Scouting for Toys

[RFS]

A new 10-part series following Vectis Auctions on the Yesterday channel from 31st March at 9pm.  From their promotional email - 

 

"Scouting for Toys is a new ten-part fly on the wall documentary following Vectis Auctions. The show will be aired weekly on the Yesterday channel starting on the 31st of March at 9pm.

 

The series follows the activities of our Specialists and staff; and the buyers and sellers who come from all over the world, to trade every toy imaginable, from Star Wars figures, vintage dolls, diecast vehicles and tinplate novelties.

 

Discover how toys are valued and catalogued ahead of their auctions, and meet the passionate people selling their treasured collections amassed over decades."

[melmerby]

Just had a note about this drop into my mailbox from Upfront Puppet Theatre, as they will be featured in the 18th April episode.

Upfront is a place I got to know whilst living in Cumbria and still visit whenever I'm up there.

 

The Upfront Puppet Theatre has a large collection of historic string puppets and have puppet shows regularly throughout the year featuring them.

The next is Aladdin from 6th - 18th April.

 

TV trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j2Qe1bpPyo

[Robin Brasher]

I watched Scouting for Toys last night.  I was surprised that the valuer had to examine a Matchbox 57 Wolseley 1500 under a microscope to discover it was a repaint as Matchbox only made that model with a pale green body. All he needed to do was to look it up in some old Matchbox catalogues or in Ramsay's Model Toys Catalogue.

 

Many collectors will not buy repaints but I prefer a good repainted model to a play worn or faded original for my model railway.

 

Vectis Auctions look like a good place to sell models judging by the good prices attained. I have had some bad experiences at my local auction at toy fairs and selling models to shops that buy second hand models.

 

 

[melmerby]

1 hour ago, Robin Brasher said:

I watched Scouting for Toys last night.  I was surprised that the valuer had to examine a Matchbox 57 Wolseley 1500 under a microscope to discover it was a repaint as Matchbox only made that model with a pale green body. All he needed to do was to look it up in some old Matchbox catalogues or in Ramsay's Model Toys Catalogue.

 

Then you would be closing your eyes to livery samples, engineering prototypes, unreleased items etc. that escaped the factory.

Previously unknown items crop up for sale with no record of their existence beforehand. (not just toys either)

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by melmerby

[Sweep]

The last episode last Thursday had quite a good piece about a guy getting back into railway modelling via his grandson, no railway stuff going through the auction mind, although lots of it about in the saleroom. One coment from the Vectis valuer surprised me when he said that the bottom has dropped out of the train market more or less indicated the death of the hobby, I thought it was seeing a healthy revival.

[melmerby]

52 minutes ago, Sweep said:

The last episode last Thursday had quite a good piece about a guy getting back into railway modelling via his grandson, no railway stuff going through the auction mind, although lots of it about in the saleroom. One coment from the Vectis valuer surprised me when he said that the bottom has dropped out of the train market more or less indicated the death of the hobby, I thought it was seeing a healthy revival.

I spotted that.

A couple of items stood out though, a Rivarossi Big Boy and the Bachmann Midland Pullman set.

Both had top estimates at around their original  selling  price.

I thought both were now considered collectables.

Edited June 9, 2022 by melmerby

[The Stationmaster]

36 minutes ago, melmerby said:

I spotted that.

A couple of items stood out though, a Rivarossi Big Boy and the Bachmann Midland Pullman set.

Both had top estimates at around their original  selling  price.

I thought both were now considered collectables.

The model railway collectables market has seen prices go up and down as fashions and passions have changed over the years.  I haven't watched the auction scene for several years past but a while back I spent several years successive years attending all the model railway auctions at one particular auction house and the changing in collecting fashions was very noticeable.  Some stuff has always gone for relatively low/ridiculous prices while other things soar up the scale before the hammer falls.

 

In more recent years two things have happened in the collecting world and that has also had the effect of emphasising a certain truism which have been there for a long while.  Covid took a toll of oldies - very much the age group of many collectors so not only did the buying market shrink but their collections came into the marketplace.  So reduced demand and increased supply had their normal effect on prices, and they fell.  But it doesn't entirely work like that because there are always newcomers to any collecting market - albeit perhaps not as many as have left the market - and the truism about quality etc also always holds - 'mint in box' with all original packing slips etc all in tip top condition will always get a good price if there are collectors seeking to improve the quality of their collection.  Poorer condition and unboxed or 'used' items tend to drop in price and always have done if supply happens to increase if demand decreases).

 

And that is the situation in all the collecting markets that I know anything about and certainly at the moment in some collecting subject areas the auction prices realised are higher than ever for particularly sought after or rare items in good/very good condition.    But don't forget also that for many buyers they know little about auction house sales and tend to think only in terms of Ebay as the place to sell or shop.

[spamcan61]

1 hour ago, Sweep said:

The last episode last Thursday had quite a good piece about a guy getting back into railway modelling via his grandson, no railway stuff going through the auction mind, although lots of it about in the saleroom. One coment from the Vectis valuer surprised me when he said that the bottom has dropped out of the train market more or less indicated the death of the hobby, I thought it was seeing a healthy revival.

That certainly doesn't match my experience of buying used Hornby / Bachmann items over the last 4 years, prices are ever increasing, maybe it's different at the 'collectable' end of the market rather than the mundane items I'm buying.

[Robin Brasher]

The bottom seems to have dropped out of the market for items that I want to sell like Tri-ang wagons and coaches and I would not get much for most of my Hornby Dublo  and Wrenn rolling stock. 

 

Some locomotives like the Hornby Dublo 3-rail emu and 'Ludlow Castle' seem to have got very expensive recently. Hornby Dublo 3-rail seems to have come back into fashion with people converting 2-rail locomotives to 3-rail.

[The Stationmaster]

4 minutes ago, Robin Brasher said:

The bottom seems to have dropped out of the market for items that I want to sell like Tri-ang wagons and coaches and I would not get much for most of my Hornby Dublo  and Wrenn rolling stock. 

 

Some locomotives like the Hornby Dublo 3-rail emu and 'Ludlow Castle' seem to have got very expensive recently. Hornby Dublo 3-rail seems to have come back into fashion with people converting 2-rail locomotives to 3-rail.

Hornby Dublo prices have gone up & down in cycles for years.  At one time the emu was going for ridiculous money then suddenly the price at auction dropped below £100 and kept on dropping fora while until buyers vanished completely.  no doubt the price subsequently rose at some time just as it had previously.

[melmerby]

On 09/06/2022 at 17:02, The Stationmaster said:

 'mint in box' with all original packing slips etc all in tip top condition will always get a good price if there are collectors seeking to improve the quality of their collection.

Both the items I picked out appeared to be MIB or pretty close.

All the original in-box packaging was there for the Big Boy, which itself looked untouched.

Less was shown of the Mid Pul but the box certainly was as new.

 

We didn't see the hammer prices and Vectis appear to go for a "Pitch it low watch it go - Pitch it high watch it die" sales model, which the MD said in the opening programme.

So it's possible the actual prices realised could've been a lot higher.

[melmerby]

36 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Hornby Dublo prices have gone up & down in cycles for years.  At one time the emu was going for ridiculous money then suddenly the price at auction dropped below £100 and kept on dropping fora while until buyers vanished completely.  no doubt the price subsequently rose at some time just as it had previously.

Same with the AL1, I sold mine for £100 in a playworn but complete and working condition some years ago. It did still have it's box, guarantee and oiling leaflet, (totally mint ones were about £600-£800 at the time).

Not bad for something that cost 67/6d!

[andyman7]

On 09/06/2022 at 15:11, Sweep said:

The last episode last Thursday had quite a good piece about a guy getting back into railway modelling via his grandson, no railway stuff going through the auction mind, although lots of it about in the saleroom. One coment from the Vectis valuer surprised me when he said that the bottom has dropped out of the train market more or less indicated the death of the hobby, I thought it was seeing a healthy revival.

I'm not sure if editing were to blame, but that comment very much applies only to vintage stuff such as Hornby Dublo, Triang etc. Modern (China) stuff does very well, including at Vectis. Really good 'mint' perfect vintage items can still do well but run of the mill stuff, even if boxed, really doesn't make the money it once did. For example, I remember that Triang EM2s went for £80-£100 back in the late 80s. Well they are still at that price now, which makes them about a third of the value in real terms.

[The Stationmaster]

10 hours ago, melmerby said:

Both the items I picked out appeared to be MIB or pretty close.

All the original in-box packaging was there for the Big Boy, which itself looked untouched.

Less was shown of the Mid Pul but the box certainly was as new.

 

We didn't see the hammer prices and Vectis appear to go for a "Pitch it low watch it go - Pitch it high watch it die" sales model, which the MD said in the opening programme.

So it's possible the actual prices realised could've been a lot higher.

Common situation with auction houses.  They know full well what can make good money so they give catalogue estimates designed to draw in the buyers to ensure that there is plenty of bidding.  Some years back a very nice, small, piece of china came up at an auction house I regularly frequented and it was estimated at £350-500.  I couldn't attend the auction but was advised to put in a commission bid at double the top estimate.  I  hoped at least to have a slim chance of getting into the bidding;  but the live bidding opened well beyond my bid and the item went for nearly ten times the bottom estimate (and there was no reserve on it of course).   I do't know if it still applies but it used to eb the practice that if there was a reserve the estimate range had to cover the reserve - desn't seenm to happen pnm 'Bangers & Cash' so it might vary between auction houses or auctioneers looking for bids on the day?

 

Toy and model railway sales are no different from any other sales in well run auction houses so low estimates are used in that manner to get teh bidders in.  all you need to think of when bidding is to not exceed your own limit and don't get into a bidding war - which can happen all too easily for some people.