Here my 2 cents on EBAY

[Anonymous]

I have bought brass engines and other OOP items off eBay and have not been burned yet. One structure came in with no instructions, but NMRA had them on file, so no big deal.

I always check Caboose Hobbies to see what the selling price of the brass is that I want to buy, and bid accordingly.

I'm very pleased with my eBay buys and sells. I've been at it for over 4 years. I do feel bad to see Central Valley cars going for $20.00 when two years ago I bought some at $36.00.

I feel sorry for the schumuks that bid more then they can buy it at a shop, and they wouldn't have to worry about the bidding. But it's their money and someone said "A fool and his money are soon parted."

Bob

[rlbeetle]

I have good luck on Ebay in selling and buying. I did have a couple of buyers that would not pay (but they did not get the merchandise either). Ebay's "No Payment" policy is not too good for the seller, it takes too long before you can relist the item (almost two weeks) and all it does for you is save your listing fees. I buy mostly postcards and other historical items pertaining to my hometown and a WWII military camp that was in my town. I did pay too much for some of the cards when I got into the hobby but now I know which cards are common and which are not. I have bought some train items since I got into this hobby. All my loco's came off of Ebay. I try to do research and see what a new one cost and go from there. I see some people pay several hundred dollars for electronic stuff when they could pay just a little more and get a new one.

[Jacktal]

Speaking of Ebay,I'm actually living my first frustrating situation.I just received an "N" scale loco that originally came "decoder equipped" and was posted as so on Ebay.However,when I put it on a DCC powered track,it started singing like a soprano...then dialed 00 and it fired up.At first,I was wondering if the decoder was actually defective but that didn't make much sense to me.One solution left...pull the cab off...to discover that the decoder had been removed and replaced by the standard Atlas two lamp printed circuit.Thought maybe Atlas forgot the decoder on the assembly line then inspection of the wheels showed that the loco has been used,although very slightly,so somebody obviously knows about this.

I then sent an email to my seller who quickly responded.He told me that he bought this loco on Ebay in October and even sent me a copy of the Ebay post.He also told me that he didn't have a ready layout to test it then and had since decided to switch to HO,so that he had never tested the engine and was completely unaware of this situation.He then told me that he would send his seller an email in hope to get the situation corrected,assuring me that I'll receive a new decoder at his own expense if needed.

It seems that I am dealing with a honest seller and I'm not really worried yet.But I'm aware that if my seller buys me a new decoder,he still will have been burned by someone with very little conscience who will get away with it.But if I can help it...that won't happen.

[CP5415]

My two cents on Ebay.

I don't buy anything I can't see in my two hands before I buy it.

Gordon

[dehusman]

I have had good luck on e-Bay buying older rule books (which can be hard to find, even in train shows). I have had mixed results on buying equipment. Some was trash, some was good.

The whole key is to know what you are buying. A friend of mine showed me a Walthers plastic tank car that was detailed and very nicely weathered. It sold on e-Bay for $355. Yes that was over three hundred dollars.

On the other hand I picked up a triple beam scale for measuring casting resins for about $10 less than the typical e-Bay price (and about a third of the cost new). And it works great too.

You just have to know the value of what you are buying and stick to your maximum price. PT Barnum would have loved e-Bay.

Dave H.

[rlandry6]

My $.02

I've had two incidents of identity theft on ebay, both of which were difficult and aggravating to remedy, but luckily did not cause me any financial loss. In all fairness, there are some honest sellers on ebay. I have purchased items that turned out to be OK, allthough not bargains, by the time you factor in the usually overpriced shipping charges. There are a lot of sellers that scour estate and yard sales buying stuff by the lot and really don't have any idea what the item is, let a lone the condition or suitablitiy of what they are selling. The description," Appears to be in good condition", or "Appears to have been used very little" should be give-a-ways.
I've seen very little offered on ebay that couldn't be purchased from one of the many on-line stores, and you have a phone number to talk to a real person id there's a problem. All it takes is a little research, and you'll spend that much time surfing ebay. it's not for me. I cancelled my ebay account..

[gvdobler]

I have had great success selling (antiques) on EBAY. I have got some good deals buying RC airplane out of production kits and buying some model railroad stuff.

Sometimes item are more than they were new-but if you found a brand new 57 chevy you would pay more than the original $2k.

Always:

1. Check all online suppliers for item pricing even when they are out of it. I saw someone pay over $500 for an airplane kit that was still in stock for $425.

2. Never buy when the only bidder has no feedback--its the seller.

3. Never buy when there is one bid and and the reserve has not been met-again its the seller and your bid will take it over the reserve. That's a deceptive way to get the bidding started. I have used reserves on some antiques so that in itself is not the problem, its when the seller uses a different ID and bids just under his reserve so the first bid will lock in.

PayPal is great because you have protection, but sometimes you have to send a money order-make sure the seller feedback is good and you'er comfortable.

Luckily what we buy and sell is not a big target for fraud, but search for a Honda Goldwing and you can almost always find a 2 year old one for half price. A known scam of "hijacking" a legitimate seller's EBAY web address and getting you to send the money for a non existent motorcycle. When they hijack a seller's site, now you think it should be OK. The trick is the fake seller is generally "on temporary assignment" out of the counrtry, but according to the feedback looks good, so you send it out of the country and then you're stuck.

If you do some homework you can find some good deals.

Jon - Las Vegas