Selling an American Flyer Wide Gauge Set - Advice Appreciated

[Anonymous]

First, I know very little about collecting trains, but I do have what I believe is a train in very good to excellent condition:

I have the following set that I wi***o sell. I have it at a local hobby shop now to get another idea on what it is worth. I had it running a few weeks ago (will need some oil). I have taken many pictures and have several short videos of the train if anyone is interested.

First the set:

American Flyer Standard Gauge Set

In original box (box in good shape)
Cars/locomotive In original boxes
Train runs (needs some oiling)
Engine 4039 (missing one small bell on top, light bulb missing)
Baggage car 4080, Pullman 4081, OBS 4082
8 straight sections, 8 curve sections
American Flyer Toy Transformer #1261
Lionel Controlling Rheostat No. 81
Few accessories (2 signal stands, 1 Next Train Leaves, Mail Clip and Mail)
I have many pictures and also video of it running.

What is the best way to find an accurate price range (retail or wholesale). I want to get fair value for the set. One on-line price guide I saw did not cover standard/wide gauge trains.

[Dave Farquhar]

According to O'Brien's Collecting Toy Trains, 5th Edition (1999):

4039: $325 (you'll probably have to replace any missing parts to get this price)
4080: $75
4081: $75
4082: $75

Since you have the boxes, you can expect anywhere from a 10-25% premium, I would guess.

Lionel #81 rheostat: $11

I don't have a price for the 1261. The general rule with Lionel transformers is to take the transformer's wattage and price it at $1 per watt to get a rough gauge of value. Flyer and other makes are a bit less than that. The value of the track is tough. New track from MTH sells for about $4 per section, so older track will be worth less than that. The value of track generally doesn't improve with age unless it's in the original packaging.

I also don't have prices for the accessories.

I don't know if there are any more recent guides from Greenberg that list AF Wide Gauge or not. But at least this gets you in the ballpark. Looks to me like $600 (retail) is a good starting point for the train itself. Wholesale will be around half that.

[Anonymous]

Daves value seem correct, but with ebay making trains easier to find, condition is everything. I would suggest selling it on ebay, as it is a large market, and you will get what its worth. Good Luck, Dave.

[Anonymous]

does the drumhead on the back of the obs say "Presidents special"?

[Dave Farquhar]

Ebay isn't a bad way to go for selling it. To get maximum return, make sure the auction ends on a Friday or Saturday night, go with a 5-day listing, and make sure you list it in the right category ("Standard Scale" is what Ebay calls Wide Gauge, and that's where the people with the most interest in your set will look). Also you'll get the best price if you can wait until the time between Halloween and Christmas to sell. That's when non-train people start feeling nostalgic and looking for a train to buy that's like one they remember seeing or owning, and train people are no longer distracted by the summertime.

There's also the option of just keeping it and letting it be a family heirloom. I'm biased in that direction, of course.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the info. I already have an offer for $1100 based on the excellent condition of the train from a collector who only saw the pictures.

I will let everyone know what happens.

[Anonymous]

Well, what happened? Did you sell it for $1100? How did you find the buyer? Sounds like you did a good job marketing your train for sale.

Looking forward to your response,
mollinska