Maybe if I sold all my old boxes (Cudaken, some of them ARE Blue Boxes), I could afford to:
now now,
packaging tends to cost quite a bit and does contribute to the price of a product…
lol
FYI, the above is factual BTW
Actually I seen blue box boxes sell on e-Bay…
Why I don’t know since BB cars and locomotives have a low resell value even with boxes but,well, there it is
And adds to the resell value.
But…
I beginning to think some enjoys losing money if they decide to sell unwanted models without the original box and instructions.
Okay, I guess I really took that the wrong way… [#oops]
I was just saying that just because an item is made by a certain company, it wouldn’t be worth a lot of money. Companys do have those queens, but they also would have a whole line of low end and low priced models.
I know of the Black Diamond and John Wilkes engines produced by Overland would be really expensive, but since I haven’t seen one for sale, I don’t know what they would go for.
I know that the 700E would go for a couple grand at the least, and a 6464-100 blue feather car would get close to $800 on a good day, but then you have the 3462 milk car, which I recently bought COMPLETE (without the boxes, however) for just $65, and a 6464-425 early production car with production error for just $35, which is about retail.
I thought this was kinda funny:
So the winning bidder would now be in a position to sell his Altas locomotive “in the original box” – possibly pocket a little more money as a consequence – and it isn’t the original box at all. Hmmm.
I would never pay premium price for a box but old boxes can be sort of interesting. The Athearn “blue” box went through a couple versions over the years, and some of us remember the yellow box that came before that. It takes a genuine geezer to recall the Athearn black box – a very handsome box by the way. The Lindberg box had a wonderful painting of a CNW switcher on it. I wonder who has the original of that painting as it was a stunner. Some of the very old Varney and Mantua boxes were rather interesting as well.
And for the real trivia fan, recall the Kurtz Kraft boxcar kits that came in plastic bags and sold for maybe 79 cents? When I see a Kurtz Kraft bag selling on ebay then I’ll know the end of the world is fast approaching.
Dave Nelson
Hi guys
sounds silly that the box is often worth more than what came in it.
The problem is that the collector mad price goes up with the correct box for the product.
slightly less with a replica box.
Oh yes for the eminently collectible trains or other hobby items there is a market for replica boxes[:O].
It does beg the question just how the product got separated from its box.
I try to keep the box the product comes in so that the trains that cannot go on the railroad are properly stored but we all know they can get very tatty very fast…
regards John
Brass trains without their boxes are noted as usually seling for less. Not unusual to see boxes for brass trains for sale.
Besides boxes for brass trains, the foam inserts also are in demand.
The inserts sell for around $50.00, I make my own, the only tool needed is a very sharp knife, foam cuts easily. I use an existing foam insert from a similar sized engine, trace the outline, cut carefully. My price per box is about $5.00 and ten minutes time.
No box, but I had a Lionel O scale Hudson -pre WWII that my dad who was a Santa Fe engineer bought for me for my first Christmas, yeah, parents were crazy then also. I kept that Hudson and had it sitting on a shelf for several years in my layout room. Since I model in HO, it was good for display only. While on tour, a guy spotted it, pulled out his wallet and offered me $1000 on the spot. Since it had been a gift from my dad I declined to sell. He then offered $2000 and then $3000 but I refused to sell. After the tour group left, my wife offered the opinion that the engine needed to be someplace hard to reach and I agreed. My layout runs by the fireplace and there is no way to gain access to the shelf on the fireplace without some real hard trying, so we put it on a shelf and it remains there today. Of course every time I have visitors (op crew excepted) I keep an eye on it.
Funny the value we put or don’t put on something.
Bob
I talked to a fellow at a train show a few years back and we started talking about the high prices for boxes, he said he met a guy who actually made new boxes of old issues, he was a printer, and made hundreds of counterfeit boxes and sold a pile of them at train shows, he commented there still must be piles of them still circulating, be careful out there.
True. Not only that but also how much would it cost to create from scratch a form fitting box for that particular locomotive? To me what kills the deal is the shipping.
Well, I don’t own a Rolex watch and probably never will, but I do understand the problem with counterfeit Rolex’s. Now you’ve introduced the concept of counterfeit train boxes to me.
This thread was started by someone who doesn’t see the value in an empty factory box, but you’ve indicated that someone else actually went through the trouble of making fake empty factory boxes. Interesting.
Well, I’m more of an operator than a collector. I used to go to car shows (I spent 5 years drag racing and have a love for American muscle cars), and just shook my head and walked away from “trailer queens”. Real hot rods have stone chips. Real cars and locomotives ride my rails. And the thread was for a common Atlas locomotive, not a prewar Lionel gem.
Sure. Its a good thread. I just found it interesting the sort of two ends of the opinion spectrum on the importance of factory boxes. I probably lie in the middle. I operate everything that I buy, but I own more than I operate at any one time. So when something is not being run at the moment, I prefer to store the item in its original box rather than leaving it on the layout to collect dust. Sometimes used items I buy don’t have a decent storage box. Looks like that box went for $14, including shipping.
Yes, there are adverstisements for rolling stock and such that explains the condition of the box it comes in. I guess that goes to the collector mentality, with a pristine box commanding higher dollars than one with a tear…like baseball cards I suppose, or even civil war memorabilia. Personally, I don’t see all the fuss about an original or counterfeit train box, but If that floats someone’s boat…fine w/me.
Actually, now that I am taking a better look at it right now, I don’t think that it was the box itself that would make it funny. Instead, it may be how it’s being presented that’s really funny.
I agree…I 've walked away from a few fairly good deals because the shipping was way to high…
As a example…I found a Bev-Bell Athearn car that I been wanting and it was $9.99 BIN…
Deep sigh…
When I checked the shipping from New Mexico it was $14.55 for USPS Priority!!
I can have a PS2 game console shipped USPS priority for that price!
Happily I found the car for $9.99 BIN with $5.50 for USPS Priority shipping.I bought a second car and the shipping remained the same.
Currently - with a couple of hours to go - is an undecorated Walthers SW1 switcher going for twice the amount of it’s original 1991 MSRP. Apparently someone wants it bad enough…
Tom
I keep the boxes - they came in handy when I moved a couple of years ago. Guess they’ll help my heirs get top dollar.
Since I am a casual collector/acquirer on a budget, price makes a difference to me. So I generally skip eBay auctions because shipping&handling ruins the deal for the low end cars, mostly kits, I collect. And I generally find a bunch of them at the train shows I go to anyway.
Enjoy
Paul
Normally I would agree.
However…
In this case it was a hard to find car that I been searching for…This was a Ohio Short line that ran between Lima and Glenmore.Today this former E-L line is operated by R.J.Corman.
