# E-bay misfires



## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

I made a post about E-bay finds. There have also been some duds.

My worst case is that I sold an HO transformer for $200 plus shipping. True, a button was damaged in shipment, but it still worked.

The guy tried to "fix it" himself. Three months later, I got a request for a return. I agreed, thinking I could repair the problem and re-sell. However, the transformer arrived a total loss beyond repair, plus I had to pay shipping both ways. $40.

E-bay gave me no say in the matter. The guy pleaded "not as listed", and they took the money out of my account without asking.

Rather than try to find a moral to the story, I just think it is risky to buy or sell electronics of any kind, camera, engines, etc.

What's your story?

Bill


----------



## teledoc (Oct 22, 2014)

I had a somewhat similar story with just one buyer. I posted a Lionel WS-175 whistle and sold it for approximately $25, shipped flat rate box, and didn't really make a killing on the deal. I get an email thru eBay from buyer that it was defective, and DIDN'T I smell the burned field coil!!!! I responded that he should send it back and I would replace it. In the meantime, I sent another one, waiting for my return, and some type of communication. NEVER got the return, but did some research on the buyer, and eventually chalked it off as he was a scumbag buyer, and took my loss. The buyer had pulled similar scams before, but my mistake was not checking his feedback profile beforehand. 

The original whistle only needed the relay, and I checked its operation before listing it!! Live & Learn!!


----------



## johnfl68 (Feb 1, 2015)

I haven't been badly burned, you just have to be careful when you are looking for things:


Has the seller sold more than a few items, and do they have a great feedback rating?
Look at seller's negative comments if any, and weed through for legitimate complaints.
Are the pictures large and clear, or small and blurry (possibly hiding something)? 
Is the price if the item in line with the value of the item?

If you are a seller the "Block Buyers" options are very helpful, and can be set when you setting up an item to sell. This helps keep you from dealing with questionable buyers:



> In the "block buyer's who" section be sure to select "whose primary shipping address is in a country where I do not choose to ship".
> 
> I would make all choices look similar to this if I were you (and I did, this is my list) -
> 
> ...


Just use common sense, and if it is too good to be true, often it is.
Happy eBay'ing!

John


----------



## daveh219 (Sep 16, 2012)

Yikes...our local club is thinking about setting up an EBay account to handle excess trains, cars, tools, and other "items". Now I'm beginning to wonder. Thoughts??? :rippedhand::SELLIT:


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

As with everything else, eBay requires a little forethough, caution, and common sense. In any group of 1000 people, there will be some number of scumbags. EBay, through the internet, makes it possible to expose yourself to a large number of potential buyers, and therefore a large number of scumbags.

That said, while you may have the occasional problem, you can avoid most be using your noggin. On-line sales sites actually make it pretty easy to see who you're dealing with. If you're selling, use PayPal, or get payment in advance and make sure it clears before you ship (PayPal is the better option, because they will protect you to a large degree). Don't buy items with questionable sellers or descriptions. Don't pay prices way out of line with similar offerings.

I wouldn't let the occasional horror story dissuade you. You're not making your living selling there, just trying to raise money for your club.

"You can cheat an honest man, but you can't make a fool of him" -- Chinese Proverb


----------



## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

CTValleyRR said:


> get payment in advance and make sure it clears before you ship


I think this would/should be the number one rule! You'd be feeding the scumbags otherwise!


----------



## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

I had a horrible experience not train related. I bought an old 1970s weeblewobble toy for my daughter. I paid a bit for it and shipping. It was damaged in transit due to the packaging. It basically was underwater when I received it, damaging all the cool lithographs. I contacted the seller and was iqnored. So I opened a complaint and gave bad review. I got emails , apologies and was told of a 60 dollar refund and I could keep the item. I agreed and changed my feed back and canceled my claim. The seller then never sent me anything and told me to blank off. I contacted ebay but there official stance was because it was resolved, even though I never received the money back, the case was closed and I had no other course of action to take. Live and learn.


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Mister Bill said:


> I made a post about E-bay finds. There have also been some duds.
> 
> My worst case is that I sold an HO transformer for $200 plus shipping. True, a button was damaged in shipment, but it still worked.
> 
> ...


3 months later!?
Isn't that too long to file a claim?

That is why I never got to selling on e bay, if I were you I would find a different way to sell.
There are other sites, we have a few that have been talked about here, somewhere.


----------



## BobS (Jun 18, 2015)

Sometimes, life just sucks. At least, and I do mean "least", eBay is better than Craigslist. I've never heard of anyone being killed over an eBay deal. Not so with Craigslist.


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

BobS said:


> Sometimes, life just sucks. At least, and I do mean "least", eBay is better than Craigslist. I've never heard of anyone being killed over an eBay deal. Not so with Craigslist.


There are other sites/places/venues to sell things.
And I didn't mean Craigslist.

E bay got too big for their britches.
If everyone stopped selling on e bay you think their policy towards the seller would change?
I bet it would, no sellers no e bay. 
All they want is the money.

I have sold a bunch of things by placing a Craigslist ad, I am still living.


----------



## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

daveh219 said:


> Yikes...our local club is thinking about setting up an EBay account to handle excess trains, cars, tools, and other "items". Now I'm beginning to wonder. Thoughts??? :rippedhand::SELLIT:


Do it with a member that's knowledgeable with Ebay and model trains and trustworthy. The club needs a PayPal account accessible by only the treasurer and the seller. I made a tidy sum for my club that way, they were giving away classic kits willed to them by a deceased member for peanuts. Turned a semi disaster into the fund raiser that the past member intended and was given a 'thank you' locomotive to boot.


----------



## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

big ed said:


> If everyone stopped selling on e bay you think their policy towards the seller would change?


We'll never know....because that will never happen.......


----------



## mikek (Dec 29, 2013)

So far, I have been pleased with buying and selling on E-bay. All my purchases have been good, although I did once get 'N' gauge when I expected HO. It eventually worked out, I sold the N gauge stuff. 
I did worry about a sale to a buyer that wanted a Lionel HO Pacific and bought a junky chassis and tender from me. Cheap enough, maybe he was able to mount a shell. I offered a perfectly good running Lionel HO Pacific to him, but for some reason he passed on the offer. Strange. He never complained. It was a good running chassis. So go figure E-bay buyers.


----------



## ED-RRR (Jun 4, 2015)

*Warning - Being an Ebay Seller*

Hello;
I have been a member with Ebay since Dec 30, 1999..
buster1-cdn (Feedback 1050 Transactions) (100% Feedback)..
There have also been many many changes..
Over a year ago many of us Ebay Sellers (Ebay Forum) were discussing
how we were being nickel and dimed for everything..
I have not listed an Ebay item in over a year and I will never again sell on Ebay..
That is why now shipping costs are so high
to cover that 18% cost doing business with Ebay.. :thumbsdown:
------------------------------------------------
Ebay Fees:
http://pages.ebay.ca/help/sell/fees.html
http://www.fees.ebay.ca/feeweb/feecalculator
- Insertion Fee (set price) (sometimes free)
- Final Value Fee (sold item) (% of sold item and shipping combined together) 
- Listing Upgrade Fee (set price)

Example:
Toys & Hobbies - Model Railroads & Trains - HO Scale
US dollars
Starting price $20.00 Sold price $25.00 
Express shipping $12.00
Total Funds ($25.00) + ($12.00) = US $37.00
--> Insertion Fee = "Free at this time"..
--> Your estimated fees = US $3.20 (almost 10%)
------------------------------------------------
PayPal Fees:
https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/paypal-fees
- Selling Fees (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction)

Example:
PayPal Transaction: (owned by Ebay) ("almost" a mandatory requirement)
Transaction (above) = US $37.00
(37.00 x .029) = $1.07 + $0.30 = US $1.37 Total
------------------------------------------------
Selling on Ebay (x1) item sold at US $25.00
- must protective pack the item
- must go to a shipping company
(Ebay Fees $3.20) + (PayPal Fees $1.37) = US $4.57 Total (18%)
P.S. Do not forget the Fee to transfer the money in your PayPal Account to your bank..

......


----------



## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

I just got hosed from a buyer on ebay.. I sold a American Flyer 312 engine last month for $67 bucks, a fairly good deal for him, for me, ok. I completely rebuilt the entire loco, tender. New fingers up and down, new reverse unit drum, new wiring harness, new brushes, new springs, new head-light, re-faced armature, a good cleaning,oiling, and grease clean-out. New grease job, and a very nice smoke unit putting out lots of smoke. It was running, smoking, and lighting perfectly when it left this house, and I said so in my ad. And I packed it and sent it priority mail so the guy would get it in 2-3 business days. Sure enough, 5 days later the guy wants his money back as he said the ad was mis-leading and the loco was "dead on the tracks, nothing". I told him all the work I had done on the engine, and the ad was correct, but he was a total jerk about it. I refunded his money, plus shipping, and when I got it back, I told my wife to time me how long it will take before the problem is diagnosed and the engine is running. It takes approximately 20-40 seconds to remove the 4 screws holding the tender shell to the chassis, and that's how long it took to get the problem solved. A broken solder joint from one of the trucks.....I sent the buyer a note, telling him I had $25 - $30 bucks tied up in parts alone on this engine, plus my labor, and he missed a great opportunity to own this little beast of an engine. What got me is he didn't want to do any investigative work to see what was wrong with the engine.


----------



## BobS (Jun 18, 2015)

I sell on eBay, when I have exhausted all other possibilities. I have even given away or donated stuff just because I hate the hassle of taking pictures, listing, answering endless questions, paying eBay and Paypal fees, packaging, shipping, and crossing my fingers in hopes that the item arrives safely and is found acceptable by the purchaser. In the long run, it's just not worth the effort and aggravation.


----------



## longle (Mar 7, 2015)

I've been on Ebay about 18 years but it's only the last couple of years that I've had problems. Ebay's buyer favoring (to the extreme) policies are a real mixed blessing. It's far too easy now for a buyer to just say "not as advertised" and get a refund based strctly on their word. What I do now is take many photos to document everything possible on the item and make sure every little thing on the item is fully described. I also put a small hidden mark of some kind on the item since some buyers seem to like to return "clones" rather than the one you sent. Keep a record of any serial numbers if the item has one.

On the other hand I've been scammed by 3 sellers just this summer and got my money back each time because of the policies. Like I said, a mixed blessing.


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

flyernut said:


> I just got hosed from a buyer on ebay.. I sold a American Flyer 312 engine last month for $67 bucks, a fairly good deal for him, for me, ok. I completely rebuilt the entire loco, tender. New fingers up and down, new reverse unit drum, new wiring harness, new brushes, new springs, new head-light, re-faced armature, a good cleaning,oiling, and grease clean-out. New grease job, and a very nice smoke unit putting out lots of smoke. It was running, smoking, and lighting perfectly when it left this house, and I said so in my ad. And I packed it and sent it priority mail so the guy would get it in 2-3 business days. Sure enough, 5 days later the guy wants his money back as he said the ad was mis-leading and the loco was "dead on the tracks, nothing". I told him all the work I had done on the engine, and the ad was correct, but he was a total jerk about it. I refunded his money, plus shipping, and when I got it back, I told my wife to time me how long it will take before the problem is diagnosed and the engine is running. It takes approximately 20-40 seconds to remove the 4 screws holding the tender shell to the chassis, and that's how long it took to get the problem solved. A broken solder joint from one of the trucks.....I sent the buyer a note, telling him I had $25 - $30 bucks tied up in parts alone on this engine, plus my labor, and he missed a great opportunity to own this little beast of an engine. What got me is he didn't want to do any investigative work to see what was wrong with the engine.


I hate to tell you this, but I agree with your customer. Not that you did anything wrong, and granted it sounds like he was a jerk, but on the other hand, if I pay good money for an operational loco, then I expect it to be operational when I receive it. Some people don't like monkeying around in the guts of their locos. If I wanted to buy a loco that wasn't running well and see if I could repair it myself, I'd look for a listing with that in it.


----------



## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Exactly! That's why so many manufacturers are making everything RTR (ready to run)....a great many people in the hobby don't want to build kits and tinker....they just want to take it out of the box and put it on the track and run it.....no detailing, no painting, no fiddling....

And they are willing to pay the extra cost for that too....


----------



## cjack (Jan 28, 2010)

This is clear cut. If the customer opened it up, even if they were a repair genius, they would own it without return privilege...they have no way to know if the fault is serious or a broken wire.


----------



## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

cjack said:


> This is clear cut. If the customer opened it up, even if they were a repair genius, they would own it without return privilege...they have no way to know if the fault is serious or a broken wire.


My thoughts exactly. Especially a loco/tender that is 65+ years old. My ad clearly stated running/smoking/lighting as designed. If you can't do a minimal amount of trouble-shooting such as turning a screw, then don't bid on my items. It was a perfect loco when it left this address, and worth more in time and parts than he got it for. To show you what kind of seller I am, I recently sold a bunch of Lionel stuff to a buyer.. Her wrote me a very sincere and kind note when he received his items. You know what I did??? I just mailed out a large box of 3 Santa Fe FA shells, a trestle set, and whatever else I could find, on my dime..No charge for shipping, no charge for the items.. His note lifted my day, so I returned the favor, hopefully, lol. He did say he would pay the shipping on a later note, but it's completely un-necessary. God speed.....


----------



## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Because of waiting for what it seems forever to be paid, I have my seller options as starting a no paid item dispute after 4 days. I'm in a dispute right now with a non-paying person, it just started today. I sent 2 invoices with no payment or note. Maybe the dispute note will wake him/her up. And he got a crazy good deal to boot!!!! If it ends in my favor, I'll list it here.


----------



## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

I've been a member of ebay since 2000. Overall my experiences have been great, both as buyer and seller. There have been the inevitable bad moments, but most have been because I was a little careless in checking the details. 

I think in nearly 16 years I've only returned ONE item - an HO locomotive that was advertised as a Tyco F7 shell on a rebuilt/upgraded Athearn drivetrain/chassis, with FREE shipping. Was glowingly described and pictured well - although no pics of the drivetrain. The seller was knowledgeable and had great long-term feedback, was even a member of some forums I was on, had his own website, etc. 

Well the locomotive arrived and turned out to be a total mess. Poor/broken solder connections, mis-aligned drivetrain - just a real sloppy job. I'm no expert by any means but I would have been embarrassed to sell that thing. I started to try to sort it all out and then thought no, I paid a substantial price for a properly set up, running locomotive - why should I rebuild it? So I requested a refund and to return the item. Long story short, although he grudgingly agreed to accept the return and do a refund, I ended up getting stuck with the return postage, AND...to put the cherry on top, a few months later I saw a piece of rolling stock on ebay, bid on it - and it turned out my bid was blocked. Yep, turned out to be that same seller...... :dunno:


----------



## longle (Mar 7, 2015)

Ebay policy is the seller pays for return postage for "Not as described" purchases. I've never paid to return an item. If the seller refuses to pay the postage Ebay will refund your money and you don't have to return the item. I've gone through that twice since July and got a full refund both times without returning either one.


----------



## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

longle said:


> Ebay policy is the seller pays for return postage for "Not as described" purchases. I've never paid to return an item. If the seller refuses to pay the postage Ebay will refund your money and you don't have to return the item. I've gone through that twice since July and got a full refund both times without returning either one.


Lesson learned. At the time I was just relieved to be rid of the thing and get my purchase price back.


----------



## BobS (Jun 18, 2015)

For years, eBay was seller oriented, and seller friendly. Times have changed; better now for the buyers, no recourse or course of action for sellers. Even if the buyer is a dyed-in-the-wool deadbeat, the seller can't even leave a negative feedback. 

I don't sell there now, and don't intend to do so in the future.


----------



## Prewar Pappy (Jul 26, 2015)

*flyernut, You're One Of Few*

flyernut,
I can tell that you are a true man of honor. I also would say that you are a man of your word, seal a deal with a handshake. Are you aware of what the general public calls persons of our integrity?.........I'll let you fill in the rest.

I'm one of a few old school eBay buyers who hate seeing or hearing of sellers getting screwed by the new breed of horses rosette buyers. I've been using eBay for almost 22 years. Please understand when I say that it is all your fault. Just as the class of buyers has changed you must change.


----------



## Peter Herron (Jun 30, 2015)

*589 Transactions-5 problems-100% Feedback*

That works out to less than 1% with problems. All those were as a buyer of locomotives that were either damaged in shipment or would not run without some work. I'm a pretty good at fixing tings so I worked with the buyer to get a partial refund. I always documented the problems with pictures or video's to prove I wasn't trying to rip off the seller. This was a win-win as the seller didn't want something back he couldn't repair and I got a model I really wanted at a good price, not counting the time spent making the repairs which I really like and feel is part of my hobby. 

I have not sold anything in the last year or so but plan to try to avoid eBay if possible and use the forums and word of mouth, etc.

Thanks,

Peter


----------



## doneuald (Jan 2, 2016)

I've been buying on ebay for about 15 years and have only had a couple of problems IE one neutral feedback after asking a seller why my item didn't ship, I was told "because you didn't pay for it, your lucky I don't give negative feedback!".
I went to my bank and got confirmation that the money order was processed and on what date it was processed and provided that to the seller proving she received the payment and was told "I do ALOT of business and miss things sometimes" - so I had to put up with being called a nonpayer because she was busy!
Flyernut as a buyer if bought a running engine - if it showed up and not run I would have at least gotten ahold of you to talk about what could be done, whether to send it back for a refund or take it apart to see what was wrong ( some sellers don't want you to futz with it) common sense should prevail
Don


----------



## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

Bought a loco off a guy in Quebec. Was a Canadian National GP40 from Athearn. The pictures were good quality, and aside from what he mentioned about refreshing the paint, it sounded like a good deal. Got it for just over $30, with low cost shipping. 

When the loco arrived, the shell looked almost completely different, and slightly broken. The loco had a burnt out light, the motor was noisy, and as a whole, it's never run properly in the two years I've owned it. I've had to repair it after almost every time I've run it. The seller left eBay apparently, a few months after I bought it. Ebay wasn't interested in helping me either.

I'm going to tear it apart for some spare parts after I splurge for a new loco in the near future. If someone advertises a loco with no original packaging, but it perfect condition for cheap, be wary. You might have what happened to me, happen to you.

-J.


----------



## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

Prewar Pappy said:


> I've been using eBay for almost 22 years.


It appears that your math is off just a bit. EBay was founded in 1995 so as of the end of Dec. it could only have been in existence for 20 years.


----------



## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

sjm9911 said:


> I had a horrible experience not train related. I bought an old 1970s weeblewobble toy for my daughter. I paid a bit for it and shipping. It was damaged in transit due to the packaging. It basically was underwater when I received it, damaging all the cool lithographs. I contacted the seller and was iqnored. So I opened a complaint and gave bad review. I got emails , apologies and was told of a 60 dollar refund and I could keep the item. I agreed and changed my feed back and canceled my claim. The seller then never sent me anything and told me to blank off. I contacted ebay but there official stance was because it was resolved, even though I never received the money back, the case was closed and I had no other course of action to take. Live and learn.


I've been dealing on EBay for about 18 years and I always get the money in the bank before I do anything.


----------



## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

shaygetz said:


> Do it with a member that's knowledgeable with Ebay and model trains and trustworthy. *The club needs a PayPal account* accessible by only the treasurer and the seller. I made a tidy sum for my club that way, they were giving away classic kits willed to them by a deceased member for peanuts. Turned a semi disaster into the fund raiser that the past member intended and was given a 'thank you' locomotive to boot.


You can do without a PayPal account if you have a merchant account, you accept credit cards, and you can do it over the phone or through the credit card. When I started selling again after '09 I seriously considered that, and my bank said they could set it up, no problem.


----------



## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

thedoc said:


> It appears that your math is off just a bit. EBay was founded in 1995 so as of the end of Dec. it could only have been in existence for 20 years.


Ebay wasn't Ebay until 1997, going global in 1998. The founder had a personal website with auction based subsections called 'AuctionWeb' starting in 1995. 

-J.


----------



## longears (Dec 26, 2015)

Off topic, 
Anyone see where a train killed 23 elk in Montana? I'd share the link but not sure how.


----------



## longears (Dec 26, 2015)

Fox News and heritage railway magazine had the story.


----------



## thedoc (Oct 15, 2015)

Mr.Buchholz said:


> Ebay wasn't Ebay until 1997, going global in 1998. The founder had a personal website with auction based subsections called 'AuctionWeb' starting in 1995.
> 
> -J.


I joined in Dec-08-97 and it was E-Bay then, other than that I rely on the Wiki. article. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay


----------



## TrainEcho (Jan 6, 2016)

If you sell a lot of stuff on eBay eventually you'll pay the "seller's fee" of an irate buyer who wants his money back. It may or may not be justified, but that's just part of using eBay. I've sold a couple of thousand dollars worth of stuff over 15 years and probably had three or four instances where I lost $20-$40 on a sale in returns or refunds. 

As a buyer I've never been ripped off and gotten everything as described or refunded if it was lost or damaged in transport.


----------



## Bt Doctur (Jan 13, 2016)

I also buy and sell there ,anything from motorcycle parts to boat parts. If you post enough pics and describe it accurately you should be covered. I`ll accept retuns ONLY in the same condition as it was sent. You Broke It, You Own It.
Have a lot of items described as " Brand New" and they are truly brand new ,never on rails from 1975.
Here`s one on the links http://www.ebay.com/itm/141873313861?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
When in doubt, ask lots of questions and request more pics


----------



## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

I too have been an eBay buyer/seller for many years. When I first started I was a Matchbox/Hot Wheels seller, dealing in sealed NOS, hard to find pieces, or hard to find sets. You need an extensive knowledge of this stuff which I have. To make a long story short, I've had to battle buyers over stupid details as if they expected perfection. Everything I sold was unopened, new condition. I learned from an experienced friend of mine, take a lot of pictures to avoid problems. Even then there were problems. I sold things the way I would like to receive them. 
I hesitate to say this but most of the problems came from California. Slow pay, no pay, not as described, etc. So eventually I quit selling this stuff on eBay and went to a Matchbox/Hot Wheels only site. Not nearly the problems. It isn't bullet prove but way better than eBay.
Conversely buying and selling train items on eBay hasn't been a problem. I use only Pay Pal and only USPS Priority Shipping with an up front cost listed which includes a calculated shipping rate and 13% eBay/PayPal added in. Simple rule-- If you read the shipping instructions and you don't like the posted cost or the shipping method don't bid. Move on. Somebody will bid.
I also never buy or sell any locomotives on eBay. Don't need the hassle. Rolling stock track, track switches, or other related items only. I don't sell on eBay as a business. I sell to raise money to buy. Since I'm retired and on a fixed income every little bit helps to feed the train buying habit. After I buy a collection, I take out what I want, sell the rest. 
Yes over the years eBay and Pay Pal have gotten greedy. Just add 13% to the shipping cost that you post. Is it right? I don't like it but it is the cost of doing business. It seems like when you describe an item you must dumb it down to a 3rd grade readers level. Assume nothing. Yes eBay is now geared to the buyer not the seller so you have to cover every angle. Lessons I have learned. Buy the way I have a 100% feed back on eBay with my methods.


----------

