Price of Thomas trains

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Hi guys! I was wondering what is deemed a good price for both second-hand and new Tomy Thomas trains? Also Ebay seems to be too out of my reach with the shipping costs (perks of living in NZ!)

What are your thoughts?
Thanks!
When I assess the value of an engine, I look at several factors
1) how rare the item is?
2) What is the condition of the item?

For me a trackmaster thomas or Percy is worth about $1 US at most since they are so commonly available. On the other hand Donald and Douglas in mint Condition, I say worth at least 30 US given they are no longer production or sought after.

If they are common and in mint condition, I say second hand worth about 1/4 of the original value.

I know I am being vague as it depends on number of factors. I am sure other members here have different way in assessing the value of each item. Perhaps you should list the engines you want to get. That way we can share our opinion how much each engine should worth or should I say how much I am willing to pay for one
My Trackmaster/Tomy/Plarail Photo Gallery Page (over 600+ photos and still under construction)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/183311600@N03/
Thanks for the reply! I'm thinking I need another Tomy Thomas to use the cogs to replace my Steam Along Thomas, and I've always been quite fond of one of the first engines I ever got as a kid which was a Tomy Edward, which I know is fairly sought after. I've also always wanted to own a Tomy Henry, as I never had one as a kid. One I see on an NZ auctioning site has the battery cover missing though.

Also after a Steam Along Thomas coupling, as I need to replace that on my Steam Thomas too. The biggest issue is always the shipping however, as it costs usually $35-40 NZD for shipping alone on Ebay.
(This post was last modified: 11-27-2019, 12:32 AM by Super.)
sometimes you can ask the seller if he/she can use a cheaper shipping method. Depends on how desperate the seller is, he/she may do it. I asked a seller to send it without a tracking number since the item I order wasn't a lot.

Henry is fairly common as long as you not that picky (i.e. it has to be a Tomy Henry). Edward is not as common as Henry but generally available via a lot.

When it comes with Tomy Tender engines or early version of trackmaster engines, make sure the plastic flexible coupling is intact and especially the wires. They tend to break relatively easily especially if they were played by the kids. Face fading is another common issue as kids tend to leave their toys in the sun causing discolouration. Discolouration obviously drives the value down.
My Trackmaster/Tomy/Plarail Photo Gallery Page (over 600+ photos and still under construction)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/183311600@N03/
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For new current production stuff Amazon.co.jp has excellent international shipping costs in my experience (I'm in the US).
For example it would cost me 905 JPY ($12.86 NZD) in shipping for one TS-06 Percy or 1516 JPY ($21.54 NZD) to ship three of them.
Orders get to me in the US inside of a week.
You can get bags of assorted nylon cogs from sellers in China on Amazon (UK) for literally pennies (i.e. less than £2 for maybe 50 different cogs/work gears etc...) It might be worth picking some up you might find it a cheaper way than canibalising good working models Smile
Happily collecting things all my life... Big Grin



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