UPDATED Craigslist GeoTrax question - what is a good price?

[joules]

I am tempted to get DS1 a huge set from craigslist.

I haven't seen any GeoTrax in person yet, but the small sets on Amazon seem so expensive for what they are. I mean I would have to buy a few of those to make something fun right? He has some hand me down Thomas toys. One is a tower thing, one is a tunnel...but they don't link together so it doesn't seem like much fun to me.

I've seen 2 sets listed. One without pictures claims it's over $1000 worth of GeoTrax for $395. Another one says it's enough for 3-4 boys to play with w/o fighting for $200. Are these good prices?

From researching the boards, it seems like GeoTrax is a pretty good purchase since the tracks don't come apart easily and you can use push and remote controlled trains with it?

I am looking forward to the day both DSs can play with their trains together.

[vonfirmath]

We paid $50 for a large cardboard box+ of Geotrax (might have been two. We had a setup out and STILL had a cardboard box of stuff that was not used at the moment). (I don't know about retail value)

Warning: Geotrax takes up a LOT of space. That's why you find it on Craigslist so frequently.

[AlbrightRC]

I would start with a small set and make sure your child likes it before you make that huge of an investment. We bought my son a "Cars" themed set because he is obsessed with all things cars and then he got a huge rubbermaid tote full of stuff from his older cousin and he will play with it for a couple weeks and then want it put away and his blocks back out. We have one play table so he can only have one out at a time. He much prefers setting up his wooden trains all around the living room

[belovedgandp]

We love our Geotrax. I was reluctant to start since we had wooden train track and Thomas stuff coming out of our ears. But we did when my now almost 9YO was almost 5. It is HUGE, so it is a closet toy for us. We have two large rubbermaid totes that are well overflowing. We'll pull it out set it up all over the living room floor and the kids will have a blast with it for a week or so. Then we put it away for 6-8 weeks.

But kids from 1 to 10 play with the stuff. It is easy to put together and sturdy. We've made a point of setting it up when having family gatherings and letting a wide range of kids play with it.

I'd want to know how much stuff there was before committing hundreds into it though. The trains will run you $20+ a piece, and while you need more than one you don't need more than 4 or so unless you have a lot of space to set it up. I've bought all of ours at Costco, Target clearance, Amazon specials - but would ballpark our investment at $400 and it is way more than any one family should have.

[joules]

oops too late. Right after I posted, someone listed a lot for $120. I picked it up after work. 2 huge trash bags full and then some larger pieces that wouldn't fit in the bags.

It *is* huge! We will eventually have a 5x5 expedit in the living room for toy storage (currently we have a 2x4). I am planning on making a train table in the living room, basically it will be a toy room. I also have a large closet under the stairs right next to the living room for storage and an extra bedroom. And some space in the garage too. I hope I can make it work. And I hope DS1 will love playing with it.

I figure I can hold onto it for a bit and if he really doesn't play with it enough, put it back on craigslist. To be honest, I'm kind of looking forward to playing with it too.

[kristac]

Give up on the train table idea. Geotrax are really better just on the floor. A train table will just be in the way. $120 for that amount sounds like a good deal. I definitely don't think you need "over $1000 worth" of Geotrax. It seems like you have a good amount. We have ours sorted into 3 Rubbermaid boxes- 2 smaller (file size) and 1 larger one. We have one small one for trains, people, small accessories, the other small one is for flat tracks, and then the large one holds elevation track and most of the buildings.

[hellokitty]

oops too late. Right after I posted, someone listed a lot for $120. I picked it up after work. 2 huge trash bags full and then some larger pieces that wouldn't fit in the bags.

It *is* huge! We will eventually have a 5x5 expedit in the living room for toy storage (currently we have a 2x4). I am planning on making a train table in the living room, basically it will be a toy room. I also have a large closet under the stairs right next to the living room for storage and an extra bedroom. And some space in the garage too. I hope I can make it work. And I hope DS1 will love playing with it.

I figure I can hold onto it for a bit and if he really doesn't play with it enough, put it back on craigslist. To be honest, I'm kind of looking forward to playing with it too.

Don't bother making a train table. Our geotrax set is big enough to fill the entire floor of our playroom. I use those huge bins that you can find at target (the kind with rope handles) to store our geotrax. We have two and a half of those big buckets of geotrax, which sounds close to the amt that you have. Buy a lot of batteries, they go through them quickly and have your screwdriver handy too. It's a fun set and now that my older two can build some elaborate stuff, it's fun to see what they come up with. I really do feel that it's a set that can grow with your child better than the other train sets.