My guess is they are priced without considering the load is missing. They tend to be delicate too. Few of my pw flats survived my childhood beatings at all intact.

Yes you are correct..........

Flatcars are gold underneath the paint.

As has been posted, the prices on flatcars with original loads are driven by the difficulty in finding them with loads intact.

If you are interested in purchasing postwar flatcars with loads, be aware that most of the loads have been reproduced, and few of them are marked. Usually there are ways to tell an original from a reproduction.
Some of the reproductions were done a while ago, so they can have patina.
For a while, I'd purchase samples of each new reproduction so I could learn the difference.

Cars for $3 and $20??I am confused.Nick

First off, I am not a purist, don't need the box, not afraid to run multi era cars in a consist, just having fun with a hobby. Yes, I've seen cars start at auction at $3, sometimes less, and have been lucky enough to get quite a few at less than $20, including the shipping.  I'm also not afraid to get something broken or missing stuff, I can fix it.  You try to stay away from anybody that charges $11 or more to ship an average freight car, $7 is about right in a USPS shoe box, and you can dicker a bit on price if it is something you really want but is overpriced.  Epay and others are just like train shows, except you have to pay shipping.  I have emailed sellers and referenced the fact that except for emotional buyers,  they would probably not get any bids since their start bid and shipping makes the car twice what its is worth. I also factor in what a seller pays out to use auction sites and Paypal, you can't undercut a seller there in an offer. Many just say thanks, but a few accepted my offers, and those that don't keep relisting until they see the light...or a sucker(P.T. Barnum for emotional buyer).  Just like hunting, patience and the right spot and you bring something home. 

Over the past few years I've bought a mess of MTH flatcars that used to be subway carriers or trailer cars, mostly production samples that were supposedly sent to the factory in China to be equipped with trucks and trim parts, then re-sold to some of their dealers at a discount. I think I picked these up for about $22 each between a couple of Allentown and York shows:

The other batch is the Menard's 24-flatcar pack that I just ordered this morning after the price was reduced to the $168 (without rebate) introductory price*. Unlike the others who claim to have bought this set, I'll try to put up a video of that one when it arrives

Granted, they're 027-size, and will likely need a fair amount of coupler tuning before the whole consist will stay together, but I viewed that as "challenge accepted" and pulled the trigger once the discount reappeared.

---PCJ

*good till 2/18/15 or while supplies last--the email says they "found" 46 more cartons in the warehouse