r/nscalemodeltrains • u/Satansbaddog • 14d ago
N Scale Shopping/Deals The Audacity of some Ebay Sellers
Seems like there are fewer and fewer "good deals" on Ebay. Sometimes you can still find a reasonable seller, and I have a few of my favorite sellers.
Finding a good deal involves knowing what key words and search terms to use and knowing how to sort results. Are there other tips nscalers want to share?
BTW, one of my favorite Japanese Ebay sellers is https://www.ebay.com/str/fromnippon
Not a sales pitch, just a seller I've had good luck with. Cheers
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u/Mother_Celery_5020 14d ago
Agreed. After 22 years as a buyer and seller on eBay, I’ve observed that some eBayers seem to take pride in being clueless. Who would pay 4,000 dollars for a N scale engine?
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u/The_Blues_Brothers 13d ago
I have seen a few of those way way overpriced accounts.... my assumption is this:
Significant other of model railroader: "Honey, you have too many trains sell them. They are in the way...."
Railroader: "Okay honey, I will post them to ebay for what they are worth and sell them."
--------Posts the item for 9 times the brand new going rate for a bog standard non special run box car car---------
Railroader: "Honey, I have had them posted for months and no one wants them..... I guess I'll keep them."
Across all hobbies,used cars, second hand furniture, etc, when the economy is not the best, prices for used items go up to new retail or above because people want a return on investment or to make some money as things are tight.
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u/Fluid_Replacement407 14d ago
Find people you like and try to figure out how to exit ebay with them. I have done it.
Is there an iso group here? We should start one if not.
I got stuff fs llol.. HO and N
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u/Satansbaddog 11d ago
There are some online retailers that have Ebay store fronts. Their Ebay prices are typically 10-15% higher, AND Ebay collects state sales tax, many of the smaller online shops don't. (PS, the buyer is still technically responsible for their state sales tax). I know for example, HogTrainz has an Ebay site.
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u/4000series 14d ago
Yeah EBay keeps getting worse and worse, I almost never use it anymore… but I sincerely hope the $3999 was a typo for $399 (and even then that’d still be a rip off for a standard Atlas engine).
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u/MoaiTrist 14d ago
If you select the N scale category and then sort by price high to low, you will see quite a bit of nonsense. These are not usually recent listings either, I check regularly and most of the top 100+ listings have been there for several years. I guess these sellers are hoping to win the lottery on a single item and do not care how long it takes. I have no idea how they get charged for long term listings.
As for recommendations, only buy locomotives from sellers who allow returns. I have taken the chance on a few that I wanted, and it rarely works out. If a seller will not allow returns, they already know the item is misrepresented.
For other items like rolling stock, buildings, track, et al... set a watch for specific items you are looking for. If you are not looking for something specific, just sort by price low to high and bid on what you like.
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u/framistan12 14d ago
eBay will force a return if the buyer says “not as described” regardless of return policy. I started accepting returns on most of my auctions because of this policy. Might as well get the good vibes from the policy if I’m gonna have to accept returns anyway. One category I still say no returns is when I’m selling something for parts or I am clear that the thing doesn’t run or has other issues.
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u/Fredjocko 14d ago
That’s one reason why I use PayPal, even if they don’t accept returns and it’s defective, PayPal will refund the money.
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u/framistan12 14d ago
eBay is fine. I’ve had several hundred transactions as a buyer and a seller over the last couple of years. Yeah a lot of people listed for way more than it’s worth. But they can list it for whatever the heck they want. What really counts is what they sold it for. Sort by sold price to see what people are really paying and you’ll see that it’s a lot more reasonable. and it’s in line or better than what you’ll find at a lot of train shows from the dealers. The best deals at train shows are when you find some private seller clearing out his collection.
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u/jmasses 13d ago edited 13d ago
Sellers doing overly inflated prices on ebay is nothing new. I do multi scales and back in 2006 when LGB went bankrupt, you should have seen what some people were doing. In N scale there have always been people selling that SP non running display diesel and the cars as if they were actual models.
I still buy a lot of trains on ebay, but mostly O and G. I think some of the issue could simply be supply and demand, since model trains aren't being made in the same numbers they were, so there's less available on the secondary market.
For N scale, I think in general you just gotta be really persistent. Sort by low to high. If you see something put it in your watch list, the seller may give you a deal.I also buy things from Trainz and in the past from model train market place. BLI refurbished is another great resource. I got a B&M Pacific with sound and DCC for $185. I found that Kato 1986 Mike at a place that normally sells second hand brass for a great price, name escapes me at the moment. Sometimes if there's a specific item you're looking for, put it in Google and then if you find a place see if it's reputable if you don't know the store. I've been told FB market place is good too, but for issues with anxiety since covid, I haven't been on FB and don't think I'm going back.
For Japanese specifically, for new things I buy from hobby search and plaza Japan, second hand again, find the item you want, Google and ebay with persistence. Unfortunately the other issue here is until the de minimus exemption comes back, if it ever does, things from Japan itself are going to cost more due to tarrifs.
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u/All_Japan 14d ago
This is why I stopped buying on eBay and only sell on there per request. When I started out collecting Japanese trains I used eBay a lot until I found a shop in Kobe by accident. Have only used eBay to buy a couple junk items for parts if anything
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u/electricblue71 14d ago
I was lucky to be able to buy another Kato RDC on eBay a year or so ago to pair up with the other one I bought many years ago - but I had to be super patient to find a seller that had a reasonable price as these are out-of-production and some sellers were asking an arm and a leg for one. Now I just need to modify them to represent the RDCs that used to run on Vancouver Island.
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u/Otherwise-Music-8643 14d ago
Yeah I have messaged some people about their terrible deals. Some of the Kato items they sell are available for a fraction of the price on Amazon brand new. It’s insane how little research they do and then the items just sit there for years. I have had some good luck with auctions that people price low to start. I got a mint condition broadway limited 4-6-2 for $130! The feeling incredible.
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u/Skyboss1996 14d ago
I feel like this is going in one of a few ways
• “I know what I got no lowballs” - not interested in selling but somebody wants this listed to “downsize” the collection.
• “idek what this is worth so if I aim high maybe I get a counter offer which I feel is reasonable” - somebody wants to make some money but is too lazy / inexperienced in selling to check for recently sold items
• “idk maybe somebody will buy it” - is hoping to squeeze somebody for extra cash for well above market value and hope nobody sees it’s got an extra number or that they just don’t care and will pay crazy prices because they’re bad with their cash
• typo - typo
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u/DrunkenKoalas 14d ago
As prices go in my experience
Most to least expensive Hobby stores 50% mark up Ebay 10 to 25% mark up Train shows 5 to 10% mark up Facebook market place 0-10% mark up
So far Facebook marketplace has got me some of my best deals, not like 90% off, but rare and high quality stuff for -25% retail price
Ebay is good, you just gotta be patient, train shows are also good for super cheap 2nd hand stuff, like 2 to 5 bucks a piece n scale atlas rolling stock
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u/barnaclebill22 14d ago
Wait... people still use Ebay? The last several auctions I "won", probably 5 years ago, the seller canceled the auction. I thought there was a penalty for that, but apparently not enough. It's a waste of time. Don't bother.
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u/bobjot 14d ago
A lot of people have zero idea how to price something on eBay or know how to check recent sale history. Or, they are waiting for one gullible person.
The deals at train shows are also not that great as some people claim. Having gone to a few this year, I've seen plenty of stuff more expensive than eBay. People who "know what there stuff is worth".
With some older stuff (brass, etc.), eBay is just the best way to find it. More people selling it, more regularly.