Thomas and Friends - Fort Stewart,GA

I have seen people selling really big Thomas collections on Craigslist for very little compared to the price to buy new. I would do that, and split the collection up for birthday/Christmas/etc.

We buy all our trains from a place called the Train Cellar. They are a little mom and pop store, that has a website. They have the BEST prices, even over buying used. Great customer service, too. Their ordering process is a bit old fashioned, but they are great. They have amazingly fast shipping, too!

www.traincellar.com

I had a Thomas addict as well.
Do yourself a favor and look on eBay & Craigslist.
He won't care if they're used.
Good luck!

My little guy LOVES Thomas as well. We have had a lot of luck with the Trackmasters, because he can watch the trains go around since they are battery powered. Be careful, the blue and tan/brown tracks are not interchangeable. Neither is the wooden ones. My husband has gotten some amazing deals on Ebay and Craigslist. Also, Fred Meyer has had some on clearance, so when it goes 40% off, it is affordable.

Have fun, good luck, and be ready to put them together over and over and over again!

My 3 still love their Thomas trains!
I'm assuming you've got the wooden trains. A few tips to help defray the cost.
The wooden Thomas trains run on the generic track you can buy at Target, Toys R Us, Walmart etc. You do not have to spend the higher price on only Thomas track pieces. The buildings also are compatible from any of the other generic brands. The train table that we have came from Costco. They use it years later to build their Legos or build puzzles on or set up Fisher Price neighborhoods or whatever. It was the best investment! We got it when my oldest was 3, he's 12 now and 2 kids later it's still the center piece of the playroom.
There are very often lots on ebay from parents selling off a child's collection because they "outgrew them". Not all kids outgrow them, mine have not and are moving on to bigger trains.
Toys R Us runs their sale a few times a year but it is always the same. It doesn't get any better nearer Christmas time. The trains are pretty price fixed unless you catch them on sale.

I got all of our Thomas stuff on clearance at target. They do a bid sale in January and at the end of July.

So many boys go through this train stage. Mine did too. When my oldest was a toddler, I bought him an awesome train table, tracks, and trains on Craigslist. So many people invest lots of money on these items and the kids grow out of the stage, so check on there if you are open to buying used. You might find a great deal, especially on a train table. I sold the set on Craigslist after he lost interest too.

I never found the Thomas stuff on sale unless it was around Christmas time. My son was into Thomas for a solid three years. We did the Take and Play sets, the gray plastic track. I also bought a bunch of stuff from a lady at work and got probably $300 worth of trains and track for $45. If you can find them used, that is definitely the way to go! Trains were around $6-10 a piece, depending on if it had a tender or not, could talk, etc.. Small track sets were $10-15. Larger track sets anywhere from $20-50, on how elaborate they were. I'd compare prices online before you stock up. I bought some stuff on Amazon and found the prices comparable to Walmart. Target and Toys R Us were much more expensive. DVDs were definitely cheaper on Amazon.

We just moved and I went ahead and packed up all of his Thomas stuff for storage. I have a lot of money invested and I'll save it for my next kid, for when my sister has a kid, or grandkids. The toys have held up well with a lot of rough play!

During our Thomas phase sales were hard to come by and the trains are easily 10-20 dollars a piece. I will also say that in my experience, personal and according to friends with boys, Thomas & Friends lasts until Pre-K. Most boys move on by kinder or 1st grade so keep that in mind as well when investing in this. It could turn into a hobby or just another phase - also check garage sales - most boys find and love Thomas & Friends.

There is a LOT of Thomas train stuff.
First decide if you want the wooden, plastic or trackmaster Thomas train.
-----Wooden is just that wooden trains and tracks. It also some of the most expensive train stuff. It is of course propelled by him pushing them along.
------Plastic is very similar, but b/c it is plastic you can find it at a more affordable price point.
-----TrackMaster is plastic, but the trains are battery operated. You didn't mention his age, but as he gets older this line will entertain him longer.

All have a lot of different set-ups available for purchase, but they are not interchangeable. I found that out the expensive way!

Target sells both the plastic and trackmaster and often have sells and are generally cheaper at full price. Toys R US sells them too. You can actually find Thomas in a lot of stores including hobby shops.

At least once a year they come out with a new Thomas movie and they always made track sets that match the movie. My son loves to get the movie then set his trains up and feel like he is in the movie. They make new trains for sale that are featured in the movie as well. The have tons of books as well.

As he gets too old for this line, they also make Thomas trains in HO, N and O scales so when he is say 8 or 9 still likes Thomas, but doesn't want to see like a little boy anymore you can upgrade. Fyi these are the more expensive train scales you see, real wiring etc.

I started with Thomas, but Chugginton has a nice line and can be found a little cheaper. I just refused to switch after I spent hundreds of dollars and having two different ones was silly.

Be prepared, my son got into trains at 2 almost 3 and three years later is still crazy about them! We go to train shows, museums and when he is old enough he will probably join a model train club. Oh and they do a day out with Thomas every year and I have to go every year. I'm hoping next year he won't want to go :P Not really fun for me, but hey.

He started with one loop Thomas Trackmaster and now has so much it would take up the entire living room floor to put it together! Lots of fun for him!

My local AC Moore sells Thomas it's cheaper than TRU. We usually wait until it goes on sale and then use their coupons. You get a really good deal that way. We also get them at our local hobby store. We happened to stop by the store one day and they were half price! We got a really great deal on a starter set. It doesn't hurt to shop around.

We had train obsessed boys as well. I say yes hit up the sale.

We just moved & I donated ALL our Thomas stuff, trains, tracks (the other poster is correct, if you go wooden, which we did, generic track & table are the way to go!!)...it was kind of depressing packing all that up, all I saw were wonderful memories & LOTS & LOTS if $$$$ signs!

~It felt good to donate tho, & I'd rather the tax right off than dealing w/CL or eBay!