Unless someone happens to have just a damanged tender or something, I think he’d do MUCH better selling it as complete with the original box. Who wants a loco with no tender, or a tender with no loco, when they are specific models like that?
I’m guessing this is not really a “train guy” but a general collector.
I’ve seen a few ads like this over the years, and while it may be they’re trying to maximize their profit, I can tell you that without all the “pieces, parts”, being part of one auction, I won’t even look at it. It’s OK if the box is gone, as long as the loco is complete.
It is their loco, and while they can sell it as they wish, I happen to have a personal requirement that any loco I bid on has to be all there. I don’t care if the loco even runs, as I generally replace the motor and gears in older locos, I just want a complete one, not something that is being pieced out. Don’t waste my time.
It’s just a ploy to get the buyer to bid high, thus ensuring he gets all three items. It would suck if you bought the tender and the box, and someone else got the engine.
This has become common with Lionel to sell the engine and tender separate on eBay. I don’t bid on these, it would be my luck to get one but not the other.
He or she is hoping that whomever bids on the various pieces is willing to go all in for all three and will therefore get into a bidding war with any other bidders who may be threatening any of the individual pieces (which generally leads to over paying for the item…which is not the sellers problem but the eager buyer who doesn’t want a tender and no locomotive or box…or any combination of the three). Does it work? I have no clue as, like most who have already posted above, I won’t get involved in these types of auctions.
There is a large collection of factory seconds that are starting to appear on eBay. The collection is from an importer, and were either the end of run, or models returned by the dealers for various reasons.
A lot of them are basket cases, as they need repairs, parts or maybe even a motor. You might just get an engine or a tender, as the sets were broken up to provide parts to replace a damaged item in another set. The seller may not even be sure what goes with the engine to make a set.
But if you are looking for a rare model, or something you can customize for your own road, this might be a chance to get one.
I don’t care what such a person gets or does not get for the items - anyone who does stuff like that is a crook I would never deal with under any circumstances.
It likely does not violate any Ebay policy - but I would file a complaint with them anyway.
This is kind of odd selling this way, but I ask this question to everyone…
How is this different from parting out a car, boat, or a lawnmower?
or…
How is this different from removing Bachmann decoders from Bachmann locos and selling them on Ebay? Aren’t you trying to get get some cash back? What is wrong with that?
It is obvious that no one has to bid on the item, but that certainly has nothing to do with the posting, except possibly in your mind.
I was simply wondering if the person posting was trying to collect more money by selling the items seperately than by selling the item as one lot. Which is how most people would view the items, an engine, a tender and the box in which they came.
As I suspected, most seem to view the reason for the posting of the individual items as an attempt to maximize the dollar amount resulting from the sale.
Perhaps the vendor also intends to ship the items separately as well, even if there is one purchaser for the three items.?
They may well be one of those vendors who also charges a fee for the S&H portion of the sale, I have seen that a few times on e-bay.
From a strictly legalistic point of view - no difference at all. That does not make it right.
People who part out cars, or garden tractors, don’t purposely sell all the parts needed to “reassemble” the item. In fact, the reason they generally part them out is they are incomplete or inoperable in the first place. And they generally dissassemble them to the “service part” level, not just into two major sub assemblies.
I buy Bachmann locos all time, take out the decoders I will never use, and sell them to people who will - I don’t sell the loco, in the listing right below - or EVER - that is beyond WAY DIFFERENT from this.
It is a moral question, not a legal one, and my view stands that anyone who would simply “seperate” a steam loco and its tender to sell them both seperately but likely to the same person thinking it will raise the price is a dishonest person whom I want no dealings with.
I happen to also be in the garden tractor hobby, and I buy used parts, and sometimes sell new custom made and used parts. I have good friends who part out tractors all the time - they would never do anything that equaled this. This would be like just taking out the engine, and offering the tractor less the engine and “oh by the way, the engine is this much more” - it is sleezy on every level.
No one is a bigger capitalist than me - but the free market is built on trust as much as profi
I see this a lot on E-bay. Nothing new. Some sellers have no idea what they have and break up sets and locos constantly. I particularly like the adds for steam engine and coal car! [banghead] Makes me smile every time. Funny how one add says RARE L@@K, and there are seven more listed too.
What drives me crazy is the complete basket cases going for big bucks and nice custom or factory painted locos going for a steal. I once purposely did not bid on a factory painted never run PRR N1s 2-10-2 figuring it would go over $300 and it sold for $135. I keep it in my watch list so I can kick myself every time I see it.[:(!] Ninety nine percent of my bids gets killed by snipers so I have a ho hum attitude when I bid.
While not brass, I acquired several American Flyer steam engines with a large HO collection I bought. I listed the locos complete several times and never received a bid. Finally I listed the engine and tender separately. Everything sold, for more than my original listings. Go figure.
I have a fairly strict “no junk” policy. I won’t even look at the dirty, nasty box brass dealers’ stuff (the same dealers who have been dragging the same stuff to the same train shows for too many years–and all the boxes are heavily worn) and I don’t even consider models that are only partly there.
Of course, a replacement box or foam is no problem at all for me.
Yes I have seen similar listings on a number of occasions.
Once I saw a Factory Painted HO GN Tenshodo 4-8-2 listed like that, I put in a low offer on each and later found out I was the only bidder…
I can not help but wonder what is the motivation?
It certainly was not bad for the buyer in that case.
I agree If a bidding war ever started the final price could be unusually high, but have seen that on one item a number of times. Bidding wars are not that uncommon, great for the sellers.
I would notify seller that you are bidding on loco, tender, and box. If either goes to another buyer, remaining bids are null and void. I don’t know if ebay would sanction this, but it is what I’d do and let the dust fall wherever. This seller must have had experience with tinplate as that is how many 3 rail items are marketed.
It is a terrible idea. I looked at the listings and the E2 looked quite nice along with the correct box, but I’d be dammed if I would bid on this loco knowing the possibly exists that I my not get the tender or loco. The box although important is not a deal breaker.
I’m hoping this seller is aware of this conversation, and perhaps something may sink in.
Note that the same vendor is also offering another steam locomotive, tender and box as 1 item.
I think the vendor is testing the waters, just to see how the items sell pieced out, as another member indicated that they thought the vendor was trying to see it they could start a bidding war, which may well lead to a higher price than what would be typical.