Advice finding a new home for a collection of N gauge US rolling stock with a Burlington Northern theme in the UK

[dave75]

I was helping to clear out a friends relatives flat and knowing my interest in railway he said Ive put these on one side for you, so I ended up with over 120 US freight wagons, a few clapped out locos and a small city worth of buildings, some assembled, some still boxed. 

The freight stock has a Burlington Northern feel to it, many are US household names, eg dupont , penn salt, mainly a mixture of minitrix, atlas and Bachmann. Some are weathered some mint.

 

I was intending to use them for a small layout but a proposed house move has brought them into the spotlight and Im looking to move them on as N gauge doesnt really suit my sausage-fingered modelling skills.

 

The local model shop has offered me around quid a wagon but wont touch the buildings , ebay seems a faff and theres very little US stuff to gauge the interest levels, the toy auction at the local auction house seems risker than the model shop but will take the lot?

 

 Any thoughts of the forum on which of the above offers me the best potential outcome or other options available to me? 

 

[woodenhead]

Selling to anyone else as a bulk lot will result in less return - they simply discount the value for the risk of the items that won't sell, plus they want their commission out of the value as well.  A dealer will always buy low to sell high, it's their business and it's how they make a profit.

 

Ebay will generate the biggest personal return, subject to getting the fees as low as possible - i.e. go for it on a one pound max selling fees.  But it is the most effort, I've spent a few hours this month first logging and photographing a pile of items to sell, then you have to package and post them.  But I got significantly more doing it this way than selling to a shop, I know I may have some stuff left over at the end, that will be what goes to the shop.

 

I sold a 20 odd year old GP a couple of years ago, it got me 21 quid, might be worth batching your lots though - a few wagons in each one, that way people are buying several in one go - less packages overall and people may feel they are getting a better deal with a job lot than a single item.  I did that with some wagons this time around, I grouped them by type and sold in batches rather than individual items.

[D9020 Nimbus]

Your mention of Minitrix suggest these may be older models, probably fitted with the standard Arnold-type coupling rather than the Microtrains type which is universal on modern US N gauge. This will make them harder to sell.

 

I don't know where you are based in the country but there are dealers specialising in second-hand and US models, for example Rails of Sheffield, Contikits, Anoraks Anonymous … but since more modern stock seems to sell typically for £8 a wagon, allowing for the retailer's profit and the risk of some not selling at all, you might not get any more than the local shop.

 

I'd tend to agree with Woodenhead's recommendation — eBay if you have the time, and a shop if you haven't. (If you have a house move coming up, will you have the time available?)

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Some good advice in the responses from @woodenhead and @D9020 Nimbus above.  My experience when selling a collection was that batching items over time seemed to generate a better overall return in the end - including a couple of locomotives in each batch seemed to help.

 

No harm in getting quotes from more than one of the dealers / retailers mentioned above - may not take much more time, as I find the effort goes into putting an initial list together.  Last time I sold a complete (small) collection I found there was quite a difference between the offer from a specialist second-hand retailer and a mainstream store - in favour of the specialist, so it had been worth asking around.  I’ve not tried an auction house so can’t comment - some advertise in the model railway press so may have a higher profile when it comes to selling.

 

In addition to those mentioned Hattons are also increasing their range of pre-owned American outline, and often seem to advertise older items in HO (eg: with pre-Kadee Horn Hook couplers, the equivalent of the N-Scale pre-Micro-Trains Arnold couplers).  They also seem to advertise non-running locomotives so might be interested.

 

Assembled kit-built Buildings seem harder to sell (and are most fragile / bulkier to post), but unbuilt kits sell, especially if factory sealed still.  If you belong to a Model Railway Club that has a sales stand / local exhibition that may be an outlet for built-up kits as it avoids postage costs and people can look at them.  From what I’ve observed, beginners may be interested in buying pre-built building kits as a good way to expand quickly.  Hope it all helps, Keith.

[Patrick SPF]

Another option is to take a bring and buy table at a NMRA British Region meet, or a specialist American Show such as Seaboard Southern or the British WRegion Convention in Crewe.

[Night Train]

If you are modeling, maybe ask what the retailer will do as "store credit" to spend on something else. WIll probably be a better offer than cash.

[dave75]

Some very good advice, I shall look to blend a solution from the info provided.

Thanks to all who have taken the time to reply.