Firelock76 Don't forget the flea markets. I was at the Chantilly Va. Big Flea last year and went into a booth that had the K-Line Hershey Anniversary set from the 90's, complete and unused. No price on it, and when I asked the vendor he said "$85 OK?" No, I didn't rip my pants getting the wallet out but darn near did! Mind you, this set retailed for around $300 when it first came out, and the last time I'd seen one it was on closeout for $200. Looks great circling the Christmas tree with additional candy cars on it, I call it "The Sugar High Express"! You just never know, do you?
Don't forget the flea markets. I was at the Chantilly Va. Big Flea last year and went into a booth that had the K-Line Hershey Anniversary set from the 90's, complete and unused. No price on it, and when I asked the vendor he said "$85 OK?" No, I didn't rip my pants getting the wallet out but darn near did! Mind you, this set retailed for around $300 when it first came out, and the last time I'd seen one it was on closeout for $200. Looks great circling the Christmas tree with additional candy cars on it, I call it "The Sugar High Express"!
You just never know, do you?
Just an additional bit of advice for everyone that I've learned in my 40 years of collecting, guns, cameras, books, and now trains. NEVER say "that place never has anything!" whether it's a thrift store, second-hand shop, antique shop, or whatever. The day you don't go in, I assure you that'll be the day you miss something good!
As Lou Palumbo says, "Keep searchin'!"
I dont know where this particular store gets its stuff from but this is the 4th batch of train stuff I have come across there, before this there was a complete HO Athearn passenger set, an HO Bachmann Metroliner set, and a G New Bright xmas set, not considering stuff I mght have missed in the past. I will be keeping an eye on this place from now on.
Have fun with your trains
Most of the time stuff like trains and toys never make it to the shelves. It's usually gobbled up by the people working in the back room.
That was a one time event for us.
I'm through the thrift shops down here whenever I can and I've never found anything. Not even a Plasticville building.
A few months ago my wife was shopping at Savers and noticed a Lionel box in the toy area.She stopped by my work and asked if I thought it was worth 15$. Told her to go back.She bought the set.When I got home I found a complete New York Central Starter set from the mid ninties,complete.I no longer give her a hard time about shopping the thrift stores.
Sometimes you do find things in the most out of the way places. Recently I was in a local consignment store, called "Stuff", looking at the used furniture. While passing a shelf of odds-and ends, I noted some familiar Orange and Blue boxes. Upon investigation I discovered that someone had left an operating helicopter car, a gondola, and a covered hopper, all in fairly good condition. Unfortunately O is not my scale. But if I'd have thought about it, I'd have scooped them up and re-sold them on eBay. When I was in the same store a week or so later with the wife, I decided to check out the shelf to see if the items were still there. They were not.
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
A nice find! I'll add to Bill's comments whenever you do come across something, the magic word, Lionel, usually merits a ridiculously high price tag...
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
Neat story and a pretty good find / buy. Very seldom do you ever find Lionel stuff at the thrift stores.
Bill T.
Thrift store find, bit of a story but bear with me...
OK I just got this home, my wife called me at work and said she saw some "train stuff" at the local Salvation Army which has a small "antiques" annex, she also said they were "small trains" meaning not the big G scale stuff I usually work with I thought she ment HO, but I decide to stop by on the way home and got there 15 minutes before closing, and I find the stuff, like she said in a box next to the cashier, well I instantly saw that it in fact a bunch of O 3 rail stuff!
So after a few minutes examing the stash, I find 3 bags each with 3 freight cars, 2 bags with an engine each (FA1 and a SW switcher), 2 bags of what looks like super O track, 4 powerpacks, and 4 other bags of beat up 027 track. I asked how much would they want for the whole batch, the sales guy says that he doesnt know, and that the manager is the only person who can tell me but they will be out until Thursday, but that he'd call them and ask, he comes back and says no, the manager was going to have to review all the items and see if they could come up with a lot price but that they wouldnt likely do that until the weekend, Well stuff flies out of this shop fast, if I didnt act fast it would be piecemealed away, so after some discussion I ask if I buy at the individual prices can have the house discount on all items they were having that day, he says yes, I say OK I'll take what I want and leave the rest, here is what I took:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/vsmith/Lionel_Find_01.JPG
I left behind the 4 bags of beater 027 track and 2 extra powerpacks, so as he's totalling up the stash he suggests why not see how much more the other stuff would add to the cost but I said no thanks, then he offered to let me take the remainder along with the stuff I was buying but I didnt want the junk 027 track and stuff and he would have gotten in trouble with his manager and I didnt want that. I told him that when he called the manager I was prepared to make the manager a flat offer for the entire stash, but when I was rebuffed on a burecratical matter, I told the sales guy, when someone wants the Whole Enchillada you dont hold back the rice and beans, and I was leaving the manager the rice and beans and just taking the enchilladas. Good luck selling the rest of that stuff, even the sales guy laughed he knew the left over stuff wouldnt sell, oh well thats the managers to deal with. Now I have a reason to expand my tiny O tinplate layout back up to a 3 track setup,
BTW the enchilladas were $170, a little over what I was going to start my lot offer at to the manager, so not to bad considering the price of new stuff these days, looks I'm back in the O business.
:-)
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