Rude experience at a train show.

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
21

There was a dummy at the booth all right, just not in the blue box. [}:)] Actually a dummy and a poor running powered Athearn unit should probably go for about the same price. Given what I see older used Athearn locomotives sell for these days, $25 strikes me as a bit on the high side for either, although I am usually looking for smaller power than a DD. Maybe I am out of touch on prices because they last time I bought blue box it was a “must sell” estate situation where the guy was not selling his own trains but was just trying to get some cash to the family. He did not want to end the day with anything still for sale.

On balance I suspect our counterparts in the tinplate/toy train part of the hobby deal with even more of this than we do. And they have the additional complication of counterfeit paint jobs and replica parts.

I have only sold at swap meets a couple of times and I have to admit it is a funny feeling – if someone comes up and immediately pays your asking price you go nuts thinking “I must have badly underpriced that item.” But sometimes the truth is, your buyer regards you as a store where the price is the price is the price.

I think we all agree that at swap meets things are sold “as is” and if the “is” turns out to be even better than the seller thought, hey that is the risk they took when they priced the item. They were more than happy for the risk to run the other way. Ultimately the situation here, both for the DD and the other fellow’s story about the Varney steamer, is sellers who do not know what they are selling. Buyers not knowing what they are buying happens more often and that is where the money is to be made.

Dave Nelson

22

I would not have even bothered. If I needed it then probably I would have bought it. No sense with giant hoohaws–

I had an experience with one fellow who was all up in arms over some modular clubs display—he started swinging his arms all over the place and clocked me off the back of the head. Knocked my glasses off and sent them flying on to the display. All I did was get my glasses from one of the guys who saw my glasses and left. No sense in sticking around an arguer[:-^]

23

When I still lived in Ohio, I sold my unwanted stuff at several train shows a year. I would buy collections, and resell the items that didn’t suit my needs. I’ve had incidents in both directions. I had a nice Mantua Pacific on the table, priced very fairly. A buyer made a real low offer, I countered and he walked off. He stopped back several times during the show to dicker. Finally he came one last time, and I told him it was priced as marked. Needless to say, he didn’t buy. At another show I had several new Atlas/Kato diesels for sale at very reasonable prices. One fellow came by and told me I could and should offer them at higher prices. My response was to thank him and let him know that I bought them “right” and wanted to pass the savings on to fellow modelers. What goes around comes around. This hobby can be enjoyed without talking advantage of people. Being an informed consumer will keep the unscrupulous from burning you.

24

Actually, the seller sounds like one of those collection sellers. Has a bunch of stuff and a book or looks at what things go for without any knowledge of most of what they sell. Next week you may find them at a festival selling knock off perfume or some other “junk” they picked up at auctions and garage sales. They are kinda annoying if you ask me, like the E-bay hunters pulling a wagon through the shows squeezing in between people and interupting conversations and deals being made to make some bid on an item they think will sell higher.

I think you set a good example and responded well. I, on the other hand would have promptly given her the loco back, and would have suggested how she could place the loco in her “roundhouse” so to speak.

25

If I were you I would just forget about the experience’s you had and move on. At 25 bucks you were not getting any deal so just be glad you didn’t buy it. As for the steam loco, nice score. That vendor was a moron but let that be a lesson for you.

26

My wife and I live near Kansas City, MO, and we try to make it to the train show held there every year. We’ve had nothing but GREAT experiences at those shows. I’ve run into sellers that may not have what I’m looking for. They take my email address, check when they get home and send me a message on whether or not they have the item. Sadly, we run into less than honorable people in all walks of life.

27

In my opinion, honesty is its own reward.

John

28

I myself have bought and sold many things over the course of my life, as I’m sure many or most of you have. When I was young and/or short on funds (they sorta go together I think :slight_smile: “haggling” over the price was both more fun and somewhat of a necessity. As I have grown older and better heeled, I haggle much less, almost never in fact unless I perceive a large disparity between the perceived price and the sticker price. I am also more likely to haggle over a large quantity of items or bulk items. I do often treat the price as the price since I know what its like to have to drag that crap from one show to the next show to the next and the next and the one after that and some more shows-- until it gets really old and tired-- and you still have to box it all back up and drag it around some more. I have some respect for those folks (and I’m not talking about the dirty-dealers) they work hard for the money and often with little or nothing to show for it.

My Dad goes to the car shows to fund his hobby-- though nowdays in the current economy its more to just fund his existence-- and he’s been doing it for years. He and my brother pack up the van and the trailer and head out to all the shows and set up a table and hang out for the weekend. Now I know my pop, I’m sure that 95% of the hassle is offset by the ability to hang out with all his car buddies and get a chance to check out all the other tables to see what he can drag home without my mom finding out. But I also know he puts in a lot of work and doesn’t get all that much to show for it. Sometimes he’s lucky to cover his table fee.

I’ve known s

29

Where the sun don’t often shine…

30

Interestingly enough, I had an almost identical experience to the OP at a small town show in southeastern Ontario a number of years ago. I was probably only about 13 or 14 at the time, and I was looking for a switcher to fulfill some much needed yard duties on my small HO layout. I happened across an Athearn Bluebox SW7, which appeared to be new, or in like-new condition. I looked at the price tag, which was $15. Being on a fairly limited 13-year old’s budget, I thought “well, isn’t that a good deal”.

I picked up the engine, walked over to the dealer, and prepared to pay for it. As I was getting out my money, the dealer said “You know this is a dummy, right?”. I was surprised. I was sure it was a powered unit, and so I said to him “Excuse me? I thought it was powered.” I didn’t want a dummy, and if it was indeed, I wouldn’t be interested in it. He took a look at the underside of the locomotive, and quickly realized it was indeed a powered unit. He looked at the locomotive, and back at the price tag. He then turned to me and said “Well, then the price is wrong. If it’s powered, then I need $30 for it”. I was shocked. All of a sudden, the price had doubled. I think I only had $20 on me that day, so I sadly said that in that case, I guess I wasn’t interested. I walked away, disappointed, and feeling unfairly treated. Had I been older, I probably would have argued my case fervently, but at the time, I thought “well, what can I do?”.

Fortunately for me, the gentleman who was hosting the show was a friend of mine (who helped me a lot with my development as a young model railroader), and he found out what happened. Having not been there at the time, he couldn’t argue with the dealer, but seeing how disappointed I was, instead went and bought the switcher for me and later gave it to me as a gift. I was very grateful to him, although in retrospect, doing business with that dealer wasn’t necessarily the best thing in the situation.

Looking back, I just wish I had in the first place said "O

31

I agree John, for someone to keep something that someone else lost is stealing in my book.

32

This is your best bet.

33

Is that why you did it? So you’d get a “thank you” or a reward?

I thought you did it because it was what was right.

Then again, since you suggest you’ll steal it next time, maybe not.

Integrity is hard to come by these days.

34

You all did the right thing. What the dealer did was almost illegal and could be argued as such (from what little I know about contract law). In any case, what he attempted to do was wrong.

I had a similar experience with the LHS. An HO Spectrum 2-8-0 was marked at what appeared to be a very discounted price. I brought it to the proprietor with cash in hand and as he ran it thru the register realized that the price tag was incorrect - and should have been $20-30 higher. He said someone switched tags on it and thankfully he knew it wasn’t me (but he was pretty sure he knew who did).

Anyway, he said I will sell it to you for the marked (lower) price, and I said no, I don’t want to take advantage of you. And, at the higher price I really didn’t want it. He insisted, and I “gave in”, and paid the lower price.

Mobilman44

35

While setting up a show a seller dropped a wad of cash by his table. I picked it up right away before some one else did and told the person he may have lost some money. He checked his box that the money fell from and confirmed what had happened. I handed him the cash (all of it) he grabbed it and put it back in the cash box. Not even a thank you or how about a 10% discount on any thing you like. Next time it happens I will have more money to spend on trains.

The only person any of us has control over is ourselves. The fact that you weren’t thanked or rewarded for doing the right thing is irrelevant. People are sometimes “rude” for reasons that aren’t immediately apparent to others. The seller in question might have been mentally distracted by the task of setting up.

The best thing to do is move on and continue to do the right thing. Getting bent out of shape about another person’s action in such a situation is a waste of time.

Andre

36

I have one basic rule when buying anything at hobby shows, e-Bay, etc. If the seller does not know the item(s) they are selling, use extreme caution and prepare to play it safe and not buy at all.

Kevin

37

I don´t think anyone has an agenda when they return something that someone has lost, but if you get indifference in return you will lose the incentive to repeat it. I once stood in the bank and when I got to the counter there was well over $2000 laiyng on the ledge!

I told the clerk about it, and she said that they could take it and see if anyone claimed it, as the alternative would have been that I left it at the Police. But as she thought that she knew who it was, she said it would be easier if they took it, so they took my name for reference. A week later when I was in the bank again, she told me that the person that had lost the money had claimed it and left no finders fee, wich is what I would have got if I had left it with the Police!

I will NEVER do that mistake again as next time I will leave it to the Police. I firmly believe that if you treat your fellow man good, you get good in return. If people only have Egoism as their guiding star, only bad things should become them!

38

Kevin,My e-bay policy is to study the picture and if the picture is to dark then its a no-go and on to the next item.

As far as hobby shows its “inspection time”.

Now back to the topic.

Before leaving I would have ask to speak to the show director and advise him/her of the problem and needless to say if that dealer and I would cross paths again I wouldn’t even consider looking over her goods.

39

Agreed. Doing the right thing “should” be its own reward. Either doing the right thing is worth doing because it is right, or it is not worth doing because it is right…which of those makes more sense logically? And, we should behave appropriately.

Let the burdens associated with boorish behaviour be those of the people acting badly. If you know you have done ‘good’, that should be sufficient…no thanks necessary. Peope who were raised well will know to thank you, and if they are especially pleased, they’ll also reward you. Neither is necessary to accomplish a good deed worth doing in the first place.

-Crandell

40

Have I mistakenly entered a Miss Manners column?

Mark