Modelers, use "Caution" when shopping on Ebay!

[RedGrey62]

I am somewhat torn on the whole eBay issue. I have both bought and sold on eBay, mainly buying railroad items and selling off inventory from my now closed sports store. You do have to watch the shipping and handling, I've revised my own S&H downward as it seems people are very much taking this into consideration and if they feel you are padding, they won't buy no matter how good the deal. The idea of "sniping" usually infuriates me only for the following reason. The stuff I am selling off is anywhere from 50-75% off MSRP just because I am trying to get rid of it. I will get numerous "watchers" for an item, but no bids. I am suspecting they are waiting to "snipe" but forget about the auction and the item doesn't sell (I've been trying to get some feel for the best days and time to end auctions[%-)] ). I get stuck with the eBay listing fees and then get hit again if I want to list it again. Bid what you're willing to pay, it doesn't go to your maximum bid right away anyway, if someone else gets it, you didn't lose anything.

Don't get me wrong, I know there are dealers/eBayers who either have secondary accounts or friends who will bid up an item. Report them if you suspect this is happening.

I suspect that much of the new items for bid are from hobby shops that either ordered too much or ordered railroads that don't sell well in their area. They are just trying to recover some income and get the item off the shelf. Just like buyers, sellers get discouraged too.

As many of the other posts said, compare the price, determine what the item is worth to you, and make your bid.

One last piece of advice from a former small retailer: If you get a great deal on a new item on eBay, don't run into your LHS and brag about it. And don't be suprised if they're not very helpful if you have a problem with said item.

Rick

[csxns]

Learned my lesson on bidding wars i got reamed on some Kato SD40-2's i paid too much.

[AntonioFP45]

Don't feel bad CSXNS,

The majority of deals I got on Ebay were from decent to great, except for one. When Athearn stopped producing the FP45s, my thinking was that they would be rare, so I bid on one I saw on ebay and winded up paying too much for it. Had I waited, I would have seen the 30 or 40 more that have shown up on Ebay since then!!

My friend, who introduced me to ebay, told me not to "Jump Bid" in desperation. Often times "so called" rare or uncommon models show up regularly on Ebay. Turned out he was correct! A good example are the Bachmann HO and N scale Metroliners. They've been out of production for at least a decade. Yet, these things are regulars on Ebay! I prefer to get the ones that are slightly damaged or scuffed as these usually draw lower bids and I'm going to strip and repaint them anyway!

Friendly suggestion: If the difference is only a few dollars, support your LHS!


I now shop ebay for items that my LHS can no longer get, like some out of production Atlas or P2K units.

One area I've been able to save a lot on has been music CDs. I've been getting them brand new for $4 to $9. I enjoy listening to modern jazz while working on my trains. Cool and relaxing![8D][8D][tup]