Don't read on if you are tired of Ebay gripes.
(Kind of off topic in the forum, perhaps. And as Ebay problems go, I know this is minor. I have had the usual problems that one would caution against in using Ebay over the years.....missing/lost shipments, items broken, items somewhat worse than described, and a few who try to use high shipping and handling charges etc. etc.)
Six weeks ago I won an auction for a NIB K4 Spectrum from a reputable online/retail Ebay seller. I dunno, maybe he got upset the winning bid was a little low. Anyway, he sent the item along in the rigid plastic red box with no additional padding whatsoever, on the bottom of the carton underneath 3 other black Spectrum loco boxes. Seventeen pieces were busted off the K4 including the firebox truck snapped in half.
I had paid the Priority USPS rate for shipping (over $30 US) originally because it carries automatic insurance and tracking etc. and arrives up here in 10 days.
True, the seller agreed to replace it, but I had to return the item at my cost (we can only ship with a priority mail class from Canada, and it cost me $23US to return it.)
Now he ships it back at the base USPS rate which will take 4 weeks and has no insurance or tracking. I had asked him to us the Priority International again at his cost to return it, since his shoddy packing broke it when I paid premium shipping.
Yes, I know I should not expect much when shopping on Ebay and that the LHS prices include good service. But this is the 7th or 8th Spectrum steamer I have bought from this store (and the last) and I think I should give him negative feedback. It will be over 6 weeks from the original purchase before I get a working K4, and it is due to poor service entirely. And in total, I dropped over $225US before shipping at his Ebay store on that weekend!
(I'll delete this post if you'all think it's too trivial or off topic. I just wanted to vent, I guess.)
Never have used EBAY. I don't trust it.Some have had good results on there but I like to see in person what I'm planning to buy. I do buy at swapmeets as there is no sight unseen there and the sale is cash.
Since the model was new in the box the shrink wrap should have been intact. If not the model was used. Consider contacting Bachmann. They back up their products quite well and should repair/replace the model.
Best of luck getting things corrected.
I have never used Ebay, and I never will. I have heard too many horror stories from other modelers in my home town, seen with my own eyes the misrepresentation, bad packing, "lost", etc. that have hit other modelers.
I would not buy a car, or house, or other goods without having knowledge of the seller and all the if's and ands, but to each his own.
Bob
Sounds like you have a legitimate grievance. I just lost an eBay auction for a Broadway Limited PRR T1, but now I don't feel so bad...
Thanks for the reply. I have had very good luck and extremely good value for the dollar shopping carefully on Ebay...but it takes vigilance.
But you reminded me of another question that I had about this Spectrum K4. It was in a bright red box, with the loco in one of those clear plastic fold-over-front inner containers that diesels have come in. It was not shrink wrapped.
I have only ever seen a Spectrum steamer in the black shrink-wrapped box. Yet the seller told me the red box is the new Spectrum box and they are no longer shrink wrapped. Bachmann customer service has not responded to my question.
I would like to know if this is true before I pass along feedback for this Ebay seller.
I buy and sell on ebay all the time, and never had a problem. I pack my train cars, like a elephnat will sit on it. Then others don't.
As far as the negative feedback, no point!! eBay has something new now, that if you have a great feedback rating.....The negative feedback won't show. It will say he/she got a negative, but it won't be under the feedback.
NOW you can leave maybe a positive feedback, but negative.
"Rust, whats not to love?"
The new Spectrum packaging is in the Red box with vacuum formed plastic holding the model in place. I miss the old packaging with the foam insert. The new box does not keep the model safe from the affects of jarring and shock impacts that the old foam box did. The new boxes are not shrink wrapped, there are two small seals on the bottom of the box.
I received a new Standard Berkshire from Bachmann and it arrived damaged. I notified Bachmann Service department about the damage and they sent me replacement parts. I also contacted the vendor and informed him the item was damaged. He did offer a replacement if I returned the item, however I opted to fix it myself. I did however ask the vendor to use bubble wrap around the Spectrum items in the new packaging. I will have to wait and see if he heeded my advice.
I recently ordered a couple more Spectrum engines and as they are new they will be in the new packaging, I can only hope they arrive without damage.
I would have sent the model back to Bachmann with a note complaining about the new packaging. There is a reason why the packaging was changed and that reason being cost. I think Bachmann has made a big mistake abandoning the foam inserts that protected the models so well.
I would not blame the vendor for the damage unless the items you ordered were packed loose in the box and there was no packing material used to protect them. .
Robby P. As far as the negative feedback, no point!! eBay has something new now, that if you have a great feedback rating.....The negative feedback won't show. It will say he/she got a negative, but it won't be under the feedback.
Cisco,
Do you remember what the seller's satisfaction rating (%) was? Just curious...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Ed....I got a email from eBay saying that if you have a good rating, you won't have negative feedback show up. It will still show a negative, but you won't be able to read it. This was about two months ago or so.
Cisco Kid Thanks for the reply. I have had very good luck and extremely good value for the dollar shopping carefully on Ebay...but it takes vigilance. But you reminded me of another question that I had about this Spectrum K4. It was in a bright red box, with the loco in one of those clear plastic fold-over-front inner containers that diesels have come in. It was not shrink wrapped. I have only ever seen a Spectrum steamer in the black shrink-wrapped box. Yet the seller told me the red box is the new Spectrum box and they are no longer shrink wrapped. Bachmann customer service has not responded to my question. I would like to know if this is true before I pass along feedback for this Ebay seller.
Yes that is the new packaging from Bachmann, and there have been some complaints on the Bachmann forum about it not being too shipping worthy. I think retail dealers complained about the shrink wrap because customers in stores want to see it, touch it, see it run, but don't always buy. Than if its open the next customer says "it's not new".
Having worked in model train retail sales, this is a problem, as customers you can't have your cake and eat it too. Shop owners should not be expected to have "samples" for you to paw over and then sell you one "yet untouched by North American hands".
As for Ebay, I have bought a little on there, and sold some stuff, trains and other wise. You do have to be carefull, but for the most part I have never had any problems, and have gotten some great deals and found some "new old stock" unbuilt stuff long out of production. I will say that is the main thing I look for on there. The main thing is to know what you are buying.
As for the Canada shipping thing, that does stink, but last I checked the border agents have guns so what are we to do? Yes, I agree he should have packed it better, but it may be is first few experiances with the new packing. We all know how well the old ones where packed.
Over the years I have bought a lot of stuff mailorder from places like Trainworld, Standard Hobby and First Hobby. always had good service, never anything broken, always great prices. We have a few good shops in the "greater" area, and I do spend money with all of them. But most are a good drive, 15-30 miles and not on any of my usual travels. Mailorder is fast, easy and well priced.
Sheldon
I don;t think a negative is justified here. He IS sending a replacement. If he just said tough, take it up with the postal service, then I would say negative. Nothign worse than a neutral comment is justified here.
Those that don;t trust ebay - thanks for making it more possible for me to get what I want for good prices. I could show you the two tubs for of kits, locos, and rtr cars I've picked up on ebay just since Novemeber as I rebuilt my compeltely lost colelction - in fact I now have more stuff than I ever did. All but a few pieces come from ebay - the rest I've picked up at train shows. HUNDREDS of transactions, and NEVER a problem.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I forgot to mention that you should consider posting t the fact that you received a new engine which arrived damaged in the new packaging on the Bachmann Board.
If more people complain about the new packaging there is a good chance Bachmann may review their decision.
my rule with ebay , is never bid more than you are willing to part with.
Here is a little discussion of the box issue on the Bachmann forums.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,9401.0.html
I guess the box change was supposed to be an improvement.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
As a buyer and seller on ebay, I think the seller should resend the loco priority mail and with insurance. That is what good business is all about. I had one item returned due to shifting inside the package. I repaired the flat car load, refunded what the customer paid for shipping it back to me, and then returned it to him. I have only had one kinda bad purchase, only because it took 3 weeks to get the item from the seller, and he never answered any of my emails. I did leave him neutral feedback, but I did state that he was slow in shipping and poor communications.
John
Sounds like Bachmann's packaging is to blame, not necessarily the seller, though now he should certainly be aware of the need for extra padding for these items.
I've had a few dozen transactions on ebay, one quite substantial, and only one came close to being neutral due to slow shipment and less than open communications, but ven that worked out in the end.
Buying on ebay is a risk, but one that can be minimized. There are good and bad sellers out there. When I find sellers that I have a good experiences with, I stick with them, and I'm sure they appreciate dealing with a repeat customer.
Since you've had previous successful transactions with the same seller, perhaps you should email him to make him aware that this is not an isolated problem with the new packaging being used for these locos, perhaps he can then contact Bachmann and voice his opinion as well.
If he's an authorized dealer, then Bachmann will have to pay more attention to his concerns and maybe reassess their packaging.
It's the DSR (Detailed Seller Ratings) that hurts their pocket book when they fail to perform. If their DSR falls below 4.3 they can't list. Above that they can list but it costs them more. Hit 'em at the stars if in fact the seller is deserving of such.
And as for poor packaging and failure to send out using the same method of delivery...if the seller where not responsive I'd leave negative feedback as well.
If you guys haven't noticed you can actually call and speak to a human being with Ebay in the event of a problem. In my experience they were very helpful. My situation was a bit different in that the seller bailed out on me and refunded because he didn't like the sale price. Either way take the time to leave appropriate feedback and don't get emotional about it. Just the facts ma'am, just the facts.
And for those of you that think E-bay is nothing but rip-off artists, please keep thinking that way because that will be one less person I'll need to compete with.
San Dimas Southern slideshow
did you put the purchase into dispute when you do ebay will contact the seller and ask him to respond then you can make a claim
i recently had a problem with ebay ( in australia ) i bid on and won 4 x atlas articulated auto racks the seller is a very good seller no problem with him... the package didnot arrive i contacted ebay got my money refunded straight away no problem for me
i had a problem with a seller and i left a negative and wrote very bad things about the seller in the comments... the problem was that i got a loco for 50 dollars the seller contacted me and said if i wanted the loco i would have to pay an extra 100 dollars because the listed buy now was low to save ebay fees???? i contacted ebay they did nothing
buy from ebay it is very good do not buy from sellers from junk shops check out feedback etc
I have never bought a steam Spectrum. But I've bought standard line steam and diesel and a Spectrum diesel. None of them were shrink wrapped. The standards all came in a blue and white box with a plastic insert that fit the loco. The Spectrum came in a black box with gold foil lettering and had foam packing around it. I was at a show the begining of the year and it looked like the black/gold lettered boxes were still the standard Spectrum package. I would guess you received a used/returned product.
EDIT-I didn't see that Bachmann thread before making my post. As of a few months ago at the show, the Sprctrums were still in the black, foam lined boxes.
loathar Cisco Kid Thanks for the reply. I have had very good luck and extremely good value for the dollar shopping carefully on Ebay...but it takes vigilance. But you reminded me of another question that I had about this Spectrum K4. It was in a bright red box, with the loco in one of those clear plastic fold-over-front inner containers that diesels have come in. It was not shrink wrapped. I have only ever seen a Spectrum steamer in the black shrink-wrapped box. Yet the seller told me the red box is the new Spectrum box and they are no longer shrink wrapped. Bachmann customer service has not responded to my question. I would like to know if this is true before I pass along feedback for this Ebay seller. I have never bought a steam Spectrum. But I've bought standard line steam and diesel and a Spectrum diesel. None of them were shrink wrapped. The standards all came in a blue and white box with a plastic insert that fit the loco. The Spectrum came in a black box with gold foil lettering and had foam packing around it. I was at a show the begining of the year and it looked like the black/gold lettered boxes were still the standard Spectrum package. I would guess you received a used/returned product. EDIT-I didn't see that Bachmann thread before making my post. As of a few months ago at the show, the Sprctrums were still in the black, foam lined boxes.
Old Spectrum stock - Black box with foam inserts - engines, tenders, passenger cars, shrink wrapped
New Stock
New Spectrum engines and tenders are in the red box with the vacuum formed plastic, no shrink wrap.
Spectrum with Sound are now in the blue box with the vacuum formed plastic, no shrink wrap
Standard - Blue box with vacuum formed plastic, no shrink wrap
On3 - Green box with vacuum formed plastic, no shrink wrap
All of the new packaging is inferior to the old packaging with the foam inserts
Why would you assume the item was returned/used stock? Quite an assumption on your part.
I have been in hobby/train shops that still have Bachmann Plus engines on their shelves, how many years ago was that? It will be years before most of the black boxed Spectrums are sold.