Break-up Sets?

You buy a complete set, open it, sell off each individual item from the set on a popular online auction site. DONE!

As an example- there was a specific Isaly tanker car only offered in an MTH set. The only way I could purchase it was from a retailer who did a set break-up

Curious.    What are you trying to accomplish?  Are you buying or selling?  Or perhaps both?

When sets aren't selling well as produced/packaged by the manufacturer, dealers sometimes will offer set break-ups -- usually at a premium for select pieces -- to clear out inventory.  If you're looking to "fill" a collection (of certain car types, for example), this may be a great way to do it without purchasing the entire set, as Lionel has been known to include "collectable" rolling stock as part of a set.

OTOH, sometimes the locomotive may be the "desirable" piece -- such as with the upcoming (and long overdue)   Lionel N&W Pocahontas passenger set containing the  #611J Legacy steamer.  And if times are slow, dealers might even be inclined to break up a passenger set like this to move an otherwise very desirable locomotive for enthusiasts who already own a nice set of passenger cars.

Worse case scenario... You can always buy an entire set... then try to sell individual pieces you don't want here on the forum or elsewhere (online or at shows).

David 

You can't really take advantage of it, usually.  Dealers do it when it is to their advantage, which might include doing you a favor, but normally it is because as C W Burfle said, they make more selling the pieces.  

Two reason why I have looked into it (but never done it):

I want the loco but not the cars for an entire set.  Patric's trains offered to break up the MTH ATSF Hudson/hosital train set and sell me just the engine, but I bought the entire set and am very glad I did.  The cars were a bargain for the additional cost over the set.

I want the cars (or a car) and not the loco.  I considered trying to buy the PFE reefers on an MTH Big Boy and reefer Premier set because they had different roadnumbers than the twenty I have, but I did not need nor have room for another scale big boy, nor want to pay the $$.  I could not mae this work with a seller. 

I understand that on some Lionel sets there are acquairum cars and such you otherwise cannot get.  

I recently bought bottom line set break-up Lionel locos, principally to get the Vanderbilt tenders for other locomotives.  The rest of the cars in the sets I had no interest in, and did not want to pay for.  I will do something with the locos.

MTH did the direct version of this this year.

I wanted the NASA Rocket Booster / Engine transport set but not the Engine.

This year they are selling the cars as a set without the engine.

I ordered them.

I haven't typically ordered MTH sets in the past, so I don't know if this is typical.  But this year the MTH sets containing the CSX and K-Line twin-stack Gunderson-style cars (with CSX and UP AC4400 locomotives, respectively) don't even come packaged in a fancy "set box" within a shipping carton... Just the locomotive along with the Gunderson 3-pack + 2-pack inside a shipping carton.  

So aside from the shipping carton, there's no indication that these items are part of a set years down the road -- especially if the buyer tosses the shipping carton.  Also makes it even easier for sellers to offer set break-ups.

David

Grzyboski Trains www.grzyboskirains.com breaks up many current production sets. They have an entire section on their website dedicated to this. I have picked up many break-up items from them over the years.

I love break-ups. Lots of times I like one item, but don't want to spend the money for the entire set. It gives me the opportunity to buy just a piece, frequently at a great deal. For example, I just picked up the Polar Express Lion Chief engine as a break-up. I have all the cars I want; just wanted the engine. I also got the 0-8-0 Polar Express switcher, same deal. There are numerous cars in my collection that are Cherry-picked from breakup sets as well.

Gilly

Guys,

I thought that breaking up is hard to do! LOL!

Remember the JLC series boxcars from 1980 ? The first three you buy separately, but the fourth and fifth one came only in collector sets (the Royal Limited and Mid-Atlantic Limited). TM Books coined the phrase "Basic Collector Milking" to describe this marketing approach.

Yup, the sixth one was in the Quaker Limited. I was working in a hobby store in 1980, and the guys were going crazy for those JLC's. I'm pretty sure that's when the whole break up concept started. Prior to that, there was no real reason to take pieces out of a set.

Just like stolen cars and chop shops, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole, if you do it right.

"Basic collector milking" may have started with the JLC series.

Still, set break ups were being done before 1980.

There were cars that were only available in limited edition or service station sets.

For example, I remember purchasing the 9726 Erie boxcar from the 1978 Service Station special set (1868)

I think Neil Sedaka was thinking about  Lionel RTR sets when he wrote that song. 

Regarding those JLC boxcars from, the sixth car was part of a special 1980 year end deal. It was available separately but a lot more difficult ($) to find than the first three. And to top it off the 1980 Toy Fair boxcar, although not technically a JLC series car, has related graphics and is sometimes found with the five JLC cars.

Regarding the 1978 SSS set (1868), the caboose from the set is in the 1979 catalog.