Curtis Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 I had two Ghost Trains, one to build with my family in Oct. and one to invest. After posting the question here and assessing what I see in stores currently I decided to return the one I had for investment. Even though I bought it for only, $54 I didn't feel like the return would be worth my time and there are other sets I wanted more that the $54 could help fund. Here's my post for reference: http://community.brickpicker.com/topic/4308-ghost-trainto-keep-or-return/ Quote
comicblast Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 The similarities between the two sets is negligible. The Ghost Train has more pieces and costs more, as well as has more minifigures. I guess to me, the only similarities are: 1. It's a train. 2. There are ghosts on the train. 3. Both have train cars that are very short and the cars don't have that much on them. I'm not sure about you, but they don't seem that similar. I think a better comparison for the Ghost Train would be other more recent trains in a similar price range. To compare, I've chosen the 10219 Maersk Train and the 10173 Holiday Train. Both are trains, but the Maersk Train is much more recent which gives us a better idea of how sets today would perform. Also the Holiday Train is one of the few "seasonal" trains, that is centered around a holiday. Both are very close to the $100 MSRP mark, and both have appreciated nicely. The Maersk Train retired only 6 months ago, so it has not yet plateaued, but we see that it has appreciated roughly 71% in the last 6 months. If you don't think that's good enough, I suggest you go back in time, grab a few Zombies sets, then come back and sell 'em. The Holiday Train has basically appreciated as much as it will, though I can see it being a $450 set during the holidays, because of demand. This little $89.99 train set appreciated all the way up to just short of $400!! A phenomenal appreciation in my opinion. We can't see how long it too to get there, but I have a feeling that by 2009, it was where it is now, or right around $350. You say your are on the fence, but with recent trains, you can tell it is very hard to lose on them. If you do, you must have bought it from TRU for quadruple MSRP. Sorry if I sounded a little pushy, but I feel strongly about this matter. Quote
Fcbarcelona101 Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 The thing with the Holiday Train is that it was only out for less than 6 months, so that's a really special case. Quote
Curtis Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 Both the Maersk train and the Holiday train work on track. Whereas the Ghost train is an odd mix of on and off track. The engine works on track but the cars don't, the cars work off track but the engine doesn't. I get that maybe it's supposed to fly or whatever and I'm not huge into trains, but if I were I'm not sure I would want to deal with where to put this thing without modifying/mocing it. Not to mention they are still in stores and are the 2nd to last to sell out (just before the werewolf). Quote
Guest ph4tb0i Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 Actually if you can get it cheap enough and you bought those train deals I posted a couple of weeks back, you could probably do a mod and sell it during Halloween while selling the parts of the original set and make some money. A PF-ed modded Ghost train might make your listings stand out and give you a higher asking price. This is why when there is a smoking deal on trains you buy as many as Amazon will allow. It's one of the easiest sets to part out if you can get them for dirt cheap like Amazon UK and Amazon DE just had them for. Just thought about this right now as I was reading the other replies.. lol. Quote
akohns Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 I don't think so. It isn't relevant enough anymore. Most people nowadays don't even know what the Time Twisters were. I'm not saying that the train won't flop, but I don't think these two can accurately be compared. Yeah I agree. It's just to old of a set do be a relevant comparison. TT theme was a mixed bag and was so long ago we don't really have data on what the value did the first couple years after it went EOL. I think the general theme and the three glow-in-the-dark ghosts are going to carry this set. It might be the worst performing set among the $20+ sets of the MF theme. I'm still seeing a lot of them at $54 in Walmarts in my area. Quote
@rtisan Posted July 14, 2013 Posted July 14, 2013 This is one I just won`t invest in. I don`t see myself making any money, because I can`t find any for less then $80 up here. That said, I would buy in for 2-3 at $54 mainly because I want one for myself. Don`t think anyone can argue that it is pretty cool set overall, but sadly it all depends on who will be buying down the road. As others have said, a major investment fail is the track system. What was Lego thinking? I`m also in agreeance with others who have said that comparing the two sets in this thread isn`t going to be very accurate. They are 10 years apart, with an entirely different market present. Just my two cents, but if you want a train to invest in now, get the Lone Ranger one. That puppy is sure to bring in a decent haul down the road, just remember to buy on sale. Quote
12LSL Posted January 17, 2014 Posted January 17, 2014 Does the Ghost Train @ 75.00 today make sense ? Quote
Greedoshotfirst Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 thats just what I got mine for on ebay with free shipping. I was pleased Quote
Doofy McGee Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 I never bit on the Ghost Train. I thought long and hard about it many times, but I just don't see it going for all that much down the road. Definitely not $400. It is not a conventional train, and the minifigures are very weak. There will be no demand for those minifigures later. Ann Lee and Frank Rock are a dime a dozen, and the glow in the dark Ghost is basically the same one that comes in the Halloween Accessory pack. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a cool train, and I am a fan of the Monster Fighters line, but I just don't see anything special about it that will command a high price on the secondary market. Quote
TheOrcKing Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 I like what this guy did to his Ghost Train. 3 Quote
jaisonline Posted January 18, 2014 Posted January 18, 2014 I like what this guy did to his Ghost Train.Great link share. THANKS The castle looks fab. Quote
allen9917 Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 awesome. Where is it from, a combo of two 9468? Quote
DoNotInsertIntoMouth Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 75$ seems like a little much for the Ghost train - not sure where its ceiling is. BUt it does look like a winner. You will make money - just not sure it will make it past $125 or so. Quote
dibole Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 This is how I received my Ghost Trains today Shipped in a Xmas style plastic bag, no box, nothing... All the boxes are crushed, water damaged, pre-opened too. Of course they are going back! Upon calling customer service the agent told me thats their standard shipping method (plastic bag). Brought to me by SEARS.CA I've never ordered from Sears before. This is pretty lame Quote
njseale Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 I think most of the MF stuff will do OK but probably not any huge returns EOL. HH VC and Train will all give a positive return, but I don't expect any of these sets to skyrocket (HH probably has the best chance) Quote
DoNotInsertIntoMouth Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 I think most of the MF stuff will do OK but probably not any huge returns EOL. HH VC and Train will all give a positive return, but I don't expect any of these sets to skyrocket (HH probably has the best chance) Well besides the Zombies - which already did. lol. Quote
njseale Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 Well besides the Zombies - which already did. lol. Of course. I think the other no brainer is to try to sell the MF sets during Halloween. They would probably also sell well stacked together at that time. Quote
@rtisan Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 I like what this guy did to his Ghost Train.That is really neat! Got to love customization, especially here. Great link share. THANKSThe castle looks fab.Also very cool! Thanks you guys for sharing, both are really nice looking customs. Quote
njseale Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 The synergy between a lot of the MF sets is great. Quote
rastascoob Posted January 21, 2014 Posted January 21, 2014 Anyone who is a train lover and does some halloween decorating will ****** these up in no time. Just look at the custom train. Can you imagine turning your current train set into a spooky one during Halloween? Halloween is the second most decorated holiday so I think it's a no brainer. Quote
iahawks550 Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 Found four pristine boxes at one store for $79, and three more at another for $70. I hadn't seen these on the shelves anywhere. Didn't buy any. Quote
jaisonline Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 Found four pristine boxes at one store for $79, and three more at another for $70. I hadn't seen these on the shelves anywhere. Didn't buy any. great set in my opinion. not sure about the price though. many all of us bought this set for under $55 before tax. personally, i think this set will produce a decent ROI w/in 2 years. Quote
iahawks550 Posted February 28, 2014 Posted February 28, 2014 Yeah, if they had their customary 30% type clearance on these, making the sets $55 or so, I would have probably bought all of them. Quote
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