Tips on safely buying used HO locos from ebay would be appreciated. I learned the hard way not to buy something described as Untested. Maybe it is a mistake to buy any used HO locos online. After all, if they are old, they might be worn out. Any advice would be appreciated.
If they don’t describe the loco as being test run, with it operating normally and all functions working, I would assume something is not right. Sometimes the seller doesn’t know trains that well and is more of a second hand flea market type not knowing his product more than an attempt by someone to mislead a buyer.
Try to determine if the seller knows trains. Compare the descriptions of various sellers just by reading them, even if you’re not interested in buying. You can tell the difference between those hwo know what their talking about and offer full disclosure and those who don’t.
Doughless,
that helps. Also, should the age of the loco and its maker be considered? Maybe some of them just are not expected to live to a riped old age.
I have never had a bad experience buying a used locomotive online.
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Every piece of used brass I have bought was run perfectly. All were described as operational, and all ran better than the seller described.
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“TRAINZ” in Buford, Georgia does a very good job of making sure everything they descibe as running good actually does, but because of this their items get lots of bids and tend to go for higher prices.
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Maybe I am just lucky, but I tend to think most sellers are quite honest.
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-Kevin
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As for age, not really. Some are old but might be shelf queens. Again, the description should describe if it has been run a lot or not.
Different manufacturers produce various level of quality from the factory. Some are made to run well. Others were never designed to run exceptionally great when new. If you don’t know the higher quality manufacturers from the lower quality ones, you need to educate yourself a bit to know how something should run when its new.
My biggest indicators
For DC: Please get something beyond mantua or lifelike or bachmann. Untested really doesn’t bug me, because they usually land up only needing to be broken in from their long period of not being run. Always go for a trusted brand. Check description and pics for any broken parts. Fuzzy pictures should be a red flag.
For DCC and or sound: This is a bit more tricky. I would not ever jump for one unless the brand of decoder is specified. Make sure it works. If you are not sure of the decoder, you second bet is to look to the loco brand. Certian manufacturers put certian brands of decoders in depending on the run of products it was in. If you do not check this, you could be a sucker for DCC sound that turns out to be an MRC decoder. As for condition in other areas, again check for details broken or missing. As an added note, save yourself a headache that I have given myself and make sure it actually has a prototype, if that is your thing. There are probably more things that I missed for both categories, but I tried to cover the primary ones.
Brand might not be such a great indicator after all. Every maker has its weaker products. What we need is a consumer reports ranking on the most reliable locos from each maker.
but of course the owner could still have ruined it, even if it was a great loco.
maybe i will just buy only new Locos. It might be cheaper in the long run.
I’ve bought 50 or more locomotives off eBay over the last ten years and only one wasn’t restorable. I like restoring locomotives, I look for clunkers. I never kept count but I would say that at least 40 were good runners out of the box. Mostly missing details. Stay away from Bachmann pancake motor locomotives.
Every Rivarossi I bought was a good investment as is all of my Athearn Blue Box locomotives. I did get a bummer Model Power GP9M, it was new in the box and in perfect condition. I got it for $8 free S&H. It is the worst locomotive ever. It has a super cheap motor and wouldn’t pull more than a half dozen box cars full of butterflies in flight on level track, it is worse than gutless. It is a very good looking locomotive and looks good sitting in my yard. It runs great without any cars behind it even up my 3% grades.
If you don’t mind a bit of work to get one cleaned up and lubed go for it.
Mel
I bought a tyco switcher on ebay. It was full of gunk. I cleaned it up as much as i could without drilling out the plastic screws that hold the motor to the chassis, but it just sits in the track deader than a door nail. The magnet is still good. The wheels will move sideways. The wires are touching the wheels. The soldering looks solid. But it has no interest in electricity.
the ad said Untested.
Hi Jim:
You might get more detailed answers if you were to tell us specifically what types of locomotives you are interested in.
My knowledge is limited to Transition Era diesels. I have bought about 25 locomotives from eBay and only one was a dud (pancake motor). I bought it before I knew anything about product quality. Fortunately I didn’t pay much.
I tend to buy older editions without DCC installed. I have locomotives by Atlas, InterMountain, Kato, Bachmann Spectrum and LifeLike P2K.
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The older Atlas locomotives in the yellow boxes run very nicely and they are usually reasonably priced.
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InterMountain locomotives also run very well. I did have a problem with one locomotive where the motor was squeaking, but InterMountain sent me a new motor for free despite the fact that I bought the locomotive used on eBay
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LifeLike Proto 1000 and Proto 2000 locomotives also run very nicely and are usually reasonably priced. Some of their GP series had problems with cracked axle gears but the gears are easy to replace and not expensive. Some of the details can be very fragile. I busted half the lift rings off of my E6 the first time I handled it![banghead][D)] The details can be replaced fairly easily. Note that the older LifeLike toy train engines are a waste of time unless you want something for target practice. The LifeLike models you should consider are labelled Proto 1000 or Proto 2000.
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I have a few Kato engines and they run well too.
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I have a couple of Bachmann Spectrum locomotives but they don’t run as smoothly as the other brands.
If you want to get into DCC then I would avoid buying older locomotives that someone has added a decoder to, particularly if there is sound involved. As someone said, that can be a real crap shoot. Installing your own decoders is not difficult.
That barely touches the surface. Give us some additional details so we can be more specific.
Dave
Avoid sellers that insist on checks or money orders only. I only buy locomotives from sellers that have PayPal accounts, and even then avoid sellers that insist on using the “Friends/Family” setting. This only serves to save the seller shipping costs, and purchasing this way means you forfeit your PayPal protections.
Tyco is one brand to avoid (unless you are into building steam engine kits - their old cast metal kits can be built into decent models but it takes some work).
As I said in my previous post, LifeLike non Proto 1000 (P1K) or Proto 2000 (P2K) are a waste.
Mantua stuff is pretty primitive, although like Tyco they did make some steamer kits that are fun to built if you are so inclined. Like the Tyco kits, they take some effort to get running properly and the details need to be replaced.
If you don’t recognize the manufacturer then don’t buy, at least until you have more knowledge.
Dave
I usually go for used Atlas and Athearn locos with decoders. but sometimes I buy them new.
My opinion: Unless you spend a lot of time and be extremely patient, don’t expect to find a super deal on Ebay. As others have said, go for a good brand, and a buyer that accepts returns. For me, Ebay is a good place to find rarer locos, or pieces I can’t find new.
Simon
Dave,
my purpose is to make a diesel railbus. I saw a youtube video from the UK by Budget Model Railways in which he cut down a passenger coach shell then fitted it over a loco chassis with motor. The particular products he used are not available in the USA, so I was going to try it with a different loco and a different shell. No luck on the loco yet.
Sounds like a fun project! Ebay is your best ally for such projects. Please post pictures when you are done.
I have bought locos and rolling stock off and Facebook Groups. I do not spend more than I can afford to throw away and not miss. Paypal only no friends and family. I also read about the seller. Have had good luck for the most part.
This is my policy.
I have several e-Bay stores I buy from on a routine bases that is a B&M hobby shop and I maintain a list of trusted private sellers that I bought from at least twice before…
I will not buy untested locomotives or cars and locomotives with poor dark photos…
I see a lot of athearn blue box being sold with prices of the genesis series. I see that with tyco and others as well. It pays to be able to identify the maker just on pictures alone. Also pays to know the msrp or market going price. To many way over priced and if course it is rare or hard to find. There is only 10 others over the next 3 pagges. I bought a rivarossi 0-8-0 that iwanted to do a little work to. Make it fit the new road a little better. I found a tested one in decent shape. So the pic showed. Seller said nothing of that damage saying it was in good shape. Turns out the tender was melted on the side you couldnt see in the pic. They had put a mantua motor in it. The pilot was broke and sloppily and poorly glued back on. Lucky i was already olanning to redue the pilot. And a new tender shell was an easy swap. New motor was already planned. The message. Beware of the pics. They can be taken in just a way to hide a lot ot flaws. Study the pics closely
Wolfie
I would like to know more about those. How does one fix a rivarossi 0-8-0? The motor is in the tender, and the rest of the mechanism is in the loco. Mine is missing the connecting bar, and the motor isnt real great. Sorry if i am hijacking the thread.[:S] I may have to make a seperate one.