Hattons pre-owned items

[John M Upton]

Speaking of diecast, Hattons seems to have acquired a truck load of it recently, those old once "highly collectible" Lledo promotional vehicles are going for as little as £2 and the old Corgi 1:50 scale buses, nice chunky models them which at one time were on traders tables for serious money (£100+ for some, especially the trams), mint in box just a fiver now.

 

A lot of collectors have got well and truly burnt I reckon....

[andyman7]

4 hours ago, John M Upton said:

Speaking of diecast, Hattons seems to have acquired a truck load of it recently, those old once "highly collectible" Lledo promotional vehicles are going for as little as £2 and the old Corgi 1:50 scale buses, nice chunky models them which at one time were on traders tables for serious money (£100+ for some, especially the trams), mint in box just a fiver now.

 

A lot of collectors have got well and truly burnt I reckon....

It depends on the purpose of collecting. There is far less 'speculation' in diecast and trains then there is in, say, FX trading or Cryptocurrencies. That is where many get burnt.

- Dealers buy and sell at prevailing rates. Many dealers will have known times when Corgi Classics traded in the £40-£50 bracket and will know that now they tend to make much less. As long as they are buying and selling within a timeframe it makes no difference  - it's only an issue if they hoard the stuff. I know a number of dealers, and they will move with the market; so nowadays they'll get the higher margins on Star Wars or Transformers toys.

- Most buyers bought because in the first instance the items appealed. The reason that 50s buses sold so well in the 90s is that they hit the nostalgia sweet spot for a certain demographic. The reason the bottom fell out is because rather too many of them have now passed on and a younger demographic wants 70s/80s/90s nostalgia. In general, the only disappointment is amongst widows who were no doubt told by their late husbands how much the items would be worth as a way of justifying a spend for pleasure. Well you can't take it with you, so in reality, who is  the loser?

If you spent £100 on a TV, a car, a sofa or whatever in the 80s you would have had your use and it would now be worthless. So quite frankly if someone spent £100 on Lledo models in the 1980s it's not really any great loss that they are probably worth £20 now. 

I think this is where I really don't have any truck with the notion of an innate 'value' for anything. Some people on RMWeb seem to get very het up anyone who manages to make a surplus on an item that they bought - e.g. an Accurscale Deltic or a Bachmann S Stock Underground train. But it works both ways and there are equally as many examples of things going down in price once the frenzy has passed. There were a couple of Wrenn locos I was thinking of getting in the late 1980s; then the factory closed and the price went nuts. In the last few years I have acquired them both, for less in real terms than their list price when new in the 80s. I ignored sellers that clung to past prices and bought at auction. when the 'true' value on the day was reflected in bids offered. 

Edited July 28, 2022 by andyman7

[GWR-fan]

Reminds me of a now departed elderly friend,  Bill,   who upon seeing an advertisement for two mint brass NSWGR locomotives made an offer on them which was way below the price that the seller wanted.  At first the seller was hesitant to accept the offer until his wife pipped in and said,  "Dear accept the man's offer,  that is a lot more than you told me that you paid for those models".

[John M Upton]

With second hand, it is always a bit of a gamble and I accept that.  With the Proto 2000 HO scale locos that I often pick up cheap, I know the issues they often have and am prepared to expect them even when they are not specified in the description, some faults can indeed just happen!

[GWR-fan]

Odd how the pendulum can swing the other way.  The store described as cosmetically damaged with corrosion on the water pipes and glue on the front of one tender,  this afternoon the courier delivered a year 2000? limited edition Bachmann Branchline Cambrian Coast Express with a Manor class,  a 43XX and six Mk1 coaches,  including the Autobuffet car.

 

Both locomotives ran superbly.  If I had to quibble about anything the brake rod pack for the Manor was missing,  however,  the 43XX and coach coupling packs were intact,  along with Cambrian coast nameplates for the locomotives.  The "cosmetic damage" was a very good glue repair on the Manor tender handbrake handle and the corrosion on the coach water pipes changed the pipe colour to a grey rather than black.  This could be easily repaired/repainted.

 

All up cost including airmail postage was around GBP180.00  (the package weighed around 4 kgs).  I was initially reluctant to press the buy now,  but when I considered the individual pieces,  a Manor sells for around GBP50.00 - 60.00,  a 43XX around GBP50.00 and Mk1 Bachmann coaches at least GBP25.00 each.   The "Autobuffet" was only available with this trainpack so what price could you place on this car alone.   Even if one loco was a dud,  I still felt that I would be in front.  The coaches were all perfect but for the greying of the water pipes.

[rogerzilla]

Have had three locos from them this month at sub-eBay prices (in the £50-75 range) and all were absolutely perfect, if not unused.  Whoever sets the prices at Hattons seems to have off-days when they're feeling generous.  I probably won't bother with eBay in future except for real rarities - too expensive and too many misdescribed duffers.

[woodenhead]

43 minutes ago, rogerzilla said:

Have had three locos from them this month at sub-eBay prices (in the £50-75 range) and all were absolutely perfect, if not unused.  Whoever sets the prices at Hattons seems to have off-days when they're feeling generous.  I probably won't bother with eBay in future except for real rarities - too expensive and too many misdescribed duffers.

And yet this week two Farish DMUs of the latest designs were up as non runners and both north of 150 quid.

 

I guess Farish is classed as rarer than other makes.  I've noticed a few people recently with Mainline Mk1s which still look good at 40 years old and go for very little money.

[rogerzilla]

3 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

And yet this week two Farish DMUs of the latest designs were up as non runners and both north of 150 quid.

 

I guess Farish is classed as rarer than other makes.  I've noticed a few people recently with Mainline Mk1s which still look good at 40 years old and go for very little money.

Yes, I've bought unused locos for the same price Hattons were asking for broken ones of the exact same model.  The pricing is a bit random.

 

I don't think I've ever paid more than a tenner for a coach, and I have a lot of them!  The trick is to buy them in rakes of two or three - eBay does work well for that.

Edited November 9, 2022 by rogerzilla

[Halvarras]

Judging from recent appearances it seems that Hattons' current valuation for the Hornby Dublo 4076 6-wheel parcels van is £83, regardless of whether it is in mint boxed condition or an unboxed corroded dirty wreck with no running gear......!

 

On the other hand.......my most recent purchase from Hattons was a R758 green Tri-ang Hornby Hymek for £20, described as a poor runner (always better than non-runner as it shows the motor is alive) which ran so well once the motor bogie's wheels had been cleaned I didn't bother servicing the motor. I bought it because it looked tidy, had its original if rather tatty box and more importantly (to me) it was from the first two months of production in 1967. Nostalgia trip.......

Edited November 9, 2022 by Halvarras

[Halvarras]

PS and right now there's a choice of two Lima Class 26 BR blue 26003s, boxed in good condition - one for £39 and the other DCC-fitted for................er.................£94. So...........that's £55 for a used decoder?

Best be quick though, apparently it's a "BARGAIN" - crikey, what price was it before then?! 🤣🤣🤣

 

 

[John M Upton]

I have noticed that certain Farish items if reasonably priced often are sold within a minute or two of them appearing on the preowned list.  Managed to snag a couple of very nicely priced wagons the other day (£12 each instead of the north of £25 a pop plus exhorbitant postage that some Ebayers are asking), went and had a look fifteen minutes later at some other items and they were all gone!

Edited November 10, 2022 by John M Upton

[Sjcm]

I haven't bought from Hattons for years. At one stage it was quite obvious they didn't do much more than plonk items on the track and turn the power on so it was quite easy to pick up bargain non-runners that just needed a service.  I think they cottoned on to this and started charging more so I moved on. I used to buy on the "working" premium that a lot of buyers were unable/reluctant to try and fix a non-runner, thus less desirable. This still works very well for me on ebay  where I recently picked up two non-working locos and a power bogie for 20 pounds,  fixed and sold the bogie for 30 pounds and got 2 working loco's for a 10 pound profit 👍 obvious!y none of these were mint in box 😉

 

If they're selling "new" stock bought from deceased hoarders then it's buyer beware I guess if you're not a box collector. For all they know it came broke from the manufacturer, and as someone who had to sell their dad's collection (probably ran once and then stored while he built his lay-out) for every one that ran well, there was another 'mint in box' that 25 years in storage had taken its toll on. To me, if you don't know the provenance then relying on a visual inspection in the box is asking for problems  and probably a false economy, but maybe box collectors prefer the reputational guarantee they get with Hattons rather than buying from someone's relative?

[OnTheBranchline]

"Poor Runner" - 26 quid

 

???

 

😒

[Rich_F]

1 hour ago, OnTheBranchline said:

"Poor Runner" - 26 quid

 

???

 

😒

Try...

"Sold as seen - Non-runner - Gears and wiring loose from motor - Missing one coupling hook - £49"!!!🙄

[CUCKOO LINE]

5 hours ago, John M Upton said:

I have noticed that certain Farish items if reasonably priced often are sold within a minute or two of them appearing on the preowned list.  Managed to snag a couple of very nicely priced wagons the other day (£12 each instead of the north of £25 a pop plus exhorbitant postage that some Ebayers are asking), went and had a look fifteen minutes later at some other items and they were all gone!

I,ve noted a few times when they have sold something a bit underpriced and it goes within minutes of putting it on the site, next time they can go rather overpriced next time they have one.

[Halvarras]

I think the locos which really furrow the brow are those non-running sound-fitted examples - it's one thing to buy a cheap(ish) non-runner for e.g. £40, quite another if it's sound-fitted for north of £150. I personally wouldn't want to risk that much on a model with unknown issues, but then I'm not into DCC - if the motor's dead is it possible to check that the sound installation is at least working correctly?

 

This is very much a problem of the model railway times - but what else are Hattons supposed to do with such models when they come in?

[ajgraham]

After spending a small fortune in the last year with Hattons Trunk I got probably bargain of the year from them last week on a Scotrail DBSO:

(That price excludes VAT as I’m in the U.S.)
 

Never thought I’d see one for below £200 and I refused to pay that. “Ya Dancer” did get muttered several times after I snagged it.

[GWR-fan]

I am most likely a Hattons pre-owned addict as I peruse the pre-owned site daily for those elusive bargains of which I have secured many.  Along with the cream does come the whey so there have been a few disappointments but not many.  Unless the loco looks a basket case then a "non-runner" description is not a turn off if the price is right as more than likely the locomotive will require minimal attention to get running.

 

Downunder,  the "new" pre-owned listings commence around 5am each day,  however,  other items will be usually added later so the astute bargain hunter will peruse the site several times a day.

 

As a long term viewer on the site what irks me is seeing pre-owned items selling for up to three times the price the items were sold for in new condition in the not too distant past firesales.  

 

A thing that I find a little confusing is the inconsistency in the pricing of similar items.  One day say a Hornby M7 will sell for around GBP55.00 and shortly after the same item will be listed for around GBP80.00.   Today I picked up a Hornby "Royal Highlander" train pack for GBP93.00 (after VAT discount).  This seemed an odd price as Coronation class locomotives of this vintage sell for around GBP 100.00 and the three high detail Stannier coaches in the pack sell for upwards of GBP25.00 each.  In the past I would purchase these trainpacks simply to "cheaply" source the Stannier coaches.

 

On the minus side a recent Hornby "Golden Arrow" trainpack buy turned out to be a minior disaster.  The loco was described as having a few cosmetic issues which were readily corrected,  however the three Pullman coaches had been through the wringer with only one having operational lamps and two of them the close coupling mechanism was either missing or what remained of it had been doused in superglue.  

 

[John M Upton]

Picked up a Proto 2000 HO scale GP18 the other day for £34, described as a poor runner.  Arrived the next day and took about ten minutes to replace the usual cracked gears and now it is a runner.  Very happy with that!

 

Their second hand US outline models seem to command a far lower price than UK outline stuff.

Edited February 7, 2023 by John M Upton

[Tabs]

There are definitely several pricing structures running concurrently with Hattons' Preowned items. I highly doubt it's a case of selling "lots" for specific individuals as many antique vendors often do, since Hattons buy second-hand stock on a private basis. Having said that, as time goes on I'm beginning to wonder whether there is something similar going on.

 

I've had a few bargains, some rare items (priced fairly), and a few items that were generally in a great condition for an equally fair price. That said, as others have quite rightly said, they're definitely dabbling in some of the magic lettuce when it comes to some pricing. More power to them because they clearly shift those items. A fool and his money and all that.

[John M Upton]

The had several modern tooling Farish Class 37's listed a few days ago where the (in my opinion) horrendous slap it on with a trowel "weathering" that had been inflicted justified some eye watering price tags.

 

They sold within minutes though so....

[Halvarras]

A few days ago Hattons took in a Bachmann 'Cambrian Coast Express' loco & coaches boxed set (Manor plus 3 coaches) and put it up for a very optimistic £216. They don't seem to have noticed that a previous owner has replaced the three chocolate & cream Mark 1s with three crimson & cream Hornby Railroad Collett coaches, something it took me three whole nano-seconds to spot, elevating 'very optimistic' to 'over the hills and far away'. Needless to say it's still available.

 

As is the DCC-fitted Lima Class 26 (26003 in BR blue), still up for grabs for a whopping £85 if anyone out there reckons a fifty quid used decoder is a "BARGAIN" (Hattons' description, not mine, but I can't help wondering what the price would have been if it wasn't a "BARGAIN"!)

 

 

[teeinox]

Their pricing can be strange.  I am still adding to my collection of elderly Bachmann Class 42 locos.  Here are some examples of Hattons pricing:

 

At the moment Hattons is asking £46 for a "Sir Brian Robertson", clearly afflicted with mazak rot: I suppose it MIGHT be worth it for the spares.  But they are also asking £74 for Avenger, also badly afflicted with mazac rot and transmission problems as well.  An absurd price for something which cannot really be fixed.

 

On the other hand, I managed to buy Eclipse as a "bargain" item for £52.  It had pick-up issues which were sorted out with some bull-nose pliers and contact cleaner but now runs sweetly.

 

I keep an eye on Hattons, but I always check their prices against what appears to be the going price elsewhere from other vendors and eBay.  In general, i have been very happy with what I have bought from them, and given that I tend to buy stuff which was made about 20 years ago, I expect to solve problems.  As long as the price is right.

 

 

Edited February 10, 2023 by teeinox

[OnTheBranchline]

84 quid for a smashed up model, are they crazy?
 

[John M Upton]

I would say the frame is bent as well.  Good box though...  🤣