I have recently acquired some long discontinued or sold out model railroading items, namely locomotives, structures, and specialty track items after locating then on eBay.
People may squawk about the fees, the feedback system, and whatever, but when you really need to find a discontinued or sold item item or simply a hard to find item, eBay is the source of last resort. I stand by this feeling as both a seller or buyer. Others may feel free to disagree.
Rich
Alton Junction
Rich:
EBay is not my last resort, its my first resort! I have found many desirable items for 'acceptable' prices and lots at great prices.
I use the term 'acceptable' because, being in Canada, the shipping adds significantly to many items. For an item to be acceptable it has to have a really low price and the seller has to be willing to use USPS First Class Mail shipping. The Global Shipping Program that many sellers use simply puts the transaction into the 'no go' zone every time. It is not unusual to see a $33.00 Cdn. shipping charge plus duty on a $10.00 item. If an item is below $100.00 Cdn the duty charge is a total rip off. Canada Customs doesn't charge duty on toy train items worth less than $100.00.
The incidence of things going wrong is extremely low. I think I have had three problems in more than 10 years. All were resolved satisfactorily. I have never had an item go missing. I think the trick there is to never do business with a seller with a rating below 99%.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
No squawking from me. I still use Ebay to find rolling stock which I am otherwise unable to find, say at train shows etc. I recently picked up an Athearn RTR FMC Yreka box car I wanted for a little variety on my layout. I also found an inexespensive Atlas early run Theile Kaolin tank car etc.
Sure, there are items with insane prices yada yada but if you are patient, you can find things for reasonable cost that are otherwise hard to find.
No complaints from me.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I've been both a buyer and seller (primarily a buyer) on ebay for many years and have been very happy with it. I often cringe seeing people sell things for 50-60% of it's value on "Pawn Stars" when they could do a lot better selling it on ebay. As a buyer, I think ebay is particularly usefull in today's model railroad world, where so many things are limited run items.
Dave - I remember back in the 1980's model railroad stuff was categorized as "electronics" by the Canadian government, and so charged very high import fees / tariffs. (If they had been classified 'toys', they would have had almost no fees.) Back then I remember visiting a model railroad club in Manitoba that had a guy who once or twice a year would take orders from his fellow clubmembers on what they wanted (engines, transformers etc.) and he would drive down here to the Twin Cities and buy them and 'smuggle' them past customs going back home. The savings they got doing it that way were incredible!
Rich, I buy stuff off ebay all the time, but almost exclusively "new old stock" not available elsewhere. Some of it has been 60 year old "new old stock".
Since I'm not one to sell off stuff, I have only sold a handfull of train items on ebay, but in my other hobby, I sold quite a bit for a few years - custom GRAVELY tractor parts.
I did get tired of some of the issues as a seller, and have cut way back on that, but I still watch for both model train and GRAVELY items all the time.
How do you you think I got 130 new in the box locos at a dollar cost average of $100 each?
Trainworld, Star Hobby and ebay largely......
Sheldon
I no longer buy from Trainworld due to very poor shipping protection which damaged a Genesis steamer...
I do buy on Ebay all the time, actually more often than I have ever sold. It was looking on Ebay and seeing a few Moloco boxcars available at less price than they had been that got me interested in acquiring a few and now I have 5 (though I found ordering direct from Moloco is now cheaper than buying from some US dealers who sell their items because Moloco has a low-price American shipping point).
John
Ebay is great for finding vintage items not otherwise sold.
Also for finding items out of stock at my usually sources (MB Klein, Trainworld, Toytrainheaven, Hobbylinc).
Joe Staten Island West
I've found EBay quite useful for finding UP locos not in current release as well as non-current car kits, vehicles and supplies (solder station, LEDs, etc). I've tried to follow the advice on locos of buying new in box or very litely used locos that have clear photos of the wheels to the extent wear marks show usage. I pay attention to the number of sales and %ok ratings. I've been disappointed a few times. On a recent "new in box" P1K Erie Built it was undamaged but had tons of carpet fibers or cat hairs around the ends of the axles. I needed to tear the trucks apart and clean the gearing anyway so it cost some time. The vendor may not have noticed and not been the original owner. Of more concern is damage, so if not clear I often ask before deciding. Of course, sometimes the asking price is out of line and sometimes other bidders are willing to pay a lot more and they can have it.
I've accumulated some odds and ends I will not use so I should learn how to sell. I haven't got motivated to take on the learning. How tough is it? I should learn how in case at some point I want to get into down sizing my fleet.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
I am on e-bay daily looking for rare items or real deals. E-bay has brought my hobby cost down to 0%. I personally don't sell on e-bay but has a buddy who dose it for me making his %.
peahrens I've accumulated some odds and ends I will not use so I should learn how to sell. I haven't got motivated to take on the learning. How tough is it?
I've accumulated some odds and ends I will not use so I should learn how to sell. I haven't got motivated to take on the learning. How tough is it?
I buy on eBay all the time. The large majority of purchases go perfectly. A few have minor niggles that aren't worth quibbling about. In well over ten years of mostly buying and occasionally selling, out of hundreds of purchases, I have only had two that were seriously problematic.
One was a locomotive that was advertised as new but turned out to be used and heavily modified. The seller wanted me to pay for return shipping before he would refund my money. At that time, eBay had an asinine policy of requiring the buyer to pay return shipping, even in cases of outright deception. I refused and threatened the seller with prosecution for fraud. He eventually caved and I got all my money back.
The other case is currently ongoing. A seller listed a brand name tool and substituted a cheap imitation. Since eBay now requires the seller to pay return shipping for items that are not "as described," it was a simple matter to initiate the return through the eBay system, which automatically generated a prepaid shipping label for the return.
Once the item is delivered to the seller, the system will automatically credit my account for original purchase price. The only thing I will be out it is the time it takes me to deal with the return. That is still annoying, but I get the satisfaction of knowing the seller will be out both time and money.
CG
I love using ebay, this is my first option every time. I look at ebay probably daily trying to find deals on Alaskan RR stuff. I also sell alot of things on ebay too, extra stuff we have lying around the house i check the price on ebay and sell it if its worth anything. I dont sell alot of my trains on ebay but i might start selling some more of the junker old HO engines I have recieved from my father in law. Most of these are steamers and I am currently modeling present day alaska.
The only thing i am currently selling on ebay is the Bachmann Spectrum HO #41-0805-14 Pennsylvania GE 44 Ton Diesel Switcher,Rd# 9351
I have found it as a way to get good deals and make some money for more trains. My wife has told me anything i sell on ebay that goes to my paypal account i can keep and use on trains. She gets a decluttered house and i get more trains. Win-Win
joe323 Ebay is great for finding vintage items not otherwise sold.
Now THERE'S a term much abused on eBay. It can mean anything from a new and discontinued item no longer sold to a 100-year old+ collector item to anything in-between.
I've purchased ~75 MRR-related items on eBay over the past 17 years and have found some great deals in the process. And I look for and purchase new, as well as "vintage" items. Out of those 75 items, maybe two do I regret purchasing.
Even with the fees and sometimes pricey postage that folks complain about, I've found eBay to be a great resource.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Hello all,
For me eBay is like any other retail outlet. I do my research, watch for bargains and occasionally scratch my head thinking, "You want how much for THAT!"
I just picked up a HO scale GP30, with DCC, for a reasonable price.
The few times I've had problems they were resolved to my satisfaction.
I have and will continue to shop on eBay always considering, "Caveat Emptor!"
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
I sold my first item on Ebay in 1998. Ebay has been an excellent resource for me over the years. I have sold thousands of dollars’ worth of used train items that I no longer needed. Before Ebay, these items would have been very difficult to sell and the return would have been far less than what I received on Ebay.
I have also bought many items on Ebay including rolling stock, turnouts, rare kits, brass locomotives, new spectrum locos, leds, panel switches, switch motors etc. Many items were at a steep discount. If you are looking for a rare item, it is pretty much the place to find it. In general my experience has been very positive. The Ebay bashing that is so common has always surprised me….
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
Given that I don't have a LHS, eBay is my lifeline. I don't even know how much of my equipment, track, etc came throught eBay. Just today, I got two orders of stuff. One of the orders was various sealed Walthers Modulars walls and two roof packages. I have amassed a collection of those Modulars walls. All of them from eBay! I even managed to find a couple of packages of the pilasters needed for the system. All but 3 or 4 of my approximately 30 engines have come through eBay. A good chunk of my freight cars are eBayed.
I will admit I have had a few problems with some purchases for my railroad. One that comes to mind is an engine that I purchased. Once the seller was notified of the issues, they were more than happy to do a partial refund (even more than I had asked). It is sitting on the shop pile to modify it to properly fit the prototype. (Issue from the original manufacturer, not the seller. Slightly unique prototype.) I even found a set of handrails for that engine that was needed as the front rails need to be modified as well.
For me e-Bay and modeltrainstuff(MBK) is my choices of on line shops and has been for quite some time.
Be that as it may..
I would prefer a good all around LHS that deals with new and used since my hobby needs is nearing capacity since it has boiled down to me rotating the same two engines 90% of the time..Thankfully once a car is cycled through the interchange(inbound/outbound) it won't be seen for again for at least three months..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I agree, I've had an account since 1999, after Yahoo auctions shut down. Remember you're only going to hear the squawkers, not so much the thousands upon thousand of satisfied users.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
I use eBay to look at freight cars and locomotives that I didn't have enough money when they come out.
Luckily I wrote down anything I wanted to get. Sometimes I question my own decisions.
Lately it saved me when I need to buy modern grade crossings.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
I am another hobbiest who usually uses Ebay as my first choice. The only items I typically buy from online hobby shops rather than Ebay are new locomotive releases which I may pre-order to be sure I get what I want.
Hi,
I'm also a strong supporter of Ebay - both buying and selling since 1999. I've accumulated almost 2000 transactions - many of them MR related. Over the years I've learned a few things on the subject.......
- Whatever rare MR item you are looking for, sooner or later it will come up for auction. Stuff - including postwar Lionel items, etc. - I literally searched for ten years or more, were readily available on Ebay.
- Without Ebay as a forum to sell my early generation locos and related items, I doubt I would have moved on to eventually have the DCC and newer generation locos I now run.
- After 17 years active on Ebay, it still amazes me as to what will sell, and some of the final auction prices for particular items (both high and low). My junque is someone else's treasure, and of course, vice versa...........
- Timing is everything. I've had many auctions that got no bids with their first listing, only to be fought over (bidding war) in the first or second relist.
- Expect a net (after fees and expenses) of about 70 - 75 percent of final sales price. That is the cost of doing business.
- Lastly, I won't kid you....... the excitement of watching your auction, especially in the closing minutes, can be pretty addictive!
ENJOY !!!!!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
My chosen scale of O scale 2 rail limits purchases, rarely do you see this kind of product at the LHS unless that shop sells estates. There are the occasional finds at train shows(the hunt is part of the fun!). I do attend a show that is just for the 2 rail crowd and between there and ebay, do most of my purchases happen. I work all the angles to find the older, long out of production models I seek to own. If I could walk into the All Nation hobby shop in Chicago and buy these engine kits and car/building kits newon the shelf, I would. But I grew up to late for that and nobody has invented the time machine yet. Mike
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
I am a seller and a buyer on eBay. For several years, I bought stuff in bulk and repaired and sold. The sales out numbered the purchases by 20 to 1. It is a fair amount of work, and the environment keeps changing. As has been said in other posts, you need to do your research. Be able to know from the pixs if there is a visible issue. Examine the sellers feed back info. As much for what he sells as for number of complaints. As a seller, you can expect to have unhappy buyers. It is amazing what people think a used item in good condition is. Some buyers complain just because they can. It is the minority, but still there.
Sellng is easy. It is harder now, because eBay wants more info about the items in their format. There are techniques that work for me, that may not work for you. eBay is the best source of value of any item. You need to review the recently closed items like your wanting to sell. That will give you a clue as to the expectations. Try to base it on the average of ten sales, not the one high sale. Then the crazy run ups will be a plus and not an expectation.
So many trains, so little time,
www.llxlocomotives.com
You could go broke buying items off of eBay that you can't find anywhere else. However don't fall into the trap of thinking that ebay is your only choice. Check the seach engines and other websites too. I've seen Walthers items priced higher than buying directly from Walthers which had the item in stock.
I buy off of ebay and sometimes Amazon, depending on what I want. Not only mrr or electronics.
One time I found a ball cap with the name of the US Navy ship I served on.
To my surprise, I found an Amazon and ebay distributor in my small city in Western, Ma. They operate out of the same location.
Internet selling has spread a lot.
A fair amount of stuff comes directly from China.
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.
I joined EBay in 1999 and have loved every minute of it.
Modeling the D&H in 1984: http://dandhcoloniemain.blogspot.com/