Toy train operating and collecting

Hi.  Does anyone here know anything about a PE set at Macy's that has a $500 retail price?  I should have taken some notes on it but I just assumed that it was the standard Lionel PE set.  When searching around on the internet today however, I see that the regular set retails for $300.  I am wondering if the Macy's set contains some of the extra pieces?  I tried looking at Macy's online but the set there is the $300 set.  I guess I need to head back to the store and take another look but I wanted to check here first and see if anyone knows anything about it.  It was in a Lionel box but again, I didn't look at the contents closely or note the product number (I was too scared by the $500 price tag).

Now that I see how much some of the cool PE add on pieces cost, I am wondering if the set at Macy's was a better deal than I first thought (it was on sale - I can't remember the price). 

 Thanks for any insight!

Welcome to the Forum! No,  it's nothing special. FAO Schwartz is the in-store toy boutique for Field's I mean Macys - I went up to their State St. store a week ago - they have all sorts of sets - including the Hogwarts and Thomas at a slight premium over full retai plus Chicago's almost 10% sales tax - LOLl. $500 is high. I thought it was more $350. You can find it for a lot less at some CTT advertisers...

Hi, my name is Ralph Lambiase Sr., I'm new on this forum.

For what it's worth, I don't know if Macy, because of their name, is selling the P.Ex. too high, or if they have an older set for the $500. price tag.

It seems the older set has a locomotive with most of the bells and whistles, I'm not sure if the engine is also different.

I saw the newer version at my local hobby shop and not only did it not have most of the bells and whistles, but the engine looked to be different.

I did not get the price of it, but I can tell you that most of these manufactures do figure in the 'Collector Value' for future sales.

This 'Collector Value' is an old retail trick, as well, as a gamble.

I believe, that the older set had, if not all, than, most of the bells and whistles, therefore making it more valuable with time, as a 'Collectors' item.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Ralph  

My take on this.  A couple weeks ago, Karen and I walked through ou rlocal Macy's store to see if they had the limited edition boxcar.  Did not see it, but did find a Lionel display including one Polar Express set.  The sign at the display did state that the PE had a "regular" price of $500 but was on sale for $349 which was still a bit much.  The display also had a Lionel 0-8-0 set up on circle of Fastrack.  It wasn't running, but the transformer was plugged in.  I got it running, but not very well.  I believe the $500 "List" price was just so that the "on sale" price looked like you were saving some money.

GregM:

My take on this.  A couple weeks ago, Karen and I walked through ou rlocal Macy's store to see if they had the limited edition boxcar.  Did not see it, but did find a Lionel display including one Polar Express set.  The sign at the display did state that the PE had a "regular" price of $500 but was on sale for $349 which was still a bit much.  The display also had a Lionel 0-8-0 set up on circle of Fastrack.  It wasn't running, but the transformer was plugged in.  I got it running, but not very well.  I believe the $500 "List" price was just so that the "on sale" price looked like you were saving some money.

Greg, I had the same experience at my local Macy's here in NE Ohio  last week. Except that the Pennsylvania 0-8-0 set set up on display was working OK on its circle of track.

The price on the PE set was, I believe, $349 or $399. It looked to be the regular PE set sold everywhere, but perhaps it had some extra stuff I didn't see.

 Anyhow, maybe the price is higher than normal 'cause you get the satisfaction of buying it at a Macy's??

I just checked Macy's site, and the PE is $299.

Kurt

Its almost certainly a regular PE set just jack up for the suckerdays er I mean Holidays.  They got the same Macy's PE set price trick going here in NC.  The part # on the box is the same as what you buy from some online merchants and on Ebay for 239 - 249 +tax.

Train-O:

Hi, my name is Ralph Lambiase Sr., I'm new on this forum....

...I believe, that the older set had, if not all, than, most of the bells and whistles, therefore making it more valuable with time, as a 'Collectors' item...

Sincerely,

Ralph

Welcome, Ralph.

The PE set at Macy's is exactly the same as every version of the set sold in "O" gauge(there is a G scale set for Gauge 1 track) except the latest sets have the improved/revised version of the CW-80 transformer.  Same 3 cars, same loco & tender, same figure set, the golden "bell", & same loop of track & transformer.

It's too bad people are being turned off at the retail brick & mortar point of sale with such a high MSRP & equally inflated "discount" price.  There are CTT advertisers that sell the set for $249.99 all day long w/ free shipping & no tax, & some others that will dip down to the $215 - $220 range.

Rob

Hello Folks

Does anyone know what MSRP from lionel is on the PE set? If Macys is selling over that price then I would say its not a very wise business practice,in fact it stinks..

J.D

johnjay2:

Hello Folks

Does anyone know what MSRP from lionel is on the PE set? If Macys is selling over that price then I would say its not a very wise business practice,in fact it stinks..

J.D

According to the 2008 Catalog the MSRP is $299.99.

Rob

HI, rob,

Thanks for the price info., but awhile back I worked for a retialer who sold the P.E. when it first came on the market and the locomotive had both the bell and whistle trim.

The one at my local hobby shop, recently, only had the bell and there was no whistle, which I cheked to see if maybe it was broken off, but there was no evidence of a whistle broken off, or otherwise.

I wish I had bought the set when it first came out, I believe it is already a collectors item.

Ralph

 The P.E. decorative whistle break off even just removing the loco from the box.  This is because the whistle in the Polar Express movie is different from, and in a different position than the prototypical Van Swerigen road Berkshire location. 

To match the movie, Lionel glued a plastic gold whistle to the top in the "movie position". 

Early whistles were gold-finished hard plastic, later ones were a soft rubberized plastic to hold up to abuse better.  All P.E. Berks have a bell on the top of the smokebox.

Jon

Hi, Jon,

Thanks for the info. regarding the whistle on the P. E

I guess quality control isn't as important, as sales are.

That's why high priced items are just quickly put on the market and that's a shame.

One would think that some of these manufacturers would be careful about quality control and attention to details.

After all, their products sell their names, establish reputations and make sales for them. 

Ralph

johnjay2:

Hello Folks

Does anyone know what MSRP from lionel is on the PE set? If Macys is selling over that price then I would say its not a very wise business practice,in fact it stinks..

J.D

J.D, yeah it stinks, but I have seen other places do it too.  Hobby Lobby often will have a set at 130% of retail and then, you bring in a 40% coupon and it works out to a 10% discount of retail.  I pointed this out by bringing in a Lionel and at the time, K-Line catalog and showed them MSRP.  They had no interest.  They do however have some deals, like the expansion sets for the starter Lionel sets.  They have 109.00 printed right on the box, but with the 40% coupon, you can make out well.  In the end, we just need to be educated about pricing.  This does not do well for the expansion of the hobby by parents who want to start their kid off with a set, then see the price and decide a video game would be better.

Dennis