Realistic Secondhand Prices?

[John Candy]

Setting a price for a used item is always difficult.....the true value is what someone is willing to pay.

Items on the "Bring & Buy" stand at the G3S AGM are often a good guide.
An item in "near mint condition" (having had "one careful owner") will always command a better price than a run-down, well-used example of the same model.

What prompted me to raise this?

Well, out of curiosity, I just looked at the GRS secondhand stock of G3 items.

I find a "knocked about" example of the GRS LMS 3F "Jinty" being offered at £1695 (complete with a bent running plate being the immediately obvious defect ... ignoring the kit's inherent inaccuracies) while a live steam GWR 45XX Prairie tank is being offered at £2499, with a not very good paint job which has suffered quite a few knocks and scuffs and lacking both number plates and transfers)......one wonders about the mechanical condition since it looks as though it has had some hard use.

A single GWR coach (of the type sold as B-set pairs) in GWR livery is offered at £895 (just one coach).
I can tell you where you are able to buy TWO very nice examples for less than that!

Caveat Emptor, as the saying goes!

Regards,
John.

[IanT]

Any commercial offering will have to have an element of margin involved john.

There was 'Ayesha II ' on (private) sale at the AGM for little more than the cost of the boiler (which was professionally made and tested). I don't know if anyone actually purchased this engine but it was a real bargain for someone who wanted a live steam G3 engine. All I can say is that most folk can decide on what represents good value - and hopefully make their own decisions about what they feel is a fair price...

Anything is basically worth what someone is prepared to pay for it - somewhere between nothing and gadzillions.  No one is forced to pay silly money for something that isn't worth it. If you feel the price isn't right - then don't buy it - it's pretty simple really.

Regards,

IanT

[John Candy]

Quite agree Ian.

It was the poor condition of the two locos mentioned which prompted me to post.
They would both need either a fair amount of work by the purchaser (or possibly expense if outsourced to a professional) to make them "presentable".
Why doesn't the vendor tidy them up before asking, what to me, is a premium price.
Those prices are not far short of what they ask for a brand new example.

Regards,
John.

[Chris_P]

Just stumbled on this whilst wondering about the sorts of price G3 items fetch.  It seems that there is a very small market place and generalisations are perhaps impossible given the small number of sales.  For those of us new to the scale it would perhaps be helpful if somebody could give a few indicative values for the more common items such as the GRS 45xx and B set, typical wagon kits and track such as that offered by GRS.

Within the 45 mm gauge world (with which I'm more familiar) it is apparent that models have a depreciation curve not dissimilar to that seen with cars where the price falls rapidly after initial purchase often including made up kits being rather less valuable than unmade ones. After that initial drop to perhaps somewhere between 50 and 70% or original price (track 30-50%) items then seem to have quite limited depreciation before possibly rising if they ultimately achieve collector status.

Can similar generalities be applied with G3 or are the numbers of sellers an buyers so small that it is impossible to judge? 

[cabbage]

There was (and maybe still is) a highly optimistic sellar of an electric G3 locomotive... He wanted £5k for it... If you are looking to buy second hand then "buyer beware". I always ask myself how much would it cost me to build?

A steam loco will always command a good price especially with current Certs. Ask yourself "do I like it?" , "is the price comparable with the effort or rarity of the item". If the answer is yes to both questions - then buy it.

Regards

Ralph

[AshleyW]

JUST PUT SOME B-SETS ON THIS FORUMON BEHALF OF SOME ONE ELSE. FROM MY EXPERIENCE UN-PAINETD ONES FETCH AROUND £375.00 - £450.00  AND SAY KINGSCALE MK1'S £750.00 ISH.

[MikeWilliams]

I think you are right Chris, but the price drop is not that much.  I can't see any secondhand Gauge 3 locos or stock selling for as little as 70% off the original price.  Even 30% off would probably be the lowest I've seen.  But your general description of the curve is probably right.

Mike

[John Candy]

My original post is now 14 months old and the two locos mentioned are still for sale at the same prices mentioned ....... that, surely,  must send a message to the vendor?

An electric (rather scruffy, in BR black) 45XX was offered for sale a couple of years ago for c.1200GBP and looked "rough".

A friend eventually got the same loco for 600GBP when it was withdrawn and then re-advertised and asked me to repair/fit radio control/ re-paint.
Bits were falling off everywhere and the wheels were loose (wobbling on their axles....someone had removed them and refitted incorrectly).

If he were to have had to pay someone to do those jobs, it would likely have cost another 500GBP (plus the cost of parts) to get a "running" loco........ at the original asking price it would have cost 1700GBP PLUS parts.

As it is, with a couple of days work, he ended up with a nice loco.... for around 850GBP.





John.

[AshleyW]

i can't recall what price was acheived for the prairie that i sold on behalf of the late jim heaton, but that example needed some strengthening of bodywork etc, perhaps if the buyer is on the forum he can remind us? it'd be nice for newcommers to have a rough ball park figure of what to expect to pay in some form.
i've also suggested in the past at g.t.g's that perhaps we ought to have a liason officer for deceased sales ? does your other half actually know what your  stock costs ? it'd be good if a widow/er could even at it's most basic form ring some one and say "i have a coach, it looks like alluminium and its red and cream with squashy bits on the ends" sort of thing.  to lead to identifying what they have/ suggesting a sensible price to acheive a sale/maybe even offering to collect and sell

[hornbeam]

Was that they Live steam version I brought off you Ashley?

[492]

Good idea Ashley. The 16mm Association have an officer for each local group who deals with stock from diseased estates. With our membership numbers, one officer for the whole Association should suffice.

Robert. 492.

[753]

Ashley

If you look at Restored GWR Prairie Tank loco in Locomotive Projects, that is the loco you referred to.

it was in a sorry state when I received it, but well worth restoring.

Mike

[AshleyW]

yes mike and hornbeam had prairies, one live steam and one electric, prices i can't recall, but take a look at the electric one now !! wow !!