Selling stuff?

General Discussions Scale Modeling Q&A
1

We have decided to sell our house and move. I then looked at my ‘stuff’. Parts, kits, dioramas, made up kits etc etc etc. Crap what to do with it all???
Pack it away and let the kids figure it out after I’m worm food?

Or try to sell some of it?

Now I think I’m an OK builder but not the best by a long shot.
So question is - Is there a market for ‘stuff’? Is there a market for made up kits? I have a modest ‘stash’. But I want to keep the ‘stash’ but thin down all the bits and pieces.
I have a large train layout. (On30). It has featured in a number of magazines. I would love to pass on many of the buildings etc etc as dioramas.
Is all this ‘stuff’ salable? If so how and where? eBay?

Any suggestions appreciated.

ps. some ‘stuff’ has already been dropped into the wheelie bin.

2

Short answer is yes. The trick is finding the right place and amount to move the product before moving. Ebay, Facebook marketplace, local club etc are places you can try. I wouldn’t expect to make a lot off the parts and probably bundle a bunch as a set. Depending on what you have like WW2 German armor as one set. Some people will buy built kits for lots of reasons. In order to move the quantity, I would bundle these also but a good build and a few not as good builds together. The goal is move the models so you don’t need to pack and not really making money as the trash can is probably the next step. My thoughts.

3

i sold some some partially built kit at the Scottish IPMS shoe i eould say that is an option as well.

4

At the right price, there is a market for everything. The issue is a) is that price (usually not much on the dollar) worth your time to photograph, describe, post and monitor in order to sell it at the best (if not great) price or b) do you have better things to do with your time?

Built kits have essentially no market value unless you are a really top-notch and name builder. Museums might give you a tax receipt for them and that can be a pretty good deal, but, other than that, they are essentially worthless.

Parts and partially built kits are also essentially worthless unless you are willing to put a LOT of time into selling them.

Unbuilt kits are worth, generally 20-50% of new, depending on the kit. Newer kits are worth closer to 50%, but it rapidly falls off towards 20%. If it’s rare it might be worth more than what you paid, but don’t bet the farm on that being the case.

To maximise the return you need to use something like Ebay and make a really good posting., Lots of photos, good description and a reasonable price. But that’s a lot of work for each and every thing you try to sell.

If you just want to move them on, see if a local hobby shop will take the whole bunch for about 5-10% of retail value. Not much money, but they are off your hands and out the door.

If you leave them to your kids, they are going to end up in a dumpster so save them the hassle and put them all in a dumpster now.

If you belong to a club you could ask that they sell them for you at a show and agree to take 20-50% of whatever they get for them giving the rest of the money to the club, but that will still only end up with 5-15% of retail in your pocket.

It’s a harsh reality, but it’s reality nonetheless.

2 Likes
5

How about a listing in buy, sell or trade at this site. Just a list with description, scale and price. Drop a note in the appropriate forums to tell everyone to look over. I don’t think anyone would be offended if you said sorry, only selling in the US/UK etc to not have to mess with overseas shipping. Plus you are reaching your target audience and with all the different cash apps out there I’m sure you can work thru logistic and then charge just a flat shipping, if your a little short then the buyer came out ahead. If it’s a little long then you did better. Just my suggestion and in a way your not just selling to a complete stranger.

6

My best return on disposing of unwanted and unstarted model kits was always vending at an IPMS show. Typically getting 50% to 75% of list price. The more they’ll buy the bigger the discount. Be willing to haggle since it’s clearance.

Sometimes other vendors get irritated at modelers doing a clearance sale as they get under cut on price…but they’ll sometimes wander over as the herd thins out near the end of the show and for a serious discount purchase a good bit of remaining stuff.

That’s assuming the kits have some desirability. There a lot of previous top notch kits thst are 25 years old. They may have sold for $45 when new but have been surpassed in nearly every way. $5 to $15 can be what they’ll sale for IF they’re saleable.

There’s a lot of older kits that are practically worthless.

Wish you the best selling.

7

My main issue is “stuff” that I have built. Finished kits etc. I have a 1/48 scale train layout with years of scratch built buildings etc. Its hard to sell them and even harder to crunch them up. (They have been featured numerous times in magazines).
I also have a stash of rare, hard to find, craftsman kits worth many thousands of dollars. So what to do?

This is a problem we will all face at sometime. Or our kids will,! !