# Anyone buy from Trainz Marketplace?



## laz57 (Sep 19, 2015)

Hi GUYZ,
Anyone purchase anything from TRAINZ MARKETPLACE?
http://marketplace.collector-modeltrains.com/storesearch?store=Trainz&search=reading+sd70&x=10&y=11

I was wondering how their service is? And it states that, Buyers premiums do not apply to Buy It Now style listings. Is this true or are there any other hidden fees? What are your opinions?


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## Marklx200 (Jun 14, 2015)

I've bought several things and no buyers premium for buy it now. Ive had a couple of shipping problems (shipped to the wrong place two different times). They did take care of it both times so that won't stop me from using them again. Be warned on the auctions, if you are the type that waits till the last second to bid it extends the bidding another 10 minutes. And it will continue to do so until people stop bidding. I hate that myself and only bid on things I really want. I set my max bid and let go at that, win or lose.


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## ogaugenut (Dec 27, 2012)

They do, or used to sell on eBay. Check their feedback listings there.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

NOt any more. Once upon a time they had a wide selection if interesting stuff, and I bought a bunch of Premier and rare locos from them, etc. Anymore they seem to ahve mostly piffle, so no . . . not in several years.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I've noticed that they only take their "junk" to eBay nowadays, I haven't gotten anything from them in some time there. My last Trainz purchase on eBay was my Lionel Amtrak HHP-8, they had the separate sale model with cruise, RailSounds 5, large motors, etc. for a lot less than I've seen it anywhere, last good deal I've seen from them.

With all the buyer's premium garbage, I've never really looked at DASH, I hate when businesses try to lowball you with the price and than tack on all the extra charges!


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

While I have a few high $$ Lionel products in the fold I for one cannot afford every $1500, $1600 of $1700 locomotive Lionel comes out with.

That being said I have bought a few items, all under $100, from them.

My advice is read the description thoroughly!! Any older MTH products will need a new battery or BCR.

One of the Lionel's I bought was advertised as never run. Turns out the plastic gears on the motors were cracked, so in fact it couldn't run! I bought two motors and have a new engine.

Another loco was described as having light scratches, I'm still looking for them.

Like every other internet auction, buyer beware!


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

I agree, buyer beware. Generally I have had good luck with them. Two problems were resolved when they accepted returns. The bargains I have gotten outweigh the negatives. For every item they have over rated I have gotten one that was under rated. Descriptions that said good or did not run were actually mint (TCA never opened) or ran no problem.
If you are a gambling man, take chances.

Pete


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## 86TA355SR (Feb 27, 2015)

Don't normally say negative things about a business, but you asked...

Trainz blows. Haven't had a good experience with them after 5 different purchases.

Items not as described (5), wrong items in sets (3), and several wrong items delivered (3-I got someone else's order) are why I buy elsewhere.

15% buyer's fee on auction items is another reason I don't use them. Though I'd pay that with other auction companies, I won't with Trainz because the items are never as described.

Good luck, your experience may vary...


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## davidone (Apr 20, 2015)

They suck, ordered a item that took them 3 weeks to ship it and the price to ship it was was too high. I will never order from them again.

I never give bad reviews to a dealer especially this time of year but Trainz is bad thru out the year.


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## Todd Lopes (Nov 11, 2015)

I had purchased a few things before DASH transition. Never had an issue, personally. One thing I've learned about trains, like anything else, there always is another deal somewhere else as long as you have the patience.


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## rboatertoo (Aug 5, 2015)

I have brought from them in the last couples of months. I purchased a number of K-line cars, and found the Lionel Alaska bi levels there. The prices were very good. I won on Sundays, and they shipped on Monday. No complains here.


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## L0stS0ul (Feb 6, 2015)

I've found some awesome deals on the site. I've also learned a lot. For almost all of the items I've purchased, and it's in the thousands of dollars at this point, the only item that was not as described actually completely new in box when it said used. Plus for me. You will see the rating and most modern stuff are like new but they usually do a good job describing any visual issues and generally there are really good pictures. I've learned to look very closely at them.

Any time I buy an MTH engine I also get the tuneup package now. I just had to send an engine back because it was not working properly when put in reverse. It would have been hard to see as the only indication of an issue was the smoke resistors lost power and the headlight went out. Not only did they fix it and pay for shipping there and back but it also came with an extra 45 day warranty on the repair. Well worth the $35 to do that. Plus you get a new battery. 

I've had a few duds but when buying used there is always a risk. I can say that I probably would not have completed my layout without trainz auctions. Just in buildings alone I saved over $400


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## Bill Webb (Sep 14, 2015)

Bad luck here and I will not use again. Bought and paid for items said to be in stock - 2 gold Lionel P E coaches. Stopped looking (was that ever a mistake).

Not received so called them in two weeks. "Have not come in yet but we will have."

Waited a month. More BS. And more waiting. Meanwhile the sources for these cars dried up.

Finally I took the correspondence with me to York and talked to them directly. " Go find them here and we will pay for them" (I never saw one because I was going to buy it) and then changed that comment to, "We will have this for you within two weeks."

About ten days later I received an e-mail advising no luck and they would refund my money which they finally did a week or ten days later.

I found the cars... at twice the price they were available for earlier.

We have a list of sources in our I-pad that we buy from. They are there and DO NOT USE is in bold face. Unreliable and do not tell the truth. Stay away.

Isn't the difference in opinions interesting? What you don't get to read on other forums.


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

While I done generally OK with their auctions and buy it nows I did have a bad experience when trying to pre order some items. I ordered an MTH engine and a set of passenger cars to go with it. I put them in my watched list. After pre ordering them were listed as pending. Then a few months later after the pre order period was over the engine was no longer listed as pending. When I emailed them to try and find out what was going on they said the pre order period was over and I was out of luck. At that point I called and canceled the order for the cars. 
As luck would have it it worked out for the best. I found an earlier release of the engine and cars by another manufacturer for a fraction of the price. No more pre orders from this outfit for me.

Pete


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## laz57 (Sep 19, 2015)

Thank You all for your opinions and I will give them a try. I am looking at a Lionel Reading SD70 ACE Dummy unit they have at a good price. The same item TRAINZ has on Ebay at a higher price. That is why I was concerned about any hidden fees. I will report when I receive item. Thanks for your time.


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## Ricky Tanner (Sep 19, 2015)

The Dash auction is hit or miss. There's some good deals to be had for sure. I've won a lot of items from Trainz over the years and any issues I've had (only a few) were resolved promptly.


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## biglionelguy (Nov 11, 2015)

I wont buy trains form them. Every train I bought on their sit or on Dash had a problem. Burned out decoder on N scale BLI Alco PAs, stripped out deriver on 2-8-8-2, broken pilot on Lionel SD70Ace. There were a few others that I dont recall. I buy parts off their site sometimes and dont have a problem but dont buy trains


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

laz57 said:


> Thank You all for your opinions and I will give them a try. I am looking at a Lionel Reading SD70 ACE Dummy unit they have at a good price. The same item TRAINZ has on Ebay at a higher price. That is why I was concerned about any hidden fees. I will report when I receive item. Thanks for your time.


This reminds me. I came across the same item on Dash as well as ebay. It even had their same SKU number on both sites. When I asked about this through eBay's ask a question feature, I got their canned response they would look into and get back to me. The Dash auction went off on Sunday and the eBay auction on Monday. I didn't bid on Dash but did win the Ebay auction and paid immediately. A few days later I was informed there was a mistake and the item had been withdrawn. I never did get a reply before the auction ended. For an outfit that deals in trains, lots of them, they sure don't have their act together.

Pete


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

Norton said:


> This reminds me. I came across the same item on Dash as well as ebay. It even had their same SKU number on both sites. When I asked about this through eBay's ask a question feature, I got their canned response they would look into and get back to me. The Dash auction went off on Sunday and the eBay auction on Monday. I didn't bid on Dash but did win the Ebay auction and paid immediately. A few days later I was informed there was a mistake and the item had been withdrawn. I never did get a reply before the auction ended. For an outfit that deals in trains, lots of them, they sure don't have their act together.
> 
> Pete


Isn't the expression, having you cake and eating it too. In your instance that really appears to be the case.


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

Not sure I get your meaning. Had they told me it was indeed the same item and withdrawn it before the auction ended I wouldn't have bid.

Pete


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

Norton said:


> Not sure I get your meaning. Had they told me it was indeed the same item and withdrawn it before the auction ended I wouldn't have bid.
> 
> Pete


The fact they were selling it on two sites, probably waiting to see which went higher. Playing A vs B...


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

Jeff T said:


> The fact they were selling it on two sites, probably waiting to see which went higher. Playing A vs B...


Sorry you missed the point Jeff. Trainz had six days to reply to my question on eBay. They ignored the 48 hour period ebay said I should expect an answer and in fact never answered the question. I never had any intention to bid on Dash with the 15% premium. 

Pete


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## Jeff T (Dec 27, 2011)

Norton said:


> Sorry you missed the point Jeff. Trainz had six days to reply to my question on eBay. They ignored the 48 hour period ebay said I should expect an answer and in fact never answered the question. I never had any intention to bid on Dash with the 15% premium.
> 
> Pete


Not the first time I missed the point or the boat!


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## Joe Hohmann (Nov 5, 2015)

Years ago I bought a new Harry Potter set from Trainz. It had a light in a passenger car that was not connected. They paid shipping both ways and replaced it. I had it back in 5 days.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have had numerous dealings with Trainz. While I eventually got what I paid for, there were several times I had to jump through hoops with multiple messages and phone calls. One time in particular, they didn't answer at all until I bumped the auction up for eBay to resolve, then suddenly they heard me. Their explanation was that I should have send them email directly!!! I bought it through eBay, so I do the problem resolution through eBay! If I corresponded with them directly, eBay would have no record of what was said, I wanted them to be able to see that I tried to resolve the issue so I would get what I paid for! If they don't want to deal with eBay, they should stop selling through eBay.


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## Patrick1544 (Apr 27, 2013)

I believe Trainz was sold to another managing Corp. Although the original owner still has an active hand in the business, he is no longer in complete control of operations and quality control, anymore, hence, their decline in customer satisfaction.


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## laz57 (Sep 19, 2015)

Well GUYZ, yesterday I tried to purchase from Trainz, and it was a no good. I tried to register online at their DASH Auction site and after three times filling out the information it kept saying invalid name and password. Oh well I guess for the good. I'll look elsewhere for a Lionel Reading SD70 dummy unit. Thanks GUYZ for your input.


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