Recently I had a flood in my basement. I had new in box train items where only the boxes got wet and ruined but thank God the engines did not. Now the adjuster wants a price on what the trains are worth. How do you put a price on a item when only half of that item got ruined as far as collector value? I had a ZW transformer complete in the box and the box got wet and fell apart only were the glue held it together. I also had a Lionel Circus train from JC Penny new in the box and the side of the box that was touching the carpet got wet and that side came undone. I was guessing that I would just take 10% off of the “new in box condition” price would that be accurate? The other items were new releases of Lionel engines but I was thinking of the value down the line as a investment. I still had them in the original shipping boxes from the company.
Hard to say what the boxes will be worth a few years from now, usually it is what the buyer will give.
I would say try to salvage the original boxes and put them back together if possible. Dry the boxes with a fan set at medium speed and maybe you can press the cardboard back into shape? Don’t use tape on the boxes as it won’t hold for too long, use Elmer’s glue or a light wood glue to glue the boxes back together.
Only wish that I had saved the boxes from the big flood of 1972, I was young and my parents tossed the boxes away.
Lee F.