Help with a Collection

[jagged ben]

I agree that the best money will be on eBay, but it is a lot of work.  What I would do if I were them is enlist you guys, his friends at the club, to go through the collection and help them make sure every item is properly identified and cataloged, so they can list it accurately.   How much work that is depends a lot on how much of it is in original boxes.  And of course the money they'll get also depends quite a bit on exactly what is in the collection and that quality and rarity of it.

My only other thought to add is Dan's Train Depot.  He is constantly selling lots of old stuff on eBay, always includes good pictures.  Not sure where he gets most of it from, but I gather some if it is consigned estate sales.  A google search revealed an address and phone number, you could call and ask how he operates.  I would consider him reputable based on how much business he apparently does, as well as the handful of purchases I've made from him.

[LV LOU]

I would give the family options: ebay, train show, LHS. But don't get personally involved. Don't even check out the collection so you won't get tempted to make an offer on some of the items. One of the family members or all of them will accuse you of cheating. The might be the Brady Bunch now but ...

You guys hit it right on the head...Dealing with people you know well is bad enough,people you know for years turn into idiots over a few bucks.If you don't know them,you could end up getting sued,or worse.Three "good friends"..Friends of mine,friends with each other..One dies,one owns a hobby shop..Hobby shop guy gets the dead guy's collection to sell..Third guy knows what dead guy has,makes an offer..Magically,between friend dying,and stuff getting to buyer,1/3 of the stuff magically disappears,almost ALL lionel.Buyer suing "buddy",because he knows what was there,dead guy was his best friend,he helped hobby shop guy empty house..Absolute MESS,going on 10 years now...

[Kisatchie]

My only other thought to add is Dan's Train Depot.  He is constantly selling lots of old stuff on eBay, always includes good pictures.  Not sure where he gets most of it from, but I gather some if it is consigned estate sales.  A google search revealed an address and phone number, you could call and ask how he operates.  I would consider him reputable based on how much business he apparently does, as well as the handful of purchases I've made from him.

I've bought a lot from Dan on eBay, and I've always been extremely happy with my purchases. Here is his contact info:

Dan's Train Depot
344 Cypress Rd
Ocala, FL 34472
   
Phone: 352-292-4116
Hours: 9am - 4pm, Mon - Fri

You can search eBay using " DTD N scale ". It'll bring up many of his auctions, then you can click on " see other items " for the rest of his offerings.


Hmm... usually there's
a couple hundred items
at auction...

[eric220]

Any early (circle keystone) PRR stuff or PRR steam?

To the +1's, hands off! I asked first. 

Having said that, I'll just add that I've bought from Dan's many times. Might be worth looking into.

[pjm20]

To the +1's, hands off! I asked first. 

Lets go! SPF Smakedown! 

Not a valid youtube URL

[casmmr]

Bruce, if you decide to help the family, get an agreement in writing signed by all the parties setting forth the terms as to who pays the expenses, any commission to you for your time at train shows, the general pricing of items along with the discount to be offered to buyers.  It is important that everyone knows that just because something is 40 years old, it is not necessarily worth $100's of dollars.  Many people have the belief that old equals worth a lot!!!!  At my club, we have liquidated several estates of deceased members with great results to the survivors.  Just get everything in writing and signed by everyone, I know I repeated myself and will do so again, get everything in writing and signed by everyone.  Also, do an inventory with suggested selling price, actual selling price space, so that all monies can be accounted for.  Hope this helps.  Craig

[Dave Schneider]

Hey guys, can we maybe remember that the original poster may be grieving over the loss of a friend and try to be respectful?

Best wishes, Dave

[VonRyan]

Lets go! SPF Smakedown! 

Not a valid youtube URL

If it comes to that, i'll stay out of it. I may be an SPF, but when it comes to hands-on, I become a CPF (Cowardly Pennsy Freak)



-Cody F.

[PRRATSF]

Two noteworthy experiences. Quite a few years ago when I divested my collection of modern era items to focus on post steam PRR I sold the items on ebay. Got more than I expected, but took a lot of time and effort. More recently, when my Wife passed, not wishing to prolong selling her ATSF collection, I used the gentleman mentioned from Florida. Sent him a detailed inventory, and he responded with a price. Didn't get as much as I had hoped, but had the needed money in hand in less than 2 weeks. Hope this helps.

Sam   

[DKS]

I know n scale supply buys stuff, but from what I've heard, you have to send the collection, where he gives you what he is willing to pay...

I have done this, and they tend to offer more than what most places do for collections. You would likely earn top dollar on the Bay, but there's also the cost in time to prepare each item for listing, which can be an onerous task for large collections.

[Specter3]

Inventory everything. Have each family member that has a claim to the estate sign it. Then u can shop it around to Dan (DTD, i have bought from him as well and he is reputable) to a couple of hobby shops, and maybe an auction house. But to get the most money out of it pieceing it out on ebay will be the best bet. That will allow no charges of sweetheart deals. The only way to avoid that is to have a contract that states the person selling the stuff is solely responsible for what is an acceptable price for any piece and has the ability to group things to sell as warranted. If you get it in writing then it is safe to help out. Another thing is how fast are they talking about wanting to be done? If he has a lot of one road name there are only so many people that will be interested in that name and you will saturate the market if you put it up all at once. IE he had 10 nice brass PRR locos. Now there are plenty of folks that would want them but not so many that would be willing to pay the 500-1000 that each may be "worth" for all of them. Some things may need to be drizzled out over time to get anywhere near market price for all of them. Given a good contract and time on your hands it is something you or a group from the club could do but the contract is key. Since Ebay takes a heavy percentage these days and paypal more on top of that it is not the cheapest way to sell. But given it's huge platform to hawk your goods from it is not a bad way to go.

[Bruce Bird]

Thanks for the info folks.  The guy who passed did not have much family, just one brother.  And he is one that has no idea what this stuff is worth.  We (our club) will put together an inventory list for him and give him options on what to do.  Granted, Ebay would be the best, but unless someone has unlimited time on their hands for the next year or 2 I don't think this will be an option.  And one of the members helping out is an attorney (and an a$$hat too) so I think we're good there.

And no hard feelings with the cowardly lion clip.  Given the parameters I thought that was pretty funny!

No ideas on how much brass or circle keystone stuff is in there.  I know from past shows there will be a lot of Concor passenger sets, old Kato bullet trains and other JNR stuff, and various Kadee and MTL.  There will most likely be a sizable amount of old Rapido and Marklin stuff as well.  Our club won't be able to start cataloging for another month, so I hope that you guys don't get too frothy before then!

[Kisatchie]

You could suggest that some of the MTL/Kadee stuff be posted in the Railwire "for sale" section. 


Hmm...I got dibs on any
MTL 50' boxcars without
roofwalks...

[delamaize]

You could suggest that some of the MTL/Kadee stuff be posted in the Railwire "for sale" section. 


Hmm...I got dibs on any
MTL 50' boxcars without
roofwalks...

I say offer it up here first, then eBay the rest.

Any NP stuff? Lol

[Ike the BN Freak]

I say offer it up here first, then eBay the rest.

I agree...speaking of which, I need to post my list of stuff I have here soon.