I recently won this engine shown below off of ebay … this is the actual ebay pic …
The ad clearly stated that it was an Atlas RS-11 new in the box … just what I was needing. I bid and won it for $33. Shipping was $6.50 to Canada ( pretty decent really ). Here’s where the problem comes in … when I received the package and opened it up, the box contained not an RS-11 but an RSD-12 !!! [censored] Ok, “maybe” my fault for not asking, but I assumed the seller knew what he was selling.
The seller is willing to refund my money through a return, BUT … I’d be out my $6.50 shipping and have to pay $11.00 to ship it back to the US from Canada. Are RSD-12’s worth more than RS-11’s ??? Should I put it back on ebay and sell it myself to get my money back ??? Anyone here want to buy an RSD-12 for $40.00 plus shipping ??? [;)]
The picture shows 3 axle trucks, so maybe some fault on both sides.
I think the RS11 and RSD12 use the same frame as well as carbody, so maybe you can get the proper trucks and switch them over and put the RSD trucks on e-bay.
Is what you received the loco shown in the picture? Since there is nothing in the picture (like the end of the box with the information on it), the only way to verify the ad text woud have been to ask the seller. Is the box correctly labelled? IE, if the box flap says it’s an RS-11 but what’s inside is an RSD-12, unless the seller knew somethign about trains there’s no way they could have realized it was the wrong loco. If the side of the box indeed says RSD-12, well, they certainly made a mistake typing the ad up, or simply copied the ad from a previous auction and, in a hurry, did not edit it for the correct item.
Either way, I don’t see any real fraud being committed here. Plus they are willing to refund your money. Refunding postage would be a bit much here, as the seller would then be out $13.
If you have no need for an RSD-12, watch other auctions for them and see what they go for. Probably not a whole lot more than the $33 you paid, unfortunately. You may be able to come out even, or if there are no other ones listed, you might get lucky and catch a bidding war and get a crazy amount for it.
I can’t really fault the seller as I’m sure he doesn’t know trains - out of a whole page of items for sale, this was the only train related item. The box itself indicates it as being an RS-11, so I’m sure that’s what he was going on. Putting the pic in P-shop and lightening it clearly shows the three axle trucks ( shoulda done that in the first place ).
As far as just using it, no dice. I wanted it strictly for the chassis for a project I’m working on.
I’m not trying to blame the seller, I was just venting my frustration with the situation. I got scammed a while back on ebay having won two RS-11’s … the seller took my money order and disappeared - me and numerous other “winners” were all taken. Now this one … I thought I had finally got a deal on one and it goes bad as well.
Keep it ? - have no use for it.
Send it back ? - I’d be out the $6.50 to get it, plus the $11.00 to send it back.
Sell it ? - Probably the only logical answer IF I could break even.
The way I see it, your break-even point is about $22 if you factor in that you have to spend $11.00 to send it back. If you sell it, you’ll recoup the $6.50 for shipping, making you out $33 for buying it, minus the $11 extra you’d have to pay to return it, you only have to get $22 for the item to get out of it and not be any worse off than had you returned it. The more you get for it, the better off you are. Good luck. I got screwed once on ebay by a guy, who like in your case, decided he’d screw a whole bunch of people over at once. I figure the guy got away with close to $1000 that month.
First of all, it’s a lesson learned. I’ve made the mistake of miss typed info before, It’s not shameful to ask the seller any questions about the item. There are things they may or may not know, which will determine if your really interested in purchasing the item. Second ! don’t always go by what you see in the picture, sometimes the picture is not the actual item. Third, keep the rsd and it to your roster. I hope this helps.
Hey skiloff … you do math funny !!! [%-)] How do you figure my "break-even point is $22.00 ???
IF I sold it for $22.00 ( the buyer pays shipping ) - I already have $39.50 out of pocket invested in this thing … I’d still be $17.50 short !!! To break even, I have to get back out of it what I have invested in it - my wallet is shy by $39.50, by breaking even, that means back where I started from - no engine and $39.50 in my wallet.
zxb1 - Yeah, lesson learned … guess I got caught up in it at the last moment and didn’t ask questions beforehand ( first saw the listing an hour before it ended ). As for keeping it - no can do … I model the D&H in the mid-seventies. Not that era really matters, but the D&H never owned any RSD’s, and if the D&H never had 'em, neither can I !!! [;)]
Not necessarily your fault, the picture looks bad, and asking someone who knows little to nothing about the loco would say that it is the loco on the box. Sell it on eBay. This has happened to me from Reynaulds Imports twice on the same item. After returning it twice out of my own pocket, (they would not budge). I gave up and sold it on eBay. I was happy to recoup most of my money.
