Do a search for the item, tick “Completed items only” and I believe this shows 90 days worth of transactions.
One way to get an occasional bargain is to search for misspelled listings. This very forum can suggest some of them, like “trussel” and “mar”.
Always check shipping, I once saw an accessory that sold for 26.00 and the shipping was $82.00…I hope the person didn’t pay that, but you need to watch…
One thing I should mention…when bidding, be careful not to put a comma instead of a period. I once entered a bid of $5,99 for a 1950’s “Little Lulu” comic book and failed to pay attention to what I did, until it was too late. I could have retracted the bid, but it would have been sort of a “black mark” on my feedback record. Lucky for me, no OTHER maniac was bidding[:P] Joe
I’ve never had a problem, and found that eBay is a great place to find things that are hard to find, like Golden West Service rolling stock. Like everyone has said, you can take precautions, such as looking at feedback ratings and payment arrangements.
Of course, traditional risk-reward calculus applies here. Buying something from a reputable seller with great feedback and ample photos of the stuff is safest, but it is also likely to be the most expensive. Buying from someone with little feedback and no photos could be a huge mistake – or a great deal.
Last year I saw a pair of Lionel Rio Grande SD50s listed. I was so excited that I bid on them immediately, before I realized that there were no photos and the seller had no feedback. I won the auction and received an invoice. Under the terms of the contract, I was obligated to pay. No word from the seller. After a week I began to panic, and even contacted eBay to being the process of a dispute. While I was doing this, the shipment arrived. Both engines worked fine.
Because of the zero feedback/no photos issue, I wound up paying about $250 for both engines combined. Great deal.
Each of us has our own level of risk aversion. Only those who risk going too far will ever know how far they can go…
Good point. Also for train items listed under “collectables” or “antiques”, etc. Many list the 1945-6 Lionel metal caboose by the number on the side, not the actual item number. One of my “best buys” was a very valuable antique Christmas postcard that spelled the publisher name wrong…a $40. card for $1.25 (there are so many cards listed that most serious collectors search by artist or publisher). Joe
I have won two train items on E-Bay and Iam very happy with them.
Usually when you’re buying common stuff on Ebay you end up paying book value or more, due to people who don’t know what it’s worth bidding it up. Lately I’ve taken a liking to some obscure stuff and over the course of a couple of months bidding on Ebay I’ve built up a collection that would have taken me years to accumulate going to shows and whatnot.
Super, super-common stuff, like, say, a Lionel 2037, can be had for bargain prices just because there are always at least a couple listed. It’s much easier of course to get a bargain on a locomotive than on a plastic gondola.
The key really seems to be to not get too attached to any particular auction. Make a bid for what you’re willing to pay, then walk away. If you don’t get it, there’ll be another one next week. If you’re after bargains, it could take you a couple of months to get it. But you very well could.
Another thing - people will start bidding up the item you are bidding on - do a search and see if there is another one or two of the same item and add them to your watch item list. Then, you have an idea of the most you are willing to bid. Always add in the cost of shipping. More than once, I’ve seen two folks bid something I wanted up really high while I switch to bid on another seller and got it for a lot less! People lock in just on that one item and don’t think to look around any more. One time I was bidding on a department 56 item and I think it was at $45 plus $10 s/h. Another guy had it for Buy it now for 49.95 + $8 shipping and handling. As soon as somebody bid the other one up to $49, I just bought it now from the other guy. I kept getting emails on the first sale, since I had been a bidder, and it ended up going for like $65 plus $10 = $75!
I have been very happy with all my e-bay deals. Its important to check out the sellers feedback, see if they sell alot of the same items or is this a one time deal. look at pics, if you dont see what you want email the seller and ask them to send you pics. If you have other questions ask the seller, but dont give them the answer you are looking for, did lionel make this car ?? ask them who made this car, and let them answer. look at shipping, you can buy a ho set for .99 but a 30.00 shipping on the item, humm, somethings wrong with that one. know what you will pay for the item dont get in over your head, or pocket book. most of all have fun. thanks.
Ebay has its place. But like anything in life its buyer beware. I sell as well as buy on Ebay. When it comes to buying it’s simple, Know what your looking for, how much your willing to pay, ask questions, (If they don’t answer, and quite a few won’t, don’t bid), place your bid and walk away.
Selling is also easy on Ebay and profitable. I had an old amplifier I would have given away. Turns out it was rare , had dozen of bids and over 100 watchers, and it sold for almost 500.00. shipped it to Nashville. Had an old generator driven by a Willie jeep engine from the war years. It sat in the back corner of the field for over 30 years. Did not even work, but it sold for 200.00 and I would have paid someone to haul it away.
Ebay opens to world to us, just don’t get caught up in the emotion and competition of an auction.
since december I have recreated the lionel trains and accessorys I had as a child with the help of ebay. If you are patient you will get what you want at the price you want. I find items that end in the middle of the day get less attention at the end of the auction. I have seen zw transformers go for as much as $300, I just won 1 in the middle of the day for $147. I got it today and It is in great condition. Just be patient.
The Doctor Is In !!! I had a odd experence with Ebay , As some of you folk remember, I won a pair of K-line Alco’s in SP Black Widow paint. Well, The seller had some packages get mislaid, one was damaged and mine was “Undeliverable” The claim was that it got to Alameda, two notices were left and the package was sent back. I never got the notices, and I contacted my postmaster about it. The seller got it back and sent it again, It came back the same way. I spoke to my mail carrier(who was upset that something might have gone wrong) Now I have bought magic props & train stuff on Ebay and have had no problems, Till Now. I emailed the seller and we agreed to cancel the deal. I tried to get him to ship via ups or fedex, and I was willing to pay his cost when it came in. He wanted to get repayment for his second attempt at mailing.
I said just refund my money. The check came in thursday, I picked it up friday morning, it was sent registered mail. The seller refunded all my money execpt for the cost of trying to mail it the second time and and the cost of mailing the check again ! Now, I sell used trains and if I had something go wrong like this, I would refund the full price as a good will gesture to the buyer. I ran this past my book dealer friend and she said that she would do the same thing that I said I would do. Has this happened to anyone here? Do you think what the seller did was right?? As to the alco’s, I won a used set from a seller in Berkeley (local) for less than the first deal and I was able to pick them up from him. I had to resolder the pick up lead on the front truck, but got a good deal.
The guy that mucked the first deal is not a seller ot trains, but his own art works. How he was able to foul up the shipping twice, yet was able to send the refund check to me is beyond my understanding. Till My Next Missive, I Remain The Humble Yet Strangly Evil Doctor !!![}:)]
Very good advice. I’ve seen co-workers bid on Ebay and forget the “bigger picture”. All of a sudden, they’re in a bidding war with someone they don’t know. Cursing at the screen and take a higher bid as an “insult”. It’s a site! The almost always end up pay too much for an item. [(-D]
Here’s an example of 2 bidders “going at it”: a Lionel reproduction dealer display that I bought at a train show 2 weeks ago for $59. is currently at over $300. with 10 hours to go! It is clearly listed as a REPRODUCTION. In this case, I admit they don’t show-up often…so who’s to say? Joe
The extravagent prices on some items make me wonder if some bidders use shills to bid up items.
Jim H
Well, it finally sold for $405.! The only reason I was tracking it was to see if the $59. I paid was “too much”…HA! Joe
I’ve bought and sold too many items on eBay to count and my experience is overwhelmingly positive. In nearly 8 years I’ve been burned a couple of times on non-train items, but never on a train item. When I’m buying I avoid a lot of pain and disappointment by going only with sellers who have 100% positive feedback whenever possible. If that isn’t possible, I read the negatives very carefully. If a seller disses a buyer in his follow-up reply (“Who the **** are you to come on here and write anything bad about me?” or similar remarks) I look elsewhere even if I really want the item.
As long as you remember that this is an auction and you WILL miss out on the item you want sometimes, you’ll do fine. And very importantly, if you aren’t sure what you’re bidding on, ask questions/ask for additional images. I’ve bought a few lower-end postwar freight cars that were somewhat optimistically graded. Honest sellers will be happy to provide additional information on an item.
Joel
I saw an item on EBay that was listed as “rare and hard to find in this color”. Sitting behind it was the same item-same color. I wanted to send it in to Jay Leno for his “headlines” segment, but my printer misfired.
I have used E-bay for some time and have had nothing but good transactions so far.The key is(for me anyway)is to decide how much you want to spend for an item and just let e-bay do your proxy bidding for you .This way i avoid auction fever and never have buyers remorse.I win some and I lose some but since I am not bidding on rare items I can usually find a similar or identical item on a later auction if I lose one.Some people enjoy the competitive aspect of bidding and use sniping programs to win but I am not one of those.As an example I once lost an auction by the whopping sum of six cents!I bet the winning bidder was really laughing his head off on that one!