Lionel Repro Dealer Displays !!!!

[Anonymous]

I have seen this ad before on page 24 of CTT. I don't know about you people but $3295.00 for that?? I wonder what the value of product is? You think the signature of the Lionel CEO is worth that kind of dough? I personally don"t see the value in it at all. I wonder how many they have sold?? I am sure it is a top quality product, & the people selling it must do okay. What is everyone's opinion on this Item [?] Regards Steve

[Buckeye Riveter]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Redhawk97

I have seen this ad before on page 24 of CTT. I don't know about you people but $3295.00 for that?? I wonder what the value of product is? You think the signature of the Lionel CEO is worth that kind of dough? I personally don"t see the value in it at all. I wonder how many they have sold?? I am sure it is a top quality product, & the people selling it must do okay. What is everyone's opinion on this Item [?] Regards Steve

Steve, There is a large company here in Ohio that sells expensive baskets to women at parties. The key to their success was not that they had the best baskets but that they had somehow convinced women from around the world that they had to have their specific brand of basket. [:)]

[Anonymous]

Far too rich for my blood, but there still are (apparently) a lot of folks out there with a whole lot of money to spend on their hobby. More power to them if they don't want to spend time building their own pike, and are able to afford to buy what appear to be nice, but definitely rather basic layouts (without trains, etc.) at a fairly hefty price.

As for value: I guess that depends on the buyer. If he or she believes it's a good value, then who am I to disagree? I don't imagine it's the kind of thing that could be re-sold for what it cost, or that will increase in value over time, but I assume that most folks who buy these things don't have to worry much about that.

Personally, I couldn't care less about having a "signed" layout unless it was signed by JLC himself.

[ChiefEagles]

Buckeye, it something like Burger or Burber. Wife bought a couple from a friend that had one of those parties. I said, "How much?!!"

[pbjwilson]

Longaberger baskets. My wife has them too.

[daan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by pbjwilson

Longaberger baskets. My wife has them too.

Normally those kinds of selling tricks only work with women[:D] We man have something like "common sense"[8D] Its the same as "I have to have that dress, because it suits me very well" (use a high voice when reading it[;)] ) and after one year you'll find it in the cupboard with the pricetags still on them..
Remember it still are repro's, no originals... I like the repro's of williams though, but only because they are less expensive thn the original ones.
If a repro is as expensive or more expensive than the originals, what use does it have??
Or am I the "down to earth dutchman" by saying that..

[1688torpedo]

They sure want way too much money for those display layouts! Evidently, There are some folks who do not let money burn a hole in their pockets. It would be much cheaper to build your own 4 by 8 layout than to buy a $ 3.000.00 version.

[Jumijo]

Mr. Kuhn of Lionel fame bought a few. I saw photos of him with them somewhere. They are very nice, but if I had $3295.00 laying around and I was told I could spend it on trains, there are many, many other things that would be higher on the list than a replica dealer display.

So what would be considered a fair price for one? $500? $1000? Anything like this is going to cost alot if it's "pro-built". But I'd bet it wouldn't be difficult or expensive for a hobbyist to duplicate one of these replicas.

Jim

[4kitties]

Once I got over the initial shock of the pricetag, I began to wonder how much an original would go for! No doubt it would be one of those extremely scarce items that, on the rare occasion one changes hands, not even the buyer's and seller's names are disclosed - let alone the price.

Joel

[Jumijo]

Have you ever seen an original? By today's standards, they would be considered amiturish at best. Sure, the Lionel signs are nice, but the layouts themselves are nothing to see. The replica layouts are actually very well done. The one with the tunnel and risers is great. But as I said before, I'd sooner try replicating one myself before I pay the asking price.

Jim

[trigtrax]

Repro? I kind of look at them like the Rolex watches they sell for $10 on NYC Street corners.. Would I pay $3000 for one if Mr. Rolex signed it... I don't think so [|(]

[Buckeye Riveter]

QUOTE: Originally posted by daan

QUOTE: Originally posted by pbjwilson

Longaberger baskets. My wife has them too.

Normally those kinds of selling tricks only work with women[:D] We man have something like "common sense"[8D] Its the same as "I have to have that dress, because it suits me very well" (use a high voice when reading it[;)] ) and after one year you'll find it in the cupboard with the pricetags still on them..
Or am I the "down to earth dutchman" by saying that..

I love it when Daan talks dirty like this. [:-^][:-^]

[Warburton]

If you want to see all the original postwar display layouts Lionel built, check out Roger Carp's great book devoted to them (Kalmbach Publishing). They are neat and I don't think that would be THAT hard to replicate yourself.

And, no, I was not compensated for this endorsement by the Headmaster!

[IronHoarse]

All I can say is, I can buy a lot of trains and accessories for the price of that layout. But like they say " Whatever floats your boat "

[Anonymous]

There's really nothing wrong with buying repros as long as the buyer is fully aware that a repro is what he's buying.

For example, I buy MTH reproductions of early Standard Gauge trains. I much prefer the repros to the originals, which I could not afford in any case (at least in anywhere near the condition I would want). Besides, the repros are generally better made, run better, and have features not even dreamed of when the originals were made. And, they're available in paint schemes that far surpass anything seen on the original items. Ditto for my fairly large collection of New Marx tinplate trains, which I simply like for their reliability and their perpetuation of the art of tinplate lithography. I'm sure I could rather easily afford original Marx items, but probably would not have any Marx at all if Jim and Debby Flynn hadn't gone into the repro business.

But that's not a put-down of those who enjoy collecting and operating original items, which have a history of their own that no current-day reproduction can match. It's just a matter of personal tastes, interests, and preferences.

But there's no way I would pay a whole lot of money for a reproduction toy train display layout that I know I could easily build myself. Most of the original Lionel dealer display layouts were rather simple affairs--intentionally built that way so the customers would see something that they could easily build themselves (I know this to be true because many years ago I sold Lionel trains in a department store, and used our Lionel dealer display layouts as a selling tool to convince customers that they could easily make something as nice, or better). Duplicating most of these layouts today with materials that are readily available should pose no problem at all for anyone with minimal woodworking and modeling skills.

But for folks who have some $3,000+ to spend on such a layout, I would only say: Go for it, if that's what lights your fire. As I see it, anything that attracts folks to the hobby and keeps them involved is a good thing, regardless of the sticker price.

[Anonymous]

Hello All: The response was what I expected, I would like to know how many of these products they actually sell. Regards Steve

[Anonymous]

Well, about the only way you can find out how many they sold would be to ask the builder, since nobody here would have that answer. However, I believe I read somewhere that several of the layouts they offer, or did offer, were sold out. If you're interested in buying one of their layouts, give them a call. If not, then I guess it really shouldn't matter much if they have sold ten or 10,000.

[daan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Buckeye Riveter

QUOTE: Originally posted by daan

QUOTE: Originally posted by pbjwilson

Longaberger baskets. My wife has them too.

Normally those kinds of selling tricks only work with women[:D] We man have something like "common sense"[8D] Its the same as "I have to have that dress, because it suits me very well" (use a high voice when reading it[;)] ) and after one year you'll find it in the cupboard with the pricetags still on them..
Or am I the "down to earth dutchman" by saying that..

I love it when Daan talks dirty like this. [:-^][:-^]

It's not only dirty talk.. One of our friends has the habit to buy anything which is cheaper than normal. She has 15 jackets, 67 pairs of toe-slippers, more than 40 pairs of shoes (but that's still not that abnormal for a woman[:D]) but the most absurd thing is that she's living alone and bought 4(!!!!) familypacks of 10kg washing soap because they where 4 for the price of 3 while she already had 3 of them on the shelf.
If holland floods I guess everything is nice and clean around her house[:D][:D]

In my house it's not that extreme, but still. Last week we started selecting the things in the cupboards. I found no less then 36 handbags ([:D][:D][:D]) and 21 wallets (all empty of course; they belong to a woman[8D]) belonging to my girlfriend.
She can't go to town without coming back with a lot of useless but hairy and "cute" things, which purpose isn't entirely clear to me..

Another person we know lives in a house with a carpet which is at least 50 years old. To say it neatly, it shows "some wear". Instead of getting a new carpet, she buys large amounts of clothes (like frog green pants with white flowers on it[xx(] or a sailors outfit witch looks cute on a five year old, but is a "bit" childish when a grown up wears it [:o)]..).

Luckily I don't feel the need to understand those things, I rather buy usefull things, like trains..[8D]
For the good order, I love my girlfriend and I'm not specially sceptic towards women, but this "abnormality" is something I love to make fun off..[;)]

[Warburton]

Daan -- Well, my wife and I just cleaned out her dad's house here "up North" and he went to live year 'round in Florida. That man (89 years old!) has more clothes than a department store, I swear. More clothes than any woman I know. He likes to say, "at my age, if you can't eat it or wear it, I don't want it." He also took with him about 75 lbs. of apples, 50 lbs. of chocolate and who knows what else. His Grand Marquis auto will be riding very smoothly down I-77 this week! Oh, and my wife found a number of sample packs of Viagra (some nearly empty!!) when she packed his meds. All I can say is, lock up the widows in the Sunshine State 'cause he's on the way!

[daan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Warburton

Daan -- That man (89 years old!).........Oh, and my wife found a number of sample packs of Viagra (some nearly empty!!) ..........

[:D][:D][:D] Every man has his needs, even if you are 89 years old[8D]

[Dave Farquhar]

I think I remember reading somewhere that they build something along the lines of 25 of them. And if they sell out, at $3,000 apiece, well, then they're making enough for one or two people to make a full-time living making them.

Personally, if I had that kind of money I'd be spending it on something else, seeing as a Carlisle & Finch layout from 1907 (I think) sold within the last couple of weeks for under $7,000. Including the trains. All operational, of course. If I had 3 grand I didn't know what to do with, I'd start looking for something like that because the money probably would have grown to $7K or $10K by the time I found it.

I like 4x8 and 8x8 layouts, but I'd rather build it myself. Besides, the things I learn building stuff like that myself help keep the wife happy, which is a good thing.

[okiechoochoo]

I have visited the store in Dallas. The folk building them are really nice and also came out with the correct formula reproduction postwar Lionel smoke pellets. From what I was told each display is built between 25-50 copies and all that have been issued have been sold out.