The bids on some of these items (while good for MTH) are just crazy high. I don't get it.
@rplst8 posted:The bids on some of these items (while good for MTH) are just crazy high. I don't get it.
There are a lot of MTH fan boys out there.
Hello all!
Cabin Fever is here on the forum now and happy to answer questions. I will answer a brief summary and if I missed something or you have additional questions, please feel free to ask
Shipping is handled almost entirely in house now. While cost for shipping have been going up, we can't control that. We charge a small handling fee per package (as in per sale, not per item - $3-6) depending on value purchased. We use many sturdy recycled boxes as we are able and only charge for new boxes we need to use and packing materials for the protection of the items. While we can't at this time have a shipping estimate for every item in the listings, we are happy to get you a rough quote for an item or 2 you are interested in.
There will be multiple sales for MTH to come. At this time it's likely to be around 1 per month for a year but could be more or less as we catalog the tremendous amount of inventory.
Like many auction houses, we are not able to test items. There are multiple concerns here but not limited to sheer number of items we handle, the vast array of power systems and controls, and the possibility an item working for us on our system but not on the buyers setup. We try to take pictures that show as much completeness of the items as possible, but if there is an question, please ask. ALL items we sell are second hand in some form and could have defects ranging from dusty to damage. Any gross damage or missing parts we try to point out but we do not catch everything.
All sales currently have a 15% buyers premium which is on the lower side of most auction houses as this time. PA Residents are charged 6% sales tax unless presenting a valid resale Tax ID. No registration requires a SSN or any credit check, however ALL buyers have to enter a credit card which is checked for $1 to validate that the card is good. This validation is done for each auction date you register for.
Each auction has categories which can be accessed in the menu with the small square dots. You are able to see the gauge and style of merchandise here so if you are only interested in "MTH Tinplate STD Ga" for instance, you can look at just those items.
Thanks again, we (and MTH!) appreciate your support. We are happy to answer questions you have.
Jared Schoenly
I see no category for S gauge so I assume that it is all gone?
Gunny
Gunny,
S Ga was by far the minority in the items that will be auctioned. That being said, there is some and it will be collected together for a future auction. We will likely put most of it all in one auction so it may be highlighted better. However I don't have a sale date for you at this time.
So as for this first auction, there is no S Ga in the Sept 26th sale. Thanks!
Jared
Thanks for the info.
Gunny
Thanks for the information on shipping costs, the handling charges sound very reasonable. That gives us a better idea of where we can go with our bidding.
The 1st in a series of auctions will be ending this Saturday. We'll be posting more videos as we receive questions to help better understand the bidding system and ways to help you navigate. This first shows keyword search (simple enough!) and also the Category area. We have had a few questions about Gauges and Scales in the sale. By going to the categories, you can narrow down the items to your genre of collecting. There will be HO coming up in October's Auction. A large part of what is selling will be O Gauge but there will be a mix in each auction.
We do have a list of topics we'll be working on but if you have a specific question, please feel free to email us suggestions. Thanks!
Jared Schoenly
Hey Jared,
Will there be any MTH PS2&3 Test Fixtures auctioned off?
John
@N&WY6b posted:Hey Jared,
Will there be any MTH PS2&3 Test Fixtures auctioned off?
John
I second this question. A PS2 fixture would be nice for me.
Thanks for the interest. At this time, we do not have any items from the test and repair facilities or any dies or production items. We have many auctions worth of Locomotives, Rolling Stock, Track, & Accessories as well as Artwork, Library, etc.
If/when we sell of any of the other items we will certainly make that announcement. Thanks!
Jared
Well, I won the bid for the one item I was seriously interested in, and at what I thought was a fair price for the rarity. Just wandering what others thought of the auction. I saw items going for both under and over retail, of course before fees and taxes. I might chased a few other things but the item I was really hunting was near the end, and I didn't want to blow my budget early. Watching it on mobile wasn't too bad, but I will say it was a bit different watching multiple items close at roughly the same time. It remains to be seen how the invoicing and delivery goes, but the event certainly seemed to not have any technical glitches that I noticed.
What was everyone else's impression?
Same experience and thoughts over here, too. Got a few items I wanted at what I felt were fair prices. A few other items I had my eye on went for way, way over what you could get via retail or the ‘Bay brand new (especially considering that with the engines in this auction you don’t necessarily know what the operating condition is), so I do kind of wonder if those bidders understood what they were bidding on and what the tax/fee structure was. Regardless, I’m pleased with what I was able to grab and I’m already interested in a few items from round 2 that just posted today.
Rafi
Do not see any info on the second auction? I must be blind
Gunny
Thanks for the support everyone!
You can view the next MTH auction (which only has the first 300 lots listed so far) at the main bidding page:
https://cabinfeverauctions.bidwrangler.com/ui
You can also see many pages with information on bidding, shipping, etc at our website:
https://www.cabinfeverauctions.com/
Feel free to let us know questions. Thanks again.
Jared
Maybe I'm just not tech savvy. But where is your search feature? It seems like I can filter down some but not interested in scrolling through 168 items.
Ron
@Ron045 posted:Maybe I'm just not tech savvy. But where is your search feature? It seems like I can filter down some but not interested in scrolling through 168 items.
Ron
Ron, if you are using a phone, or maybe a tablet, turn it horizontal and you will see the search bar near the top. If you are on a PC it's obvious. I ran into the same thing on the last auction.
As mentioned there is a search feature. On the PC it's right at the top with the magnifying glass icon. On the app, there is a circle with that magnifying glass at the lower right. Once you click there, you can search for keywords.
You can start as you may have noticed with the categories to narrow to say - MTH HO, then search from that selection to rule out other gauges as well. Thanks!
Jared
Did anyone notice the crazy high prices on the unfinished tinplate ?
I did bid and I did win. It was a passenger car that was part of an Ives set. I just wanted the coach, not needing another observation or combine. I didn’t want to lose it so I placed a stupidly high “custom bid” to scare others off and it worked. Overall it was a good experience and I am looking forward to receiving my purchase and bidding again on the next auction.
@Keith k posted:Did anyone notice the crazy high prices on the unfinished tinplate ?
I did bid and I did win. It was a passenger car that was part of an Ives set. I just wanted the coach, not needing another observation or combine. I didn’t want to lose it so I placed a stupidly high “custom bid” to scare others off and it worked. Overall it was a good experience and I am looking forward to receiving my purchase and bidding again on the next auction.
So you are complaining about crazy high prices of other items but you yourself say you placed a “stupidly high” bid on the thing you wanted?
Well guess with the finality of the auction meaning end of all MTH, its time to begin thinking of switching to Lionel trains. Once MTH electronics break, my engines will become shelf queens. Sad 
This auction is certainly is not the end. There will be a years worth of auctions still coming and they are still selling from the catalog. Additionally there will be people supporting repairs as far as we know. Thanks!
Jared
@rrman posted:Once MTH electronics break, my engines will become shelf queens. Sad
C'mon... Really? Tell me you are not really that short sighted.
There are many options available to fix or upgrade.
@rplst8 posted:Like open source Arduino based motor drivers!
Agreed. This (or something like it) is the future, and engines and operating cars and accessories in auctions like this can look forward to many decades of service via such upgrades, also to ultimately include battery-powered motors. The one caveat is that, IMHO, in order for the hobby to truly make that evolution, it's gonna take more than Arduino hobbyists leading the charge. It'll need the backing from a bonafide brand/company to make such upgrades prescriptive and polished for the non-tech crowd.
It's a question of when, not if, though, that we see such upgrades, I believe. While I obviously look to get functional engines in auctions like these, the notion that they'll eventually need to be upgraded to something mainstream isn't lost on me. I just hope to keep the things running on DCS until the next generation upgrade is mainstream.
Rafi
Actually I was not complaining about the “crazy high prices” but more of an observation.
I placed a very high bid because I knew it was the only way I would get that car without purchasing the whole set.
It makes me feel good that people are willing to pay these prices because it tells me that this hobby is far from dead, plus it’s like donating to Mikes retirement, LOL.
Overall I had fun bidding on items, even the ones I didn’t win and look forward to the next auction.
@rrman posted:Well guess with the finality of the auction meaning end of all MTH, its time to begin thinking of switching to Lionel trains. Once MTH electronics break, my engines will become shelf queens. Sad
You may wanna think about switching to Lionel. Not bashing Lionel as i own a ton of it it's just they seem to have quality control issue.
Since I only run my MTH trains during the Holiday seasons and not on a daily basis, will they still last for the foreseeable future?
"it's just they seem to have quality control issue."
It seems more like a few lemons than a generic problem as all of my dozens of purchases have been just fine out of the box in the last 5 years or so.
And at no point during the history command control has DCS/PS2/PS3 been more reliable or less quirky than TMCC/Legacy/LionChief. Quite the opposite, if anything from my own experience and what one hears/reads.
So I wouldn't worry about installing Lionel electronics in dead MTH locos, which seems to be the question at hand. As for new stuff, we'll just have to see, but I think there's more smoke than fire about Lionel QC at present. Not saying that there haven't been failures or mistakes, just that we're talking a few screwups out of thousands of products.
I was wondering if parts will be sold. I didnt see them this past auction and the prices were already high one week out from the auction close so I didn't bid. Im looking for scale fuel tanks for E8's/ SD50/SD45/U25B and switches for the undersides of locos.
I was outbid on everything that I bid on. That's okay. I bid what I was willing to pay and apparently someone else was willing to pay more. Can't wait to see what is in the future auctions!
@Cabin Fever Auctions posted:Additionally there will be people supporting repairs as far as we know. Thanks!
You assume facts not in evidence. We have great difficulty getting MTH parts now, what happens when MTH doesn't exist anymore. If I can't get parts, I can't fix things.
I thought the prices were extremely high for an auction. I'm happy for MTH and the industry seeing prices like this. I hope all the engines run property and everyone gets what they expected. But for me, bidding on an engine for full retail prices without a warranty or any assurances seems like a bad idea. Also these prices didn't include the buyer's premium(15%), sales tax and shipping. You have to include that into the cost of the item. I have a local friend that is an MTH repairman and he says parts are extremely difficult to get just like John states. If these engines don't work, it's going to be hard to find parts for them. It's possible that MTH didn't sell these engines/items in the first place so they could strip them of parts for warranty work. Going to be interesting to see what comments are posted after people start receiving their items.
@gunrunnerjohn posted:You assume facts not in evidence. We have great difficulty getting MTH parts now, what happens when MTH doesn't exist anymore. If I can't get parts, I can't fix things.
We've actually heard very little even on the "DCS" deal that has those folks continuing the DCS and PS upgrades.
@MartyE posted:We've actually heard very little even on the "DCS" deal that has those folks continuing the DCS and PS upgrades.
I heard there is some progress while talking to one of the large dealers. Enough to give me hope but not enough to publish 2nd and 3rd hand info. Hopefully there will be an announcement of some kind during the virtual York event.
@jhz563 posted:I heard there is some progress while talking to one of the large dealers. Enough to give me hope but not enough to publish 2nd and 3rd hand info. Hopefully there will be an announcement of some kind during the virtual York event.
That would be welcomed news for folks sitting on the fence on buying MTH product. I hope it's not too late though.
Well I guess I will chime in. First I bought a lot of items. I did not get all I bid on but that is Okay as I did not expect to. Second I have already bid on some in the second auction. Third I have to laugh at people commenting on prices being too high. I did pay more than I wanted on one engine but it is not available anywhere not even Fleabay. Since I missed the boat before I figured I would buy this time. If I got took so be it but at least I own it now.
As for the site I had no problems with any part. This includes registration, Bidding, Watching, keeping track of my bids and even the invoice which I promptly got with no problems and it spelled every thing out clearly. I will be picking my items up as I am only just over 2 hours away. Will take my Scenery manager (my wife) with me as some of the buildings are what she wanted. Will make a day of it and stop in Lancaster and enjoy the countryside while out there.
I will also say that when I posted a question to Jared I got a fast and easy to understand answer. I found them VERY helpful and would recommend them to anyone.
My only concern is at one auction a month it is going to take a long time. The first auction had 1000 items and the second only 300.
One other concern is there are no pictures posted of the layouts in the second auction.
Final thought: Excellent auction and service!
Great feedback, thank you so much! Happy to have a satisfied customer.
I just wanted to chime in quick that the second auction is posted but not complete. There will be 1000 lots in this second auction and most of the sale dates. The layout pictures will start going up tomorrow as well as some of the displays missing pictures. We hope to have the complete 1000 lots posted by the end of next week or so as we finalize those lots (and also work through a lot of shipments!)
As always, any questions are welcome and we are happy to help as we are able!
Jared
@CurtisH posted:Well I guess I will chime in. First I bought a lot of items. I did not get all I bid on but that is Okay as I did not expect to. Second I have already bid on some in the second auction. Third I have to laugh at people commenting on prices being too high. I did pay more than I wanted on one engine but it is not available anywhere not even Fleabay. Since I missed the boat before I figured I would buy this time. If I got took so be it but at least I own it now.
Have always wondered why MTH never reran some of their really desirable one time only engines, passenger cars, and cabooses since they already had everything needed to do so and were willing to do custom runs of just 25 engines for stores. For example North Coast Limited passenger sets would have been bought up in a flash.
Glad you got what you wanted.
Everyone - I just had an unpleasant conversation with a bidder I currently won't name. He's refusing to pay for lots 895, 896, & 913 because he disagreed with our auction terms. It states right in the terms that
- "If you are a successful bidder in one of our online auctions, the credit card you provided at registration will be billed shortly after the auction closes, and a receipt/invoice will be emailed to you."
We are not asking everyone to like our terms, but this is what has been setup and it what must be followed if you'd like to bid. A couple hundred people have no problem with this and have no complaints. Their cards were charged and all is well, pickups are happening already and shipments are in process.
This Bidder went on to tell me how we are being bashed on this forum. I have not searched high and low but I am certainly trying to respond to all questions, concerns, or complaints. After he told me how we are being bashed about how we do business he told me I should change the terms which he doesn't like. I told him it was ridiculous to be told to change my terms by a bidder when so many bidders can follow the terms without issue.
So look for these trains the bidder is refusing to pay for to be resold in a subsequent auction and PLEASE - Read our terms and conditions and ask any questions prior to signing up or bidding. We are quite reasonable people are always open to suggestions, but we are not going to deal with being told we are wrong or we aren't doing business how we should be (references other auction houses) etc. Should this gentleman change his mind, he's welcome to contact us.
As always, we appreciate your support. Thanks!
Jared Schoenly
