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Listing Items for Sale

Turn your duplicate locomotives, excess rolling stock, or downscaled collection into cash — RailScanPro's Marketplace makes listing as easy as adding an inventory item.

Every serious model railroad collector eventually reaches an inflection point: the collection has grown faster than the layout, a scale change is underway, or a layout rebuild means some equipment no longer fits the theme. The RailScanPro Marketplace is where that equipment finds a new home — and where sellers reach buyers who already know what they're looking at.

Why the RailScanPro Marketplace

General-purpose platforms like eBay require sellers to write detailed descriptions from scratch and hope buyers understand the hobby terminology. The RailScanPro Marketplace is different: buyers are collectors who already know what a DCC-equipped Atlas Master Gold GP38-2 in Southern Pacific Bloody Nose is worth. You're not educating them on the hobby; you're making a transaction with a peer.

Additionally, items listed from your RailScanPro inventory carry:

  • AI-verified identification (manufacturer, model, road name/number confirmed)
  • Condition assessment with photos
  • Market valuation comparison (buyers can see that your price is reasonable vs. recent comparable sales)

This builds trust and reduces the haggling that characterizes less-documented listings.

Creating a Listing

  1. Go to Asset Management and open the item you want to sell
  2. Click List for Sale
  3. Your item's description, photos, and AI identification pre-populate the listing form
  4. Set your Asking Price (the platform shows comparable recent sales to help you price accurately)
  5. Choose Sale Type: Fixed Price, Best Offer, or Auction (7, 14, or 30-day)
  6. Set Condition Details — add any notes about cosmetic issues, missing parts, or upgraded decoders
  7. Set Shipping Options: Buyer Pays Actual, Flat Rate, or Local Pickup Only
  8. Click Publish

Your listing is live immediately and appears in Marketplace search results.

Pricing Your Items

The Comparable Sales panel during listing creation shows recent completed sales for the same model in similar condition. This is the most useful pricing reference because it reflects what buyers actually paid, not what sellers hoped to get.

General guidance:

  • Mint in box, never run: 70–90% of current dealer retail
  • Excellent, DCC-equipped, run occasionally: 50–70% of retail
  • Good condition, weathered or well-used: 30–50% of retail
  • Fair condition, needs work: 15–30% of retail

Items with sound decoders command a premium over DC or DCC-only models in the same condition.

Managing Your Listings

Go to Marketplace → My Listings to see:

  • Active listings with view counts and watch counts
  • Pending offers you haven't responded to
  • Completed sales with buyer information
  • Expired listings you can renew

You can edit price, description, and photos on any active listing at any time.

When an Item Sells

  1. You receive a notification when a buyer purchases or you accept an offer
  2. Buyer payment is processed through Stripe and held in escrow
  3. Ship the item within your stated handling time (default: 3 business days)
  4. Enter the tracking number in the Marketplace order — this releases payment to you
  5. Buyer has 5 days to confirm receipt or flag a problem
  6. Payment is released to your payout method after buyer confirmation or after 5 days

Payouts

Set up your payout method (bank transfer via ACH or PayPal) in Settings → Marketplace → Payout Method. Payouts are processed weekly for accumulated completed sales.

Next Steps

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