# Ugh, sometimes I hate eBay. Or: The story of a cheap locomotive turned sour



## ChopperCharles (Jan 3, 2012)

I picked up a 360 and 361 santa fe set off of eBay for an $80 buy it now. It looked like a great deal! Well, the seller wrapped one layer of tissue paper around each loco, stuffed them in a box with a crumpled lunch bag and a coffee cup, and mailed it just like that. So, the shell of the A unit is cracked at the front, and the B unit is missing a huge, huge piece above the coupler at the back. Basically a big triangle containing the door and a large chunk of the back is straight up missing - and wasn't in the box either. All of the couplers are bent and mangled. And of course it didn't work, that I expected, but I'm really disappointed in the condition of the shells 

I can fix up the A unit pretty easily. the chunks are all there. But the B unit I'm going to need styrene and a lot of time to fix properly. So that's kind of shitty.

But hey, since I'm rebuilding them anyhow, any ideas about a different paint scheme? I was never a fan of the santa fe road name... show me some sexy alcos!

Charles.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

Give them bad feedback if the item isn't in the condition advertised.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I'd just file a squawk with eBay and send it back to him. I've sent back a couple of items that either got wasted in shipment or were nothing like they were advertised. In any case, complain to the seller first and give him pictures, chances are he'll offer a discount if you agree to keep them.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> I'd just file a squawk with eBay and send it back to him. I've sent back a couple of items that either got wasted in shipment or were nothing like they were advertised. In any case, complain to the seller first and give him pictures, chances are he'll offer a discount if you agree to keep them.



What a deal.

I would ship them back, his dollar!

Open a claim, unless he offers them to you DIRT cheap.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Ditto on the bad feedback, and consideration of a return to seller, too.

We don't have control over what a shipping company does en route, but we certainly do have control over how carefully we package something for shipment. In this case, the seller didn't do his utmost. I'd call him out on that.

TJ


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## BraytoChicago (Feb 8, 2011)

That sucks man. Sounds like the seller was not a model railroader.

I just had a very disappointing experience also. I bought an n scale locomotive and three pieces of rolling stock on ebay that arrived yesterday. The engine is one step above a toy train - its cheap, cheap, cheap and the wheels immediately fell off the caboose. 

I'm kinda thinking I might limit myself to buying engines at train shows where I can see them and try them out or the occasional time I can afford to buy one new.


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

I learned my lesson a long time ago, I recieved a hand plane that in no way,shape or manner was close to what was represented in the ad. Got no where with the PayPal dispute process.
Now I only buy from sellors with 98% or better ratings and so far not a single problem.
I stay away from "I'm not a dealer and I don't know anything about trains" like the plague!


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

Absolutely -- send negative feedback and institute the eBay buyer protection policy for a refund. What kind of a seller rating did he have? I always check for an extremely high rating, whether that helps or not, I'm not sure, but I haven't been burned yet. Good luck.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Truthfully, I've batted 100% with the eBay dispute process. I've had three... maybe four disputes over the years, and they've always been decided in my favor. If you've got a good case, eBay really sides with the buyer in most cases. Sucks to be a seller in those cases...


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