Ever buy something and then realize you really got ripped off or payed alot of money for a broken item? Share the story here.
"No childhood should be without a train!"
Those of us who were in the hobby before the plethora of price guides and/or history books all probably paid too much for items from time to time. Or perhaps let something go for an unintended bargain price.
Yeah the price guides, I would say 2 Lionel postwar NYC F units, about 21 years ago I way overpaid, but at the time they seemed like a good deal. I had no idea that tons and tons of newer stuff would be appearing in the market place a few years later. Actually now that I think of it mabye they werent such a bad deal. Today there is Williams etc.. that I could buy for much less.
Yes, I got a good screwing just last year from a guy on the OGR forum. I bought an NYC 2344 F3- A-B-A set and paid premium money for them thinking they were in much better shape than they actually were. One cab had a bad crack in it, the power unit had a loose motor in the rear and it was bouncing around on the truck chewing up the gears and the horn blew by itself frequently. The paint was also rough on the front unit. The seller claimed they ran great(impossible) and he knew NOTHING about all the problems. All the pictures were carefully taken so as to not show any of the damage. He also refused to take them back or refund any at all. Pure scumbag. It has cost me a lot in money and time to get them right.
Roger
The Lionel 18001 Rock Island 4-8-4 Northern. What a dog always ran poorly the few times I had it on the track and now it will not run at all
You tell me. I just bought a 2344 ABA set on ebay. There are no cracks anywhere on the body. The paint is a bit dingy (I haven't tried to clean it yet), the pick up rollers are pretty deeply grooved, the horn does not work, the lights do work, it runs great though and the port hole covers are missing. I paid $480.00 including shipping. Once I get the horn working (I think I can), replace the port hole covers and the pick up rollers and clean it up a bit I think it will be a great looking and even better running engine set. How did I do? It was a lot of money for me. But, I really wanted the NYC engine set so I paid it. I am happy, but have no idea if I paid too much or not. I would really like an honest opinion on it.
Terry Thomann Fredericksburg, Virginia That is me on the left. My brother got the train TCA 09-64381
The WRL "Beep". What a piece of junk.
Rob
You did ok in my opinion. I paid more than that and got a lot less. The 2344 B unit sells for 150.00 to 200.00 any day on Ebay so I think you got them at a good price. When you replace the rollers scrap the original design and use the roller assy for the 2023 alco engines. You will thank yourself later.
I bought a M.P.C. box car in the mid. 1970's and within a couple of weeks and without that much coupling and uncoupling, a cheap plastic knuckle spring broke off of one of the couplers which rendered the the coupler useless. The truck, coupler drawbar arm and knuckle were made of plastic, this was during the new 'Fast Angle Wheel' craze.
I converted to good ole' die-cast metal trucks and operating couplers, which gave the thin light plastic body better tracking weight.
Ralph
Civil War You tell me. I just bought a 2344 ABA set on ebay. There are no cracks anywhere on the body. The paint is a bit dingy (I haven't tried to clean it yet), the pick up rollers are pretty deeply grooved, the horn does not work, the lights do work, it runs great though and the port hole covers are missing.
I think you did OK for an ABA. $480 is the kind of money repros command. Not sure what you mean by dingy paint whether it be dirt, scratches, or mars.. Otherwise they look good in the pictures. Be careful when cleaning. The paint on those flakes off easily. Especially the rubber stamped lettering. Rollers are cheap and easy to replace. The porthole lenses were pressed in and fell out easily. Repro replacements are cheap and plentiful. Originals show up occasionally on the bay for a premium over repro. It's likely the horn relay contacts need burnishing with emery cloth and the mechanism needs a shot of CRC contact cleaner/lube to free it up. If the horn itself doesn't work, often times, the screw on the back needs adjusting or it needs a shot of 12VDC for a split second to free the diaphram or whatever goes on inside.
I've bought some things I've been disappointed in or surprised - but then I just sold them. Since I stick to simpler items, with the help of forumites, I've usually been able to resolve broken things. I've been pleasantly surprised - the K-Line Plymouth - the Western Hobbycraft Trolleys - much 'more' than I expected...
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
Sorry to hear that Roger, I would think that if a regular poster sold those F units to you in bad conditions on the OGR forum you could let the whole forum know as its a public forum of the sellers shady intentions selling you less than quality engine set. That was poor of him to do that to you..
The OGR forum boss told me I could not pursue it on the forum. So exposing the guy in public was out of the question.
That still sleezy of the guy to pull one on you. I hope OGR forum moderators would pull him..
Lets see... I bought a 2020 with the wrong tender (before I knew better), paid $185 for them... when I got them home I realized the tender shell was cracked in two places, was missing a screw (because the hole in the tender was stripped), and the engine ran like junk.I had it repaired twice, once back in PA and the other here in MD... with a new tender and the repairs it is running like a champ!I don't think I have ever bought anything that couldn't be fixed. Most of my purchases have been in stores and at shows. I shy from internet purchases because I want to see what I'm buying.
don't even remember the exact engine but it was a orange fa like2xx something and showed a nice side on in pic but didn't show the other which had a burn hole when remarked about it answer was you should of asked questions since it was less than $25.00 ebay wouldn't get invole back then.
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Yep, thats one of the things the crook that ripped me off told me too. So I guess your supposed to have a 100 question list ready each time you bid? Ebay used to only support sellers. Now they screw sellers over. Go figure?
My worst purchase turned out to be one of my better purchases. A couple of years ago, (being a O27 Newbie) I purchased a Lionel "8141 Locomotive With Tender, Cars & Caboose - Excellent Condition" on E-Bay. The photos were great and the price was 'right'.
As received: The engine rear truck with the coupler was missing. The smoke unit did not work. The headlight lens was cracked and one rhinestone was missing. (BUT the photos were accurate, I was just too "green" to notice).
The Tender, however, was almost mint.
I sold the engine on E-Bay for parts and, on a separate listing, the three remaining cars, fully described, "as is". Net result: My initial cost, including shipping and E-Bay fees, was covered 'plus' AND I gained a beautiful tender. Thanks for asking.
PS I've since joined the tender to a near-perfect 8141 from another E-Bay deal. You never know!
My worst buy was a brand new engine by Lionel, around 1997 or 98, it was a GP-7(single motor) with IC roadname, the engine would pull only four quad hoppers on my layout. I was using a 275 watt ZW with only that engine being powered, I had plenty of power to the engine just no performance from the engine like I was expecting. Sold that engine on ebay, and bought a new Williams GP-9(two motors)engine that outperformed the Lionel engine by a mile, for about $3.00 more than the Lionel engine.
Lee F.
lionroar88 Lets see... I bought a 2020 with the wrong tender (before I knew better), paid $185 for them... when I got them home I realized the tender shell was cracked in two places, was missing a screw (because the hole in the tender was stripped), and the engine ran like junk.I had it repaired twice, once back in PA and the other here in MD... with a new tender and the repairs it is running like a champ!I don't think I have ever bought anything that couldn't be fixed. Most of my purchases have been in stores and at shows. I shy from internet purchases because I want to see what I'm buying.
Brent,
We both have had bad luck with 2020s. The first one that I bought while on vacation in Berlin, MD was the 1946 version that had a loose driver. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until I got home a week later. I paid $175 for the engine and tender. I bought another 2020 (1948-49 version) online from a seller in Cynthiana, KY last summer, and it has missing all of the internals except for the motor. The seller made nomention of this. I paid $125 just to buy the engine, and I spent another $70 for the parts to complete it.
I am originally from Kentucky. You would be wise to avoid that seller. I know who he is. Not a good guy.
When i was about 12 I went to a train show in springfield mass. I saw a 455 oil derrick in light green and seemed in good shape for 75.00. I grabed it and when I got it home and took a closer look, I noticed some dark green paint under the light green that was already chipping away. Add in the fact that it barely worked and Id say that's my worst buy.
To be fair I didnt know any better at that age but still....ugggh
2nd place was paying 300 for a ZW in its OB back when they were going for a lot more before the new ZW was released. Wish I waited.
Well, I guess my worst one so far was my 726. I guess I should have waited longer but once burned lesson learned. It runs and whistles nice and its mechanical condition is perfect with its original smoking unit still working and original wiring in good shape, except for a sloppy axle in the gear box that was fixed with a nylon washer. The tab that holds the boilerfront closed on it was broken so the door was flopping out all over the place, so I ordered a repro from olsens but when I got it I wasn't impressed with its quality so I decided to use the original boilerfront door and install it on the repro outer ring. I took two of the original marker jewals that were left and put them on the repro and now it looks great, and I also removed the tab from the repro door and soldered it on the original boilerfront door and now it opens and closes like it should. I am still looking for an original boilerfront though. Anyway after I cleaned it and fixed the boilerfront on it, it is a very nice engine now. I might restore it someday.
Give me steam locomotives or give me DEATH!
Berkshire Junction, bringing fourth the cry of the Iron Horse since 1900.
Berk,
The latch on the boilerfront can be replaced. All you have to do is remove the lens holder, and the latch can be removed. You will need the lens holder and latch. I have rebuilt the original boilerfront on my 726 due to a smashed lens holder and bad latch. Send me a PM. I might be able to help.
My worst buy was the expensive, infamous Lionel Backshop. After lugging it home, I opened the huge box, took out a gigantic building, hooked it up, turned on the power, and waited. And waited. Nothing. It just sat there, taking up lots of room. Turns out I wasn't alone in my problems with this accessory half my size. Eventually Lionel offered a complimentary patch to correct the problem, but when I returned from a long working trip and was finally able to get to my Lionel dealer's repair depot, they told me it was no longer available. So in my train storage room is a monstrous box full of a high-priced oversized Lionel accessory which is fundamentally worthless.
Filmconsultant
filmconsultant My worst buy was the expensive, infamous Lionel Backshop. After lugging it home, I opened the huge box, took out a gigantic building, hooked it up, turned on the power, and waited. And waited. Nothing. It just sat there, taking up lots of room. Turns out I wasn't alone in my problems with this accessory half my size. Eventually Lionel offered a complimentary patch to correct the problem, but when I returned from a long working trip and was finally able to get to my Lionel dealer's repair depot, they told me it was no longer available. So in my train storage room is a monstrous box full of a high-priced oversized Lionel accessory which is fundamentally worthless. Filmconsultant
Call Lionel tech suport . you may be on the phone an 1/2 hour or so befor you get thru but I've had them get stuff out of stock befor for me. Don't give up the ghost yet until you talk to them your local hobby may of been misinformed or something.
My worst buy has got to be a 6464-425 black NH boxcar I got off eBay about 5 years ago for a song. Little did I know that that car was going to cost me hundreds of dollars trying to obtain more of them.
I really can't think of anything I've bought where I was too upset about it. I've bought a car or two where a coupler hasn't worked right, or a tab was busted off a shell, etc. Nothing major. I don't buy many high dollar items, but when I do, it's usually in person.
Mine is a lionel 1668-E with no tender it was $30.00 at a local antique store. It burned it self out when put it on track with 4 cars
.
trainrat Yes, I got a good screwing just last year from a guy on the OGR forum. I bought an NYC 2344 F3- A-B-A set and paid premium money for them thinking they were in much better shape than they actually were. One cab had a bad crack in it, the power unit had a loose motor in the rear and it was bouncing around on the truck chewing up the gears and the horn blew by itself frequently. The paint was also rough on the front unit. The seller claimed they ran great(impossible) and he knew NOTHING about all the problems. All the pictures were carefully taken so as to not show any of the damage. He also refused to take them back or refund any at all. Pure scumbag. It has cost me a lot in money and time to get them right. Roger
I sold an NYC 2344 ABA set on OGR a while back. Had three imperfections which I took close up photos of to ensure the buyer was fully aware. They ran excellent, looked great, the flaws were incredibly minor. Shipped them off and got an email from the buyer claiming a ladder was missing. While I told him the ladder was clearly visible in the photos, if he was unhappy, send them back for a full refund - no questinos asked.
Well no, I don't want a refund - BUT WHAT YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS LADDER!!!!
ummm, I'm going to give you a full refund.
Wouldn't accept a refund, but was demanding a price concession. He emailed me incessently for weeks wanting money off the price.
He sells post war stuff quite a bit on OGR. I will never buy anything from him or sell anything to him ever again.
Frank53,
I would have told that guy where to go. It sounds like he wanted to lowball you and turn the F3s out to make a profit. People like that guy are the reason I quit selling PW trains. They want evrything handed over for free to them because they are "collectors". I was trying to sell a like new boxed first run 1948 ZW, and the potential buyer told me that my price of $200 was too high. He went on to say that he can't even get $25 for a ZW at the York meet. I lost my cool at that point.
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