# Another ebay fiasco



## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Just got a 322AC Hudson today... Due to poor packaging from the seller, the tender arrived with a broken step, another was bent,, and the drawbar was twisted so bad it would not go past one of the front steps...Right to negative feedback, so tired of this BS.. And they couldn't take a screwdriver and remove the one drawbar screw, unplug the jack plug, and separate the 2 units, just cram the entire mess into 1 box. It was full of bubble-wrap, but nothing around the engine or tender to protect it.. I'm done with ebay, no more buying junk from it, I'll only buy from train shows where I can pick up the item, smell it, and taste it!!!!. The money I'll save I can use it for a down payment on a new Corvette.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

That’s what I like about my train store…..I can select what I want, actually pick it up and take it out to test it, all before I put my money down….can’t beat that experience….


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

a good local hobby store definitely comes in handy, the nearest to me was 200 km away, red line hobby in regina..


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## Defender (9 mo ago)

Sorry you had a bad experience with that seller. I live 80+ miles from a hobby store and they cater to mainly N and HO. So, I am out of luck for stores. I haven't been to a train show in over 30 yrs. Just none in my area. I wish I was near some of that kind of things.


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## alaft61ri (Oct 11, 2019)

I agree with flyernut to many people lately selling junk. I will buy parts but engines no more had a few bad experiences. I will just wait for train shows and ck my hobby shops I go to. Sorry to here that Loren.
Al


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## Dennis461 (Jan 5, 2018)

Why give up on ebay? You are certain to get a 100% refund.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

flyernut, sorry for the disappointment. Tell seller cause of bad packing you want all your money refunded. 
If he don't play ball, tell ebay. You will get your money back.

My worse ebay event was a seller sent me a Hudson in a paper envelope. That did not go well either.
Broken cow catcher, broken step. and a broken coupler. I got enough money refunded and kept the hudson.
All has been repaired except the step. I did let seller know his poor shipping method was the cause. Got over
half the money refunded.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Old_Hobo said:


> That’s what I like about my train store…..I can select what I want, actually pick it up and take it out to test it, all before I put my money down….can’t beat that experience….


When I sell something, I have at least 2-3 inches of bubble wrap surrounding the item, and then I put paper around that, and then more.. Ask anyone here who has bought from me about my packing. And when I do a repair, the same thing. I'll repair the loco, and when it's fixed and running to my standards, I'll ship it out WITHOUT payment.. If the repair meets your expectations, then you pay, not before. I'd rather lose a couple of bucks than a friend or my reputation.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

mopac said:


> flyernut, sorry for the disappointment. Tell seller cause of bad packing you want all your money refunded.
> If he don't play ball, tell ebay. You will get your money back.
> 
> My worse ebay event was a seller sent me a Hudson in a paper envelope. That did not go well either.
> ...


The "store" I bought the Hudson from has A LOT of neutral feedback, time to add negative. The wife says to try and contact them, I tried 4 times last night, couldn't get through or send a message, nothing! I'll try again this morning....


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

alaft61ri said:


> I agree with flyernut to many people lately selling junk. I will buy parts but engines no more had a few bad experiences. I will just wait for train shows and ck my hobby shops I go to. Sorry to here that Loren.
> Al


I have 2 shops near me, 1 sells MTH and Lionel, and has a few items on consignment but that's it. The other shop is 50 miles round trip, but I'll be darned if I'll pay $150-$200 for a beat-up Hudson, the guy is EXTREMELY over-priced..And his repair rate is also high, $50 bucks for diagnostic, dis-assembly, no parts are included.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Loren, this will turn out fine. You have tried to contact seller. May be time to tell ebay. They will refund
your money so fast your head will spin. This will work out fine. Ebay is pro buyer 100%. Without
buyers Ebay is nothing and they know it. My son got screwed with this policy. He sold an expensive graded baseball card. Buyer told Ebay. My son told buyer to send it back and he would refund all money. As soon as Ebay heard from buyer the money was refunded and buyer
instructed to send the card back. Well buyer got all his money back but he never sent card back to my son. Sometimes Ebay is a little too much pro buyer.


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## GTW son (12 mo ago)

Feel you pain, been there done that....
I do believe you are covered if you paid by PayPal as well
Can think of al least two instances were PayPal came thru like champs for me.
Don't ever remember claiming thru ebay it was so long ago but might as well open a claim with ebay as well.
Between the two of them something good should become of this.


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## scott.friedman480 (Jan 11, 2022)

I buy a predominant amount of my engines, rolling stock, and buildings off E-Bay. My nearest train store is about 17 miles away but I can only go weekends. My experience with E-bay has been mostly positive. Of the 25+ N-scale engines I've bought, I've only had issues with 3. The sellers made those right by replacement or refund. Train shows in my area are few also so I don't have a lot of outside opportunity. Don't count out E-bay entirely 'cause of a few poor sellers. Just My $.50 worth (due to inflation).


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## Defender (9 mo ago)

Absolutely, contact Ebay. By phone, not that message stuff. There is a place where you can click, and they will call you at the number you have on file with them. It also says how long before they call you, but it is always less time than the icon says. I have had issues with buyers and sellers. I have over 1350 positive feedback as a buyer and seller. I think you need to go to the portal for sellers, the call back number is faster. Don't give up, insist and have a few photos to send them if they ask. You will probably get your money back and keep the engine. Ebay, I think sends you the money and they deal with the seller. They don't like upset customers. Just my experience.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

I do want the engine as it's very nice, that's why I bid on it. I just want a few bucks off, say $20 or so, and that would be fine. Right now I'm having trouble sending a note to the seller.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Let us know how it works out for you. Hey, I want a new corvette also. My new pickup (that I did not need) was 50,000.00 (insane for a truck). Another 30,00.00 and I could have had a corvette (another useless vehicle). It can not carry a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood for a new layout. But I have always liked performance cars. My second car was a 1965 GTO, Tri Power, 4 speed. Believe it or not, my truck is just about as fast as my GTO was. It has the
395 horse Coyote motor, 3:70 electric locking rear axle and it is 4 wheel drive. Had a full day of performance cars today. I went to the inaugural Nascar Cup race in St Louis today. Its been 20 years since I went to a Nascar race. I used to watch the Sunday race every week. Not a big fan no more. Especially since all brands of the cars use the same exact body. Thats just not right. I also went to the Kansas Speedway inaugural Nascar race. If its special I might just go.
We had a crowd of 60,000 people today. Too many people for me. Damn those cup cars are fast.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

I had a weird e bay experience. Stuff was way late, and past the date. Contected seller, who said there was a few holidays that delayed it. I said fine. When It got to the last date possable for a refund, e bay automatically refunded me. The stuff came the next day. I contacted the seller to pay them and they basicly said i scammed them and was pissy. So, trying to do the right thing isnt always easy.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Well, I contacted the seller, nothing. I'll send him another note tomorrow.. This seller is from the West coast, Washington state.. Why does it always seem to be a seller on the West coast,lol!


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

I almost never buy on Ebay but when I do the seller is on the East Coast! What's up with that? Maybe its a conspiracy to maximize revenue for the shipping companies!?!?


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

AmFlyer said:


> I almost never buy on Ebay but when I do the seller is on the East Coast! What's up with that? Maybe its a conspiracy to maximize revenue for the shipping companies!?!?


That's too funny...touche'


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

The seller finally got back to me. I sent him 5 pictures of the damage.. He wants me to send the entire unit back for a refund, but I'm already into this for at least $25 bucks for the missing cow-catcher, and I'll have to get another truck for it as it's bent, $20 bucks.. Not to mention my time for the repairs, etc., not to mention the gas to get to the post office. I told the seller I would like to keep it with the damage, just offer me a partial refund we both can deem fair.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

The seller offered me a $25 dollar partial refund, which I accepted. This makes it a purchase of just under $50 bucks.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

flyernut said:


> The seller offered me a $25 dollar partial refund, which I accepted. This makes it a purchase of just under $50 bucks.


And now it is SOLD AMERICAN ! 😎 
And you kept busy.


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

Flyernut, sorry to hear of your Ebay experience. I had curtailed my buying from Ebay as well. Parts I will get off Ebay. Engines and rolling stock not so much. I was all set to start buying from train shows until this gasoline thing came up. Seems like ever train show is at least 100 miles away or 200 miles round trip plus having to refill when returning. That's a high price train show plus what I might buy. So now the question is do I go to Ebay? A gamble. I feel pretty safe buying since, as other people have said, Ebay is buyer friendly with getting a refund if needed. I'd rather be able to pick up what I want to buy and inspect it.
Flyernut I just noticed you got a partial refund. Good.
I just don't like paying for high price gasoline and Mumbles Biden's shuck and jive answers why he can't do more to lower the price. We all know the answers as to why.

Kenny


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

AFGP9 said:


> Flyernut, sorry to hear of your Ebay experience. I had curtailed my buying from Ebay as well. Parts I will get off Ebay. Engines and rolling stock not so much. I was all set to start buying from train shows until this gasoline thing came up. Seems like ever train show is at least 100 miles away or 200 miles round trip plus having to refill when returning. That's a high price train show plus what I might buy. So now the question is do I go to Ebay? A gamble. I feel pretty safe buying since, as other people have said, Ebay is buyer friendly with getting a refund if needed. I'd rather be able to pick up what I want to buy and inspect it.
> Flyernut I just noticed you got a partial refund. Good.
> I just don't like paying for high price gasoline and Mumbles Biden's shuck and jive answers why he can't do more to lower the price. We all know the answers as to why.
> 
> Kenny


I got just a little more than what I had hoped for.. This made it a good deal, even if I had to replace a broken step, a bent step, and a twisted draw-bar.ALL of that would have been avoided IF the seller packed it correctly. I knew it was missing the cow-catcher, but still a nice engine with super graphics, smokes like a demon, and runs like a scalded dog on the test bench before I took it down for a servicing. Everything is fixed, I have to re-assemble, and then work on the tender. Oh yes, it also had a bent rear truck on the tender where it was dropped, all fixed. I used my little butane torch to heat the bent step, and it now looks factory with no apparent repair. I also used the same heat source and straightened out the truck, but in the process, one of the staked sides of the truck came off, no big deal, another simple repair. I'll get some pictures up when I'm done with it and have road-tested it.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Good deal. I knew it would work out.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Its good you have some resolution. Even if not ideal, its better then nothing. And yea, pictures or it was never fixed!


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## Riviera (Oct 30, 2020)

I wonder if a manufacturer will ever develop a wireless battery setup?


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Riviera, congratulations on your first post. There are commercially available dead rail kits. I think the leader currently is BlueRail. It is focused on wireless DCC operation, but there is a basic version that is wireless direct to the engine. An add on Dead Rail Kit is available to work with Blue Rail to make a wireless battery powered engine. These are available from Tam Valley.
The S gaugers here in this forum are mostly operating original Gilbert trains on conventional AC or DC powered track. In order to use dead rail the original three pole open frame motor must be replaced with a DC can motor. The cost per Gilbert engine to implement dead rail is $320 including the can motor conversion, the BlueRail kit and the Battery kit. If sound is included add another $140. The market for this technology in S gauge is very small, mostly a small percentage of those already using DCC.
The market in HO is much larger because of widespread DCC use. Outdoor G scale operators are also using dead rail. The big attraction for dead rail in the two rail world, besides not having to clean track, is elimination of the need for electrical isolation joints in the track, elimination of reverse loop controllers along with frog juicers.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

sjm9911 said:


> Its good you have some resolution. Even if not ideal, its better then nothing. And yea, pictures or it was never fixed!


Ok, I just finished my ebay fiasco 322AC.Looks better in person, but it runs extremely well, smokes great, choo choo's, and head-light. All of the repairs went very well, and I really like this engine. All of my Hudson's are in excellent condition, and run as good as they look. I wish I could sell one, but it's like pulling teeth,lol...


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Lets see some pics when you get around to it


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

mopac said:


> Lets see some pics when you get around to it


I took pix but forgot to post them....dumb-ash!!!..(me).


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

mopac said:


> Lets see some pics when you get around to it


Here.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

So I take it the fiasco turned out to be not a fiasco at all?


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Well, isn't that a nice engine. Great graphics.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Old_Hobo said:


> So I take it the fiasco turned out to be not a fiasco at all?


You're correct.. I got the loco for a steel, and all the repairs I had to do because of the damage, came out flawless.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

mopac said:


> Well, isn't that a nice engine. Great graphics.


And I don't have a place to put it,lol.. I've got around 20 engines or so on top of plastic bins, running out of room.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I do not have a wife to stop me. I think I have engines sitting around in every room in the house except the bathrooms. Looks like I may be a train hoarder.
I have lost count on them. Still a few I would like to acquire.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

There are worse than me. flyernut, LOL. I bought a couple engines from a very large collection out of Texas.
Owner had 2 full size semi-trailers full of AF engines. All were very nice.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Nice looking engine.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

mopac said:


> I do not have a wife to stop me. I think I have engines sitting around in every room in the house except the bathrooms. Looks like I may be a train hoarder.
> I have lost count on them. Still a few I would like to acquire.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

mopac said:


> I do not have a wife to stop me. I think I have engines sitting around in every room in the house except the bathrooms. Looks like I may be a train hoarder.
> I have lost count on them. Still a few I would like to acquire.


Most of my stuff is in the basement, dehumidifier, heat, etc. I keep the better stuff in our spare bedroom closet.My Big Boy, Allegheny, my Dad's standard gauge set,K-line ABA FA's, all units powered, my D&RG PA's, and I'm sure a few more..Once every 3-4 months I'll go through the many plastic tubs of stuff I have, and make a lot of surprise discoveries,lol!


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

Nice 322 AC flyernut. If I didn't already have a nice one I'd be interested. I stopped buying duplicates a while ago. Too much other stuff I need. Like mopac, there is a lot of other stuff I want. 

Kenny


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Well, another ebay issue, but this one is turning out a little better. I received a nice 312AC today, but it has 1 broken step on the tender, and the front truck on the tender has come off. I sent the seller a very nice note, asking for a $20 dollar partial refund. It won't cover the cost of the needed parts with shipping, but I'll be happy. It's a very nice engine/tender, but I have it torn down already,lol.


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## DrawsOnCad (8 mo ago)

flyernut said:


> Ok, I just finished my ebay fiasco 322AC.Looks better in person, but it runs extremely well, smokes great, choo choo's, and head-light. All of the repairs went very well, and I really like this engine. All of my Hudson's are in excellent condition, and run as good as they look. I wish I could sell one, but it's like pulling teeth,lol...


You know, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for. A nice original 322AC as my first vintage AF engine. I was even going to have you go through it when I actually found it…


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

DrawsOnCad said:


> You know, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for. A nice original 322AC as my first vintage AF engine. I was even going to have you go through it when I actually found it…


When you find one, and you will, I'll be happy to go through it for you, no charge, just pay shipping.


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## DrawsOnCad (8 mo ago)

flyernut said:


> When you find one, and you will, I'll be happy to go through it for you, no charge, just pay shipping.


So you are keeping this one..
LOL. You are a good man for keeping these going, true labor of love.


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