charged a selling fee of £1 each (2.5% & 1.25%) even adding PayPal's 3% money handling fee exceptional value.

 

Now I am not knocking other ways of selling items, but quite often many seem to take offence just because something is successful, I just look at my own experience, as a seller did I get good prices for my items and pay reasonable charges. As a buyer was I able to get an item ? and at a keen price?. This weekend yes to all 4 

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Another benefit for Gold users is that they can use the Classifieds to link to their eBay sales thus promoting them to a different audience. 

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3 hours ago, JohnR said:

It should be noted that the RMWeb gold "fee" at £5 a month equates to the ebay & paypal fee for selling an item worth £35 + £2 p&P once a month. Even if you were only to use it for selling things, the cost is very competitive. 

Exactly so,  RMweb Gold costs less than £1 per week on most of the payment methods (plus it gives you a free ticket to one of three shows a year - which you don't get selling on EBay) so it's good value if you are doing a lot of selling.

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Although I've indulged with some bookcase weights it's worth pointing out that 30% of what has been listed in the Classifieds to date has sold.

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1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

Exactly so,  RMweb Gold costs less than £1 per week on most of the payment methods (plus it gives you a free ticket to one of three shows a year - which you don't get selling on EBay) so it's good value if you are doing a lot of selling.

I have been decluttering model trains for the last two years, culminating in sales for c. £1,200 on eBay during the last 7 months. If the Gold membership had been available it would have saved me money, even allowing for those occasions when a couple of bidders both wanted the same item. All the stuff has gone now of course. Typical for me :-)

 

- Richard.

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Hayfield makes good points about eBay's strengths and value for selling models.  My disillusionment with selling this way isn't to do with eBay really, more to do with selling remotely per se.

 

I have sold cars and other non-postable items via eBay but the number of idiots  - mostly illiterate based on their inability to read the listings properly - this brings out of the woodwork is unbelievable.  Every car has been "sold" to a buyer who refuses to make contact; in the first case they only lived about five miles away.  The second lived four hundred miles away (the car was selling for £395, I didn't see them coming to collect it).  I have just sold some roof bars and once again, the buyer hasn't made contact.  They only bid just before the auction closed so can't have "forgotten" they bid, when they get the winning notice five minutes later.  I am going to give Gumtree a go for "collection only" items as their seems to be more of an expectation of local searches for items. 

 

I have also had bad experience of posting items.  I resent being told by the Royal Mail that I should pay for tracked/signed for, or they can't guarantee not to lose/break the parcels.  Ironically, I now only sell higher value items as the higher postage charges are not so disproportionate, although perhaps I shouldn't worry as so many buyers on eBay don't seem to pay any attention to postage charges, paying more in total for models than they would going into their local shop.

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4 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Hayfield makes good points about eBay's strengths and value for selling models.  My disillusionment with selling this way isn't to do with eBay really, more to do with selling remotely per se.

 

I have sold cars and other non-postable items via eBay but the number of idiots  - mostly illiterate based on their inability to read the listings properly - this brings out of the woodwork is unbelievable.  Every car has been "sold" to a buyer who refuses to make contact; in the first case they only lived about five miles away.  The second lived four hundred miles away (the car was selling for £395, I didn't see them coming to collect it).  I have just sold some roof bars and once again, the buyer hasn't made contact.  They only bid just before the auction closed so can't have "forgotten" they bid, when they get the winning notice five minutes later.  I am going to give Gumtree a go for "collection only" items as their seems to be more of an expectation of local searches for items. 

 

I have also had bad experience of posting items.  I resent being told by the Royal Mail that I should pay for tracked/signed for, or they can't guarantee not to lose/break the parcels.  Ironically, I now only sell higher value items as the higher postage charges are not so disproportionate, although perhaps I shouldn't worry as so many buyers on eBay don't seem to pay any attention to postage charges, paying more in total for models than they would going into their local shop.

 

eBay seems to come into its own for items which can be easily sent by post or other courier services, I would rarely consider buying anything large unless its very close, and certainly never sell anything which cannot be posted as these items with collection only seem to fetch very low prices. Secondly I have heard horror stories of folk selling high value consumer goods (cameras, cd players, phones etc)  as there seem to be a lot of dishonest folk out there

 

However as far as model railway sales are concerned, the chancers are very few and far between, and go for high value readily saleable items. If anything I have found both buyers and sellers in the model railway world to be really nice people, there is of course the odd rotten egg. It may be that I am interested in kits and parts which are more specialised. But to get a good price nothing beats eBay providing you spend time presenting your item to its best, and its nice to see your unwanted items sell

 

With regard to posting items, think of how the courier will treat tour item and pack accordingly, I where ever possible re-use packaging, use plenty of bubble wrap and have a clear large print label. Buyers do not mind paying for post and packaging, especially when it is packed up well, just think if I received this item would I be happy with the way its been packed, helps if its posted as soon as possible and I post 1st class, nothing worse than making the buyer wait, again thing about the service you give as if you were receiving it. I also send a message informing the buyer I have sent the item, confirm the service used and thank them again

 

Don't sell too many things at once, unless you pre-pack items, nothing worse than spending all day packing up items, and wait for eBays offer weekends

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Facebook market place seems to be quite lucrative at the moment. Lower amounts than eBay but no fees. 

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I have a reluctance to part with money before I have seen the thing I'm parting with it for in it's physical manifestation, having been burned before!  This is not an approach compatible with modern modelling where so many items have to be sourced online; they were always available mail order of course, but back in the day could be got hold of more readily in model shops or at shows.  My worries have been completely unfounded when it comes to online sourcing new items from the trade, though there is a very considerable disparity in delivery times and I don't 'get' why one firm can happily deliver this week and another might take 28 days; that's life, I guess.

 

But I also buy some stuff on 'Bay, the only place to get it if I have to have it or a saving of money if you want a loco for a donor chassis.  I don't think I've ever had what I'd call a 'bargain', where I have paid a lot less than the thing was worth on the 2nd hand market, but a donor Bachmann 57xx chassis, for example, runs at about £40-£50, not far off half full price for a brand new 57xx.  This seems not unreasonable but the idea that cheap good stuff is available on 'Bay is, to my view, a delusion.

 

It looks seductively tempting, of course, especially with very low prices being quoted for auction items; you never pay anything like them and risk getting burned in a bidding war in practice, during which tracking the item has sucked time better spent modelling.  I only bother with auctions for items I particularly want now, and restrict myself to 'buy it now' for everything else.

 

And I've been, not perhaps burned, but singeded, twice, with items not as described and slightly damaged or badly resprayed.  On both occasions it is the more irritating because I'd probably have been willing to pay the asked price for the items had the seller correctly described them.  In both cases, they were faults that are within my ability to rectify easily, but might have caught out a more inexperienced modeller or anyone not comfortable with repairing or repainting.  Nothing can be done beyond noting the sellers and avoiding them in future!

 

I would not be bothered with the amount of faff involved in selling anything, though I have given stuff away to friends who stated an interest.  I've in my turn been given coaches and locos to work up as well.

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I take another view in looking out for items I want, never get into a bidding war as usually I am able to bid at the end of lots, I may spend a bit of time searching for items, many of which fall away as they price themselves out of my valuation. If someone has seriously miss-described something I would have no worries in returning it at the sellers expense. Most badly presented or miss described items I buy are not only far cheaper but better than expected, I tend to end up being disappointed about 1% or less of the time. My latest buy is a Roxey Mouldings 7mm scale 4 wheel coach, as new with wheels for £30, badly presented , seemingly accurately described with only the box missing. Still it would have cost me £90 new with wheels and is something my Springside 14xx can pull, which itself was slightly play worn but a super runner and cost only £150 ready built (and from a seller I buy from regularly)

 

  

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I, too, would have no issue in returning and demanding my money back for badly misrepresented items, but there are grey areas.  I recently bought a K's B set coach kit (E116, plastic kit with cast whitemetal bogies) described as used, although the packet had never been opened, and in good condition.  The roof moulding was broken.  Now, it was a clean break and I can repair it easily enough so that the join will be all but invisible on the finished kit, but it is still minor misrepresentation.  I decided the sensible thing to do was to suck it up, buttercup, not complain, but make a note of the seller's identity (100% rated by the way) and be very reluctant to buy from him again.  This was a bidding war which I 'won', and the price I paid was probably ball park reasonable for the item in good condition, but you can't really say it was in good condition.  

 

The photo was of the packet with the parts visible inside, but the roof was hidden by the instructions.  I would be very reluctant to accuse the seller of deliberately photographing it like this to hide the broken roof; it was a perfectly sensible way to show the majority of the parts.

 

Some while ago, I bought a 'Buy It Now' 56xx described as MIB; it had been resprayed BR black over a previous GW green livery and unicycling lion crests poorly applied.  Worse, the cab windows were oversprayed black, and resisted all attempts to clean the paint off without fogging them; they had to be binned and replaced with 'Glue and Glaze'.  I will have no reluctance in buying from this seller (another 100%er) again because none will be needed; I will never buy anything from him again.  To be fair, the price was a bit low by about a tenner for a properly MIB example, so may be regarded as fair for the model actually supplied, and I'd probably have bought the loco anyway, but there is an unpleasant sense of dishonesty about the deal.  

 

If one is buying stuff one has not actually physically seen, absolute trust is necessary and the unfortunate case is that this does not always happen on 'Bay.  OTOH, online ordering of new items from the trade has been 100% reliable and I have no problems with it. 

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Johnster, in the case of your 56xx, that sounds like the seller was a trader (possibly pretending to be a private individual) who didn't actually know what they were selling.  Someone with knowledge of model railways would be able to look at a model 56xx and know (a) what a factory finish looks like and (b) what finishes were available from Mainline or Bachmann.

 

You can see plenty of these individuals on eBay, in some cases advertising an assortment of "Hornby" (or often "Horby") models, using the name as a generic term for anything that looks like OO gauge.  It is why I will not criticise shops like Rails of Sheffield, which I've bought a couple of S/H items from via mail order, because although prices may be slightly higher than some eBay traders, I am satisfied from their descriptions that they are well informed about their stock.

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You may well be right about his being a trader, and he wasn't pretending to be a private individual but a model shop, though not one I'd ever heard of.  This wasn't crime of the century, but left an unpleasant taste...

 

It has long gone now, though.  The loco has been worked up to my standards and performs faultlessly, one of my best slow runners.

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