Ebay buyers BEWARE

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

I like to buy old marx trains on ebay. The way most sellers seemed to operate years ago was to try and describe the condition of an item, and tell you the flaws. They often took 4 or 5 pics, to show the item from all views. If they took only one pic, they at least showed you the worst side.

Not any more. I have noticed a disturbing trend, only one picture, the best side, often blurry. A vague description of excellent, or good for the age, or played with condition. When you email to ask questions, they will act like they know nothing about trains and give answers which can be taken more than one way. You may ask about 3 or 4 aspects of an items condition, only to be bitten by the one problem you did not think of. And they usually charge a lot for the shipping, which discourages asking for refunds on inexpensive items. It seems to happen a lot these days. oh well, caveat emptor.

2

If I buy on ebay and have a question which is not sufficiently answered by a reply email, I’ll ask for photo’s. The best thing you can do about that is give neutral feedback. A negative feedback results in a negative feedback for you, but a neutral feedback with the good description (item worse than advertised/ seller not honest about condition/ etc) will do the trick.

Normally I browse through someones reputation first, because for me a return is not possible. I’ve bought a fair amount of trains with ebay and my experiences are mainly very positive.

If someone is not clear about it, doesn’t give sufficient information, can’t give more photo’s, etc, then leave it!! You can ask in advance, and form an imige of the sellers behaviour (with help of the feedbakc) before you make a bid. If you don’t feel right, don’t buy.

I had a steamer in mind, asked which sound system it had and the answer was: “I think it has railsounds” Yeah, of course. What are the sounds in the railsounds I asked. “A bell and a whistle I guess” came back. With these kind of answers you CAN expect a signalsound or mechanical whistle. Obviously I didn’t make a bid.

On one picture of another item I found a blurr on a truck. I asked if it had any damage or rust, because of the blurr. “I picked the foto from somewhere on the internet, I don’t have a camera of my own, but it’s exactly like it and it has no damage”. Well thanks, but I’m not bidding.

It’s sometimes hard to let something go, but there hasn’t been any item that didn’t show up in another auction later on… Sometimes a bit of damage does the trick; I picked up a observation car for my postwar santa fe set, without scratches or dents and without missing parts apart from the nameplates, for $36… (and that is the original aluminium silver dawn observation car)…

Keep your eyes open and read carefully before you buy and don’t make a bid unless you are satisfied with the information supplied! (And ask shipping charges is andvance!)

&nbs

3

Yep…I have been shopping E-Bay lately and have noticed the “single-picture-I-don’t-know-nothin’- about-trains” ads. Also present are the notorious “I’m selling this for my Grampaw who rarely played with it” ads. I bought a Lionel GP-9 from a seller that showed all sides of the loco and offers a refund. I also paid with VISA card. So I am pretty well covered. Note that ratings can be VERY deceptive. A seller with a 99.1% good rating may not accurately reflect what the seller is really like if he is a very high volume seller. And for low volume buyers like myself, one crummy rating can be a killer. Buying on E-Bay is ALWAYS like walking through a minefield. [:(]

Dep

4

I have been lucky so far. I bought my sd60 off ebay. I can’t say it was perfect (the pin holding the back knuckle was missing) but the price far beat any problem with it. That’s the big thing for me. I can’t really afford to buy all new but I love this scale. I’ve done Ho and it’s ok but o rocks. I hope to keep my luck but as long as the prices are right I’ll keep comming back and just hope for the best.

BTW ruddfan…I have a what seems to be pretty old marx tender that I can’t really use. It has the plastic flip couple thing??? Sorry, I know less about Marx than lionel and as you can tell by reading my other posts that’s not much. I had not heard of marx until it got this tender in a box of other lionel stuff. Funny thing was that i bought it for the tender because ebay said it was lionel. :slight_smile: Oh well, i got a lot of track and two steam locomotives (cheap plastic ones) CHEAP so it evens out. Not sure of the markings but i can look if you need one.

5

I agree with Daan. If you are not sure, don’t bid. Or if you insist, use an amount based on the worst possible scenario.

Sellers that use vague descriptions accompanied by poor pictures are only hurting themselves in the long run, as those items will not attract higher bids from more knowledgeable buyers. Even if the item is perfect, the description must convey this message to the potential buyer.

The use of the word “mint” is often an overstatement especially from novice sellers. If it comes in a tattered box and has bent handrails or is dirty (but never run on track) that still does not qualify as mint! Grade items yourself, as far as possible, by asking the right questons and viewing pictures.

6

Good afternoon all,

I have only been “bit” on eBay once. I bought a non-powered Lionel Santa Fe Alco that was “mint” in the box. They only showed one side and the plastic on the truck was broken off on the other side. I know it was not damaged in shipping as the part was just gone. I tried contacting the seller, but I got no response. I never left a feed back on that one. All the other transactions have gone well. I have gotten some good deals from time to time as well. I bought a 1989 Lionel Std. Gage Christmas car for around $20 once, and a restored 341 observation for about the same price. I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

7

You are bidding on a Lionel 3656 Automatic Operating Cattle Stockyard Set, with 3 Cows, track lockon, Photocopy of Original Instructions, and 364c Controller

Overall, this in an excellent buy and will make a nice addition to your current collection. Has been tested and works!! Any questions are welcome, and please bid with confidence after looking at my feedback.

Here is a real life item I bid on and won - a picture was on the listing - feedback was 99.9 positive - how do you think it turned out??

8

Can be very good or very bad. Simply because you didn’t tell how many items the seller has sold before (feedback depends on that), if he’s familiair with toy trains and knows what he talks about. Also you don’t mention asking him of a picture from the other side to convince yourself of:

A: Does he really own the item he’s selling,

B: How does it look on the other side.

(You could even ask the seller a video (most camera’s have video possibility) of the working cattle car. It’s a bit odd to ask, but why not? You can convince yourself it’s working…)

But since he mentions that it works, I guess he knows how it should work, so he knows a thing or two about toy trains. I would have asked for the other side picture. This item won’'t catch multiple

9

ruddfan just in case you did want to know…the tender is a southern pacific lines. I can send pictures. No numbers or anything. Metal trucks and wheels. I can send pictures. I just don’t have any need for it and I know I like extras around. If not I probably end up putting on lionel trucks to use as a spare for my engines.

Have a great day all and again great site and great people!!!

10

The picture looked good the description sounded good he had a reasonable amount of feedback 700 plus - sold lots of Lionel - the piece is just about worn out (probably works) not only is paint missing - its got rust all over it - the plating has worn off the metal troughs the cows vibrate in - no mention of rust or plating worn off - paid $37.00 including shipping - probably worth - maybe ten - I will repaint it and use it on the back side of a layout as the second pen (one for loading one for off loading - you live and learn and ask more questions!! Haven’t left feedback yet but will probably leave nuetral as suggested above.

Dan

11

Absolutely. When in doubt, skip it. There’ll be another one next week, next month, or next year. There are very, very few one-of-a-kinds out there. And if it is a one-of-a-kind, it’ll have good pictures and a good description.

Absolutely. I’ve gotten some bargains this way, by picking up pieces with bad photos and descriptions. But I keep my bids super-low when I do this. I got a prewar 1680 tanker for $1 this way once. (Plus shipping, of course–but it still cost me less than $10.) It wasn’t perfect but it looked better than the picture.

Get shipping charges up front though! One time someone tried to charge me $30 to ship a mixed lot that would easily ship for less than $10. I got greedy and overanxious, bid without asking, and got burned. I protested and ended up getting him to ship it for a reasonable rate. He relented because he could tell I knew what I was talking about (I took some similar stuff, put it on my postal scale, weighed it, added a pound to be generous, and quoted him exact shipping). But it was a pain.

If I want something badly enough I’ll ask for a shipping quote but usually, if it isn’t quoted, I move on to the next item. There’s always another one. Bid low, assume it’s worse than it is, and if you lose, bid on the next one that comes up. You’ll win one eventually.

12

I just got burned…

I purchased a Lionel 2423 Hillside (black stripe) that ‘needs a good cleaning’.

This thing looks like it has been sitting in puddle getting rained on. Mud caked, trucks and wheels are rusted, one axle is broken with a wheel missing, and one collector is broken. It didn’t look this bad in the picture.

It still cost me $23.98 delivered.

His feedback is 100% with a 108 items sold.

I’m still mulling over neutral or poor. I need to calm down a bit.

Kurt

13

Sounds like he just got himself a not positive reaction… Mail him to tell him this was not what you could expect from the description and photo, if he not responds or acts like “mwhoa, I couldn’t care less” give neutral feedback with “Item was junk, not just dirty” or something like that and get over it.

To give a few of my experiences: On a dutch sell site I found a Lionel 2353 with 2 aluminium cars. I didn’t know a thing about it, the seller didn’t know if it worked, but I gave it a shot. For 270 euro’s I was the new owner and much to my relief the trains worked. My first try on ebay was a k-line s2, $38 dollars. Turned out it was completely worn out and the e-unit was missing. At the same shop, K-line mp-15, new out of the box for $50 and some cars. Gave neutral comment on the s2 (I repaired it for $4 dollars, the cost of 2 new motors and a rectifier) and all the others positive. A Lionel sd-28, factorynew with pullmor motor, $90 dollars, positive feedback. K-line double alco’s, factorynew $90 dollars (bit expensive though) but positive. Williams 6 axle rectifier, factorynew with true blast II (expensive one, bought on the dutch ebay 160 euro’s) positive. MTH 2-8-0 with mechanical whistle $89, factory new, without box. Positive. MTH Alco, new with protosound 1 $149, positive (installed new battery before running), MTH GP38-2 new, with protosound $138, positive (but also new battery), th

14

What bugs me is how sellers try to hold your Feedback rating hostage.

In the true spirit, honest sellers would post a Feedback rating for you as soon as they have received payment and ship the item. And you’d do likewise after the deal is complete.

But too often, they attempt to protect themselves by withholding Feedback until you’ve posted for them. And god help you if you give them a negative, 'cause they’ll get you right back whether you deserve it or not.

I have made over 700 eBay purchases. My Feedback was 100% perfect. Until I used Buy-It-Now to make a purchase and the seller refused to accept my money and send the item. No good reason – I think he may have typed in the wrong price, but the auction had been up for over a week and he failed to proofread his prices. Of course, eBay just sat there like a lump, collecting its fees and doing absolutely nothing to intervene and settle things.

After 89 days of waiting, I finally gave him negative Feedback. And he did so right back within 5 minutes – as if he was watching for it. And then he had the gall to write that I was “pompous and terrible to deal with” – when all I wanted was the item I bought for the price he had listed.

15

Ha Ha, this is good list you compiled Daan!

The fun thing is that a lot of Ebay sellers communicate to us with these standard phrases that have hardly meaning at all any more. Perhaps an idea to offer this list to Ebay for their official translation software. But, I am not sure if they see the fun of it…

As you know, I recently bought two pre-war full rusted wrecks, but at least that was clear from the first photo’s I saw. No wonder I was the only bidder. These were named “good candidates for restoration”, well we now know that means: “rust pits and holes everywhere, will need a lot of new parts”.
Now, I come to think of it, what would “just for parts” mean in your terminology?

Greetings
Egbert

16

That is one reason that I dont buy from Ebay for any reason.

17

I agree. I avoid deals that start with…

I dont know anything about train

I am selling this for a friend

Great condition…sold as is (so what if it turns out is isnt in great condition)

Sellers with 6 negatives in six months

$12 shipping on a 10 ounce car

…in addition to what you have stated.

What to have a little fun?

Ask on of these guys with 12 negaitives why so mann negative. Bam zoom, to the moon Alice, LOL

18

I’ve been buying on the bay for about three or four years now. SO FAR, I’ve always been very happy with the deals. You don’t have to be a train expert to take more than one picture, and good ones at that. And I’m not the best picture taker myself. If the seller doesn’t give good answers, or won’t provide more pictures, pass. There is always another auction. Ans usually a better deal too.

19

This subject has been talked about a lot on this forum. I would have defended the Ebay side a year ago. A lot has changed in a year. There are sellers on Ebay who are dragging that company through the mud, and Ebay is turning a blinds eye.

The sellers rating system is a joke. Ebay needs to make it so a seller cannot hold a person hostage for a rating. It would be simple. If a buyer paid for the item within the time frame required, the worst a seller could give the buyer is a neutral. They have the software folks on their payroll that could clean this up. This would give the buyer some leverage to go after these, AS IS sellers.

I also was burned recently twice. The first was three months ago. The seller used photography and the fact I did not ask the exact question needed to find the flaw. He claimed it was sold AS IS, tough luck. I washed my hand of him and waited. After the time had expired to leave feedback, I filed a complaint with his states Attorney Generals Office. He of course received a letter of my complaint and was pissed. I simply said, “Have a good day” when he emailed me. Full disclosure laws are everywhere, and maybe this is the tool we need to combat these jokers.

I have since found buying from bricks and mortar companies is much nicer. I still search and buy on Ebay. But lately for every 1.00 on Ebay I spend, I find I’m spending 25.00 with bricks and mortar businesses. Ebays loss, but they have the tools to clean up their house.

And the second burn on Ebay, I’m watching the calendar.

20

I truly love reading the stuff folks write about their travails on eBay! Makes me ever so happy that I gave up on eBay years ago (I was both a seller and buyer back in the early years, when things were infinitely more simple and, apparently, most folks were infinitely more informed and honest).

These days, as close as I get to eBay is reading the things you guys post in threads that appear with as much regularity as the rising sun, or deleting the bogus e-mails I receive almost daily that tell me immediate action is required because my eBay account is in jeopardy (I no longer have an eBay account, or a PayPal account, or any of that other nonsense).

When I sell trains, I use the free on-line buy/sell forums (for various scales); ask a fair price; guarantee that what I’m selling is as-described; accept check or MO only; charge actual shipping; and ship promptly by UPS or USPS (buyer’s choice). I’ve sold literally hundreds of train items that way, with no problems at all.

And when I buy trains, I go with an established dealer. I have a list of preferred dealers that pretty much always get my return business, depending on the scale–one list for O, one for Std. Gauge, one for Large Scale, one for Z scale, and so forth. Again, no problems whatsoever, and no disappointments.