Is there any demand for metal model cars?

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Is there any demand for metal model cars?

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Any finned Mopars or 70 Buick GS?

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Canadian Poncho wrote:
Any finned Mopars or 70 Buick GS?

Wouldn't surprise me. Has them divided into boxes with Mopar, GM, some Fords, and then mixed exotics. What is a fair price for a 70 Buick GS? I'd like to know roughly what these models pull.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

That Candauin Tire truck is all over the interent for $25, a Buick GSX depends, I found a low of $20 to a top range of $170, it would depend on the car and whether it was a special edition and low production run, geez, sounds like a real car. That Canadian Tire truck is a special model but there are tons of them out there in the box perfect condition.

-- Edited by 73SC on Tuesday 24th of November 2020 11:32:12 PM

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

So my take from that is if they are asking in the $25 range they may be selling for $15 or so. Would need to be around $10 apiece if you want to sell them in a timely fashion. I just don't see any of my friends ever buying any of these anymore so not seeing much of a market for them even if they are nice.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

I know a number of guys in this hobby who have large collections of these die casts so there is a market for them. Like you I'm not one of them but I do appreciate seeing them, espcially good quality ones. I've got two on my book shelf in the office that staff gave me for Birthday gifts and two Dealer Promo's a Z28 and Cadillac DTS on a shelf in the garage gathering dust. I don't think a fella would lose any money if he bought the lot for $10 to $15 a car.

MC · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Not an expert, but all diecast cars were not created equal - some are much better quality than others and were more expensive to buy originally. You almost have to research the brands and the models to understand market value, but you can also kind of tell by looking at the details and proportions of the models - some look like miniature versions of the real thing, and some look "off" or can be lacking on the details.

If it were me, I'd check ebay prices on completed auctions for some of them to give you a rough range on value.

Pontiacanada · A Poncho Legend!

If you are researching prices for these (hundreds of) cars, get ready for a days upon days "surfing safari". Prices are all over the map for some.

Selling them will take time and will be piecemeal (buyers only want certain cars) ... lots of time involved. I know a guy doing the same. Probably why "the older gent in his 80s" wants to sell them as a lot.

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Those things are bit of a conundrum to me. They're like a miniature version of a expensive restored low mileage collector car in that you really cant do anything with them. Even if you take them out of the box you'll have reduced their value. You sure can't let your kids or grandkids )or yourself actually play with them either. So they sit.

The most I could say is that a bunch of them on shelves will will certainly add a car like atmosphere to a room. In the future they will probably end up at garage sales and maybe kids will actually get to play with them.

NOS · Poncho Master!

66 Grande guy wrote:
Those things are bit of a conundrum to me. They're like a miniature version of a expensive restored low mileage collector car in that you really cant do anything with them. Even if you take them out of the box you'll have reduced their value. You sure can't let your kids or grandkids )or yourself actually play with them either. So they sit.
The most I could say is that a bunch of them on shelves will will certainly add a car like atmosphere to a room. In the future they will probably end up at garage sales and maybe kids will actually get to play with them.

unfortunately most of these models were part of a numbers game. Production #'s of 9999 or more seemed to be common amount. Most resales are individual items to complete an existing collection so the market is small. Selling a lot is near to impossible because a serious collector does't want the dogs that go with it.
However good quality die cast still has some what of a market eg Brooklyn and Durham and others mostly European. These models are never part of a series but individual items. Production #'s of 100, 150, 200 are more common. Some special models even lower.

bjburnout · Uber Guru

My mission with die cast or any other type model cars is to obtain a copy (or close replica) of every car I have owned.

A daunting task as the number is over 75 but always an interesting search. Got about 50+ to go........

66 Grande guy · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

I guess its like any other thing guys get obsessed with. There are some of these that are pretty much works of art and lots that are junk. The trick is to be able to tell the difference. The other thing that really makes it less than sensible is the urge to complete a set. I wouldn't want to go into much detail on how much I spent to complete my collection of National Lampoon magazines or how much I was willing to bid to get the one Santana quadraphonic tape I had been trying to find for years.

Yup. Whatever you're into will keep you poor.

Bob F · Guru

There'd definitely a demand. You can get a rough idea of original selling price, by first considering the brand. Maisto and Ertl are "department store" brands, while GMP/Peachstate and Highway 61 are higher end. Have a look at collectablediecast.com/scale/1-18-scale/ to get a quick sense of the price ranges by manufacturer. Probably the best idea to get started is to do an inventory and record brand/model/color, then go from there.

The pics you're showing look like items that would've sold originally for $30-40. As a lot, they'd maybe come down to $15 each depending on who's buying.

-- Edited by Bob F on Thursday 26th of November 2020 10:27:06 AM

Pontiacanada · A Poncho Legend!

66 Grande guy wrote:
The other thing that really makes it less than sensible is the urge to complete a set.
I wouldn't want to go into much detail on how much I spent to complete my collection of National Lampoon magazines or how much I was willing to bid to get the one Santana quadraphonic tape I had been trying to find for years.
Yup. Whatever you're into will keep you poor.

Sounds like me (Mr. Completest). Within rea$on.

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Bob F wrote:
There'd definitely a demand. You can get a rough idea of original selling price, by first considering the brand. Maisto and Ertl are "department store" brands, while GMP/Peachstate and Highway 61 are higher end. Have a look at collectablediecast.com/scale/1-18-scale/ to get a quick sense of the price ranges by manufacturer. Probably the best idea to get started is to do an inventory and record brand/model/color, then go from there.

The pics you're showing look like items that would've sold originally for $30-40. As a lot, they'd maybe come down to $15 each depending on who's buying.

-- Edited by Bob F on Thursday 26th of November 2020 10:27:06 AM

He has inventory of each model and which box they are in. If I found somebody who was a little bit in to them I would gladly buy them and then split the dispersal after. I'm just about positive I could get them for 5-10 dollars apiece but there may be a half or so that I couldn't even give away. Nice models but no demand. Just not that committed.

65Camino · Uber Guru

Put them on eBay. That way the whole world will see them. Market will dictate the price.

bigdreams · Poncho Master!

As others have said certain categories of these models are fetching good money - just try searching for Grumpy Jenkins diecasts - this is one of the results I get when i search ebay and specify sold items

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bill-Grumpy-Jenkins-1972-Grumpy-s-Toy-9-Chevrolet-Vega-Pro-Stock-1-18-NIB/164488420131?hash=item264c461b23:g:Ys8AAOSwCp1foHHg

mind you I don't know what these things sell for new to know whether that is a good selling price

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Can you get some photos to give us an idea what he has?

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

What is total investment here Jerel ? Could be a fun little time waster, to unload them on ebay. I could be an investor, just need to know the exposure and really a size estimate since getting them from BC to TO will involve extra cost.

NOS · Poncho Master!

Try to get a inventory (and cost ) of the offered items and then do your homework before you consider purchasing. Some that sold for inflated prices are now not worth anything, maybe $5.00 -10.00 if you can find a buyer. As I said before stupid production numbers helped create the high resale prices. Just be careful !!

Dale @ NOS

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Canadian Poncho wrote:
Can you get some photos to give us an idea what he has?

I'll pop over again in the next few days and take a picture of his inventory sheets and then can take a few more pictures. Everything is stacked nicely in bigger boxes.

Leo2+2 · Guru

If he has a 67 Pontiac B-body convertible I'd be interested.

mfleury · Poncho Master!

I got a bouncy of them also.

couldn,t sell them so I made a shelve and buy hats where they going to stay till I kick the bucket

but I am looking for a 2020 Honda Ridgeline truck modem can be metal or plastic

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Well I had a chance to stop by this afternoon and I think basically I'm overwhelmed with the amount of stuff he has and thinking out of all the stuff a high percentage would not be possible to sell. I took pictures of his inventory so am going to review that on the weekend and see if it is worth while. Lots of neat old stuff including kerosene lanterns and a knife collection with a bayonet from the first world war dated as 1907. Wish I knew something on value of these things.

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

It might be easier to take it all to an auction. The local online auctions are doing very well right now. They usually look after taking the photos, posting online and dealing with the shipping. The commissions are higher (usually 30%) but it's a very convenient way to unload large lots. There must be one near you. We have at least two here in PEI.