Hi Everyone,
I live in Georgia USA and inherited a huge lot from my brother who recently pasted away. I have around 450-500 unbuilt 1:35th scale Armor, figurines and Dioramas and roughly 100 built tanks. I am looking to see all of these either as one lot or individually. Anyone have any suggestions on how to sell so many? I have started listing the unbuilts on ebay at competitive prices but would consider selling to anyone who would want a large chunk!
Also, how does one ship built models without damaging them and what do you think these might be worth? All are very intricately painted by my brother who did this for like 50 years.
Any suggestions would be great.
Thanks
John
johndingk2@hotmail.com
Are you anywhere close to Atlanta? If so I might be able to take some off your hands. I have also shipped built kits so can offer you tips if needed. I am about to get on 75 headed to Florida so will check back this evening.
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I am in Woodstock. Just north of Atlanta. Send me an email to johndingk2@hotmail.com or call me 404.502.9175
The process can take some time.
Do your homework first.
I would sort the kits by type and manufacturer. That’s how most people look for kits.
Make a list of the Kit name, Kit number, Whether unbuilt but all parts there , or missing parts.
Go online to see what the value of each kit is new. (Sprue Brothers and Scalehobbiest are good starting points)
Decide what % of the new price you would want. Remember shipping could be $10 ish.
Post your list.
remove items from the list that you have shipped.
Thanks Much @TopSmith! This is all great honest information and I greatly appreciate it. Kinda in over my head but with time and patience, I think I can get this done.
Sorry for your loss.
Another option to selling unbuilt kits, if you so choose is to donate to Model for Troops. Jon takes all kinds of unbuilt kits for veterans.
https://www.modelsfortroops.com/
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Great idea @Tank_1812! I will keep this in mind as I dig into this.
Another option in any other year would be to go to a contest to sell. Still would need to figure out a price for kits.
Word of caution, modelers can be cheap bast@&ds. Don’t be surprised if you get super low ball offers.
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Don’t try to do it all at once, you are not a retail store. I would do it in blocks of 25 kits. Every couple weeks just add another 25 to the unsold list. Then just post an update to let everyone know you have added another batch of new kits. When the sales slow down, you can donate the slow sellers to the local IMPS model club knowing they will get used.
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I have nothing to add, but my sincere condoleances… 
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Condolences for your loss.
Definitely check sites like Sprue Bothers for as a reference on kit value as mentioned above. There are absolutely some low balling modelers and vendors that will want to offer 10 to 15 cents on the dollar for a given kit.
I will add if a kit is in original shrink wrap and unopened a price close to Sprue Bothers is reasonable. Of if you want the kits gone quickly nothing wrong with additional discounts.
Likewise opened kits may be valued a little less than Sprue Brothers in some cases. Opened kits with folded instructions and parts off of trees will likely be valued less by many modelers.
One Caveat…
One of my good friends used to vend at model shows. He priced items at near full retail.
Some opened kits had some issues:
- instruction sheet badly creased
- holes in instruction sheet
- box split open & taped ×
- mouse gnawed box
- faded art work
- and so forth
For condition some of the items were on the high side of price in my opinion. They took him forever to sale. So condition could be a factor in pricing for swift sale.
There are two type buyers
First is the person who is actually looking for the kit you have and is willing to pay a reasonable price. I paid 45$ plus shipping for a T90A and was happy for the price I got it.
The second type is looking for a good deal but is not looking for a specific kit. For them it has to be a low price. They just plan on tossing it into the stash for some later date maybe.
I seem to be a collector of kits but I feel I am a builder of kits and as such as long as all the parts are there and undamaged, I’m good to go. A collector likes their shrink wrap and pretty box.
I know people are suggesting Sprue Bros and other online stores, but keep in mind a lot if people buy off ebay so you might want to check what a kit has been selling for and use that as your low-end price if you really need to move them.
As far as the built stuff, you can also use ebay to see what people have been getting for their builds simply by putting in ‘built’ as a keyword.
Hello, what is your EBay seller name so we can see what kits you have for sale?
Happy Modeling,
Eric
I am sorry for your loss.
I sell on Ebay as a last resort. When I’ve tried to clear out collections of stuff that I’m not going to use anymore, listing losts of it on a hobby site has been more efficient, less work, and less overhead financially. If you have something that is really special and rare, auctioning it on ebay is a good way to go, but for most stuff, making a list is fine.
As a buyer, if a kit is unopened, all I really need to know is the kit # and the price, so it saves photographing everything if you can do it on a hobby site.
Hello John, my sympathies to you and your family for your loss. I’m about three hours away from you to the northeast and I’m looking for a specific model, how are they listed on ebay or do you have a list made up yet?
Thank you for the condolences.
I have only just cracked the egg on this. Basically I have no idea what I have. I’m basically just opening a box, researching, and then listing on ebay thus far. I have a number of boxes I haven’t opened yet. If you send me a pic of a cover and name of kit, I can search for you or you’re more than welcome to come by
Im sorry to hear about your brother.
I was wondering if you by any chance had the 1/35 RFM M1A2 TUSK 1/2 kit? I need a unused part from that kit to complete a current build, do you possibly have that kit?
If you also post a list in the for sale section here, it might help move some items along. I do not know the age of your kits but I am looking for 2 kits myself.
Border Models Leopard 2 A7 in 1/35th scale and Tiger Models T90 MS 2013-2015 in 1/ 35th scale.