Regarding N-Scale on eBay, can I just say...What's with everything being advertised as "NEW!" Whether it's 20 weeks old or 20 years old it's advertised as NEW! If the item is still in the original shrinkwrap, then maybe it can be labeled "NEW!". But items that have clearly been opened, removed from their packaging, missing their original packaging and jewel cases, or clearly showing signs of use are not new. Would you ever advertise a pre-owned car as "NEW!" no matter how little use it has seen? Obviously not. So how can a locomotive that has clearly seen even a little track-time be declared new? The ones that get me are the "NEW! Hardly ever used". Just baffling.
I must be a untrustworthy seller LOL. I never leave feedback until the buyer does and in this case I'm glad. I called e-Bay explaining what this guy said I sold him something that was not what he got. e-Bay can't do anything about his feedback. I have e-mailed the guy who won the auction and left the feedback and never gotten a response. So, no feedback for him. The ironic thing is, he will probably send me an e-mail requesting feedback to which I'll respond, "You really don't want me to do that." I have more of this track to list and he is blocked, I hope like the last block head that I blocked, he e-mails me and asks why I have blocked him. I don't have time to deal with people like this. As a seller I try to make it clear, this item is in good shape, sometimes they are new, other times good for parts. If the item is not 100% I list it AS IS and usually a very low bid. I also make it clear I sell only within the CONUS via USPS Priority flat rate and accept Pay-Pal. I take a clear picture and ask people to e-mail me with any questions BEFORE bidding. You would be amazed at the reading skills of most people. I realize to some of you I sound like some big bad e-Bay seller, but the truth is, I'm not a Hobby Shop or retail store, as far as I know I'm not selling limited edition or collectable items. I sold a Smokey The Bear MT car last year for $14.00 to a guy who was thrilled he got it that cheap. Great, all I care is now I have room for cars I'll actually use on my layout, I'm a model railroader, not a collector. I sell stuff on e-Bay to GET RID OF IT. Starting bids on old Bachmann engines I have had since the mid 90's will start at .50. As long as the shipping is paid, I really don't care. My thought is, "better to let someone else enjoy it than toss it." Frankly, I maybe have a year of stuff I'm trying to get rid of, not all train stuff, but going from a three bedroom, finished basement, 2 car garage piece of property down to a small house occupied by two teen's, I just don't have the room for a lot of stuff. Frankly, the way the world is going also, I don't want to be mired down with "stuff". I would rather be prepared on the important stuff and when stuff may get bad, Smokey the Bear MT collector cars ain't gonna cut it. Soon as my stuff is sold, after 15 years, e-Bay and the whiners can kiss my shiny tail gate.
Define CONUS based shipping? APO's cost the same as any CONUS based shipment. Only difference is you need to add a simple customs form which can be done online with Click-n-Ship. How many know that an APO is actually a CONUS based address? The shipment gets sent to either the San Francisco sort center or the New Jersey sort center for placement into the military postal system. The item never enters a foreign carrier at any point along the journey. I have had more questions ignored by sellers when asking for clarification because they have either blocked APO's or don't understand what it is (or think it is overly expensive). I've never had a claim in 7 years of being stationed overseas (including Iraq and Saudi Arabia) and shipping stuff back and forth through the APO system. Small flat rate still cost $5.55 ($5.15 if click-n-shipped). We even have the specially priced APO flat rate boxes. I just don't get it... Sorry, rant over... Brian
Well you did say N scale...but, if I have an item (albeit HO) that I have that is NIB listed, I do pull it out and test(engines only) it to make sure it runs before I ship. I won't list it as USED. I would rather take a min or two and make sure what I ship out is %100 running OK instead of DOA. USED can be such a hard word to define in certain conditions.
Absolutely. When I buy from any seller or e-tailer, I WANT them to test it before shipping and I do not consider my new engine to be at all used, due to those few moments of insurance.
I would MUCH PREFER that a seller give me an HONEST evaluation of the loco that he is selling: "New, old stock" (Most often means - sat on a shelf for 5+ years, and the grease is hard as a rock) TELL me that you ran it for a couple days, and decided to sell it..........tell me you never ran it, got buyer's remorse, and had to sell it.....tell me your wife found out about your latest purchase, and you're in the "dog house" (lol) I would prefer plain, old fashioned honesty.........it makes me a LOT more likely to buy (I don't have a bit of a problem with a "near new" loco that i got for 50% less than retail). But, honesty would defeat the purpose of most of the greedy on "Evil-Bay", so it's a rare commodity nowadays. My daughter (35) said the other day.........."common sense is so rare now, it should be considered a super power"..... I agree!!
When I sold my OMI "Little Joe" on Ebay I made it VERY clear in the posting how much run time it had on it. I explained in detail every aspect about the model. Especially since there was less than 150 of these models produced. In the add I said that the model had been out of the box and test ran down the test track at the LHS where I purchased it at 2 times the rest of the time I had the model it was in my display case. And I know that to be true as I ordered the model and waited 4 years to get it. So yes essentially it was "new" but not NIB as most people TRY to claim with a loco on Ebay. I myself have been "burned" a couple times on locos I bought on Ebay. Most of the time I am like "okay I got it for a good enough deal, no big deal to me" type attitude about it. But one time I was completely pissed off! I paid a fair amount of $$$ for a loco that was claimed to be "test run only" which in fact it was not. In fact it wasn't even what it was described as. The loco was a Atlas "Classic" EMD GP35 for GN. Well the shell and box was anyway. The mechanism was an old Atlas/Kato drive mechanism. There was so much "gunk and crud" on the wheels I could not even clean the wheels with dis-assembling the loco. I trashed the seller on the feedback. I should have opened a case about it but oh well.
I heartily agree with you! An honest, and detailed description, is far more convincing that plastering "NEW!" all over the listing. If I see that someone has genuinely cared for their item, and has a connection to it with a bit of history, then even if it isn't brand new I'm buying. But when I see "New!", "NIB!", "Must See this Never Used Treasure!", them my lie-dar is activated. A fifteen year old item that has seen wear and run time is not new. And it steams me to see such glowing terms used for items that arrive clearly "used", smelling of ozone, and needing service. Another example are these 3rd-party sellers who claim to have tested the items and found them to be running but have no other knowledge of its' history or usage - But it's advertised as "NEW!" nonetheless simply because it looks pretty! If you cannot vouch for an items history since being purchased brand new you cannot in good conscience advertise it as "NEW!". I'm sorry, but that is dishonest. eBay is very clear about defining "new": New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]They are also quite clear on what constitutes "used": [/FONT]Used: An item that has been used previously If the seller is averse to the use of the condition "Used" then they need to be more specific in their grading and description about the items true condition. "Used" does not necessarily mean 'worn out'. But neither does "New" mean just used lightly.
Not picking Jim, but when you stress the statement above, it can be interpreted numerous ways if I don't ask first (as a buyer). I've been sent some nasty emails from sellers before because they had the same statement and I took it the way you are describing it, thinking they knew an APO was CONUS based even though I am physically located overseas. I now interpret it to mean only folks in the lower 48 can bid (nothing more, nothing less). Just saying... Brian
Well then, I guess I better update my shipping text. I assumed everyone knew that a APO was CONUS no matter where, Japan, South Korea, Germany ect. Then again, my older brother is former Air Force and now works for the US Postal. I have shipped to a APO before and there is really no difference in shipping and I have had zero trouble shipping to an APO. Maybe I'll put in my description, APO is the same as CONUS. Thanks for your service too Brian.
Brian: I have been remiss in my sales, (although, they are few). As a former sailor, I should have known better, but after 30 some years, things slip past. I will modify my future listings to PROUDLY INCLUDE "APO" & "FPO" ADDRESSES!! Jim Jeffries..........nscalerone
Check out the backbone on the B unit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/N-Scale-Sam...121161?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item2320addf49
Next up for your entertainment on the eBay Follies, this little gem: ATLAS 30588 N GAUGE EV Caboose Burlington Route #13651 If the price isn't bad enough, the seller claims it's "New" but correct me if I'm wrong but aren't those MT couplers on an Atlas caboose? Oh, and it appears that it comes with factory crud on the wheels, too. At least I clean the crud off the wheels when I claim something is "New"
In the case of these cabooses, they did come either with Rapidos or factory M/T couplers. But still, the price seems about double what a new car....?
I wasn't sure when Atlas started using Accumates on these (2009 release) but a little checking revealed this 2004 release with MTs had an MSRP of $21.95. Of course, this particular one might be special because of the "Factory Crud" on the wheels.
I bought mine from a known area hobby shop, at a swap meet, September of 1999. The MSRP sticker still on it shows $18.50.
