Attic Gold

Thanks Spence,

  I'll try to check it out.  Got a new cable package and I think DIY is included.  Been too busy with my own DIY ( I'm sure you can relate ) to watch TV lately.  I recall the beating the pickers took on that green State set.  They're better sticking to hopeless rusty collectibles.

 

Bruce 

thanks Spence, got it set. Yeah The Pickers can't win with trains or cars.

Thanks for the heads-up!  DVR is set.

 

My DVR info screen mentioned trains in the 9:00 p.m. slot episode, so I set to record both the 9 and 9:30 episodes, just in case (the info screens have been wrong in the past, so I'm not taking chances).

 

Andy

Thanks Spence. We will take a look.

quote:

thanks Spence, got it set. Yeah The Pickers can't win with trains or cars.

 

I think its great when the American Pickers guys get beat by their prey.

I remember a show where buyers paid a high price for a brown 408E State Set. They lost around $1200 at auction because the 408E had replacement wheels.

Hi Spence,

 

 I saw the commercial for this, looks very interesting.

 

 Thanks for posting,

Alex

Saw the ad for it. Liked at the end when the guy does the double-fist-pump in the air and screams out, "I love Lionel Trains!!!!!"

 

I didn't look that hard at the trailer, but it looked like they were holding one of the cars from the Blue Comet set. Looked VERY clean and shiny - as if a modern reissue.  But those of you with better insight (and sight) might have seen something different.

Did anybody watch the show? I missed it. Between commercials on the DIY station, and a short clip on line, I gather they found a Lionel 226E with its tender.

Is that right?

What else was there?

Did they put a realistic value on it?

I believe it was a 1937 blue Comet set.  They  said it was valued at $12,000.  They ended up giving the set back to the owner.

Had it on as background noise. They found a set and they valued it at $12k.  Then they found a letter from dad to son stating it was the grandfathers to be passed down. They turned it over to the owner of the house. 

 

Not sure urge it was worth $12k but turning it over was a nice production touch. 

got it recorded but I haven't got to watch it yet.

I've watched some of the shows on storage unit buyers and the antique pickers.

I am dumbfounded by the prices they attach to the items that I am quite familiar with.  A used beginners HO train set in the bottom of a tupperware tub that Bachmann has sold for years at Christmas for $20 new, gets assigned $100 "all day long".  Same goes for prices on used tools, coins, jewelry etc.  I think the shows are somewhat staged and choregraphed. 

 

Is it just me does anybody else get that feeling?

 

I mean what condition would the Blue Comet and its boxes have to be in to bring $12,000.00?

I watched the show, and the set had the individual boxes and the set box, although I do not recall seeing the set label. I did think it was kind of funny that they had the tender backwards in one of the shots of the set. All that said the set is #190W which I had in my collection several years ago in from what I could tell similar condition to the set on the show. I sold mine for $2700.00, and I do not see how or where they came up with $12K. Oh well that's TV.

Randall

I have an idea to get rid of all my old train boxes. Would preferably do this in California so it might get on Storage Wars. Put the empty boxes in a storage locker with a sacrificial 675 and a caboose sitting out in plain sight. Don't pay your rent and they wind up auctioning the locker off and they get into bidding war thinking this is a gold mine. I could see Dave Hester running up the bidding just to get the locker and then...

Hilarity ensues...Yes I know it's late, I've been up since 5 am and I'm wired on caffiene.

 

Jerry

 

 

quote:

Is it just me does anybody else get that feeling?

 

IMHO, the prices thrown about on all those treasure hunting shows are absurd, with the possible exception of antiques roadshow. .

The set looked like it was outfit 768W and was in nice shape with boxes. It was worth NOWHERE near the $12,500 stated. I have NO idea where she got that number. It's worth about $4,500.

 

The American Pickers episode featured Frank buying a vintage two tone brown state set for $10,000 which was a fair price. So called "Experts" told them the roofs of the cars were repainted, and the wheels were replaced. The roofs were obviously original. Danielle placed the set in some crap auction and did not put a reserve on it and it was snapped up for around $7500.

This was from the Picker's episode.

 

The little train that could.

Towards the end of the visit, Frank spotted Lionel train cars with few flaws that dated to 1931. The cars were about two feet in length and painted a special tan color with brown accents. The tops of the cars opened to reveal seating and even a lavatory in each.

 

They are known to be the finest Lionel ever produced and Cecil had four cars and an engine.

He bought them 15 years ago and they weren't original to him. Frank sent photos to a pal in the business who told him that Cecil's price for the entire collection was at the upper range of fair, $8,000.

 

Cecil believed them to be in original condition without any restoration and Frank agreed to the price. The set was going to get an official appraisal and off it went to Danielle, who called in her expert John.

 

The appraisal never lies.

He was impressed and said that were they to be in the boxes the collection would go for $30,000. Unfortunately, upon closer inspection John found that some parts were restored, including paint.

 

John found little dings here and there and a few details that were missing, The resale price would top out at $7,500 meaning the guys were in the red on it.

A suggestion to bring it to a train auction was offered but a price couldn't be guaranteed. That was the route taken but Danielle made a big boo-boo and failed to establish a reserve price, which acts as the minimum a seller will accept.

 

The collection went for $3,400. The guys got the news by phone and were none too happy, but they are good bosses. Frank took responsibility for paying for something he didn't examine as well as he should. The restoration was so good it fooled him.

finally got to watch it. not too bad, but they did miss on the value. now all we need is these shows driving prices up like Pickers have done. what used to be a $-$20 pile of misc small parts at the auto wreckers is $100-$200 because they saw them pay big bucks for some junk.