I have bought several used locomotives on eBay and only had trouble with one of them. Most of the ones I have bought were being sold by the owner who was thinning out his collection.
The one I had trouble with was sold by a junk dealer. It was listed as new but it was from a from an old trainset. It still was in it’s original box which was part of the set but it didn’t have the retail printing on the end of the box. It run but the light didn’t work, the wheels were dirty, and some of the detail parts were missing. If they had broken off in shipping then they would have been in the box but they were long gone.
As for old locomotives: Old Tyco and other toy brands I avoid because they usually don’t last very long to begin with. Old Atlas, Walthers, and Athearn blue box as well as Rivarossi all have been fine because they were well made to begin with.
If you are looking at Proto 2000, many/most will need the split gears replaced but thats modus operandi and not a big deal. I recently sold GP30 I never had out of the box and the buyer reported had to replace the gears but new that would be needed and just did it in stride. The ones I don’t sell I know I’ll have to do that myself eventually.
Me too. We all see nutty prices on Ebay, move along … move along …
The inly good use for old tyco are for young kids. Or painting. If you are new to painting or airbrushing they are a good cheap practice tool. Along with practicing masking skills. Goes good for weathering too
Hello all,
My one piece of advice…
Caveat Emptor!
OK, to be serious…
Probably 90%-95% of my motive power was bought on eBay. Some with DCC, some DCC Ready and some straight DC that I converted to DCC.
First- -Set a budget!
The thing to know is the real-world value of the item you are looking at; this holds true at train shows as well.
If it’s out of your budget you better be sure this is the “deal of the century” and can justify this to your partner/wife/husband/roommate/significant other, et al!
Many online sellers will do their “research” through retail outlets, then determine their price(s) base on the upper-end value.
I model in HO. If I see a Bachmann GP30, DCC ready, listed on eBay at $110.00 it’s a pass. I know that I can get a brand new unit from a nearby hobby store for $65.00. And that includes a factory warranty.
The sellers might also try to up-sell the item by describing it as “unique” or “one-of-a-kind”. Beware of these phrases.
I bought a MOW weight car for $10.00 + $2.00 S+H $12.00. A few weeks later I saw the same item listed for $45.00. The item was damaged and shipping was $15.00! But the seller listed this item as “Unique”.
The old addage, “A photo is worth 1,000 words.”
Sellers that have several, clear, photos of the listed item and the photos include detail shots, I’m more likely to buy from that seller.
If they also have instructions/documentation that is a good sign too.
As has been posted- -ONLY go through PayPal!
Years ago I was caught-up in a cycling shoe scam through eBay. I went through the PayPal grievance process and was returned every penny.
That being said…
I did receive a loco that, could be generously said to be “Not As Described”!
After contacting the seller he admitted that it wasn’t “As Described” an
The feedback on this thread has been very helpful. Going into ebay blind is very risky. Know the current prices for the same items. Know which products are likely to be junk when you buy them used. Study the photos carefully but know they might be misleading. Stick with trusted sellers when you can.
So far I am batting zero on ebay because I am a slow learner. But I think I am learning from each mistake.
One purchase I am hopeful about should arrive tomorrow. It is the shell for a paseenger coach, which I intend to cut down to make the body of a diesel railbus/trolley/streetcar/tram. How could they trick me when it is just a shell? we will find out soon.
Next I will need a motorized chassis that can fit underneath it. That might be difficult to find. I mean one that actually runs.
If you want to power a passenger car as a rail bus, one route to consider would be a Bowser trolley drive. You can find them, along with chassis plates meant to work with them, at Custom Traxx.
You’ll probably spend about $50 to $60, but it will work.
Eric
Eric,
i was hoping to spend less making a motorized trolley than it would cost to buy one. If a previously owned diesel loco chassis would fit under a cut down coach, it might cost me less than $50. That is my hope, anyway.
another way to do this is to buy a street car then modify the roof to remove all evidence of the pole. But streetcars are not cheap either.
i will look into Bowser trolley drives at Custom Traxx.
Watch out for scales too. Lots of misleading ones where it is posted as one scale but is really another. Or a toy of some sort not a model at all
Ebay used locos??
In addition to what has been said here: I have purchased about 80% of my roster on Ebay - approx 2/3 of that was used. I have had pretty good luck with the purchases.
I do have a couple of problem areas that come up - packaging on brass has been spotty. after a couple of “$25 packing fee that amounted to throw the item in a Priority mail shipping box with little padding” incidents (both resulted in damage) - I now send a note to the seller outlining what I consider reasonable packaging when I pay for the item.
The other issue is bidders that push the price up in $5 increments to increase the item price - After being burned on this once - I use auction stealer to snipe so my bid isn’t hanging out there.
I always make surte I’m up to snuff on what I’m buying and I take into account the condition of the item when bidding.
Guy
Neat project!
I have done a couple of similar projects and I didn’t have to spend a lot of money.
Here is a Roundhouse 3 in 1 kit. It has DCC incl. sound. It uses a Tenshodo ‘Spud’ drive. Both the 3 in 1 kit and the Tenshodo drive are discontinued, but I was able to get them for peanuts on eBay. The paint job needs to be finished:
Here is a close up of the Tenshodo drive. The side frames are scratch built:
You will likely have to be patient for the Tenshodo Spud drives to show up at a reasonable price. They are listed fairly regularly but most times the asking price is too high.
Here is a railtruck that is mostly scratchbuilt. I found a couple of ancient kits on eBay for railtrucks. The kits were so old that some of the resin castings had started to go soft, and the parts that weren’t soft were too flimsy to use. Most of the kit was tossed. I saved the motor, the geared rear axle and the front two wheel sets. The rest is scratch built with the exception of the cab, engine compartment and the fenders which are from a Jordan Highway Miniatures school bus. It has DCC with sound and working lights. Needs paint:
Here are a couple of pictures of the frame. The frame was
.
That sounds like a great idea!
.
-Kevin
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I like ebay, sure I don’t expect certain diesel locomotives by Athearn, Atlas or Intermountain to always be there, but good things come to those who wait.
If you don’t see a particular locomotive or freight car listed, that tells you it’s rare.
I use ebay like once or twice a month.
I’ve done pretty well on Ebay, both with N scale and Ho scale. You can get some real bargains on good locomotives, but you do have to pick and choose and be careful.
I’ve learned that if the seller says the locomotive is untested, it probably doesn’t work. If the seller says he has no way to test the locomotive but it worked the last time he used it, it probably doesn’t work. If he says its for parts or repair, it definitely doesn’t work.
Don’t get in bidding wars - have a top price in mind for the item and don’t go over that price. Look for sellers who offer free returns and, even better, who don’t charge for postage. Always factor in the postage that the seller is asking for - some of them can be quite expensive.
Good luck!
Thanks, I’ll remember that. [:)]
Before getting all these good tips about buying on ebay, i ordered a box of HO buildings from an inexperienced seller. It arrived Thursday. Sure enough, it was O scale instead of HO. now i am waiting for an answer from the seller about a refund.
I am still batting zero but will be more careful in the future.
Haha that would have been a great April Fools Day Prank!!! [:D]
So far I haven’t had any problems yet…
All that ebay shopping was motivated by a desire for an American railbus, Powered by gas or diesel instead of overhead wires. By chance, Bachmann is selling this Bachmann 84601 Peter Witt Street Car wInterior Lights - DCC on Board, Undecorated
SKU: 84601. Fifty bucks.
I bought one because it comes only partially assembled. The picture did not show a pole on top. When it arrived, i did not put on the pole and i filled the holes on top with E6000 before painting. Bingo. An American railbus. I am posting a picture but my craft skills are lacking so please do not be critical. But it runs nicely, at a sedate pace appropriate for urban transit.
https://pix.sfly.com/aP8Jqg
I feel the same way. In all of my years in buying and selling train things on eBay … never a problem, even when there was an unintentional hiccup along the way. I think that people that “play with trains” … are all a bunch of nice, honest folks.
Same here.
I’ve had 98% good experience on buying locos on Ebay. I insist on a picture of the bottom of the loco, so I can identify it. A picture with the shell off is even better.
I only buy certain Athearn, Atlas, Spectrum, and Kato locos. NO Tyco or train set stuff.
Mike.