Typical Ebay Experience?

[c50truck]

Ebay has its place. But like anything in life its buyer beware. I sell as well as buy on Ebay. When it comes to buying it’s simple, Know what your looking for, how much your willing to pay, ask questions, (If they don’t answer, and quite a few won’t, don’t bid), place your bid and walk away.
Selling is also easy on Ebay and profitable. I had an old amplifier I would have given away. Turns out it was rare , had dozen of bids and over 100 watchers, and it sold for almost 500.00. shipped it to Nashville. Had an old generator driven by a Willie jeep engine from the war years. It sat in the back corner of the field for over 30 years. Did not even work, but it sold for 200.00 and I would have paid someone to haul it away.
Ebay opens to world to us, just don’t get caught up in the emotion and competition of an auction.

[Anonymous]

since december I have recreated the lionel trains and accessorys I had as a child with the help of ebay. If you are patient you will get what you want at the price you want. I find items that end in the middle of the day get less attention at the end of the auction. I have seen zw transformers go for as much as $300, I just won 1 in the middle of the day for $147. I got it today and It is in great condition. Just be patient.

[Dr.Fu-Manchu]

The Doctor Is In !!! I had a odd experence with Ebay , As some of you folk remember, I won a pair of K-line Alco's in SP Black Widow paint. Well, The seller had some packages get mislaid, one was damaged and mine was "Undeliverable" The claim was that it got to Alameda, two notices were left and the package was sent back. I never got the notices, and I contacted my postmaster about it. The seller got it back and sent it again, It came back the same way. I spoke to my mail carrier(who was upset that something might have gone wrong) Now I have bought magic props & train stuff on Ebay and have had no problems, Till Now. I emailed the seller and we agreed to cancel the deal. I tried to get him to ship via ups or fedex, and I was willing to pay his cost when it came in. He wanted to get repayment for his second attempt at mailing.
I said just refund my money. The check came in thursday, I picked it up friday morning, it was sent registered mail. The seller refunded all my money execpt for the cost of trying to mail it the second time and and the cost of mailing the check again ! Now, I sell used trains and if I had something go wrong like this, I would refund the full price as a good will gesture to the buyer. I ran this past my book dealer friend and she said that she would do the same thing that I said I would do. Has this happened to anyone here? Do you think what the seller did was right?? As to the alco's, I won a used set from a seller in Berkeley (local) for less than the first deal and I was able to pick them up from him. I had to resolder the pick up lead on the front truck, but got a good deal.
The guy that mucked the first deal is not a seller ot trains, but his own art works. How he was able to foul up the shipping twice, yet was able to send the refund check to me is beyond my understanding. Till My Next Missive, I Remain The Humble Yet Strangly Evil Doctor !!![}:)]

[darianj]

QUOTE: [i] Ebay opens to world to us, just don’t get caught up in the emotion and competition of an auction.

Very good advice. I've seen co-workers bid on Ebay and forget the "bigger picture". All of a sudden, they're in a bidding war with someone they don't know. Cursing at the screen and take a higher bid as an "insult". It's a site! The almost always end up pay too much for an item. [(-D]

[Anonymous]

Here's an example of 2 bidders "going at it": a Lionel reproduction dealer display that I bought at a train show 2 weeks ago for $59. is currently at over $300. with 10 hours to go! It is clearly listed as a REPRODUCTION. In this case, I admit they don't show-up often...so who's to say? Joe

[jimhaleyscomet]

The extravagent prices on some items make me wonder if some bidders use shills to bid up items.

Jim H

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by joe0315

Here's an example of 2 bidders "going at it": a Lionel reproduction dealer display that I bought at a train show 2 weeks ago for $59. is currently at over $300. with 10 hours to go! It is clearly listed as a REPRODUCTION. In this case, I admit they don't show-up often...so who's to say? Joe

Well, it finally sold for $405.! The only reason I was tracking it was to see if the $59. I paid was "too much"....HA! Joe

[4kitties]

I've bought and sold too many items on eBay to count and my experience is overwhelmingly positive. In nearly 8 years I've been burned a couple of times on non-train items, but never on a train item. When I'm buying I avoid a lot of pain and disappointment by going only with sellers who have 100% positive feedback whenever possible. If that isn't possible, I read the negatives very carefully. If a seller disses a buyer in his follow-up reply ("Who the **** are you to come on here and write anything bad about me?" or similar remarks) I look elsewhere even if I really want the item.

As long as you remember that this is an auction and you WILL miss out on the item you want sometimes, you'll do fine. And very importantly, if you aren't sure what you're bidding on, ask questions/ask for additional images. I've bought a few lower-end postwar freight cars that were somewhat optimistically graded. Honest sellers will be happy to provide additional information on an item.

Joel

[Anonymous]

I saw an item on EBay that was listed as "rare and hard to find in this color". Sitting behind it was the same item-same color. I wanted to send it in to Jay Leno for his "headlines" segment, but my printer misfired.

[philo426]

I have used E-bay for some time and have had nothing but good transactions so far.The key is(for me anyway)is to decide how much you want to spend for an item and just let e-bay do your proxy bidding for you .This way i avoid auction fever and never have buyers remorse.I win some and I lose some but since I am not bidding on rare items I can usually find a similar or identical item on a later auction if I lose one.Some people enjoy the competitive aspect of bidding and use sniping programs to win but I am not one of those.As an example I once lost an auction by the whopping sum of six cents!I bet the winning bidder was really laughing his head off on that one!

[Anonymous]

Chris,

I have been buying iLionel tems off of Ebay since 1998 and have had only one bad minor experience (and that was because of my ignorance!). If you are knowledgeable of the items you are bidding on you should be OK. Yes, usually the bidding flury occurs within the last minute; however, if you are patient you should be able to get the item at a reasonable price (below the price guides references). Don't get wrapped up in the emotion of the bid! Before you start your bidding, research the item, read carefully the description on eBay, and check the various pricing guides available.

Good Luck,

Milt