N scale production runs

[OldEastRR]

That's created a 'buy it now or you'll never see it again' approach when things do appear.

I've had that philosophy ever since I switched to N scale from Lionel in the late '60s. True, N scale at first had repeat after repeat runs of the early stuff, but for basement-located small businesses they came and went quickly. Nowadays it's a universal concept.

[TinyTurner]

Shame there is such a small window to grab something new.
 So many listings are way overpriced and ancient production runs.
I did mange to eventually get an ebay account, and when I did, realised that 90% of it is BIN!
There still seems to be some fanatical bidding on some locomotives, whiles others the same are untouched.
It's as if some buyers raged at missing the first one.
Does anyone really pay $99 for used lifelike SD7's?

I have had some good stuff, but that has been the exception.
Fortunately some sellers will consider an offer even when not stated.

To me, the point of choosing specific roads to model is to keep spending under control. 
It's to easy to end up with a mass mess of models and never actually achieve a particular goal. 
I do stock pile (never hoard:) ) a lot of things I know I will use, but sometimes something is too good to miss, but a shame to waste the paint scheme.

What if the MILW had run into the 90's and renewed the electrification?
What could have run then, how far would it have gone?
It's fun to mess with alternate timelines but keep it scale/probable.
It's ironic that I can find plenty of DCC sound equipped SD60 at really good prices in Soo and other roads, but would be be out of place unless some sort of late era interchange could be done.  They are also huge and don't really belong on shortlines. 

I have some older units too that could be used in a back dated setting, I love the styling, especially Art-Deco, but I can't do it all at once.

[randgust]

The reality check on Ebay on your searches is go to 'advanced'  and check completed / sold listings.

That will tell you what things actually sold for, or didn't (completed, no takers) over a time period.   

If you're a smart seller, you go there first, and set your 'buy it now' price accordingly.   The only time you'll see an auction anymore is when somebody has something odd or clueless enough there's just nothing like it and nobody knows.   Good example I was watching was a semi-completed GHQ Pewter L1 boiler and tender shell, no mech, painted, no trailing truck casting.... geez, what's that worth?

Seller listed it for a buck in auction mode and it got like 26 bids and went up, way up, to $89.   No, I didn't get it, but yeah, that's the market.

If you're listing an old Roco GP9 for $90 for buy it now, that's will be a swift kick in reality, if people know what they are looking at.  You might find a sucker to take it not fully knowing what it is.   The 'N Scale High Speed' locomotives that were readers digest specials, dummy units, and are really ugly copies of Bachmann GP40 units are everywhere looking as traps for the unwary.

About the only real 'deals' out there are the Clueless listings, where people don't know what they have and list it cheap, often estate sales.   'N scale steam engine $9.99' and you look at it and it's a Hallmark brass Northern.   Holy crap....shhhh.    The other 'great deals' are damaged and dented when you know it's fixable.  I got a 1968 Jamco 4-6-2 that had met a basement floor with a dented pilot and whacked handrails for $50.   It was heavy rebuild meat anyway.   So yeah, have fun looking for 'parts only', 'damaged', and 'does not run'.

But honestly, the 'buy it nows' are great because most times your shipping is less on a couple small items than if you ordered it online.   Micro Scale, for instance, has a minimum order amount direct and hoses you on shipping, but almost any decal ever made is still on Ebay for minimal shipping and first class mail.    And there are a lot of good sellers out there, keeping their brick and mortar operations alive as well. 

[brill27mcb]

Another Ebay hint: If there is a Buy-It-Now item that interests you, add it to your watch list. Often that will trigger receiving a discount offer designed to entice you to go ahead. The discount may be marginal, or may be worthwhile.

Some of my favorite seller descriptions were the ones that call a Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 a "trolley," or pitch a model trolley by saying it has "intakt antenna."

As far as manufacturer production runs go, most of us have succumbed to the Pavlov-style behavior conditioning, and now press the reserve or order button right away...

Rich K.