There, I said it.
EBAY!!! There… I said it too. wats the point of this thread?? BTW, EBAY RULES!!
AND???
Is eBay a four letter word? It is? Okay!
e[censored]y!!!
E-bay is a fantastic resource for the Model Railroader! However, you have to know what items are worth or you can pay too much.
Out of production items are everywhere on E-bay. What happens is we get old and die [xx(] , and our heirs sell everything to the next generation using E-bay [:)]. Recycling at its finest.
Marty
well it looks like google is starting somthing like ebay or more like craigslist
and with FEEbay er sorry ebay and there extravagant cost list charge, pic charge, paypal charge ,
I for one will be quick to move to google
K
I just saved a bunch of money by switching my eBay posting to Auctiva.
No, this isn’t why I posted the subject. It’s a response to the Feebay comment. It is expensive. I used Auctiva and did save a bunch of money. I have a custom weathered freight car posted with 8 supersized pictures and a gallery listing, the initial listing fee was .90 cents. Now that’s cheap in comparison to the normal fee of over $2 for the same listing.
Now PayPal is another story and I’ve heard that some people have had problems with them. Out of my 470 transactions a good 95% have been paid through PayPal and I’ve never had even a hint of a problem. They are fast and secure for both buyer and seller, in my opinion.
Guys,I called E-bay E-Gyp because I seen prices at or near full MSRP…I seen a $5.75 Athearn BB boxcar kit go for $9.85 plus $8.50 shipping…I seen a Athearn RTR GP38-2 buy it now price for $67.95-these go for $50.00-54.00 on line-I have seen them as low as $39.95…I seen Atlas engines cheaper on line then the silly bid war prices or even some at buy it now prices…The list goes on.
I urge everybody that uses e-bay to know their prices before hitting the bid key…It will save you hobby dollars.If you don’t know the price then look it up at the better on line shops…
My favorite E-bay story was when a guy bid $24.55 plus shipping for a common BB CN boxcar kit…That was back in 2002 or 03.Never will forget that.
Now,I recall getting some good deals on E-bay a Atlas C&O RS1 for $45.00 Atlas GP7s for $40.00.P2K GP9s as low as $22.55.Those were the good days of e-bay.
Caveat Emptor, buyer beware.
You can do well by eBay, I cut my teeth on bidding techniques with my other hobby of Camera collecting. You can really hurt yourself bidding wildly on a classic camera.
My Model Railroad buys off of eBay have been much more modest, and mostly successful.
You have to take the time to educate yourself about what you are wanting to buy. If you don’t you will most likely get burned.
Mark Gosdin
This is definately true, I frequently browse ebay for additions to my layout and have come across many deals. I’ve found a few custom painted Athearn BB GP9 shells that I picked up for around $5 each and a pair of B&M Proto 1000 RDC’s for $20 each. At the time I wasn’t able to find the B&M RDC’s anywhere actually in stock!
As a addendum to your caveat emptor…
Watch out for sellers that will post nice low starting bids and then hose you on the shipping. They are willing to sell any item for any price, because all of their costs and markup are built into the shipping they charge you. As ebay becomes more and more populated, these sellers show up more and more often. Read the ENTIRE listing carefully!
M
Brakie and Mikeymbca both make very good points. I have been making purchases on Ebay for N scale stuff for the past two weeks. I noticed several auctions with “Buy It Now” listings with high costs not including the shipping. An example would be one of Atlas Dash 8-40B locos that had a buy it now cost of 79.99 plus shipping. The same item was for sale from Wholesale Trains online for $68.00.
Shipping costs can get you too. There was an auction for 12 pieces of cork roadbed that went for 7.99 with a shipping price of $9.00. At Discount Trains online you can get 12 pieces of cork roadbed for $6.87 with a shipping charge of $6.95. That is $3.17 cheaper than winning it on ebay.
Some deals can be made but you must do your research before placing a bid. For instance I got an Atlas Dash 8-40B with DCC for $37.00 plus 5.00 shipping. Not a bad deal. The catch is the seller said the loco needed the DCC replaced. When I got it I reset the decoder and now it works fine. Even if the decoder did need replacing a loco that is DCC ready sells for about $75. so it would still have been a fair deal.
Bill
Hey - did any of you see the Malibu VW bus and camper get bid up to $43 a few weeks ago ??? There’s a sucker born every minute. I think some folks get this mind-set about them that tells them to win it no matter what … and then they come up against a similar opponent !!! You gotta know when to stop. But then, three cheers from the guy who was selling it !!! [;)]
Mark.
There is another aspect to be considered when discussing E-Bay, and that is you must consider the fact that the bidder may want a particular item for his layout, collection, etc., and can only find it on E-Bay. So he bids at near retail or even higher. Guess what, that happens at any auction. Only the person making a bid can determine what value they themselves place on an item.
I have heard that E-Bay is increasing charges to a point that some on-line stores are dropping out. And that’s too bad for us. But perhaps with some competition they will reconsider their charges.
Tom
Yes SOME items sell for MSRP or higher- but a lot of the stuff sells incredibly cheap. BTW, if there is a product that still has a MSRP (such as the RTR GP38-2) don’t buy it off eBay. You ususally can’t get a good deal.Save eBay for the OOP (out of production) stuff
I wonder if there are people out there who are addicted to bidding, like gamblers are with gambling, and they have to beat out the other bidders no matter what. If there are, another acronym ‘syndrome’ will crop up, along with twelve step meetings (eBayAnon?) and medications to treat it. [sigh]
Nelson
Before you bid scan the web for prices … and ALWAYS confirm shipping to your door. I’ve gotten super deals … would have had to have my own Lear jet to fly around and try to find many of those items ! But you have to be able to wait if outbid … as said … some idiots pay way over retail … amazes me too .