Where can I get the best deal on Thomas trains?

[whittyanne]

We have a major Thomas the train obsession going on in our house these days. The best prices, I've found, are on eBay. I can't seem to find even small sales anywhere... I think I had heard that was the case, but I thought I would check here.

Is eBay my best bet for finding good prices? Or are there any online stores where you guys have found sales?

TIA.

[DebbieJ]

If you have a Michael's store nearby, you can use the 40% off one item coupon as long as they're not on sale.

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/10029.gif

[darby24]

I've been keeping my eye on trains as my nephew really enjoys my old Brio set so perhaps this year will be his train year. Lots of Thomas lovers around here, so I bet you'll get plenty of results!

These are a few sites that I've learned through BBB:

http://www.creativetrains.com/index.html - sign up for the train of the day email.
http://www.happyhentoys.com/ -
http://magicref.tripod.com/trains/trainlnk.htm - this isn't where you buy, but gives plenty of info.

I remember a few ladies putting together a Thomas spreadsheet (perhaps last Christmas?)

edit to add; here is the spreadsheet link, though I don't have a copy myself.
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=12&topic_id=28405&mode=full#28476

[JElaineB]

When you add in shipping ebay generally doesn't have the best prices. I have bought from ebay for hard to find items though. Usually I buy from http://www.creativetrains.com because they have free shipping with $30 purchase. If I am buying a larger amount, I have also purchased from http://www.happyhentoys.com and http://www.trainsgalore.com. I have not had a problem ordering from any of them. Since I do not have a Michael's or AC Moore nearby these have been my best bets.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[whittyanne]

Thanks guys! I do have a Michael's right nearby - didn't realize I was allowed to use the 40% off coupon on trains. (Or that they had trains, I never venture past the scrapbooking aisle!) That's fab. and I will definitely start saving those each week. We have an AC Moore too - I should check to see if they have Thomas as well.

[brittone2]

Yes, AC Moore carries Thomas as well (not all Michaels and AC Moore do however). Their coupons are also interchangable...AC Moore accepts Michaels coupons, Joann coupons, etc. and Michaels takes AC Moore coupons.

In fact, we've been stocking up already for the holidays using the coupons. We just bought DS a $100 set using the 40% off coupon at AC Moore yesterday, and last week AC Moore had a 50% off coupon that we used to buy the $80 mail delivery set.

FWIW they often have Melissa and Doug at AC Moore and Michaels too.

Have fun starting withthe trains! DS is 17 months and is already starting to love them so we're heading down the same road :)

[holliam]

Beth, does Logan know who Thomas is beyond the trains? I know we have similar approaches towards things, and I've heard that Thomas is the best quality but I was worried about the commercialism. I figure we don't need to personify them if she has no clue who they are anyway.

Holli

[brittone2]

Yep, this is a problem I have with them too...go figure ;) He has no idea who Thomas is...we just call them choo choos around here :) That works for now but I'm not sure for how much longer I'll be able to get away with that.

I do worry about the commercial aspect and for that reason I debated going mostly with Brio stuff. HOwever, here is/was my deliemma with that. I figure that even if I go for non-character trains, his other little friends are going to either have Thomas or reference Thomas even if they are playing with a set like Brio. I'm not sure if that is logical thinking, but I kind of feel like I can't escape it. I wish they didn't have names on them and I've debated painting over the names on the bottoms of the trains, but then I worry about whether Learning Curve would replace them if they get damaged, etc. We do have some generic trains and he doesn't seem to have a preference as of yet. So far we have avoided buying the sets that include any precanned sounds, etc. (we just got a set with the engine wash to put way for Christmas but got the version without sound effects). Fortunately most of the stuff doesn't have sound effects and I hope they keep it that way!

I do worry that other kiddos are going to teach him the "names" of the trains and/or dictate how they should "act" based on the characters. Ick. But I figure they'll probably reference them even if we had Brio in our own house. Quite the dilemma, eh? ;)

[holliam]

Yea, I've thought about that with other kids too. I figure she will end up wanting things not because she has any idea what they are, but because she sees other kids getting excited about them.

We have these little Spanish/English cardboard flash card things that Mari loves that my sister sent. They are Winnie the Pooh and I keep just talking about the generic bear, tiger, piggie, etc. but not sure how long that charade will last! ;)

Holli

[nitaghei]

Holli,

My way around the dilemma was to start with the Thomas books. But then DH went and put some Thomas shows on the DVR. FWIW, DS loves reading the Thomas books, and pretty much knows the stories. And he's never asked for any Thomas merchandise. And he still plays with the generic trains. In fact, yesterday he was adamant about putting away all the Thomas engines and carriages, and playing only with the generic ones. Go figure!!

Oh, I'm doing something similar with Winnie the Pooh. ONLY the original Milne books - none of the dumbed down Disney garbage. Though we have some of the classic Pooh stuffed toys. (What can I say - my boycott of Disney is hard to enforce when I'm married to a Disney nut).

Nita (fleece is my friend)
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a PWD and a cocker (at the Rainbow Bridge)

[brittone2]

Hehehe...we're Disney-haters too :P My mom has a Mickey Mouse watch and will sing the old M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E song to him and it makes me cringe every time I hear it. I just pretend he only exists on Mom-mom's watch ;)

[August Mom]

FWIW, not all Michaels carry Thomas. Only 1 of the 3 Michaels stores near me has it, so you may want to call before you go.

In addition to the other sites mentioned, I've ordered from trainsgalore.com with success. Most of these on-line places have Thomas for 20% off retail.

[muskiesusan]

>I do worry that other kiddos are going to teach him the
>"names" of the trains and/or dictate how they should "act"
>based on the characters. Ick. But I figure they'll probably
>reference them even if we had Brio in our own house. Quite
>the dilemma, eh? ;)

This is where DS1 learned about Thomas. He thought they were just cool trains, that is until he started socializing! I don't care for Thomas b/c of the commercialization either, but they have more selection than Brio. Also, once others found out DS likes trains, they automatically start talking about Thomas to him. Nick, as he gets older, has also started noticing all the Thomas stuff available, which makes it even harder to get away from.

So, my advice is to not let them socialized with other children and avoid the toy/book stores that sell everything Thomas under the sun, lol!


Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01
& Alex 04/04

[jamsmu]

ours does... just have to watch because they will sometimes put the trains on sale so you can't use the coupon. ACMoore has them, too. :)

[whittyanne]

I've totally been having the same mental debate about the trains as well. I keep seeing the Brio cheap ones... but DS LOVES to watch Thomas. For now it's just "choo choo train," no matter what the character - but my fear is that I will invest in Brio and then he'll ask why he doesn't have all the Thomas trains. Ugh. Anyway, it's not too much of an issue now - we only have a handful of the Thomas trains so I'm kind of taking it slowly and we'll see...

I do hate the idea of some of the characters personalities coming out in play (my Mom just got DS "Bulgy" who is the nasty bus - he even has a nasty face...)