EBay Auctions - Model RRing

[CSXFanAlso]

Just thought I'd take a moment to talk about the world that is EBay and what a gold mine of model railroad equipement can be had there! I just purchased several super detailed and weathered frieght cars from EBay and they are incredible! I attempted to bid on, but sadly lost several impressive super detailed locomotives. I have never been good at weathering and custom painting, so for me these are great finds and I didn't pay much over the retail of the cars themselves.

Just wanted to hear about other people's experiences and see what tips you guys/girls might have had. I only have a few tips for sellers: Always, always, include a picture. This is must when selling any type of model and this holds true for model trains as well. I want to see exactly what I am bidding on. My mind will create the most beautiful SDXXMAC that no real model could compare to, so include a picture ensuring the product's TRUE condition. Second and final, include a detailed title, with the scale included. This the key to someone finding your item for sale. If they can't search it out, you won't get nearly as much traffic. Few people I think browse entire sections for items, it's quicker to search for something. I like to search out, say, "Athearn HO" and see what I get.

How about the rest of you? Any good tips for finding that great deal?

CSXFanAlso

[CNJ831]

eBay can be something of a double-edged sword unless you are an experienced hobbyist, know what you are looking for, and especially what you are LOOKING AT in the image(s) accompanying the ads.

I say this because, among older models,I have seen a great many misidentified. A while back there was a Mantua train set that went for nearly $300 because it was claimed to have been part of a 1939 Worlds Fair exhibit. In fact, it was a common late 1950's set actual worth perhaps $25. In another example, I've seen a single photo used repeatedly to illustrate supposedly different custom locomotives! Finally, with regard to current products, many times the opening bid set by the seller is higher than what I can get the item for new through mail order.

On the flip-side of the coin, there are indeed a great many bargins on eBay for the smart purchaser. I've had very good luck myself and obtained items I might never have found just going to Sunday morning RR swap meets.

The caution here is to know exactly what you are bidding on and approximately what it's really worth. Follow that rule and you'll do well.

John

[Anonymous]

I have purchased approximately 30 items over e-bay over the last three years and generally I have to say the experience has been good. I've been able to get several things that I think would have been otherwise difficult, including what I would consider one or two really good buys. I've also been burnt but not too badly, since I'm usually careful.
I almost never bid unless there is a picture and I never ever bid, if its someone who doesn't have references.
The other thing I take into consideration is shipping costs. What may seem like a good purchase price is not so good after you factor that in. This is especially true of freight cars. One time I bid a fair but low price on about six cars by the same seller figuring that if I won at least four I'd have them at a good price. Well I only won one and ended up paying about $12 for an $8 car.
The other thing is you can search only HO Equipment by clicking onto the HO line at the top of an HO item. This will bring you to a page with only HO equipment and you can narrow your search from there.
Just call me long winded,
Mark

[Anonymous]

Matt -

The other two folk have a point - know what you are bidding on, and remember the shipping costs.

Having repeated that, this summer I have bought two P2K older locos on e-Bay that I could not find anywhere else (A RI GP-7 w/wings and an E-8 "Rocket"), AND a brand new Kato SD-40 I&M Rail Link.

The deals went thru just fine, and I have some very nice locos purchased at about half of the original price (on average). So I am very happy with the e-Bay experiance! The Kato was from a Model RR Dealer who also sells on line - so the only difference in him and, say, Walthers (or any other on-line dealer) was that the item went up for bid, and the top bid was lower than all model train shop discounts!

MY 2 cents is to say:

1. e-Bay buying can work out just fine!

2. Don't get "carried away" - know (and stay in range) of your top bid, remembering the shipping cost! Having said that, watch your bids like a hawk in the last few minutes of bidding - I was outbidded for a item in the last 20 seconds !!!!!!!!

3. Be sure to see HOW the seller wants to be paid!

4. MOST IMPORTANT: look at the sellers ratings and buyers comments BEFORE bidding - only bid on items from dealers with good feedback from their other sales !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck and happy e-Baying and RRing !

- George B

[Anonymous]

i have been buying almost all my trains from eBay lately. i can usually get what i want at a real good price. i have only gotten burned once when i bought a custom UP sd60M. when it arrived it was the worst assembly job i have ever seen. but other than that i have had no problems. the brass engine selection is also great, and the prices are excellent. i have also sold some of my items on ebay and have had no trouble with the buyers. i got paid in a timely manner and they were all happy with what they got.

i am going to be selling off almost my entire collection of modern equipment on there sometime next month, or the month after. i am switching to the 1940's. my seller ID is trainworm. keep looking if you are interested.

[Anonymous]

a tip to help you find what you are looking for. say you are looking for a Union Pacific SD90MAC. the way the search engine is it wont bring up all the engines of that type. try typing Union Pacific, UP, U.P. and for sd90mac you can try sd 90mac, sd90 mac etc.. they need to try and get a better search engine.

[Anonymous]

On Ebay...Ask! Ask! Ask! A good seller will give you all the answers about the quality of the locomotive.

ASK THEM TO SEND MORE PHOTOS! A GOOD SELLER WILL NOT HIDE ANYTHING IF THEY ARE BEING HONEST!

If they shy away from your questions...unless you know 100% you are really getting a deal, don't buy! I bought a Big Boy and the guy said it was in excellent condition...but he was not a train person. I received a piece of junk! Trucks falling off, motor didn't run, etc. - etc. I did get about half of my money back, but could not get a full refund. Put it on the back shelf for a while...pulled it out...and about all it is now is a display piece.

[Budliner]

some times sellers get N and HO mixed up ask ?
and look out for plan blank backrounds that can fool you to the size


B -

[Anonymous]

E-Bay is my savior.

Living in Wyoming where hobby shops are far and few between. I find E-bay to be a great place to get my hands on what I want. I am also a paitient person and dont bid on the first thing I see. The advice about being careful, and shopping around and looking for exactly what you want is well said. I also reccomend don't even bid unless there is a clear in-focus well exposed picture of the item that is for sale. I learned the hard way on this one. I was able to repair it in my shop, but the seller made the picture slighly out of focus to hid this flaw. I shop around for deals and bargains and I often pick up what I call "junker" lots. Lots that have lots of cars and locomotives that I can have fun tinkering away fixing up and making runable again. I often duplicate equipment with these purchases. But that is Ok. I plan when I get out of college to super detail them, repaint them. and resell them as one of a kind custom models, which they truely will be.

Peace.

James

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Grayhound Challenger

E-Bay is my savior.

Living in Wyoming where hobby shops are far and few between.

Peace.

James

It's a long way to Salt Lake.

[Anonymous]

eBay rules!

Ok, so that's a bit simplistic. eBay could possibly be best described as a massive, 24 hour, 7 days a week swapmeet. You can find almost anything if you are willing to keep looking. I've bought assorted locos including an Athearn Dummy Dash 9 (mint, unassembled - just the way I like 'em!) and a powered PA (a type I've never seen for sale in a store over here). I've also bought assorted British locos and some photographic gear (one of my other interests is older Pentax SLRs). First rule: only buy from sellers with good feedback - read a few feedback reviews left by previous buyers. Secondly, set a maximum price and stick to it. I tend to have in mind a price that is slightly below retail. Another tip is to wait until the auction is almost over and then place your bid - I have won a few items in this way.

The previous post about buying "junker" locos and cars was interesting, as I do this too. Best one was a British diesel-hydraulic loco which was mint, boxed, but in pieces - I just had to re-assemble it (luckily the original instructions including exploded diagrams were in the box), and solder a single loose wire back in. I also had to fix a couple of cracked axle gears - removing them and using superglue while holding the gears gently in pliers to close the crack worked very well. I now have a sweet-running loco for a very reasonable outlay. It's important to check that the item is complete, or that you can find any spares it might need - I'm now looking for a spare set of loco and tender body shells for one buy as a result of not following this! Guess I'll have to search for a non-running but mint example to fit my good chassis to. Of course, for a real challenge you can't beat buying spares/repair cameras... lots of little parts, more complex than any loco!

[Anonymous]

Hey All!!

I sell stuff on ebay and in private look for computersandmorepa user ID on ebay also I have good and bad feelings about ebay some stuff went great some did not... so all I say if you buy from ebay get to know the buyer alot more than on the surface!!

[Jacktal]

And what would you guys do if a seller offers something you really want but doesn't care to answer your questions?Bid anyway or suspect some jinx?What's most likely in your opinions?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jacktal

And what would you guys do if a seller offers something you really want but doesn't care to answer your questions?Bid anyway or suspect some jinx?What's most likely in your opinions?

Personally, I wouldn't bid in that situation. If they're unwilling to answer reasonable questions (like a request for more photos for example, so you can check the model really is "almost mint") I would wonder whether they are completely above board. Sadly there are some dubious characters operating on eBay, not all of whom are found out by feedback. Don't let this put you off however, the vast majority of eBayers are honest people.

[Budliner]

QUOTE: Originally posted by NightCrawler

a tip to help you find what you are looking for. say you are looking for a Union Pacific SD90MAC. the way the search engine is it wont bring up all the engines of that type. try typing Union Pacific, UP, U.P. and for sd90mac you can try sd 90mac, sd90 mac etc.. they need to try and get a better search engine.

or try a wild card like sd*mac ebay will not let you use only one word wildcards so try it an see

Ken-

[mustanggt]

Ebay in my opinion is one of the best things to come out of the 90's. Just yesterday I won an IHC MBTA Boeng LRV. Mint! I know it will run like crap but i'm planning to replace the mechanism with one of those self powered trucks

[Anonymous]

I have used ebay a few dozen times and all has been well. A few things I have found
have bought train cars pictured off the rails which constantly derail (new wheelsets ok)
have found items misprinted Seaboarn for example especially cheap (no one findeth)
I did purchase a Proto 2K listed and actually new in box which wouldn't run. I wasn't sure if it would be warranteed since I wasn't the original purchaser. I carefully took it apart and found the red wire pinched and broken . It was obviously a factory defect.
Once I sent payment the next day afyer closing and it took 27 days for the seller to receive it.

[Anonymous]

Ebay is also a good place to get a bargain on hard to find stuff.

I'm getting a good start in TT gauge for cheap!

[StillGrande]

QUOTE: Originally posted by NightCrawler

a tip to help you find what you are looking for. say you are looking for a Union Pacific SD90MAC. the way the search engine is it wont bring up all the engines of that type. try typing Union Pacific, UP, U.P. and for sd90mac you can try sd 90mac, sd90 mac etc.. they need to try and get a better search engine.

Try using wildcards for searches. the asterisk (*) will find you a lot of mistyped and bargain listings. In the SD90MAC example, try just SD90*. (SD* will get a lot of things you are not looking for!). It also comes in handy to find multiple items which you might miss. I got 3 automaxs for $15 by searching as automax* rather than automax. Some sellers cut themselves out of a high bids by adding cutesy endings like !!!!! or @@ or whatever.

Some people don't know what they are listing, so they guess. Don't assume every seller knows as much as you do about railroading. I keep the Walthers Catalog next to the computer to check prices.

[Anonymous]

Funny this thread about eBay should pop up now. I had purchased a used MRC Dual controler on eBay March 30 and still have not received it (4/26). I e-maild the seller (trbo-golf) for information three times to all three of his e-mail address and made a long distance phone call to California (I left my toll free number on his answering machine). NO REPLIES until I filed a fraud alert with eBay. About a week later I got a brief message with no usable information. I keep checking the seller's feedback and I see he is receiving more negitive feedbacks since my auction closed.
Lesson learned? If they don't have at least 100 references and 100% positive feedback I won't do business with them. BEWARE OF FLAKES!

[MAbruce]

eBay can be a place to find good deals, but it can also be a trap waiting to swallow up your money. Here is a list of suggestions that I have learned to handle eBay:

1. Know your prices. Do your homework. Check what the cheapest price you can get whatever item as new and/or what it has been selling for lately by checking “completed items”. Don’t forget to factor in shipping to your overall cost.

2. Know the seller. Check feedback and don’t bid if the seller has several recent negatives. Make sure the shipping cost is stated. If not, ask. I usually stay away from general statements like “buyer to pay shipping costs”. I also like to see credit cards or Paypal as accepted payment methods. If you pay by credit card, you have recourse if something goes wrong.

3. Set your maximum bid and walk away. Never, NEVER get caught up in a bidding war. You will either end up losing the auction or paying more than you should. If someone out bids you, let it go. The same item will likely appear again soon (if there are not multiple items up for auction already).

4. If you win, always promptly follow through on any information needed by the seller, make your payment, and leave feedback.

In general, the key is not to want something so badly that it will cause you to get emotional and do fooli***hings. A vast majority of items being sold (except for custom made and specific collectors’ items) will appear again.

Do your homework, keep a cool head, be patient, and you will score deals.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MAbruce
In general, the key is not to want something so badly that it will cause you to get emotional and do fooli***hings. A vast majority of items being sold (except for custom made and specific collectors’ items) will appear again.

Agreed, Although I have never gotten into a bidding war, there have been a couple of times where I should have waited a week to get what I won on auction. As the same item went for half the price I bid for it. Oh well we can't tell the future. Bup patients is a virtue.

James

[genelbradleyjr]

Hi, I'm new to ebay so everything I have learned over the past two months is fresh on my mind. But it has really been a Godsend, since I was looking for out of production P2k E units, geeps and switchers. Here are a few of my mottos
1. browse frequently, put items you are interested in on the watch list.
2. Know what you are bidding on and look for accurate descriptions.
3. Watch the bidding in the final 30 minutes (I ususlly wait till the final hour to place a bid)
4. If its a crappy picture I don't bid (I don't even ask for a better pic) This is not to say anything negative about any sellers. ok? But Too many other sellers have excellent pics and they've seen what it looks like out there.
5. If it is a p2k unit and the pic shows it assembled, email the seller and ask him if he will disassemble for shipping. i.e. wirh the foam in the body shell in the top compartment, and the mechanism in the bottom part with the brackets supporting the mechanism and protecting the couplers. PROTO 2K E UNITS DO NOT SHIP WELL ASSEMBLED.
6. Have a max price you will not go beyond and take shipping into consideration.
7. If they do not offer insurance, I don't bid.
8. If they can't take PayPal, I don't bid. (on rare occassions and its something I really want I'll do a M/O.
9. i leave the items in the watch list even after they've sold to keep track of what they sold for. You could do this your self offline in a spreadsheet or with pencil and paper.
10. Always keep in mind what you could buy the item for at trainland.com (if its available,,, limited roads are usually the issue here... but it will give you and idea of the $$$$$ not to go above.
11. KEEP LOOKING, KEEP LOOKING, KEEP LOOKING

[Jacktal]

That's all fine and dandy,but what about someone like me,who's about to sell items for the first time on eBay.There's no way I can have positive feedback as of yet,nor any negative either...OK,that's positive...but there's a good chance I won't be able to attract interested bidders,simply because of that.Things don't change,I guess,the good ones pay for the bad ones.