Buying second hand European trains

[Szdfan]

I apologize if this has been covered before. Can anyone recommend a good source for European 2nd hand models? eBay is, well eBay.

Edited November 11, 2021 by disturbman
Added European to title

[JR East]

14 minutes ago, Szdfan said:

I apologize if this has been covered before. Can anyone recommend a good source for European 2nd hand models? eBay is, well eBay.

JNS Forum ... 

 

https://jnsforum.com/community/forum/19-classifieds-for-sale-or-trade/

 

[disturbman]

I would have said shops, the ones in Berlin have a solid collection of second hand German trains from Fleishmann and co. But I’m not sure any put their collection on sale online.

 

It’s not my area of expertise but I’m not sure the situation would be better outside of eBay if buying from private sellers. It’s all about checking how the items look, if they seem to be in good shape.

 

For older locomotives, some people have been selling new replacement motors.

[Szdfan]

1 hour ago, disturbman said:

I would have said shops, the ones in Berlin have a solid collection of second hand German trains from Fleishmann and co. But I’m not sure any put their collection on sale online.

 

I remember the glories of Berlin 2nd hand shops when I lived there over twenty years ago. Unfortunately, I don't think they are online.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Szdfan

[disturbman]

Under the google page from one my favorite shops in Berlin, Modellbahnen am Mierendorffplatz, I found this interesting conversation:

"Q: I'm from the United States. Are you all able to ship overseas? If so that would be great!

A: If you contact the shop directly, they will make it possible. :)"

Their website also state that they do international shipping.

Maybe if you contact them and know what you want, they can help you out. Apparently they have sellers that speak English.

They used to have a large second hand collection and also stocked a few Japanese trains.

Edited November 11, 2021 by disturbman

[roadstar_na6]

Really your only option is eBay and whatever your countries most used classifieds website is (craigslist.com, eBay-Kleinanzeigen.de, trademe.co.nz and so on) and ask sellers there if they ship internationally.

 

If you (or anyone else) finds something on the Kleinanzeigen website I'd happily assists if the seller doesn't speak english or won't ship international. Just slide into my DMs 😄

[disturbman]

There are also European proxy services that let you bid/shop on site that do not ship internationally. I think @gavino200used one to source German trains.

[gavino200]

Well it was more of a mailing consolidation thing. I could buy stuff in Europe and have it sent to a German address. Then they'd pack it all together and send it to me in one parcel. It was called MyGermany IIRC

[railsquid]

On 11/12/2021 at 5:36 AM, disturbman said:

Under the google page from one my favorite shops in Berlin, Modellbahnen am Mierendorffplatz, I found this interesting conversation:

"Q: I'm from the United States. Are you all able to ship overseas? If so that would be great!

A: If you contact the shop directly, they will make it possible. :)"

Their website also state that they do international shipping.

Maybe if you contact them and know what you want, they can help you out. Apparently they have sellers that speak English.

They used to have a large second hand collection and also stocked a few Japanese trains.

 

I spent a pleasant hour or three poking around there when I was last in Berlin. Doesn't look like they put their second hand stuff online though.

 

Another source is Hattons in the UK, who quite often have a fair bit of non-UK outline stock (North American, European and Japanese) in their 2nd hand section: https://www.hattons.co.uk/stocklist/preowned.aspx.

 

(Note: the Japanese stuff seems to be mostly ridiculously overpriced and/or stuff that wouldn't even count as "junk" in Japan).

[disturbman]

6 hours ago, railsquid said:

I spent a pleasant hour or three poking around there when I was last in Berlin. Doesn't look like they put their second hand stuff online though.

No, I don't think it would make much sense for them to. It would be a lot of work for not necessarily a lot of money. But if someone know more or less exactly what they want/need, they might be willing to sell it to them even if abroad.