Upon retirement, my neighbor, who used to be active in antique furniture auctions, got into HO trains. It wasn't long before he was cruising the 'Bay buying stuff. Somehow he got into the liquidation of hobby shops as well as buying up estates. He lists everything as 'Buy it now" and his prices are not cheap. He prefers HO stuff because, according to him, the N gauge guys are cheap. I see him packing his car with boxes to take to the post offices. He says he wishes he had gotten into trains before because if he did he would have gotten out of the antique furniture trade earlier. Trains, according to him, are much more lucrative.
Are we? Or are we more careful with our disposable funds? I cannot forget that part of what caused the great upsurge and growth in N scale was primarily because of two discount sellers. One on the east coast (Pete Postel), and one (Lee Elder) on the west coast. Their making N so much more easily affordable was huge.
Does he call us "cheap" because more than a few of us are not willing to pay more for something than it is worth? Are more HO guys willing to pay more for something than it is worth? He wants to talk about "cheap"? Try selling trains to people who buy these estates and hobby store lots and you will learn quickly what "cheap" is: it is what the buyer will pay you for those trains. Yes, a box of cut up, disassembled junk may be worth only one or two dollars. The best that a buyer usually can get for that box of HOON-kay at a show is maybe five, and he does have to make some money on what he buys. Still, when he offers you ten or fifteen dollars for a Test Run Only Kato in its box, or even for that Atlas that has been run frequently, but has been taken care of and is still in its box, that is "cheap". He will pay you the ten or fifteen dollars then put forty dollar plus price tags on it. Yes, I am "cheap" in that I will not pay more for an item than it is worth. I see these pieces of JUNQUE at shows with forty dollar price tags on them and know that they are not worth more than five. As an example, why should anyone pay forty dollars for a LIMA Q-1b? The thing was JUNQUE when it appeared in the 1960s or 1970s and it is STILL HOON-kay. It is worth no more than five dollars. I like them because the shell is usable for bashing, or, you can take out the motor and have a cheater boxcar push it around (the gearing ain't all that bad in that thing). Still, there is no way that I will pay one cent over five dollars for it. In fact, I will not bid on one on FeePay unless the total with postage is five dollars or less. If I see an MDC/Athearn 2-8-0/2-6-0, I am willing to pay thirty-five dollars plus postage for it. If some guy wins it for thirty-five and a penny, GOODEE GOODEE for him! I will pay thirty-five for it, plus postage, but no more. I do not need it that badly that I will get into a bidding war over it. If I want something that badly, either I "Buy It Now" or go to a hobby store and buy it.
I find that sellers who call buyers "cheap" or "bottom feeders" tend to be "greedy." But, I can see that N scalers are going to want to get twice, or maybe even four times as many cars as HO guys to "fill" the same amount of layout space. So, paying less per car seems like a reasonable way to "run a railroad" in N scale. Steve
There are railroaders and there are collectors, and collectors are more interested in having goodies that are easy to see than in running forty car trains that don't kiss their own tails on a 4x8 loop. So it makes sense they'd drive up the prices of our HO much more than the prices of your N.
New ↑ "He prefers HO stuff because, according to him, the N gauge guys are cheap." Its relative. To him the HO market is more lucrative. He even remarks how he will list an item for more than the retail price and within hours someone will buy it. Maybe the N scale people are use to big discounts because they had to shop on line or, before the internet, by mail order as few local hobby shops were in to N scale. Around these parts HO and O scale are running neck and neck in popularity while N scale is way behind. Now with fewer LHS the HO people have to adapt. So he is reaping the benefits of steady demand but reduced supply.
I'll try not to take that personally. Unless you're using 'suckers' and 'collectors' as interchangeable terms. In which case I'll agree wholeheartedly. Beanie Babies, anyone?
I know some of these points have been made earlier, but I think they are important. When you are outbid, even by 1 cent, you have no idea what that bidder placed as a high bid. It could, and may well have been many dollars higher. E-sniping provides a convenience by allowing you to not have to monitor the last few minutes of an auction. Bids may typically be placed around 6 seconds before the end of the auction. This doesn't mean people who use sniping programs are idiots. They may be trying to avoid bidding wars by not providing opposing bidders with time to put in another bid. However, they still have a maximum bid. The service I use provides a checkup price 90 minutes before.an auction ends. There are many times when I've abandoned an auction because.the pricing is higher than I think is appropriate. Honestly, I have no idea if people have found that sniping programs have really made a difference for them. Using one may give you the sense that you're more in control, but that may be an illusion. I don't know if there have been any formal studies.
