Perils of purchasing kits on eBay

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I’ve been buying rolling stock kits on eBay off and on over the past year. These are mostly old Branchline, Intermountain, Proto2K, etc. I enjoy building these and usually get a really nice result. But I didn’t check them all out thoroughly when first purchased. Big mistake! So far I have discovered that three of them have been something less than “NIB”. These three have had missing sprues, parts removed from sprues, broken parts, even parts glued together (badly). On another, two of the doors on a double-door boxcar were the wrong color (manufacturer’s issue). On some I didn’t notice the problem until I had invested a lot of assembly time in the project. It’s too late to get my money back on these. However, on future purchases, I’m going into the box immediately when I receive the item, especially if the seal is broken. And if I find discrepancies, there will be hell to pay for the sorry slimebag that tried to scam me. There’s no excuse for claiming something is “NIB” when it clearly isn’t.

So my advice is, message the seller before bidding to verify the reality of “NIB”. And then check it when you get it.

George

2

Yep, check those eBay items when they arrive. I’ve gotten full or partial refunds, (which I agreed to) when I found items arrived that were not as described.

3

Two reactions.

One, check any eBay purchase as soon as it is received.

Two, I too have experienced NIB claims that are unfounded. Fortunately, this did not cause problems. In both instances, a locomotive that was advertised NIB had marginal notes written in pencil on the Instruction Sheet by someone. So, this was probably pre-owned and returned to seller for one reason or another.

Rich

4

Really, the check the model right away applies to buying new from stores or vendors too. I bought an Athearn Genesis tri-level autorack several years ago and pulled it out for the first time. It looked ok through the window but when out, looked twisted over like it had been in an accident. The vendor said too much time had gone by and Athearn as well. Lesson learned. Some $45 wasted.

5

You also got to relize that a lot of vendors do not have a clue, it it has Kadee on the trucks, it must be a boxcar made by Kadee etc. Look at the pictures, not enough pictures ask for more. Whats this sealed stuff, even from B&M stores I have bought unsealed boxes most of the time. That all being said if you let us know what you are missing, one of us might have it.

6

I agree with riogrande to check items no matter where from. We had a similar experience of not checking until too late that cost us around $720.

David

7

Ebay has strict rules about what can be called “new” in the Toys And Hobbies category. You will get a refund if the item was misrepresented as new.

As far a bad items go, my only problem that happened more than once was missing handrails from Athearn locomotives.

Sorry to hear you have been having problems.

-Kevin

8

That’s why I always record my unboxings as videos, take ample pictures, and closely inspect all models that I buy. Its a good habit, and has proven to have helped in the long run!

Charles

9

In my Ebay experience - and it’s pretty significant - the vast majority of sellers of MR stuff are reputable and fair. That said, before you plunk down your bid, check the seller’s feedback. That alone is not a guarantee of a great seller, but it will certainly point out any significant or ongoing problem areas (like poor packing).

And as mentioned, when you buy something - especially something that is not factory sealed - you need to open it immediately and advise the seller ASAP of any problems.

Believe me, a seller with 100 percent positive feedback will do what ever is reasonable to maintain that rating.

10

On more than one occasion I’ve received nastygrams from eBay sellers for whom I’d written negative reviews because they misrepresented what they sold me. In every case they say the same thing: “You should have contacted me before you wrote a bad review.”

No. If you lie to me I don’t owe you anything, and you owe me. Whether it was carelessness, ignorance or dishonesty, if you’re claiming something you’re selling is one thing and it is not, you deserve the hit and the buying public deserves to be put on notice of your unreliability.

I get the whole “buyer beware” thing, and I accept that. But if you rip me off, even accidentally, and you continue to sell, people should be warned. I’ve had interactions with more than one seller who bargained the refund I was due, in exchange for me editing or removing my bad review of them.

I wonder how many highly rated sellers are really people who talked an unhappy buyer out of posting a bad review in exchange for a refund. I wonder how many bad sellers are hiding behind a reputation that has been manipulated to make them look good, when they are not.

11

Always check upon arrival all purchases, no matter who or where from.

While there are some bad apples out there in all areas, be it retail B&M stores, online, show vendors, etc…, and not just in Trains, most are trustworthy, and most will accept resposibility when they goof up.

Those that don’t, PayPal, MasterCard, Visa, etc… all have channels to open a dispute, over “Not as advertised” or “Never Received” issues.

Take pictures or videos of all issues found as soon as found, or do as above and record unboxing, and do so as soon as possible after it has arrived.

I had to do so with a “NIB” locomotive once, and had toi file a full dispute over the seller failing to accept the responsibility that it was not anywhere close to “NIB”. (Refused returns, and then backtracked to accept but at my cost for shipping both ways. I refused that, as that would have totalled almost $24…) Becuase I had lots of high-res pictures to prove my side, he lost. The dispute was ruled in my favor, I got a full refund, and have a parts unit, as that was all it was good for. (It won’t even work as a paper weight…)

Feedback is sometimes not worth it, as the three instances I’ve had with misrepresentation, feedback score was at minimum 99%… One was a cheap 3d printed knockoff cell phone case advertised as an OtterBox… I refused to return, as it would have been me mailing illegal contriband through USPS, but the dispute was immediately ruled in my favor for a full refund. Prior to that dispute filing, his feedback score was over 10,000, positive was 99.x%…

So you always have to check everything you purchase from anyone, anywhere.

12

Hand, cookie jar, springs to mind. This is why professional organizations make it unethical conduct to negotiate out of a complaint unless you use the official mediation resolution process to ensure no BS goes on.

13

Then navyman636 wrote:

If you lie to me I don’t owe you anything, and you owe me. Whether it was carelessness, ignorance or dishonesty, if you’re claiming something you’re selling is one thing and it is not, you deserve the hit and the buying public deserves to be put on notice of your unreliability.

I suggest that everyone talke a step back and chill a little when this happens. It always helps to straighten things like this out if you are polite and calm when resolving any dispute, regardless of the facts.

I especially take issue with the idea that “ignorance” = “unreliability”. If you don’t know that something well enough, you might indeed assume that everything is there. Many sellers on Ebay are NOT model railroaders. Even if they check against the instructions, it’s not always evident that something is missing unless there are illustrated sprue diagrams. Even then, some folks are so spatially challenged thay may have a hard time sorting out what is what.

What may be clearly not NIB may be nowhere near as obvious as a model railroader might think.

In fact, assuming ignorance is at the root of things is often a good strategy, but it only works if you are polite and calm, rather than heck-bent on placing blame.

For instance, a note that starts with, “You may not have realized it, but something is missing…” is a much better opener than “You scoundrel, ripping me off…” After all, you can always escalate and if you must get formal about your complaint, it’s a lot in your favor if the supporting record is factual, calm, and to the point without being offensive.