Today, after lossing yet another locomotive on the bay, I am wondering where else to buy. I am looking for moderatly priced, used or new locomotives, in D&H paint.
Thanks,
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
Harrison Today, after lossing yet another locomotive on the bay, I am wondering where else to buy. I am looking for moderatly priced, used or new locomotives, in D&H paint. Thanks,
You're only losing on ebay because somebody else wants it more than you.
Ebay is still your best option for selection. Sometimes you just have to be patient. I've been wanting a Providence & Worster RS3 for ages, but every time one came, it sold for silly money ! After YEARS of watching, one came up a few weeks ago and I snagged it for $50.00 ! Couldn't have been happier.
Aside from ebay, if you are on Facebook, there are all kinds of buy/sell/trade groups that are very active.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
This is a good place:
https://groups.io/g/HOswap/topics
It's free to join, just have to set up an account at Groups.io This group used to be in Yahoo, and I think there still an HO swap in Yahoo, made up of members that didn't go with the main group.
I'm sure there are other sites like this.
In Ebay, you got to be like the rest, and YOU be the guy that jumps in the last second.
Mike.
My You Tube
I have a treat for you. Don't give up ebay yet, because you can sign up on this free website:
https://www.gixen.com/index.php
You enter in your ebay account and then tell it what auction you are wanting. Then you punch in your max bid and as long as the auction bidding doesn't exceed that, you will guarunteed (unless something goes wrong or I misread) get the win. Sounds good, doesn't it? I signed up, but I have yet to try it. My budget is measly.
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
You can do the same thing through Ebay, enter your max bid, Ebay will bid for you, until your max is reached, and if your not there when your max is reached, too bad, unless your max is your absolute max, and you are not going higher, than you still loose.
Bidders can still jump in in the last few seconds, and easily bid over your max bid by very little.
As far as a guarantee, the only guarantee is when you are there and watching the bidding, and be able to move within a few seconds.
Yea, I'm one of those bidders that jump in at the last few seconds. Bought lots of stuff that way.
Facebook has a few HO yard sale groups that I have used. Most run on paypal. I have good look, never had a bad transaction as of yet. It has pretty much replaced my ebay although I'm not usually looking for something specific.
Colorado Front Range Railroad: http://www.coloradofrontrangerr.com/
BNSF UP and others modeler I have a treat for you. Don't give up ebay yet, because you can sign up on this website: https://www.gixen.com/index.php
I have a treat for you. Don't give up ebay yet, because you can sign up on this website:
I use a different sniping service and don't always win. Maybe I should switch to gixen.
I've been wary about Facebook and don't see a lot of bargains. While sometimes things on ebay seem to fly under the radar, especially if there is a mis-spelling or mis-identification of the project.
Locally, my neighbors tell me that Craigslist scammers have rendered the site nearly useless for buying selling or renting and they use Facebook for yard sales.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
The sniping website I use charges 1% of the final selling price - i.e. if I win. So, if my winning bid is $100, they charge me $1 for their service. I think that's a pretty fair price and I have won more times than not.
Essentially they place my bid the last 6 seconds of the auction. If my maximum bid for the item isn't exceeded, I win the auction. If it is exceed, I'm not charged anything for the service.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I have used ebay for quite awhile and have won and lost. I have several items on Saved Searches, so I get a daily notice of items within the search. I look over the items and decide if i want to bid or not. Sometimes when I submit what I feel is the maximum I want to pay, it will tell me that someone already wants it more. There is usually about a week before the auction ends (unless there is a But It Now option) and I think about it over the next few days. On more than one occasion it looked like I was going to get the bid and when I check later I see there was a sniper set up and I lost. I have held out for quite a long time looking for specific items in my price range, but was eventually successful. Oh yes, ebay will tell you when you are outbid too. I don't bother with setting up a sniping account, just figure my limit and go with it.
Set up a saved search for "HO, D&H" then you will be notified daily of all D&H items that come on ebay; locos, rolling stock and any other D&H items that should come along.
I've seen some items go unreasonably high priced for one or two of them, then suddenly one goes for a modest price. The people that really wanted them got theirs (for a high price) and the price dropped back to reasonable for the rest of the bidders that follow. It will bounce back up if there are two bidders that really want something at the same time. From the sellers standpoint, they see an item going for a high price, the hungry bidders have bought and either your item doesn't sell or sells at a disappointing price. The whole auction thing is sort of a crap shoot, for buyer and seller.
You can also keep checking Modeltrinstuff, Trainworld and other discounted dealers to see what they have. I have found things on sale and if you sign up for their emails, they notify you when there are items on sale. Tony's Train Exchange in Essex Jct occasionally has something at a good price too.
Good luck,
Richard
Just keep trying.
Sometimes people don't know what they have and list stuff "buy it now" for cheap. If you search every day, and happen to check late at night, after most people are asleep, or early in the morning, sometimes you can jump on a "buy it now" deal and scarf the items for less than other people have the starting bid at, for the very same item.
The key is to be persistent and not give up. Also--go to shows like Timonium--there will be D&H stuff there and sometimes it is affordable because you are a little "out" of the regular D&H territory.
John
PRR8259Sometimes people don't know what they have and list stuff "buy it now" for cheap.
I have found many bargains this way. It helps to learn how to use the "Saved search" feature and choose email alerts. I did this recently for some old Proto 2000 Mather box cars, both kits and RTR. The box cars didn't seem to be made in the same large numbers that some other P2K cars were. Not long after, I was notified of ones that were listed at $10, buy-it-now with free shipping!
I would get alerts any time one was listed. Sometimes they were stock cars, as John says these are sometimes listed by non-RR people. I also have advanced saved searches that I like to check every now and then. Use key words and the minus sign to eliminate words you don't want in the search, for instance, Lionel, if you are sure you don't want those included in the search.
Make the system work for you, it can pay off.
mbinsewiYea, I'm one of those bidders that jump in at the last few seconds. Bought lots of stuff that way.
Me too. It's the last ten seconds that count. I can't understand why bidders will ratchet up the price so fast when there are several days until the auction end. It is good for the seller, though.
Good Luck, Ed
gmpullmanIt's the last ten seconds that count. I can't understand why bidders will ratchet up the price so fast when there are several days until the auction end.
Or, the first bidder who will plunk down nearly the Buy It Now price at the get-go. Yea, those mystify me, too, Ed.
I'm also one that hunts down Buy It Now bargains via saved searches. Even then, saved searches don't catch them all because of how the item is described by the seller and I manually search for an particular item anyhow.
Even if I don't win every bid, the hunt can sometimes be as much fun as bidding. And sometimes I'll place a watch on an item just to see how much it will go for at the end of an auction. I recently saw a BLI 4-8-2 L-4 Mohawk go for over $1,100. Glad I picked both of mine up for MSRP or less.
I've not been buying D&H, but for modestly priced locomotives and rolling stock, I've been doing well with a combination of train shows, train forums (Tyco Depot, Model Train, Trainworld, etc), Cragislist, Trainworld and ebay.
The key seems to be patience. If I want long enough it seems that things I am interested in show up. I'm not sure there is a solution for folks who don't enjoy the hunt.
mbinsewi This is a good place: https://groups.io/g/HOswap/topics It's free to join, just have to set up an account at Groups.io This group used to be in Yahoo, and I think there still an HO swap in Yahoo, made up of members that didn't go with the main group. I'm sure there are other sites like this. In Ebay, you got to be like the rest, and YOU be the guy that jumps in the last second. Mike.
Visit the Chicago Valley Railroad for Chicago Trainspotting and Budget Model Railroading.
You should sign up for the emails that trainworld sends out. They get closeouts from various companies and then sell them at very low prices. www.trainworld.com
I have bought quite a few engines from them as I could not believe the prices!
Disclaimer-I am not affiliated with them, just a hobbyist..
Neal
Count me in for the HO swap site mentioned earlier. They sell so many different reporting marks of freight cars and locos. I've had a lot of success.
With so much riding on the locos, I much prefer buying them new. I know that's more expensive but why have a loco just sit there? Perhaps my bad experience buying a used car turned me off of buying anything mechanical pre-used.
I have been hunting on eBay for rare brass items since 2 years ago but for new release non-brass item, I usually bought them from Train World or local hobby shops if it is available in my country.
The trophy of my last battle on the bay was an NJ Custom PRR Q1. I am lucky enough to lose an ALCO brass streamlined PRR K4s not long before Bachmann announced to make a plastic one with 4 numbers (it's for display only so no big deal). Sometimes losing a bid on the bay can be a blessing in disguise.
Jones 3D Modeling Club https://www.youtube.com/Jones3DModelingClub
Harrison, eBay is your best bet.
.
Decide what reasonable price you are willing to pay, then be patient.
I have been on eBay since 09/SEP/1999, and I can tell you this... If it was mass produced, and you are willing to pay a fair price, you will eventually get it for the price you are willing to pay.
If you need it now you will pay more.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I've noticed that buyers tend to push the prices up on D&H painted locos on ebay. I think you simply have to bid high. Maybe discount stores have competitive prices, but the popularity of the paint scheme probably means they sell out quickly too.
- Douglas
gmpullman Me too. It's the last ten seconds that count. I can't understand why bidders will ratchet up the price so fast when there are several days until the auction end. It is good for the seller, though.
Doesn't make any difference to me. Just a few minutes ago, I put my max bid on something that's six days out. I'm not willing to spend more than $30 on the thing. If someone's going to spend $31+ on it, I'm going to lose in those last ten seconds anyhow in a sniper's duel.
That's the trick, you put in your highest amount, and forget about it. That's fine, I also have done that, and I've been surprised at some of the stuff I've won, for a little amount.
But if it's something you really, really, really want, your going to be watching and waiting with fingers ready to move.
OK, got to put in my 25 cents..........
If you see something you really want, mark it as a watch and get back to the auction right before closing. Plug in the highest bid you wish, punch it in about a minute before the end. Then, VERY PATIENTLY wait until 5-8 seconds before the close and hit "confirm bid". If your bid is good enough, you got the item.
One thing to note.....when you see a lot of bids, typically they are from the same handful of bidders - each upping the other and driving up the price. But you know what's notable? Most often, none of these frequent bidders will end up winning. It will be someone like yourself (if you follow my preceeding advice) that will come in and sweep it away from the others.
BTW, I've been an active buyer/seller on Ebay since 2000, with a couple thousand feedbacks and goodness knows how many transactions.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
With snipers set up for the last few seconds, I have found sitting there trying to outbid them is rather a waste of time. I tried it when I was first bidding, never won a thing.
What I have done is add an odd amount of change to my maximum bid in case theirs is the same, i.e. $30.18. Have won a couple by cents.
mbinsewi You can do the same thing through Ebay, enter your max bid, Ebay will bid for you, until your max is reached, and if your not there when your max is reached, too bad, unless your max is your absolute max, and you are not going higher, than you still loose. Bidders can still jump in in the last few seconds, and easily bid over your max bid by very little. As far as a guarantee, the only guarantee is when you are there and watching the bidding, and be able to move within a few seconds. Yea, I'm one of those bidders that jump in at the last few seconds. Bought lots of stuff that way. Mike.
Ebay wants you to bid that way, lol prices can go very high if people dropping bids like that. items can attract more attention when an item has a lot of bidding. I use ezsniper, it bids last second to the limit I set. Why l lost my fair share but I dont overpay either. I eventually find most everything I'm looking for.
nw2Ebay wants you to bid that way, lol prices can go very high if people dropping bids like that. items can attract more attention when an item has a lot of bidding.
Yea, but I don't. I'm my own ezsniper. When I really want something, I look up the legit price, figure in the shipping, and if all is good, I start pouncing the last couple of minutes, maybe. Sometimes I wait until the last 30 seconds.
I don't constantly thow in bids. Nobody knows I'm after it until about 30 to 40 seconds before the end.
Of course, I have the time to do that, when I want, I'm retired.
When I was working every day, I lost a lot of things I wanted to go after. Yea, I know, now you can do that on your smart phone. Didn't have one, that wasn't allowed at work, phone stayed in your lunch box, not in your hand, and I still don't have one.
And what attracts people to items is what the item is, NOT because word got out that everyone is bidding on it.
cowmanWhat I have done is add an odd amount of change to my maximum bid in case theirs is the same, i.e. $30.18. Have won a couple by cents.
I do the exact same thing, Richard. I generally add $0.87 to my max price plus $2-3 more - if the last number is a zero.
And I'm one that will watch an item but will only bid on it the last few seconds (using a sniping website) in order NOT to draw attention to the auction.
Wow, some of these posts are just "right on"....... Brings to mind the old saying - "Great minds think alike"!
eBay auctions are not for the timid. That's why I usually stick to Buy It Now listings.
When I do participate in an eBay auction, it is usually when I am after something New, not Used, because that way, I can put an accurate price on it. Let's face it, it is totally stupid to pay more as the winning bidder than what you could buy it for retail.
If I want it bad enough, I make sure that I win it, no matter the winning bid. But, that doesn't happen often, usually only because the item that I want is long since retired and hard to impossible to find. When that occurs, I have the 'price is no object' attitude and I get what I want without paying ridiculous prices. How can that be? Because most bidders are too timid, they don't want the item as bad as I do.
My experience on eBay is like that of others. Most bids occur in the last few minutes, and often by the sniping method. When you look at a bidding history, you see guys nibbling with several consecutive bids that never win in the end. Quite often the winner of an auction is the guy with only one bid, the final bid.
I don't concern myself with snipers. With about 3 minutes to go in an auction, I place a bid with what I call a "silent reserve". That scares off the timid ones. Then, the sniper comes in with 5 seconds to go with his bid but he cannot overcome my silent bid and runs out of time. Now, the sniper could have won by submitting a bid with a silent reserve that was higher than mine, but even the sniper proves to be too timid.
And, trust me, I never "pay too much" because if the item is discontinued and darn near impossible to find, what is "too much" if you have to have it?
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrainwhat is "too much" if you have to have it?
My wife has an answer to that question!
richhotrainWhen I do participate in an eBay auction, it is usually when I am after something New, not Used, because that way, I can put an accurate price on it. Let's face it, it is totally stupid to pay more as the winning bidder than what you could buy it for retail.
I totally agree, Rich. But that hasn't stopped some bidders (who don't do their homework) from bidding on an item and paying waaaay more than they needed to because they got caught up in the moment.
As mentioned before, I use a sniping website. If I want an item I'll set my maximum bid days ahead of time and may check it once a day to see where the bids are. If I want it bad enough and have already been outbit with enough time to spare, I'll mull it over and up my max then leave it until the auction is over.
If someone wants it more than me - more power to 'em. I'll find it another time...
tstage richhotrain When I do participate in an eBay auction, it is usually when I am after something New, not Used, because that way, I can put an accurate price on it. Let's face it, it is totally stupid to pay more as the winning bidder than what you could buy it for retail. I totally agree, Rich. But that hasn't stopped some bidders (who don't do their homework) from bidding on an item and paying waaaay more than they needed to because they got caught up in the moment.
richhotrain When I do participate in an eBay auction, it is usually when I am after something New, not Used, because that way, I can put an accurate price on it. Let's face it, it is totally stupid to pay more as the winning bidder than what you could buy it for retail.