We will come to your home or place of business and inventory your collection on a laptop computer and assign condition to each piece.  The condition is established using the Train Collector Association  Grading Standards, as follows:

C1	Junk - parts value only
C2	Restoration required
C3	Poor - requires major body repair. Heavily scratched, major rust, missing parts, major restoration candidate.
C4	Fair - moderately scratched, paint loss, dented, missing parts, surface rust, evidence of heavy use.
C5	Good - signs of play wear with scratches and minor paint loss, small dents, minor surface rust, evidence of heavy use.
C6	Very Good - minor scratches and paint nicks, minor spots of surface rust, free of dents, may have minor parts replaced.
C7	Excellent - all original. Minute scratches and paint nicks, no rust, no missing parts, no distortion of component parts.
C8	Like New - complete, all original. No rust, no missing parts, may show effects of being on display and/or age, may have been run.
C9	Factory New - brand new. All original, unused, may evidence factory rubs and the slightest evidence of handling, shipping, and having been test run at the factory.
C10	Mint - brand new. All original, unused and unblemished.

 

Pricing Guides such as “Greenberg’s Pocket Price Guide,”  “TM’s Lionel Price and Rarity Guide,”

and/or “Doyle’s Standard Catalog of Toy Trains” are used to establish guidelines for a market price.