bachmann Thumper

[rejrob]

Hi ,just starting up again after a 2 year layoff.With most layout the word (License) comes to mind and as such my p/p units are now doubling up with thumpers 1119 and 1122 which were in Kent at their start of ops.Both bough 2nd hand from Rails and identities altered including the conduit runs on the roofs which never existed Coupled together both being 2 car units looks good and runs just as well.With the ever increasing price of new loco,s and other stock 2nd hand is a fair option bu one certain large outlet seems to charge more than new stuff on occasions tsk All the best Ron

[Bigmet]

This equal or higher price for s/h than an equivalent all new model, has been creeping up on us the last few years, and I dislike it too. Sadly, it is not going to go away. It has been driven by two separate principal causes in my opinion.

It started years ago on ebay, where a lot of people were and are bidding for the fun of the chase to 'win it', and not looking at all at the value. Models currently on retail sale going for more s/h on ebay: that's just nuts for those of us looking for value.

And then there's short production runs which leave some people without the model they want, and s/h prices spiral up as people chase the item they missed out on for whatever reason.

The retail s/h dealers were not slow to see where their advantage lay, and price their s/h accordingly. At the moment however this generally only applies to more recent items. S/H items that first went on sale more than half a dozen years ago tends to be more reasonably priced, and in a model shop context, generally open to negotiation.

[Bufferstop]

It's also fairly obvious that some people are pre-ordering purely with the intention of selling at an inflated price once the initial run is sold out. You only have to look at the prices that were being asked for the Hornby Pecket within days of deliveries starting. I have my own blacklist of names that were involved in this. Surprisingly neither of the two most notorious price hikers got involved in this.

[RFS]

On the other hand I pre-ordered a pair of Hornby S15s from Rails of Sheffield which cost me £124 each when dispatched in October 2015. If I'd waited till now I could have bought these 2, albeit with different running numbers, from Kernow for £79.99 each. Sometimes pre-ordering is a good idea, sometimes not!

[Bigmet]

Ees a gamble huh, on pre-ordering?

I'd gauge it by the internet feeding frenzy following the announcement. If there's wild excitement, pre-order. My guesses, no guarantees!

If you want one of the new Hattons tankies, especially a specific version rather than 'any will do', place a pre-order.
Hornby's H class, there will be plenty to go around no need to pre-order
Hornby's Ivatt pacifics, pre-order.
The regular Stanier Duchesses no need to pre-order.
Bachmann's H2, no need to pre-order.
Oxford's N7, no need to pre-order.