Crazy Auctions / Prices Thread

[railsquid]

In general the descriptions on Yahoo Auctions I've seen have been pretty good, even to the point of photos pointing out blemishes etc., which is why this one stood out... It went for 3600 yen in the end, not too a bad price (assuming you knew what you're getting), but not exactly a massive bargain either.

[JR 500系]

Oh wow I have never seem this model before....

 

http://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/d178408197

 

 

京葉線E331系14連フル編成セット

 

Was there ever such a model in N scale, and if there is, was it MA made?

 

 

The original train... Kinda rare to me ~~ I thought 京葉線 is normally served by E233-5000s?

[miyakoji]

It was a test train, only one set (composed of two halves) existed.  Two of the fundamental design concepts were Jacobs bogies and direct drive motors, where the shaft of the motor was the axle itself.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E331_series

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobs_bogie

[railsquid]

A Lima Deltic (ridiculously overscale), a Freightliner container car and a Siphon G (?) in unboxed, albeit reasonably good condition - a bargain with a  starting price of 18,000 yen. Let the bidding wars begin.

 

http://page19.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/x435999792

[Welshbloke]

I think what you're seeing there is the inverse of what happens on ebay UK. Even incomplete, old and worn Japanese N has daft BIN prices or silly starting bids, as the sellers take the view "if you want it, you'll pay that".

 

I had one of those Lima Freightliner container wagons years ago, think I paid about £2 for it unboxed in good condition at an exhibition! They look ok unless you park them next to a modern model, when the containers suddenly look very underscale.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Welshbloke

[JR 500系]

Haha ~

 

I think the Japanese people bid high on UK/ US/ other countries trains, while foreigners bid high on Japanese trains ~  :)

 

Much like a 'Grass is greener on the other pasture' mentality... 

[railsquid]

Yes, but this is way out of whack with what other foreign models (including Lima) goes for here - the prices are on the whole fairly reasonable, I've acquired a fair amount of mainly German stuff that way.

 

No bids so far anyway :D

[railsquid]

Here's another one: GDR-era Piko loco and two coaches starting at 24000 yen: http://page14.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/s481029431

 

(Proof that saner sellers exist is provided by these 4 British Mk1 Lima coaches starting at 1000 yen: http://page17.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/v449219394 )

[Welshbloke]

I quite like those DDR articulated double deckers. Not enough to pay that much for them though!

 

Waiting for people selling the pre-reunification products of Piko and others to start trading on the "Ostalgie" connection, it's already happening with other Soviet-era stuff so can only be a matter of time...

[Suica]

As a German it's always quite amazing seeing such prices for DDR Piko stuff on Yahoo Japan.

Those things are so cheap on eBay Germany

http://www.ebay.com/itm/P-Top-PIKO-Spur-N-Doppelstockwagen-DR-4-teilig-5-4136-010-/111897819788?hash=item1a0da13a8c:g:sBkAAOSwHPlWb~Xj

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Doppelstockwagen-DR-Spur-N-PIKO-2-teilig-mit-OVP-sehr-gut-/272137110421?hash=item3f5ca2c395:g:SSQAAOSwx-9WxJgG

Edited February 17, 2016 by Suica

[Welshbloke]

Whoa, those are cheap! Think I might have to go hunting for them after I've filled the gaps in the Japanese collection..

[katoftw]

No surprize really.  Items are always cheaper closer to their home market.

[railsquid]

So basically shortly before the heat death of the universe? ;)

[Welshbloke]

Not really that bad at the moment! There are just a few things in particular I want to snap up before they disappear from the shelves.

[railsquid]

Somehow I thought I was replying to katoftw :confused:

 

No surprize really.  Items are always cheaper closer to their home market.

 

Yeah but... like the other examples, I've seen these or similar go for much saner prices here.

[railsquid]

Surprise surprise, no takers. Relisted at 12,000 yen.

Edited February 20, 2016 by railsquid

[1954G]

Have a look at this rare Kato "trolley," which definitely isn't a hacked-up EF70.  While not high in absolute terms, the price is definitely more than this thing is worth. 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kato-Trolley-Great-Northern-n-scale-/141935612163?hash=item210c059103

 

EDIT: As westfalen pointed out, this is actually a vintage con-cor item rather than a one-off custom job.  While it's rough looking cosmetically, I shouldn't have poked fun at the seller for listing it.  

Edited March 24, 2016 by 1954G

[Ochanomizu]

Hello,

 

That's very funny because the number on the front appears to be EF7069.  As far as I know only Micro Ace made that model A0216.

[westfalen]

It would be one of these Kato EF70s imported into the USA by Con-Cor way back in 1969.

http://www.spookshow.net/cckatoelectrics.html

 

Scroll down and you will see the Great Northern one.

[Ochanomizu]

Hello,

 

So sorry, I did not know Kato made such products back in the 1960's.  I wonder if they were popular given they were not representative of any real locomotive in the USA?

[Guest keio6000]

On the heels of my long-legged "Ugliest Trains" thread, and the popular "lamest excuse" thread, here is the "craziest auctions" thread.

 

Rules:

1. NO UNDERMINING of sales by fellow forum members or professional sellers here, period.

2. Strongly suggest refraining from commenting on listings on English-language sales and auctions sites.  Many foreign resellers legitimately command a premium price for the local services they offer, and while you as an expert might eschew these, others might not.  An exception to this are the "robo relisters" who take "items from japan", post them on auction sites for high prices, and troll for suckers. Those are ripe for ridicule.

3.  Most legitimate 'crazy prices', such as high bids on auctions, have reasons.  Often, the item is rare or subtly different.  So, we should respect that to some degree many of the high price auctions are reflective of very unique and specific collector interests.  Still, taking a step back, we can also take some bemused interest when somebody pays $300 for a single container or whatever.

 

So, here are my first entries:

 

http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d192608156

Tomix E231-0 Sobu Line set.  (10 cars).  JPY 45,000 and climbing.  Tomix JR commuter sets of disposable trains usually fall in value.  not this one!
 

http://page15.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t473182605

For over a decade now, I keep expecting this tokyu 'clasic 5000' set to get re-released.  Theories discussed here are that Tomix no longer has the license to do so.  I remember being bemused when this was JPY 15000 and thinking I'd wait until it was cheaper.  The last one I think sold for JPY 50,000+.  Let's see how high this one will go!

 

 

 

[railsquid]

Surprise surprise, no takers. Relisted at 12,000 yen.

 

Relisted at 5,800 yen, no takers.

[Drunkenclam]

Although the colour is great on the Sobu line and realy stands out, 45,000 yen is way out of my price band. especially when you can get the Yamanote line for a fraction of the price, 

But for cool factor, Its right up there.

 

8 seperate bids want the 5000'

[JR 500系]

Good thread and disclaimers! Nice!

 

 

 

 

http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d192608156

Tomix E231-0 Sobu Line set.  (10 cars).  JPY 45,000 and climbing.  Tomix JR commuter sets of disposable trains usually fall in value.  not this one!
 

 

I wonder why,,, The Tomix E231-0 is still available here: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10112102 but that's just the basic set... Then again you can go through Yahoo Auctions and try to get the remaining add-ons at a price definitely cheaper than 45,000... Besides that, the set will be newer than the one listed... Strange there is an additional carriage included in that auction, summing up to 11 cars...

 

 

 

http://page15.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/t473182605

For over a decade now, I keep expecting this tokyu 'clasic 5000' set to get re-released.  Theories discussed here are that Tomix no longer has the license to do so.  I remember being bemused when this was JPY 15000 and thinking I'd wait until it was cheaper.  The last one I think sold for JPY 50,000+.  Let's see how high this one will go!

 

A limited edition box set with a special booklet included... I guess this would be highly sought after ~~

[bikkuri bahn]

I am not surprised at the prices for the 5000 set- the booklet itself would catch my interest.  The type itself is iconic, operated in the Tokyo area (don't underestimate this), and recent coverage of the last one being retired on the Kumaden would induce upward pressure in prices.  Recent publicity as well as additional information (in the form of books, magazine articles, newspaper articles, etc.) tend to drive bid prices higher. Anecdote- in the watch collecting world, even a well-informed blog post about an obscure vintage watch will push up bid prices to points where "a steal" becomes unaffordable.