Just bought two 6440 and one 6441 on e-bay for more than the price guide shows they are worth. Anyone else moving prices upwards with items you just want to have? Passed up another set with original boxes last night for about the same price. Really wanted these cars, and am paying for it now.
It’s hard, but not impossible to get a bargain on toy trains this time of year on Ebay. I’ve always had a clear idea of what I want to spend before I bid. And that’s as high as I’ll go. If I lose, there’s always tomorrow. So no, I’ve never overpaid.
Jim
Not here.
I place my maximum proxy bid once & only once in the last few seconds of the auction.
I usually under pay.
Rob
Most postwar and modern stuff I’ve purchased I think I have done pretty well on. Pre-war is a gamble. Really tough to get an idea of condition from some pictures and not being able to handle it. Also bought some old tin toys with mixed results. Pictures arent always worth a thousand words.
Guilty. Once I paid too much for a locomotive that turned out to be a dummy (couldn’t tell from the picture) AND the guy tried to gouge me on shipping. I called him on the shipping charge, then didn’t find out it was a dummy until I got it.
When I was first starting out I overpaid for some stuff. I resisted buying a price guide for too long.
Then again, I’ve gotten some huge bargains, and some stuff I never have seen locally. It all evens out in the end.
guilty as well. Couldnt tell the condition of an engine because of pictures. I guess the guy didnt use a flash so the metal showing from scatched paint would be as visable. I took my own pictures recently and saw a big difference. I paid 400 for a 350 dollar item. Oh well…
I bid on Post War and 50’s and 60’s models. Of the 50+ items I have obtained on eBay over the past 3 years, about 90% have been bought from one source and I figure I have overpaid only 3 times… all for items I just had to have and let the bidding “frenzy” get the better of me.
Each of those 3 items could have been had for at least 10% less if I had waited anywhere from 3 weeks to a year longer. I’m learning. As difficult as it seems in the moment, patience does pay off. Overall, I count myself well ahead, and see eBay as a positive, especially during this time of year.
I try to be selective, patient, and frugal – not always easy.
I tend to wait for a decent price on what I want. But, if I want it bad enough, I’ll over pay. I figure it’s better to overpay on one thing I really want than to get two bargains that are second best to what I really want. Besides, 100 years from now, none of this will matter anyway.
Twice: First one, an engine, was really junk…Broke even by re-selling it on E-Bay “As Parts”
Second one, a caboose…Had an ‘undisclosed’ problem. I contacted the seller who promptly refunded the S&H which covered the cost of repair.
PS. I know that “almosts” don’t count but there have been a few of those. Only a slow trigger finger on my key-board and mouse along with that final check of similar listed items for sale before I made that fatal decision saved me.
[#ditto] AND, I might add some descriptive words like “rare”, “very little run time”, “from my personal collection”, “on display only”, etc. ALSO, “I don’t know much about trains”
LOL…
I dont know much about trains but Ill try to explain it the best I can. Here is a 6520 searchlight car with the RARE orange generator. Has a few scratches and rust but is overall in MINT condition!!! Plus, Its a LIONEL so it has to be worth a lot!
Buy it now: 150.00
Shipping: 450.00
Im not directly quoting anyone but some people are real %$#&*#ers
I think Dave’s experiences are typical for most of us, and I think his attitude is right on when he says that it all evens out in the end. Sometimes you get a great deal. Sometimes not so great.
And someone else noted that they have paid more than they knew they should have for an item they really wanted. Nothing wrong with that either, as long as the buyer and seller are happy with the transaction.
Jim
I have paid too much for trains on eBay.
I have “stolen” trains on eBay.
I have paid too much for trains at my LHS.
I have found bargains at my LHS.
I have paid too much for trains at train shows.
I have found great bargains at train shows.
I have paid too much through mail order.
I have found bargains through mail order.
Until the day I pass on I will pay too much and I will find bargains - but I will not stop.
Given the market for postwar and prewar trains, you cannot rely on a price guide to give you value for buying trains. If you research auctions, e-bay online specialty train stores, the price guides can be way off target. For example, it seems as though VG and below items have gone significantly down since the guides were published where boxed LN- Mint items have remained steady. Remember, the guide is merely a guide not a price set in stone.
I always buy an item based on what I like or want. If I overpay a little for an item I want, so be it. If I get a good deal, it is even better. I think that the bottom line is if you got an item you want at a price you can afford, don’t worry about what the guides say.
It looks like most of us have paid to much for an item on the Bay. I do on purpose when it is a specific thing needed to finish a set. I overbid for a missing piece of an old operating accesory needed. As someone said it all works out. I have gotton a few great deals off the bay as well. These days are great for items made in the last ten years. As collections get sold off by offspring many still in the box items can be bought cheap if they are not seen by many other buyers. LOL Make me wonder what is to become of my layout when I am gone…
Go to Train shows, join TCA, so you get to know the “Street Price”.
Rules for E-Bay ! !
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Is the item Common or Rare?
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What is a fair “Street Price” (discounted price)
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Know your MAX Bid Price, you might enter something less.
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Don’t raise it unless you entered a “low ball” bid.
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Walk away when the price is no longer a good buy (your bidding on a mass produced item)
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Have no regrets, keep looking.
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Remember, TCA Rules still apply to TCA Members even on E-Bay.
I have never paid more than I was willing to, so my answer is “No.” Priced guides mean very little to any given transaction and, more often than not, give prices more than the current market will bear.
But the blunt fact is that my opportunites for buying are often so rare that not to buy, even above book, means not getting. On most purchases, not getting is hardly disasterous, but there have been a few items that I’ve wanted badly enough to splurge on.
Nevertheless, even slpuring is not paying “more that {I} should” IF I have the discretionary funds AND I want the item. More than I could have paid had I been willing to wait for an unspecified amount of time (in one case almost certainly serveral years), perhaps, but not more than I should.
I always decide on what I am willing to pay including shipping and then enter that as my maximum proxy bid. If someone outbids me, good for them and I start looking for another one for sale. It is very easy to get into the bidding frenzy as an auction ends so I stick with my original maximum and dont change it. Sometimes its frustrating to lose by a few cents but I accept that in order to avoid paying more than I think appropriate.
I once bid in an Ebay auction for an MPC era Lionel MEC box car. It ended with a sniper coming in and taking the car from me in the last few minutes. I still had time to counter, but I let it go because I didn’t want to pay that high a price. I had my price limit and I stuck to it. As soon as the auction ended, I found another car in better shape (MIB), with a box for a Buy-it-Now price lower than my highest bid on the first car. I happily snagged it. It’s no longer MIB, having run on our layout in an all New England roadname consist.
Jim
Translations:
Rare: I looked at the Kmart and the Walgreen Drug down the street and couldn’t find one. It wasn’t in the Toys R Us sale ad from this past Sunday paper either.
Very little run time: I bought it, put it on the track, nothing happened, and I couldn’t (or didn’t) fix it.
From my personal collection: Not good enough for my collection.
On display only: See “very little run time.”
I don’t know much about trains: Easier to say than to own up to what’s wrong with the item that you can’t see from the fuzzy picture I took with a $20 camera using a nightlight for lighting.