What's Happening To Ebay Sellers ?...

[BRAKIE]

rrebell

I pay a fraction of retail on e-bay, 15 cars 10 of which were Tichy for $60, built well. I have got many deals like this.

Ifully agree..

Finding deals requires some time and a check of the e-Bay stores or private sellers.

I spend just over  a hour checking stores and several pages of auction backed with a check by BIN and been rewarded with hard to find cars and several great deals.

 

[superbe]

Tracklayer

I would give their seller ID Rich except that I may have no choice but to do business with them again some day and wouldn't want one of the members to write them and say that I had been bad mouthing them here on the forum.

Tracklayer,

With your finances how can you be intimidated by any merchant especially one on eBay?? What's your problem? 

Bob

[richhotrain]

superbe

 

 

Tracklayer

I would give their seller ID Rich except that I may have no choice but to do business with them again some day and wouldn't want one of the members to write them and say that I had been bad mouthing them here on the forum.

 

 

Tracklayer,

With your finances how can you be intimidated by any merchant especially one on eBay?? What's your problem? 

Bob

 

Plus, he has already bad mouth the seller, even though he has not publicly identified the seller, and, besides, if he thought that little of the seller to bad mouth him, why on earth would he ever decide to deal with the seller again?

Rich

[bears-n-trains]

Of course I don't know who or where your sellers are located but if they are in the present weather conditions that has brough much of the mid-west & east under a lot of snow, ice & bad roads I'd give them all a break & show a little more patience.

[Geared Steam]

[Michael6792]

I've been on oth sides of this issue, and I can tell you there are bad sellers as well as bad buyers. 

Now, I'm not perfect by any means but I've always try to be as accomodating to my customers as I can.

Several years ago I was buying a winch for the front of my jeep. The seller started it off with a $15.00 start with no reserve. For whatever reason noone else bid on it and I won a $600.00 winch for $15.00 so I promptly paid for it and waited for it to get shipped. Several days went by & I never got a tracking number, tried several e-mails & got no respose. Then I looked into his feedback (shouldve done this efore buying) and saw that he had a history of sayig things got lost, broken, or just plain ignoring buyers. E-bay got me my money back and eventually closed his account.

On the flip side, for awhile I was selling animated deer heads. (they used to sell at wal mart and I bought a bunch of them for $25.00 each when they were closing them out) They were going for $300-$400.00 each and one buyer paid through pay pal with an e-check. Well, it takes several days for those to clear & e-bay told me not to send the item until it cleared. The buyer got mad that I wouldn't send it immediately and told me that it was too late & he no longer wanted the item. Reluctantly I I agreed and sent him a request to cancel the transaction. He declined the request because he wantedd his money back. DUH...canceling the transaction gives you your money back. Ended up opening up a case against him just to protect myself.

For the most part though most sellers & buyers are on the level.

[cjcrescent]

As someone else whose been on E-bay for many many years, I can truthfully say that only once was I ever late with a payment. I had simply forgot, because I did what I always did when I bid on e-bay. I knew what the item was worth to me, and as always I placed my max bid and didn't go back to the auction at all. I won it like I do most of the ones I bid on. I really forgot about it.

I sent an e-mail stating the truth, and I told them that I had added x amount to the bill for being so patient. Imagine my surprise when the item arrived, there were 4 bottles of brand new Floquil paints included and because of what I had bought from them, the colors they sent were for the completion of the model. I left them great feedback. They left me some as well.

This was the only "bad" transaction that I've ever had on ebay since tghis occurred in 2001. By then I had developed my method of buying on E-bay, and it has yet to fail me. The steps are 1. research the item. 2. Research the Seller. 3. Research the shipping. 4. Place your max bid. 5. Wait for end of auction. 6. Pay the bill. 7.Good Feedback.

[Burlington Northern #24]

hmmmm, never had much trouble buying on Ebay frequently do. I know what I'm looking for, usually just search the 4 pre BN hill line roads and if I see something that's fairly priced and catches my fancy I buy it. 

As for selling, I'd rather sell straight to my fellow modeler than have a middleman in on the sale. 

[brochhau]

Burlington Northern #24

hmmmm, never had much trouble buying on Ebay frequently do. I know what I'm looking for, usually just search the 4 pre BN hill line roads and if I see something that's fairly priced and catches my fancy I buy it. 

As for selling, I'd rather sell straight to my fellow modeler than have a middleman in on the sale. 

Yup, there are enough model train Facebook groups and Yahoo groups - which require you to use your real name and not hide behind a moniker - that I'm using eBay less and less. Plus, there are no fees, so prices are typically lower. There are a few eBay stores that I still buy from since they are actual retailers, but don't have their own website.

I got burned on eBay not too long ago by a "new" steam engine that was actually quite damaged. I didn't realize it until after I left positive feedback for the quick shipment. Other than that one time though, I've been on eBay since 1998 with few issues. But I'm getting tired of the fees and trying to find the "needle in the hastack."

"Only opened for this photo" - my favorite line on eBay!

[Tracklayer]

Okay. Now that I've thrown a childish hissy fit and blown my stack and made myself look like a total idiot I feel a world better...

As for the remark I made earlier to one of the members about my financial abilities, I apologize for that. That was way out of line. I was blessed with a good paying job and I should be a lot more humble about it.

Thanks to one and all for listening to me vent my frustrations, and as some of you have said the slow down with the shipping is more than likely due to the weather. Some of the items in question have arrived since I posted this topic.

A good weekend to you all and happy railroading...

Tracklayer

[JAMES MOON]

I have just had my first buying experience on e-bay and am very happy with the service.  Purchased at least a 40 year old Suydam kit in the box of a three stall roundhouse.  I plan on using it along with one I assembled in about 1972 on the layout I am finally building. Seller had kit to me four days after accepting my order.  I consider that excellent service.

[gmcrail]

I buy quite a bit on the 'Bay and I've only had one issue with a seller: The item pictured was a Varney SW7. He didn't want a lot for it, so I bought it. When it arrived (timely enough) As I pulled it carefully from the box, it quite literally disintegrated in my hand. Worst case of "zinc pest" I've ever seen! if it had been intact when shipped, I would have chalked it up to luck of the draw. However, upon close inspection, I found a couple of spots where someone had _glued_ a couple of pieces together! Fortunately, I had paid thru PayPal and I got a full refund (after attaching a bunch of detailed photos of all the parts, pieces, etc.) . A camera can be a very good friend! (Oh, and the engine was represented as in good condition.)