How do ebay prices compare to swap meet prices these days on similar used items?

I was looking at old, used Mantua 4-4-0s on ebay - and was shocked to see them selling for 50 bucks or more. I could swear I saw them at a swap meet within the past 5 years running for 10-15 bucks. But if that is true, that would make no sense - why would anyone sell something at a swap meet for 5 times less than they could sell on Ebay? Or conceivably, could you find great deals at swap meets, turn around and sell on ebay and make a profit? People do that all the time with non-train items. But that is usually stuff people are selling at yard sales that they have no idea is worth money in a different market.

I don't do too much buying/selling on either ebay or swap meets - but for those of you who do - how do the prices compare? Just curious..

The last swap meets I went to I didn't notice many buys, but generally you save the postage and the ebay fees for selling, plus you get to bargain and the fun of a day out. I think the swap meets are coming back. For a while they were not doing well. The last one we sold things had a terrible turnout but there were a lot of things kept folks away.
Charlie

I've always found better prices at swap meets and shows than on Ebay for most items.

For example, the road champs NJ Transit buses go for about $15 at most train shows, but on Ebay people tend to ask $50.

GEC...yeah. That's what I seem to recall for some items. So has the train show seller not heard of ebay? You would think he would be wise to not let something go for 15 at a train show that could sell for 50 on ebay.

In Wisconsin it is totally different. I can get things at a hobby shop cheaper than at the swap meets. I normally find e-bay has the best prices as long as you can wait for the right price to come along.



8-)

eBay really isn't a "high volume" selling spot. Some of those people have both an eBay store and go to train shows to sell there wares. Selling at a train show, you can sell more of one thing in one weekend, then you can on eBay. Plus, some will pay for postage and handling if bought on eBay.

Case in point. Recently I popped on eBay for a G scale Chessie System GP-7 for my girlfriend, who wants me to send it back because it was "to expensive" (Yeah...That ain't happening. I'm keeping it now, and not cause how much I paid for it either.). It was from hobby store in Pennsylvania. Just for giggles I paid 350.USD for it. When I got it, it had come from Charles Ro in Massachusetts. I checked THIER website and found it to be 25$ cheaper then the eBay price. They are always at the Big E show in West Springfield. When I go there in a couple of weeks, I bet that it would be cheaper than that. In which case...Lesson learned.

I can't/don't decide where to buy unless there is a definite factor involved. There are way too many variables, ie: new/used, how bad/when do I want it, seller satisfaction/how many sales, private person/company, etc.

Out of 100+ purchases on ebay, I have been hardcore TAKEN, once. Just recently, a DELL factory refurbished desktop came, virtually doa; something about drivers or whatever. After talking to India twice, Phillippines once, a refurbishing store 3 times, I'm fixing to take it to a local shop. I would now consider DELL too expensive, even for free.

Back to the original subject, there are many pros and cons for each side to give a definitive answer.

Lynn :?

Sorry, it's a rare day when I buy anything on the Net, especially eBay. I guess I'm too old school brick-and-mortar and want to actually see and feel what I'm about to spend my money on. And yeah, there are too many stories that make me gun shy when I think about it. The few purchases that I've made were because of availability and cost. If I want something and I see they have a published phone number, I'll always go that way first.

Now for so called, "swap meets", it's been a long time since I went to one. When I was new to the hobby, the first one I ever went to, I got taken on some stuff I bought and I should have known better. To be sure, I did know better but got caught up in what I thought was a good deal. I have gotten a few bargains over the years there, but I got a bit tired of the same vendors selling the same things at sometimes higher than hobby shop prices. And then they wonder why they still have the same items at the next show.

Train show prices varies from show to show..I do buy at train shows but, prefer on line shops and e-Bay for the better prices.

I refuse to pay to pay full price at my not so local hobby shop...

I have found swap meet prices to be about the same for the most part. It all depends on the item, especially when you figure in the shipping costs. I swear, sometimes people see there is a bidding war on ebay so they join in just to raise the prices! I prefer swap meets as I can test run anything mechanical before I buy it, and I can talk directly with the dealer.

Chuck

From what I've seen in the past 5 years going to many of the local train swap meets VS ebay, there is no way I can get a better deal at a swap meet.

Ebay has far more of what I want than any meet I was at. Even the conrail historical society shows barely have conrail anymore..

You spend enough time searching the right things on ebay you can find what you're looking for and well below any store/swap price. that goes for new old stock and discontinuted items. The key is to modify your search query because not everyone lists things accurately.

Selling at a swap meet eliminates packaging and posting problems. It's also a social day (for some of us, anyway). And some are just hoping that it will go to a nice home.

I still don't trust internet for much to do with money.

I think it depends on the awareness of the seller as well as the item.

This is the pattern I notice- "Cheap" things and "rare/unusual" items are almost always more expensive on Ebay. Clearly valuable and expensive items are almost always cheaper on Ebay.

I also notice that sellers at train shows and swap meets tend to sell based on "what they paid for it" or "what it looks like its worth", while Ebay sellers will tend to price things in a similar range (and the bidders will often bid predictably as well).

You'll probably never get that sound and DCC equipped diesel for a better price at a train show than you will on Ebay. Such a model has an "intuitive" value, and a person selling such a model at a train show may not even bother looking up the prevailing prices even if they are cheaper on Ebay. I found an Intermountain NJT F7 with DCC and Sound for $150 on Ebay, a way better price than I'd ever get with a hobby shop or train show.

That said, many "cheap" items such as freight cars and truck trailers without boxes or identifying marks will almost always be cheaper at a trainshow than on Ebay, since most sellers just want to move these items. Shipping comes into play here as well.

By the same pattern, rare or unusual items tend to be more expensive on Ebay than at trainshows, since ebay sellers are generally savvy enough to know how to search for something. Swap-meet sellers tend to be less savvy and don't always recognize a valuable item if it doesn't clearly look valuable.

For instance, I manged to purchase a completely built and painted IHP Jersey Arrow I EMU for $20. The original kit, minus the pantograph, was already $100 unfinished. The model is also extremely rare, being out of production for over a decade. The pantograph added about $40 to that price, I believe, and could really only be obtained by ordering online. I have found similar details for things like SEPTA and NJ Transit Commuter coaches. Online, they go for insane prices from $50-$70. However, the car's MSRPs were only ever in the $25-$30 price range, and I've picked them up for half that price at shows.



So in the end, I think it depends on what you're looking for. If its new, popular, and expensive, Stick to Ebay. If its a little older, a little less known, check the swap meets.

As a train of thought.

Unlike train shows there is no real overhead for e-bay stores..The investment a dealer makes before the show opens gives him a poor start.He may have $300.00 already wrapped up in tables,motel room,food and transportation.A bad attended show or attendees with billfolds in locked pockets can result in the dealer loosing his investment monies and for a 6 hour show the high risk may not be worth it and some dealers has turned to e-Bay.

The cost of attending these shows along with near MSRP may kill these shows in the future.

Brakie Wrote:As a train of thought.

Unlike train shows there is no real overhead for e-bay stores..The investment a dealer makes before the show opens gives him a poor start.He may have $300.00 already wrapped up in tables,motel room,food and transportation.A bad attended show or attendees with billfolds in locked pockets can result in the dealer loosing his investment monies and for a 6 hour show the high risk may not be worth it and some dealers has turned to e-Bay.

The cost of attending these shows along with near MSRP may kill these shows in the future.

There are "train shows" and there are "swap meets". I'm assuming that you're talking about some like "The Worlds Greatest Hobby on Tour" or "Greenberg's" train shows. It's hard for me to comment on these shows since they haven't stopped by here in at least the last seven years. The last one they held was up in north Scottsdale in the middle of the summer when it was only 110+ out and they wondered why they had a poor showing. Besides, they fell far short of the "100+ vendors" that they said in their ads. You are probably right about the expense of showing there, but I'd expect to see a few major manufacturers show up, that's all part of their budgets, but at the one I went to, there were no manufacturers or major dealers. The shows that I'm talking about are the local "Swap Meets" where you can get a table for $25. There are those vendors that show up at every one of them, some taking two or three tables and are inflexible with their high prices, and there are the individuals that want to get rid of part or all of their collections. Those are the ones where you can get deals at, although there aren't that many of them there.