Need info on a 1985 Bachmann set no one seems to know anything about.

[ofbeatdown]

Hopefully someone can help.I acquired a 1985 Bachmann HO All-American Traveling Daredevil  Thrill Show Train Set,complete with both Dragcars,Stuntcars,track,cardboard mat,trains,etc...everythings there,all unused in the box.I can't find any info on the Net at all.I've asked 10 different guys that sell trains on Ebay,some with over 10,000 and 5,000 feedbacks,other guys with 10-20 yrs. experience but,to no luck.Nobody seems to know anything.The only thing i could find was a 1985 commercial on youtube(if you want to check it out just go to youtube and type in Bachman All-American Traveling Thrill Show 1985 toy commercial(That's 1 n in Bachmann on the spelling for the video)).I was hoping someone might be familiar with this set and if you are,do you know what the value of this set might be?I was wondering if this set could be pretty valuable,since nobody seems to know anything,it leads me to think this set is very rare thus,pretty valuable but,i'm not an expert.I need an expert's help.Thanks for all your time and help.

[john tricarico]

check the 1985 Bachmann catalog it there
iy was sold as complete set

[Doneldon]

obt-

I wouldn't get my hopes up for a high value for your train set if I were you. Consumer level trains, and that's what train sets are, were of marginal quality in the 80s and it is axiomatic that valuable collectables started by being either very desirable or of unusually high quality. Additionally, they have to be in top form and with original packaging. While it's clear that you have as good a set as probably exists, the set itself is likely to let you down.

That there are so few of these around indicates, first, that there weren't very many to begin with (ergo, not highly desirable). If they were highly desirable there would have been additional sets manufactured. Second, these sets haven't withstood the test of time (as good quality trains would have). You might argue that people pay princely sums for anything Lionel and that disproves my thesis. Well, you'd be wrong. Lionel was highly desirable, and even the plastic junk was built robustly enough that it has stood up; yet, with a few exceptions for very early Lionel, none of it is really worth anything unless it is in pristine condition in its original boxes.

I don't enjoy being the bearer of bad news but I wouldn't want to feel that you are putting a lot of energy into tracking down this set, only to find that you had been wasting your time. So...enjoy your train for what it is. Play with it. Play with your kids with it. Then you'll realize that I'm all wet because the thing will become really priceless.
                                                                                                           -- D

[r0bert]

1985 MSRP for this set was $75, with a street price at the big name toy stores of about $59, I remember seeing them at K-B on after xmas closeout for $39.
With a VERY few exceptions the is no plastic train set collectors market, with those exceptions being things like Coke and John Deere, and those are not collected by train collectors, but coke and deere collectors.
If you had this set mint and complete, still sealed, it might, and this is a BIG MIGHT, bring the full original MSRP of $75 and up to $100, and most of that would be the "Cool" factor.
An opened used set, even if it's in perfect condition, nothing missing or broken, no scratches,nicks or paint rubs, no creases, marks or extra folds on the mat, would best case, be  in the $35 range, I know of at least one set that a train show vendor has and it is priced at $45, and he has it for at least a year or more with no takers at that price.
My advice, set it up and play with it, enjoy it with the kids.

[ACY]

For a person specifically looking for this set completely mint and sealed, expect to get $50-$60, to anyone else expect to get $20 give or take $5. This set is not good quality, the loco is very poor compared to modern standards, making it of little use or interest to someone that is a model railroader. The set was not desirable in 1985 and more than 20 years later still nobody wants it. In order to fetch the $50-$60, you'll need to find a needle in a haystack, because out of every million people, one person wants this set as a collector, combine that with the down economy, half those won't pay top dollar, so don't expect to make very much money off of it. I have seen two this past year at different vendors, one had a mint and sealed set for $40 and no one bought it, and another had a complete one in working condition with no cosmetic issues, and all he wanted was $30. It is a down market, on ebay you will see the things that are selling are selling much lower than the original price or what they were before the economy went south. Then there are people listing things high to make money, but they aren't selling anything, sure things are listed on ebay for such and such price, but it doesn't mean people are paying that much. And if you decide to sell it, remember, ebay and paypal both take a good chunk. This set would only yield a minimal profit on ebay (before accounting for ebay and paypal fees) due to shipping costs, it would be best sold at a train show or otherwise so no shipping is involved.

[ofbeatdown]

Thanks for all the info guys.It was a great help.I knew i could count on you guy for help.I'm not disappointed.It is what it is.I just wanted to know,now i know.Thanks again guys.