ebay and elsewhere

Yours Truly is fascinated. This summer you could hear whispers through the grapevine how much the new deliveries from LGB Europe were guaranteed to arrive " very shortly". There was so much anticipation that the LGB (market) would continue to offer new locos and cars - after all, the new Märklin/LGB catalog was promising quite a lot - that offers on eBay simply halted for a while. Prices stagnated and there was not much movement in selling locos. Then, by end of summer, activity increased. More offers, more sales, and prices were showing interesting shifts. Some were priced according to their market value, some where completely overpriced and some where pure bargains.

Now we are 4 weeks away from Christmas and eBay shows a complete different face. Boy - have prices gone up!!! Somebody listens to the pros. A lot of really vintage LGB locos are offered and the prices are representing their collector's value. Moguls are still a little bit underpriced. But at the same time, the newer Moguls will never catch up as much in price as those made between 1983 and 1990. Plus, a theoretical collector's value does not necessarily coincide with current market demand. Vintage (passenger) cars have suddenly found their true collector's value as have the older F7 units and manufactured-in-small-volume locos ( under 600 ). Estate sales seem to increase which is mirroring the sad truth that longtime LGB fans/collectors have passed away. After all, when you started this hobby in your mid 50's in the 1980's and carried it on, by now more than 30 years have passed---you do the math... And no, there will be no more young people and children to join into the hobby (in big numbers) -- too expensive, too outdated, too sophisticated, too much discipline required in operating these fine trains. Plus the fact that it is becoming harder and harder to continue the hobby when no new merchandise is offered and spare parts can only be found at your "Famous Klaus" or by going on a scavenger hunt.

The signs are clear: LGB trains ARE collectors items. Let me stress that one more time: LGB trains !!! are collector's items when manufactured before 2006. And NO (!) , my dear friends out there in the G-Scale world, a Hartland loco, no matter how nicely it was made - is NOT an LGB loco. Don't even try that comparison on eBay as a seller.......

Don't quote me literally on " no new merchandise".  LGB did ship some new locos and cars. Focus on "some":  of 67 LGB locos offered by Walthers (the exclusive LGB distributor in the USA) only 21 are in stock. And what did Yours Truly mean by "too outdated"? Children and young people theses days are growing up in a digitalized world with instant everything by I-Phone,I-Pad, PC, Laptop, e-book, note book, Xbox, you name it. To digitalize a hobby whose Original Archetypes became successful due to the invention of the steam machine is an anachronism already. Figures that there are live steam operators in this hobby. But: once you started - go all the way. And it is with still a year to spare until we will see fully "I-Phone/Pad" operated digital systems for your train layouts. It is the future and it will be cheaper than ever before to control your (LGB) locos. Yours truly does not expect Märklin to be the trailblazer for this new digital operating system... there will be others who are already warming up in the starting blocks. Needless to say that only completely modernized decoders will fit those "new" systems. In anticipation of one of the next blogs' contents: Your Famous Klaus has already switched to this new generation of decoders (ESU+ Lenz) and is installing them into LGB locos as we speak. Fine technology already prepared for the (near) future - something  that has been missed (out) by some other German decoder makers.

Back to the growing collector's market for LGB: older and old locos are coming onto the market with price requests that show the growing scarcity of the brand as well as the growing education of the sellers. That said, as of this week the buyers' side has not bowed to these new price levels. In the price range from US$ 4,000.00 to 2,000.00 (representing roughly 25 locos or loco sets) no visible bids were made. And it didn't get much livelier in the category from US$ 2,000.00 to 1,000.00 either.

To all of you dear followers and readers out there: in case you want to know excactly what your LGB train collection is worth, item by item - call Klaus. He does appraisals and valuations (and Yours Truly is helping him a bit) and issues certificates. And when you start to set up your LGB layout for this Holiday Season treat your LGB locos and cars especially nice this year. They might finance your future Christmas(es) to come.... Happy Thanksgiving y'all