Buying on Ebay

I have been buying on Ebay since 2004 and never had a problem. Got quite a few excellent deals too!

Choo Choo Charlie posted:

eBay is great site to find an item.  But it often will result in a high price due to many buyers bidding on that item plus postage.  If you are fine with the price you get with Buy it Now or price you bid and win and with the shipping cost, Great.  The buyer often does not pay sales tax also.

Charlie

I never had any problems with all of my prewar switchers, most of which I bought on eBay, including 1 or 2 basket cases, but I knew the weren't running, so it wasn't a surprise. 

I did buy a Greenberg's Prewar book from a bookstore that used a different picture to sell with, which I thought was misleading (the cover had a crease from top to bottom). The bookstore offered to have me return it for a full refund, but I preferred to keep it and requested an adjustment in price, which didn't work out.

Charlie...I'm sure you would agree that different times of the year can result in higher prices paid. I prefer buying things from January to September. Once you get close to Thanksgiving/Christmas I try to not to find anything...not always successful at that, though! 

Tom 

In general, I have had very good experiences buying on eBay since 2005, mostly 2-rail rolling stock of various kinds, including both fairly expensive brass and inexpensive but nicely built Athearn and All Nation kits. Occasionally I've ended up with a dog, but that was usually because I didn't look carefully enough at the seller's photos. I have had to request a return and refund only a couple of times (successfully on each occasion). I have complete confidence in several well-established sellers, and I take my chances with the others if the item is interesting and the price is right.

Train stuff Ive bought on eBay is generally a little more beat up than I want but not always. Its the 2nd to the last place I look to buy stuff.

I've always had good experiences with E bay.  I've been buying since 2008 0r 9.

Over the last 4 years or so I have bought train stuff at EBay and only had one bad experience when the sender improperly packed passenger cars and they came damaged (couplers came off as well as 1 wheel set). The seller's response was to fix them myself (which I did with cold weld). It was my fault for not getting right back to EBay but the cars (Williams aluminum Santa Fe) were quite nice and the price, not a great bargain, were reasonable). In the future I will contact EBay for any problems and I will continue to look for stuff from them.

John

I've had over 1,500 transactions on eBay since 1997, mostly lower-priced "collectible" items, such as vintage post cards, 1:43 car models, View-Master reels, etc. Only a small % of them needed to work/operate. About 3 times, eBay had to remind the seller to ship the item. The 3 times a low cost item failed to work, I got a replacement without having to return the defective one. Once, about 12 years ago, the seller went belly-up, and I never got the item, but that was a $12. loss.

There is one thing I collect that I have ONLY found on eBay...stereo/3-D photo slides that people took in the 1950s...so eBay has been a blessing in that regard. Also, eBay prices for other items I collect are often 40-60% less than "show" prices (postcard shows, etc.). EBay also gives the collector an array of items to choose from. I'd be lucky to find 1 or 2 old sand pails or cap guns at a flea market or antique mall. On any given day, there are 50-100 on eBay, in varied conditions and pricing.

That being said, I would think twice before I would buy a $800. electric train on eBay. 

I have had my eBay account for more than 20 years, and have bought/sold quite a few trains during this time.

I have bought several engines during this time on eBay, some of which I have never seen at a decent price elsewhere.  I actually prefer e Bay over small local train shows, as I am very selective in what I add to my collection and it saves me a great deal of time.  (Although I will add that I have never yet been to York, which is sad as it less than two hours away!)

I find that the eBay resolution process had greatly improved over the last 3 - 4 years, and my wife an I have occasionally used it for non-train items.  One caveat about the resolution process is don't start it unless you have the item on-hand to return.  I had one item that wasn't as advertised (incomplete) that I could NOT get eBay to extend the item return by even a couple of days.  This was a problem when I sent abroad on a three week trip.

As a seller, I generally will offer items here first.  If they don't sell in a reasonable time, I will move them to eBay (and possibly Craigslist).  As there are no selling fees (thanks OGR!) I can sell the same item here for a little bit less.

Jim

Ordered, many a item on Ebay but I keep away from those who have very little history.  Mostly from the hobby shops that sell on Ebay.  No issues to date.

I guess the good part about being able to deal with the electronics is that given a good enough price, I have no issue with buying on eBay or elsewhere.  If it's at all suspect, I simply discount the price in my mind the cost of the possible replacement parts and make that my limit.  I'd much rather have the electronics defective than get something that's beat up mechanically.

There's the difference, John.  I can deal with and repair most mechanical issues.  Electronics and I are at odds with one another.

Dan, it's not the mechanical repair that's the stumbling block, frequently it's the parts availability in many cases.  Also, significant cosmetic damage to the shell is frequently hard to totally repair without a lot of work and/or expense.

ebay posts and why my train investment is losing money are some of my more favorite posts!!

Love eBay - My approach when it comes to trains - I almost never shop for anything in particular - just look for potential bargains.

Always have a big pile of items in my watch list...win some, lose some.

Gotta cut down on boxcars though! (sure.....)

I actually I have had worse luck at York on big ticket items than on EBay lately.  Being a TCA member / Seller really has no regard if you are going to get a working locomotive or not. And do not rely on test tables at certain halls. They do not have Legacy and DCS command ready tables.

You have to be smart about it. The first year I was taken by one seller and that's all it took. The following year we brought a loop of track and a legacy remote... sure enough 50 percent of my items had to be returned to York sellers that year. Some actually knowingly had repair them and slopped them together for a quick sale....

 Otherwise I would have brought them home and have had to repair them (Some parts are impossible to find as well).

EBay you have to double check on listings, read everything, study the photos, ask questions and if ANY thing looks to good to be true, it usually is. I usually walk away from it.

After more than 18 years buying on eBay, I have few complaints about a wide variety of items I bought, not just trains.

Literally 99 percent of my transactions have been trouble free. That means the items were described accurately, paid for with convenient terms, shipped as quickly as with any other type of dealer, safely packaged and in good working order.

The other 1 percent? I have had only two bad deals that I can recall: One $5 sale (a HeroClix figure) that was never shipped and one altered Lionel MPC locomotive that the dealer claimed ran well in both directions but in reality didn’t run at all. I had to get eBay involved on the second deal because the seller never responded to messages to arrange a return, but it was eventually resolved nonetheless.

In the early days of eBay, circa 2001, before PayPal transactions became the standard for payment, I faced off against one dealer who insisted on a money order or cash for a $3 decal set. No cashier’s check. No electronic transactions. The money order would have cost me more than the purchase price and shipping combined, and cash was the least secure way to make a payment. And he became annoyed when I didn’t make the payment quickly as I mulled over what to do. Over time, eBay forced dealers to improve their payment terms on behalf of buyers.

The rest of the problems involved no dishonesty. An usually slow-moving shipment from England that may have been caught up in customs. (My U.K. purchases have usually been about as fast as a UPS Ground shipment.) A damaged running gear component on a fragile N scale brass steamer, which the seller quickly resolved with a price adjustment. An incorrect shipment of some board-game hockey players (wrong team) which the seller made right by sending me the correct order while telling me to keep the incorrect one as well. And (to Marty’s point) a 2001 Lionel locomotive that developed a jerky running pattern that wasn’t always present and which my repair shop was never able to smooth out or diagnose.

That’s it.

My forum purchases have been mostly positive, too, but not perfect. One item arrived damaged due to very poor packaging.

I used to love going to train shows, but the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. Yes, you get to see the product in hand, and you may get to see it run, but is what you want there? Too often, I paid $10 or more for admission/parking and $10 or more for gas only to find nothing I wanted, or worse, buying something of marginal interest because I didn’t want to leave empty handed.

I still prefer shopping for O gauge and N scale trains in brick-and-mortar stores that price competitively, but when I am looking for older and used items, that’s not usually a realistic option. That’s where eBay comes in, and my saved searches always make it convenient for me to find out the availability of a certain item the same day it is listed. Can’t beat that.

"After more than 18 years buying on eBay, I have few complaints about a wide variety of items I bought, not just trains.

Literally 99 percent of my transactions have been trouble free. That means the items were described accurately, paid for with convenient terms, shipped as quickly as with any other type of dealer, safely packaged and in good working order."

Yup. Me too. eBay since 1999. I am careful to check the guy's specs; never below 99% Positive (I will make exceptions for well-known hobby shops, such as Trainz). I don't deal with oddballs, bad photography, political and/or religious agenda, "No PayPal", too many Amurrican flags, high s/h (for 2 reasons). And a few other things.

Been ripped of twice; disappointed several times; dealt with damage (got partial refunds) - but literally 90% of my transactions have been fine. A couple of hundred of them since '99. Some big, some 5 bucks in parts.

So, if that makes me a "stupid fleabay customer", I guess that I'm just not all that sharp.

BTW - 2 years ago I sold - at a low price - a Lionel Wabash TMCC Hudson to a TCA member (I'm one, too) at a swap meet. He complained later to the TCA - and he was a liar - about promises I made on the loco. He wanted some money back. Seriously? I practically gave the thing to him. Needless to say, he got nothing. I emailed my own complaint to the TCA "agent" and heard no more BS on the subject. No eBay involved. Just the TCA in a face-to-face transaction. Makes one wonder.

"BTW - 2 years ago I sold - at a low price - a Lionel Wabash TMCC Hudson to a TCA member (I'm one, too) at a swap meet. He complained later to the TCA - and he was a liar - about promises I made on the loco. He wanted some money back. Seriously? I practically gave the thing to him. Needless to say, he got nothing. I emailed my own complaint to the TCA "agent" and heard no more BS on the subject. No eBay involved. Just the TCA in a face-to-face transaction. Makes one wonder. "

Don't get me wrong though, there was one seller at York that literally handed me his Legacy 600.00 engine and said if you want it, take it home, run it and send me a check or the locomotive back. I could not believe the honesty?!

A New Jersey guy trusting a guy from Detroit?!

Well I thanked him and handed him the money right away... the locomotives ran flawlessly, wish I could give him a shout out in thanks!

I have no issues buying from eBay.  I'd say I've only been "burned" once, but it is something I can fix, if I ever get around to it.  In fact I usually end up with my best deals on eBay.  I look for local sellers and ask about local pickup.  Most times they have come back and given me an offer lower than their original eBay listing (Which you can do on eBay, so still all within the eBay terms.).  So I pay it, then go meet them to pick it up, and we end up talking for a while and they offer me other things they have for sale.

Someone mentioned Paypal. This was a real boon to buyers, especially for low price/high volume purchases (like old post cards). Before Paypal I had to go to the post office and BUY a money order. Then use a stamp to mail it. Then wait for the seller to receive it and mail the item to me (hopefully the correct item). Refunds? Good luck. With Paypal, just click the "pay" box. On a budget? Just transfer a set amount from your checking account to your Paypal account every month or two.