Talk About Inflation...

Has anybody noticed the prices Tomy Plarail Advance are currently going for on eBay?  I was shocked, many trains that were ~£15 or less new are now being offered at prices of up to £80 a pop.  You do see the odd one still around the £20 mark, but these are very far and few between and usually the same models.  Anything else, especially the older releases seem to be gaining value massively.  At this rate my collection of NIB loco's and sets will become my retirement fund lol!

[Super]

Is it inflation or just that because they are discontinued it drives the price up. I was doing the same thing with collecting some toys that had the Toys R Us Logos on them figuring that since they closed their doors that the items would be worth much more way down the line for my heirs...but now I hear that there is a good possibility that they are coming back in business and the Logo will not be the rarity I thought.

When the Advance line was first rumored to be becoming extinct I think there was a big buyout of stock in hopes that they could make big profits...they could be right.

You aren't planning on retiring anytime soon are you Nigels?

No not retiring Super and I guess it is the rarity issue, as time goes by there will be less and less NIB versions and although like other PlaRail models they are pretty robust so will be around for a long time. But there again there is nothing quite like a minty-mint train its a bit like that 'new car smell' you get in a NIB car

I’ve noticed that on eBay and it makes me wonder how much of it is just speculation. In contrast, Mandarake recently had a bunch on their website selling for ¥800-¥1200. I guess the real question is, does anyone actually buy them at these inflated prices?