# e-bay frustrations



## BNSP

I can't seem to win anything on e-bay. It seems alot of stuff on there is over-priced it is rediculous. I want to buy stuff just don't want to get taken advantage of.

For "model railroading" being a declining hobby, it sure seems that alot of people are trying to cash in and the people (like us who actually want to use it) can't catch a break or get a deal.

I guess i'm going to have to start going to yard sales and estate sales. Darn TV has people convinced they can make alot of money "picking" and reselling all our stuff.


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## gunrunnerjohn

I'll give you a one word hint: Gixen

If you use this site to snipe items, you'll have a lot more luck winning them.


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## Grabbem88

John's right and on the eBay thing set the price as you would have purchased at a hobby store maybe less cause hobby stores jack prices too..

Train shows are about the same I see stuff at shows priced so high that you are better off buying/asking here 

Those who beg in silence starve in silence so ask and speak up we might have doubles spares or changing roads..


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## BNSP

Usually when I see a good price the shipping is off the charts making the total price way above book.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Check the shipping, decide the maximum you'll pay with that shipping quote, then use Gixen to have your best chance at getting the item at your price. Couldn't be simpler.

If they go for more than your bid, that's all you wanted to pay anyway, keep looking.


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## Grabbem88

Shipping for private sellers like ourselves I consider weight distance packing material and insurance and mail handlers are rough regardless how many "fragile" you have on it 

So shipping is just as valued as the product being bidded on.


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## markjs

Ebay can be hit or miss. On some items I've gotten really great deals, and the same thing sold for twice as much the following week. Also, I was surprised at what somebody paid for junk that I was selling, while other NIB items didn't sell after 3 listings. If you're able to be at your computer bidding with only 10 seconds to go sometimes helps.

You may want to check either the FOR SALE OR TRADE in this forum or in the OGR forum. Another resource is the Yahoo Group AvailableSgauge.

By the way, might you be interested in purchasing 11 NIB AF by Lionel freight cars for $225?

Mark


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## gunrunnerjohn

markjs said:


> If you're able to be at your computer bidding with only 10 seconds to go sometimes helps.


You didn't read the whole thread, no need to be at our computer to get that last second bid in.


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## Nuttin But Flyer

Maybe I have been lucky, but I've had a good deal of sucess on eBay and I do not use the service John suggests. Although a few items got away from me where I wish I had that service. But as they say, hit or miss, you keep trying. Much of the items are based on Greenberg's book values, depending on condition. Do you have one of these for reference? I suggest you get one if not. I have a lot more luck at Train Shows finding items at reasonable prices. One rule is, I never pay what is marked on an item unless it is of exceptional quality. I also try to buy multiple items from the same vendor to get a "package" deal. Another thing, I travel a good distance in order to attend many Train Shows outside my general area. By doing so, you'll find other vendors with other items rather than the same guy selling the same stuff week-to-week for the same price. The shipping charge on eBay is the same as my gas money, wear and tear on my vehicle going to/from Train Shows, so I dismiss it as a necessity. I do find more "basket-case" items of eBay than at Shows. As long as you have the experience repairing/restoring such items, this can be a real savings and often other bidders are not interested in such items. There are a bunch of great folks right here on this Forum, including myself, who will gladly help you with items should they have what you need. Simply ask as one other poster suggested.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Personally, I think the Greenberg's book is only of passing interest for many items. Prices vary a lot more than can be tracked in a print book.

The best gauge of prices on eBay is to search completed listings and see what similar or identical items actually sold for.

As far as Gixen for bidding, I think it is a real work-saver. I've won two bids this week that I certainly wouldn't have been around for to stick a late bid in, one was at 2:00 AM, and the other was while I was at a wedding, not a place I can be fooling around with eBay.


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## Nuttin But Flyer

I'll have to take a look at that app.....thanks for the tip.


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## markjs

Thanks for the tip on GIXEN; I had never heard of it before. I tried it out and won two items.

Mark


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## Magne-rail

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Personally, I think the Greenberg's book is only of passing interest for many items. Prices vary a lot more than can be tracked in a print book.
> 
> The best gauge of prices on eBay is to search completed listings and see what similar or identical items actually sold for.
> 
> As far as Gixen for bidding, I think it is a real work-saver. I've won two bids this week that I certainly wouldn't have been around for to stick a late bid in, one was at 2:00 AM, and the other was while I was at a wedding, not a place I can be fooling around with eBay.


Dittos on the advanced sale link on eBay. Or as they say, the completed listings. That will give you a very good idea what items are selling for. Kick out the high price and the low price and there you go!
Also, once you have a price in mind, watch for the "Buy It Now" sometimes you can snag something cool for a good price, but you have to be Johnny on the spot for that. I just picked up a real nice clean C-7 Lionel 2530 Bagged car for $89.00 free shipping at 5:30A.M.. It was listed for a "buy it now" at 5:00 A.M.. I can remember the day when they sold in C-7 for over $200.00!

Sal


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## gunrunnerjohn

Another trick with eBay is to set up some searches for stuff you might like to have. For instance, I'm still looking for a good deal on a three-truck Shay, the Legacy version. I have that setup for a search and I get a notification whenever a new one is posted.


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## raleets

Wow!
Hard to believe, but I've now had 858 eBay transactions without any serious problems. 
No, I'm NOT kidding.......but, and this is a BIG but......you MUST read the fine print and shop like you were at an actual retail store. 
As an example.....if you walked into your local Sears to check out a wrench set and found one you liked, but at a not-so-friendly price, you would simply put it back on the shelf and walk away.
That's exactly what you must do when shopping on eBay.......for Pete's sake, DON'T ever get caught up in a bidding war and pay way more than you would have at the corner store.
Also, PLEASE always factor in the shipping cost. In many cases it's about the same as the State sales tax (4%) here in Michigan.
The one constant that I've found over the years is simply this.....if I miss out on an item today, the chances are pretty good it will be back on eBay sometime real soon and I can go after it again.
Make it a game, NOT a headache.
Have fun,
Bob


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## gunrunnerjohn

Other than things getting busted in shipment occasionally, or a couple of times things being misrepresented, I've been pretty lucky. Actually, I've learned from experience how to avoid most of the sellers that might have stuff that's graded a bit optimistically.


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## carinofranco

eBay--where do I start? I have bought and sold train stuff on eBay since 2001-about 3000 transactions so far. Some things I have learned the hard way for selling include: importance of proper packing, honest description, good photos, and a no questions asked return policy. Some folks on this thread have complained about high prices and high shipping costs--I agree. Keep in mind that eBay is an auction and prices vary. For example, I have refurbished and sold on eBay about 50 pairs of 022 switches starting at a nominal $9 listing. In the past 12 years, the final prices range from $12 (yup!) to $110, so you takes your chances. As for shipping, eBay and PayPal both charge a fee on not only the final price but on the shipping too. Complaints aside, eBay has been an excellent vehicle for me to get good stuff and sell stuff so I can buy even more stuff.


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## Nuttin But Flyer

Yes, I cannot complain either. For something that's unique or a part I've needed to complete an item, eBay has usually come through. Sometimes you gotta bite the bullet when it's something you really want or need.


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## upsman55

Interesting thread. I have been frustrated by the e-bay experience also. I recently lost out on an item in the last 30 seconds that I had been the one and only bidder for days. I guess I just have to keep at it, and of course learn from others.


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## Nuttin But Flyer

Patience is key as well. Even if you miss out on something, eventually another will come along....


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## MtRR75

upsman55 said:


> Interesting thread. I have been frustrated by the e-bay experience also. I recently lost out on an item in the last 30 seconds that I had been the one and only bidder for days. I guess I just have to keep at it, and of course learn from others.


That is because smart bidders decide what their maximum bid will be, then wait until the last moment to put in their bid (either by being on-line at the time or using a bidding service -- like the one that Gunrunner John suggested).

The smart bidders are waiting until the last moment in order to beat the not-so-smart bidders -- the ones who keep adding a dollar (or whatever the minimum is) to their bid trying to outbid you. When you stick your bid in at the last minute, these types of bidders only get 1 or 2 chances to outbid you -- and will usually fail to do so, because they do not know what your maximum bid is. I have won a number of things this way, where the other bidder tried repeatedly adding the minimum, but ran out of time.

Another tip is to add a few cents to your bid -- not whole dollars -- like $30.08. This will help you defeat the other smart person who bids $30.00 at the last minute. This won't be a factor very often, but it did help me the item a couple of times.


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## llskis

FWIW: I do my bidding very similiar to MtRR75. I have noticed that when you bid and the widow comes up to "confirm" it sometimes does not show the final countdown in the seconds. One has to have a "atomic" clock that is very precise to get your bid in under the wire. Larry


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## PhoebeSnow

I still have a handful of things on my bucket list to get for my AF trains. I noticed that prices really started climbing about mid fall and haven't dropped off at all, Don't know if AF trains are the new in thing to have or what. I keep watching and bidding though, using Gixen, but haven't bought anything in a couple of months. Refuse to pay the platinum prices.


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## Patrick1544

I agree with using a sniping service, I use Auction Sniper and have had good luck with getting the items I want. And you don't need to be near the computer when the auction fires off.


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## flyernut

I put my bid in with 2 seconds to go. Even the sniping programs can't beat that. And if I want it badly enough, I'll put a max bid on something, like a 625 tank car, at $50 bucks. No one is as stupid as me to bid that high,lol.


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## upsman55

MtRR75 said:


> That is because smart bidders decide what their maximum bid will be, then wait until the last moment to put in their bid (either by being on-line at the time or using a bidding service -- like the one that Gunrunner John suggested).
> 
> The smart bidders are waiting until the last moment in order to beat the not-so-smart bidders -- the ones who keep adding a dollar (or whatever the minimum is) to their bid trying to outbid you. When you stick your bid in at the last minute, these types of bidders only get 1 or 2 chances to outbid you -- and will usually fail to do so, because they do not know what your maximum bid is. I have won a number of things this way, where the other bidder tried repeatedly adding the minimum, but ran out of time.
> 
> Another tip is to add a few cents to your bid -- not whole dollars -- like $30.08. This will help you defeat the other smart person who bids $30.00 at the last minute. This won't be a factor very often, but it did help me the item a couple of times.


MtRR75...I humbly concede that I haven't been a smart bidder on eBay, and as much as I hate to admit it, my bidding process has been much like you describe. Also until I read through this thread, I didn't even know bidding services existed But I really do appreciate the advice.


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## Cycleops

BNSP said:


> I can't seem to win anything on e-bay. It seems alot of stuff on there is over-priced it is rediculous. I want to buy stuff just don't want to get taken advantage of


Any item no matter what will sell for as much as anybody is prepared to pay for it. Maybe you're a bit behind the ball with current prices. On eBay people tend to get carried away as well.


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## Big Ed

flyernut said:


> I put my bid in with 2 seconds to go. Even the sniping programs can't beat that. And if I want it badly enough, I'll put a max bid on something, like a 625 tank car, at $50 bucks. No one is as stupid as me to bid that high,lol.


I do the same thing.
I put a low bid in just to get in to get the one click window at the end.
That has the second countdown and I will get mine in at the last few seconds.
I like to do it manually with my finger, no snipe for me.

As with anyway you do it if you don't bid enough, ANYWAY you do it, sniping or whatever you will get beat by someone like Flyernut who has an insane bid put in.

I have tried his way but got beat by someone who has a more insane price in the bid.
I laugh at them in the end. 

And 90% of the time if you wait another will come along. Sometimes in better shape at a better price. Certain items that are sought will run out of insane people bidding on them as they got theirs.
Then you can snatch a good deal.

Took me around 6 months to win this, I got an excellent deal on it with hardly any bidders. But it took me a while and a bunch of auctions to win it. Be patience and do your homework. Don't get into a bidding war or else you will just drive the price up. Get in early and wait till the end, try the one click option.

I am very happy I waited, some of these in poor shape went for hundreds more then this one at the end. I refused to pay over a $100 and my waiting paid off.

Check it out if you want.
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=4127

There are others that I did the same thing.
And like I said most of the time another will show up for auction shortly after.:smokin:


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## flyernut

It's true Big Ed, it's all a waiting game. I recently purchased a whistling billboard for my flyers on ebay. I watched several over the past few weeks, and they were going for $24 bucks up to $30 bucks.I just watched as I didn't need one that bad, it was just a little bit of window-shopping. Well, I was watching one for a starting price of $19.95, with no bids. It was complete, lighted, with all the wires and button. It was stated, "not tested", which means it doesn't work, but no big deal, I'll fix it. I put my bid in at 2 seconds to go at $25.99, and won it. I was the only bidder. And it appears to be in excellent condition. I was also bidding on a 282 Pacific engine, worth approx $50-$75 bucks. I didn't need it but the high bid was only $29 dollars, and decided to up the price for the seller, knowing I would be out-bid in the last few seconds. I was out-bid, and the buyer got a great deal. I couldn't have cared less as I have a few of those already. Sometimes it's only fun and games...


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## markjs

First of all, I can't believe that this thread is still going after a year and a half!
A number of times I placed a rather low bid (but not stupidly low) just for the fun of bidding never expecting to win. SURPRISE! I picked up some great deals this way. Some times you lose and sometimes you lose (sic!).
Mark


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## Cycleops

You win some, you loose some. That's life!


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