Need advice: How do I list a vintage large scale model house village, individually or as a set?

[fab4rulez]

I am needing some help from experienced sellers, especially if you are experienced in unique items that are sets or lots of unique and vintage articles.  I am not new to eBay but have only sold items sporadically. 

I have a large set of custom-made wood model houses like the ones you can set up as a village and run a train set throughout.  I would definitely call these "vintage" as they were made by my friend’s aunt in the 1950’s to 1960’s.

They are the size of the “large” scale model train set size, which is much bigger than the most common model train scale of O.  Most of them are set on individual boards.  The larger structures (I have about 20 this size) are approximately 2 to 3 feet wide, 18 inches deep, and 12 inches to 18 inches tall.  There are about 8  medium sized houses, just a little bit smaller than the larger ones.  Then there are about 10 much smaller structures.  Each house or structure has an opening at the back, which was used to run electrical wiring to add lighting.  A few of the houses still have wires and outdoor lights attached to them.  

I also have a box of other accompanying accessories, small little cabins, vintage light posts, and some tree branches.  

It is a beautiful set.  Each house is a unique structure and painted differently.  There are farmhouses, ranch houses, 2 story southern-style houses, gazebos, barns, one that looks like a church, a couple with an oriental style.

I could list them as one lot, for maybe a few thousand dollars but I feel that some people might be interested in just one or two of them.   Also, if I list them separately, how do I tell potential buyers that I'm willing to accept offers for multiples of them, for example, a small set of 4 or 5.   Am I allowed to list the full set and also list each house or structure individually?  Is there a way to list the set but let people pick and choose which structure to buy? 

Another issue is that I believe because of their size (and weight) it would be very difficult for me to ship these.  They are pretty heavy.  These are not anything like those flimsy model house kits I have seen for sale.  Or perhaps a willing buyer would care for these enough to pay the large shipping cost?

The whole set would be amazing as a holiday display for some entertainment or shopping location, like a mall or amusement park, or city park, church?  

Thank you to anyone that has suggestions on how I can list these on eBay. 

I apologize for such a long post, I apologize if you respond and I have more questions or need more clarification since I am a newbie here.

Thank you in advance for your patience!

 P.S.  I hope the photos I attached give you an idea of what I am trying to sell.

 

[retrose1]

Awesome set.

Since they are not parts of a whole and all of them have the same 'feel' then you might want to list seperately with a notation in the listing that you have other listings. 

AND play up the model railroad angle.  There are many model railroaders that might be interested.

You ould list as local pick up only and see if you get bites from people to pay for shipping.  Pick an average one and box it up and get a ship quote so you can give an example to interested buyers if they ask.

[dhbookds]

This is "picky"  but I would not use a 23" ruler to show size.......  too easy to "assume" it's 12"........

[berserkerplanet]

Shipping is going to be your biggest problem and the only thing you should be thinking about at this point.

They are very large, can only be shipped individually (unless you are talking palletized freight type shipping), are going to need all sorts of reinforcement, styrofoam padding and corners, probably double walled boxes (expensive and heavy), and dimensional weight may be big issue. (Picture one of them boxed being dropped upside down from 4 feet).

Example: assume one of them is 36 x 18 x 18. Boxed it would need to be at least roughly 40 x 22 x 20.

Length+Girth = 40 + 2 * (22 +20) = 124" which puts it under the USPS Parcel Select 130" limit, but Priority Mail is not an option (L+G>84")

That pkg would ship USPS Parcel select at oversize rates (because 108" < L+G < 130") which would range from $65.99 to $178.87

FedEx Ground: Dim Weight = 40x22x20/166 = 107lb The FedEx oversize L+G limit is 130" and that pkg is right at the limit. Would have to shave the dims down to provide a margin of safety against the $80 oversize charge.

Assuming it is not oversize, base rates for 107lb range from $54.08 to $85.16. With $4.15 res delivery surcharge and fuel surcharge that works out to about $61 to $94. That is undiscounted online pricing, and eBay discounts could be 25% off that for approx $46 to $71.

Add $10 to $20 each for packing materials, any insurance (FedEx $100 auto indemnity, Parcel Select has 0 by default).

That seems like the worst case one from what I can see.

They are cool, and deserve a good new home, but this is not a simple undertaking due to the size and relative fragility of the items (again thing tossed off the back of a truck or dropped on a conveyor).

In other words, depending on how fragile the roofs are, you might basically have to build a plywood box around some or all of them and then box those in corrugated to prevent crushing. Or might be able to do it with slabs of 1" or 2" thick styrofoam sheeting.

[enzo7117]

I also hope the seller will consider ebay return policies if the buyer isn't happy.  A return could be a disaster for him...

[d-k_treasures]

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@retrose1 wrote:

Awesome set.

Since they are not parts of a whole and all of them have the same 'feel' then you might want to list seperately with a notation in the listing that you have other listings. 

AND play up the model railroad angle.  There are many model railroaders that might be interested.

You ould list as local pick up only and see if you get bites from people to pay for shipping.  Pick an average one and box it up and get a ship quote so you can give an example to interested buyers if they ask.

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Yes - especially for G scale outoor railroads -LGB, Aristocraft, etc..

List them individually.

[d-k_treasures]

And since you're in CA, list for local pickup. There should be a lot of interest from people within driving distance.

[18704d]

Not just for the model railroading hobbyists...

these have an over-all appeal, like the Pinterest (repurposing) crowd would desire.

I could see others, even artistic types wanting individual pieces.

Good luck

Lynn

[myboardid]

You might research model railroad websites and groups.  I would not ship those, I would only do local pickup.  Local festivals, flea markets, antique shows, local newspaper ads and local facebook sites. 

[chrysylys]

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

And since you're in CA, list for local pickup. There should be a lot of interest from people within driving distance.

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Check with film schools or smaller studios.  A lot of outdoor scenes are actually shot using miniatures.

[flyinhawaiiangirl]

Super cool items! I live in Colorado and there's a small city called Tiny town. They have a miniature town surrounded by train tracks that carry box cars that kids can ride in. A couple of the structures are empty and a small child can crawl and fit inside, others are completely furnished like the structure would be. Your pieces remind me a lot of Tiny Town although your structures are smaller in scale.

Maybe contacting local library, history shop, hobbyist stores to see if they have any interest?

[dirk12955]

Your local historical society may be interested

Funds might be available to purchase.

I wouldn't ship them.   And I'd refuse to be cajoled into shipping them by a buyer.

LIsted on ebay individually with local pic-up only.

Side note.   I live a bout 5 minutes from the NATIONAL New York Central Museum

[rolenboy01]

Doesn't seem like you would be able to ship more than 1 of those safely without paying more shipping than it would be worth, what I mean is if you shipped 2 or 3 of those together the package would be so large and heavy and risk of breaking would be so high the cost and risk would turn most buyers off, so even if you lotted them I would think they would need individual shipping.

[uncommon_movies]

You might consider using a Variation listing. This is a single listing ("Custom-made buildings for model train set-up" or some such), which then contains a separate listing, with photos, of each piece. You can create a promotion just for this listing, to maximize buyer flexibility ("Buy two, get one free", "Buy all, save $X"). And I must say, that IS a beautiful set. Your aunt was an artist.

[dougsue123b]

There is a place called Train Mountain in Chiloquin Oregon that would love those.