Reality check

[Philip H]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Custom-Atlas-GP40-ICG-Illinois-Central-Gulf-3064-Shell-/230501272355?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item35aaf24b23

if he can get $60 for a shell I need to start selling custom painted stuff . . .

[sizemore]

$40 to $60 is about right for a custom painted shell. Really depends on the PJ.

The S.

[GaryHinshaw]

Really depends on the PJ.

Petajoule?

[sizemore]

Really depends on the PJ.

Petajoule?

Paintjob, leave it to a NASA engineer/model railroader to confuse the two.

 ;D

The S.

[FrankCampagna]

It's hard to find anything ICG. Not familiar with that particular scheme, but it looks like a decent job.

Frank

[Hyperion]

It's hard to find anything ICG. Not familiar with that particular scheme, but it looks like a decent job.

Frank

It's done by William Bannon, so it'd be a really good job, that's for sure.

The seller has been selling a lot of custom Bannon stuff past couple weeks.  He's had to lower his pricing a tad from what he started with when his first batch didn't sell at all, but he's had decent luck lately.

Earlier this week, another seller had a few auctions for some decidedly below average "custom" units that I had on the Watch List (I was hoping they'd go for nothing and I'd just strip them).  They ended up going for $80-100/ea... and these looked so bad I was intending on stripping 'em.

Generally speaking, a nice-looking custom unit that's been detailed will fetch $110-150 depending on just how nice it is and what kind of detailing and shells will go for $50-70.  Weathering seems to, more often than not, detract from the bidder numbers.

Whether a shell or a whole unit, you can figure on about $50 profit on eBay for a custom job.  Considering how long it takes me to do one, I'd consider it not worthwhile, but you might differ on that.

Your best bet, IMHO, is to stick to minimal to no detailing and just paint raw shells.  You can paint up a $8-12 shell from Atlas and net $50 profit fairly easily without a lot of time-intensive detail work.  Or pick and choose what detailing makes the unit 'pop' the most that can be done with almost no work.  Stick with interesting paint schemes of major railroads and/or popular railroads that are often neglected (custom MRL stuff seems super-popular) to get the most bids.  Do them 2-3 at a time (just sell one at a time though) and you can probably cut your labor-time per unit in half.

[Rich Reinhart]

I had a well known custom painter quote me $100 for a job, and I was giving him the shell, paint and decals..so thats not too bad..

[CBQ Fan]

When bidding out work that a customer requests I think it is more a question of what it is worth for me to do it than what the market value is.  Years and years ago I used to build model cars and planes for customers in the hobby shop I worked at.  I had a bunch of my own collection displayed in the shop.  I remember a lady came in and asked me to build her husband a Lambo Countach in gloss black.  High dollar kit.  One wasn't bad.  Her husbands friend saw it and his wife had to buy one for him.  I was not really in the mood to do a second one so I doubled the price.  I was up front with her in why the price doubled and she was fine with it, I couldn't believe it!  Well a third friend saw it and he had to have one also (I guess these three guys always had to have what the other two had if they could not out do it!) so I trippled the price hoping he would say no thanks.  Paid cash!  Thankfully there was not a fourth friend to test the trend, but on the other hand maybe they would have eventually paid me enough to buy the real thing.  It wasn't what the market was worth it was what my time was worth and where else can you go to buy this particular product.  Now speculating on Ebay is a totally different market.

[Rossford Yard]

Phillip,

So are you grounded in reality now? ;D

To be honest, how much is the shell if you bought just that from the Atlas parts dept?  I would be it was $35 or so, meaning the custom paint and some details cost only $25.  That is a bargain, especially for those two bidders who obvioulsy model ICG.  Its a great looking unit!

[davefoxx]

Phillip,

So are you grounded in reality now? ;D

To be honest, how much is the shell if you bought just that from the Atlas parts dept?  I would be it was $35 or so, meaning the custom paint and some details cost only $25.  That is a bargain, especially for those two bidders who obvioulsy model ICG.  Its a great looking unit!

Complete, decorated shells purchased direct from Atlas (if they have the one you're looking for) cost only $18.00.
https://secure.atlasrr.com/mod1/items.asp?Cc=NDECBODY&CatMoveby=0&Nbm=&Pbm=&FromNav=

That would mean that a custom-painted model would add approximately $42.00, which I think is not too bad, if you consider how much that works out to an hourly wage when custom painting shells.  While that may be a chunk of cash for a buyer, that doesn't seem too profitable to me from a seller's point of view.

DFF

[jmlaboda]

"Years and years ago I used to build model cars and planes for customers in the hobby shop I worked at.  I had a bunch of my own collection displayed in the shop.  I remember a lady came in and asked me to build her husband a Lambo Countach in gloss black.  High dollar kit.  One wasn't bad.  Her husbands friend saw it and his wife had to buy one for him.  I was not really in the mood to do a second one so I doubled the price.  I was up front with her in why the price doubled and she was fine with it, I couldn't believe it!  Well a third friend saw it and he had to have one also (I guess these three guys always had to have what the other two had if they could not out do it!) so I trippled the price hoping he would say no thanks.  Paid cash!  Thankfully there was not a fourth friend to test the trend, but on the other hand maybe they would have eventually paid me enough to buy the real thing."

This is how John Coots was able to develop his original Scale Structures Ltd. line.  He bought standard structure kits of the time such as the old AHM and Atlas HO structures... built them, painted and detailed them and people bought them... at considerably more than what he invested money wise into them.

For certain things there is a market... if someone is willing to tap it.  A good example is the Kato/Kobo Budd RDCs.  A person who is good at custom painting could gobble up the models, paint them for roads that were never offered and likely make a reasonable return on their investment.  This would provide modelers with roads that they would be interested in and depending on how much they are willing to pay, could lead to a profitable business... even charging far less for the cars than what Kato is.

Honestly I wish that I had the experience... if I did I would pursue it with vigor!!!

[bigford]

i have a $250.00 NS c44-9w with high num boards from
scott holwick. its the nicest looking black train i have...

GLAD i only paid $85 for it!!!

[Bob Bufkin]

Philip.  I've got a couple custon painted locos.  Probably worth more than what I paid for them about 7 years ago.  You don't even want to know what I paid for several custom made PRR passenger cars.  Was something I wanted and was worth it to me.

[CBQ Fan]

"Years and years ago I used to build model cars and planes for customers in the hobby shop I worked at.  I had a bunch of my own collection displayed in the shop.  I remember a lady came in and asked me to build her husband a Lambo Countach in gloss black.  High dollar kit.  One wasn't bad.  Her husbands friend saw it and his wife had to buy one for him.  I was not really in the mood to do a second one so I doubled the price.  I was up front with her in why the price doubled and she was fine with it, I couldn't believe it!  Well a third friend saw it and he had to have one also (I guess these three guys always had to have what the other two had if they could not out do it!) so I trippled the price hoping he would say no thanks.  Paid cash!  Thankfully there was not a fourth friend to test the trend, but on the other hand maybe they would have eventually paid me enough to buy the real thing."

This is how John Coots was able to develop his original Scale Structures Ltd. line.  He bought standard structure kits of the time such as the old AHM and Atlas HO structures... built them, painted and detailed them and people bought them... at considerably more than what he invested money wise into them.

For certain things there is a market... if someone is willing to tap it.  A good example is the Kato/Kobo Budd RDCs.  A person who is good at custom painting could gobble up the models, paint them for roads that were never offered and likely make a reasonable return on their investment.  This would provide modelers with roads that they would be interested in and depending on how much they are willing to pay, could lead to a profitable business... even charging far less for the cars than what Kato is.

Honestly I wish that I had the experience... if I did I would pursue it with vigor!!!

At the time I lived in a very wealthy suburb of Chicago and the economy was red hot.  Then there was a down turn and the market dried up.  In fact the shop owner ended up retiring because of the economy and getting fed up with people buying mail order at big discounts and then coming to our shop for help.  Or the other way around, come in-pick our brains and get all the good advice than go mail order.  And they still had the nerve to come to us when they screwed something up.  The mail order stuff I am referring to is RC cars and planes.  Sounds very similiar to arguments today about trains and online shops, but that is for a different post.  You have to find these markets, milk them for all they are worth while looking for the next market to be lined up when the current one dries up!

[SkipGear]

This guy needs a reality check......

http://cgi.ebay.com/N-scale-KATO-SD-70-ACe-Heritage-diesel-custom-painted-/260641574392?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item3caf72cdf8

http://cgi.ebay.com/N-scale-KATO-SD-70-ACe-diesel-custom-painted-NIB-/260641588306?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item3caf730452

He has a few more listed also. Just exactly what makes a factory painted Kato loco, "Custom"? If they really are custom painted, why? He even reprinted the box liner to pass off his forgery.

If it was details added, hand rails and step edges painted, I could see it. None of this is visible in the pictures and it isn't noted in the description.