well it happened to me. I seldom buy anything on ebay. I bid on a spectrum 2-8-0 used and my low bid won. Well I found out why. I have seen this before. Runs slow making noise and the motor sounds like it is racing. I guess I will take it apart and see what I find.
Ram, I am curious. Did the seller claim it ran, or ran well? Or did he/she claim it was untested? I am also curious about what you find.
Sorry to hear that
sounds like a belt, I purchased a new 2-8-0 spectrum from Train world and it had a similar problem, Train world took care of it
good luck
George
Sorry to hear of your eBay misrepresented purchase. I try to avoid eBay, but the prices are so intriguing.
So, good question would be: If I were to purchase a used loco, what would I ask and what should I check for?
Also, are there any good sites on DIY loco repair, maintenance? Like I've posted elsewhere, I just got the Digital Commander twin diesel loco set but have YET to crack the shrinkwrap. It's my kid's gift, but I want to keep it under wraps before his b-day. I am thinking I might just jump on some used trains I've seen on craigslist to practice some maintenance on.
I also avoid Ebay. I got ripped off on a 2-8-0 Consolidation, listed as unused condition, mint in box. Turned out it has seen heavy use with nicks in the wheels. I only buy from hobby stores on Ebay and only new with warranty.
He said it looked like no or little wear. I really should have ask some questions.
I always ask a ton of questions when it comes to motive power on evil Bay. And so far I have never been suprised. Right now I am working on some old tyco crane sets to repaint off of ebay.
Stephen
good advice all around.....ask questions,look at the pics carefully and know what your bidding on, never bid more than wholesale prices on a new product and never bid more than 50% wholesale prices on a slightly used product, and when bidding on ''old'', ''collectable'' or ''rare'' pieces....see what they cost new, then estimate how old they are and decide if you want it bad enough to pay the original price....but before you bid, make sure if it says ''rare or ''collectable'' it actually is and not some POS tyco stuff from a $10 train set made in 1977 lol ....these are my guidelines and they keep me from getting any ''surprises''.
i used to be very timid about buying ANYTHING from ebay, but several hundred purchases later ive had no troubles. i think some folks are a bit scared of buying a ''used'' loco , fearing it wont work, in my case, i LOOK for broken and damgaed locos, i have a nice supply of parts and since a dc motor is about the simplest thing in the world, i get some really good deals on locos advertised as ''parts locos'', drive trains and bad electrical connections...all are easy to fix, and it gives you experience in troubleshooting, even the new fancy dcc locos are still basically just a dc motor and a drive train...no rocket science going on there!!!
if your 2-8-0 isnt working right...pop the body off and see whats going on, it probably something simple.
LD303 has some good advice. I have never had a bad experience on eBay. I credit part of this to luck, but just like judging people you meet for the first time, you can usually grade your sellers by the auctions they post.
Some sellers don't tell you much about what they are selling. Others become very defensive with their auctions. They relieve themselves of as much responsibility as possible while imposing it on the buyer - not the sort of thing you learn in Salesmanship 101. Then there are those who post ridiculously low buy-it-now prices and make it all up on shipping and handling. I stay away from these types.
There are a lot of modelers who have neither a brick and mortar dealer nor periodic train shows nearby. You can't always find a Varney 10-wheeler or copy of "Mixed Train Daily" at the mall. For these reasons, eBay is a godsend.
Regards,
Bob
I've had pretty good results with eBay. Early on, I got ripped a couple of times, but you learn pretty quickly. What has been suggested is excellent. If you are careful, and ask a lot of questions, it can be a great place to get some really excellent deals ... on the other hand :-) .... you can get 'stung' really bad.
Be careful of any locomotive that is advertised as "I haven't any way to test if this is working" (usually means, I think, something is pretty badly wrong with it). Also, I always ask if the person has tested it, if it has any loud grinding noises, jerky movements, and if the lights work, etc. If I get 'evasive' answers to any of these questions, I;m 'outta there' (like:' "its wrapped and i don't want to take it out of the box to run any tests, etc').
The two worst experiences I have had out of many satisfactory purchases were a P2k ICRR GP18 advertised in 'mint condition'. This was about 2 years ago when that series of P2k's were fetching a good price. I got it at 'way low' price even for eBay (which should have been a big red flag to me in the first place).
When I got it, the wheels had obviously lots of run time on them and, yes, you guessed it, the axle gears on all four wheel sets were split. The body was beautiful (I think the body was mint and the seller put a pretty well used chassis in the box with it. The locomotive motor was terrible. I tore the whole chassis apart (a great, but frustrating learning experience), rewired the motor (I use only DC/analog), cleaned the armature and brushes and got a new set of replacement wheels from Walthers (it came with the original warranty card which was, by the way, worthless).
Once I put everything back together, with the new wheel/axles it runs beautifully. In fact it's one of my quietest, smoothest diesels.
The other one I got 'stung' on was the Bowser 2-10-0 kit that was advertised as 'mint'. However I didn't realize that there was an old style and a new style. Again I got a great price, BUT ... :-) (1) Someone had already worked on it and it was not 'mint'. No big damage except a couple of drivers were messed up. I solved the problem by having an 'expert builder' put the chassis and valve gear together, with a Helix Humper motor. It runs like a dream. (2) Being the old style, it's boiler is the very heavy and very soft white metal. Nothing I have comes close to hauling like it can ... but the details, cast on for the most part, are very far from Spectrum quality. It did come with a 'super detail kit', but I'm really not too impressed even with its quality. The running quality, however, is incredible and the HH remotoring job is now very quiet and smooth (and insulated for DCC if I ever convert).
have fun, but be careful, on eBay
lanny nicolet
I have found you usually get what the seller claims he is selling. But you have to read exactly what he/she says. I bought an Atlas/Kato RS-3 advertised as "new in the box, never run." And that was exactly correct. The motor had a burr in one of the brush holders which prevented that brush from touching the armature. It had never been run, because it could not run. A few strokes with a round file fixed the problem but I am not sure most buyers would have been willing to take the motor to pieces to be able to do the filing. I emailled the seller about this, and he was immediately willing either to refund what I had paid him plus shipping plus return shipping or to give me a good break on the price. I did a little soul searching, decided I had a brand new 25 year old locomotive in exactly the colours I wanted, and that the fellow had acted in good faith. In the end, I told him to keep his money and I gave him positive feedback.
I have even had a seller wait six weeks for my money order to show up. I am sure part of his patience was my keeping in close contact by email, and even offering to send a replacement money order after about 3 weeks.
caboose got the shipping gouge angle right for sure!!
i saw a really nice rs-2 ''mint-in-original-box'' advertised at the eye catching $10 buy it now, well upon reading the description, i saw that the s&h was $25....$35 for an old model power rs-2?? no way! not even if it is ''mib''! [ i had bought one from a nice lady just 2 weeks before that was ''mint-in-original-box'' for $6 and $3 s&H], so i added it to my watch list to see who bought....sure enough some guy with only 2 previous buys bought it. gotta watch the shipping!!
Right on. You really have to watch the shipping. I was looking for a scan of the repair manual for my oscilloscope. One seller had them on CD for $.01 while another had the same for $10.00 I asked the $10 guy why his was worth $10 and he told me to email the $.01 guy for shipping charges and at the same time ask for a sample of the scanning quality. He also emailled me a scan of the operating manual, which was indeed a good quality scan. The $.01 guy quoted me $18 shipping and refused to send me a sample of anything. In the end, I paid $10 plus $1.50 shipping and got a good, useable manual.
Just goes to prove the old adage - if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
My 'two cents" or "one cent' on eBay shipping. Total agreement with what has been posted. I know mail rates are high and on May 14, 2007 in the US, they will go higher. But I also know very well what it costs me to ship a very well packaged item, weight, etc. to any location in the US. If someone advertises an item I would like, and the auction price is right, but the shipping fee is way out of kilter based on my shipping experience, again, "I'm outta' there".
I try to keep my shipping fees very close to actual cost, and do not charge for packing, etc. Not infrequently, I have had to add .10 - .20 cents of my money to the shipping fee I charged. But the I receive postitive feedback is important too, and worth the one or two dimes I paid.
One other thing for those who are 'selling' on eBay ... I know it costs extra... but for US shipments, "Delivery Confirmation" is worth the .60 (.50) extra. It's not insurance, but it is proof the parcel was delivered to the person. I also think it helps when selling to mention in the item description that the 'flat rate fee' charged includes delivery confirmation.
I sometimes wonder if the USPS might tend to be a bit more careful in handling those packages that have the green and white 'Delivery confirmation' label on the parcel (just a guess)?
lanny nicolet
Quote from: RAM on March 21, 2007, 09:56:30 PM
well it happened to me. I seldom buy anything on ebay. I bid on a spectrum 2-8-0 used and my low bid won. Well I found out why. I have seen this before. Runs slow making noise and the motor sounds like it is racing. I guess I will take it apart and see what I find.
ebay aside,
I think you will find the problem is not the belt, but that the flywheel glue has failed.
put a "TINY" spot of super glue on the end of the motor shaft and replace flywheel, and all should be well again.
the glue is brittle and can fail under sudden load.
I found what the problem is. The sprocket is loose. Can this be glued to the flywheel. The
flywheel is not loose.
yes, super glue should hold it, rember, less is more
The last post reminds me of the tombstone in a (I think) Dodge City cemetery - here lies Lester Moore
killed with four shots from a forty four.
no Less, no more.
As for Ebay I was bidding on a Grandt kit to convcert a Bachmann mogul to On3. The person who outbid me is paying more than list price plus pa$4.50 for postage - when the parts could be shipped in a padded envelope for about a buck. I calculated my highest offer based on what I would pay Grandt to ship the parts to me. Someone didn't do their homework.
Woody's advice on 'doing your homework' before bidding on eBay is, in my opinion, one of the biggest determining factors in whether you have a 'good' or a 'bad' experience on eBay (ther are others, of course).
When it comes to final bid price, for myself, I always figure the shipping fee as part of the price, and like Woody, am often amazed at the prices people pay to get something ... more than if they ordered direct from the mfg AND paid shipping fees.
lanny nicolet
I just got 4 TYCO crane sets for $20.00 bucks plus 5.00 shipping for all 4 which I think is a pretty good deal now to dig out the spray gun. I already have 3 ICRR big hooks on the roaster one is a old old AHM set that I need to replace the orginal poorly modeled trucks on but I got it for free and not complaining.
I have seen some items go for 1.99 and the shipping charge for standard mail be over 20.00. I avoid any auction that has an outrageous shipping charge tacked on to it. Look first then decide to buy and don't get carried away.
Stephen
After more checking i found the problem with the 2-8-0. It has a cracked sprocket. This is just a guess. It is one of those dollar parts that they don't sell. You must buy the whole power unit. I may be wrong , but they only list a parts number for the hole unit. Now i need to find the phone number and give them a call.
I got an IHC diner for 99 cents and 5$ shipping :)
you HAVE to watch the shipping!!
recently i came across an auction for 36 freight cars, a couple of locos and some passenger cars.....the opening bid was $8...... no one had bid and there was only like 30 hrs left.....i thought that was strange,until i read the descrption very closely, the guy was selling lots.....each car was a lot, $8 each, and you had to buy a minimum of 2 lots....$16, the locos were 2 lots each...$16 each, in order to buy the entire lot it was like $250 MINIMUM!!! i dont recall the s&h, but it was a totally misleading and potentially costly auction for an unlucky bidder, no one did bid and i havent seen it re-listed.
always read everything twice, ask yourself if you want to pay that much and then get a maximum bid in your mind and dont go over.....my guidlines...never pay more than wholesale for new stuff....that includes s&h, never pay more than 50% wholesale for used stuff in excellent condition , and other misc. pieces or parts lots, take them on a one-at-a-time basis and look closely at the pics to see what it is or whats in the lots, and always make 100% sure that the ''rare', ''collectable'' and ''old'' stuff youre looking at is indeed what they say it is......too many folks find dads old tyco stuff in the attic and want to sell it like its pre war lionel!!
Been on eBay since the 1990s with no problems. All good advice, know price, know your limit, know what you are bidding on, ask questions, etc.....
....and know how to be quiet when you need to, I got a totally mis-listed LGB Ballenburg rack steam loco once for $45, they often break $500+, new from LGB was $900.....
Spule has a good point about knowing when to be quiet.
I was looking for ''parts''on EBAY, I needed rolling stock parts, diesel parts and any detail parts I could find at a good price, I saw an auction for ''HO scale parts lot'', the pictures showed several boxes of misc. ods-n-ends and a couple disassembled steamers and what looked like a jumble of wires.....the price was around $12 and $8 shipping and I figured there was at least $20 worth of parts so I bid on it, after some last minute dodging of a sniper attack...lol....I got it for like $26, when I recieved it and started taking inventory I was more than pleased, both locos...a Rivarossi [which I think was a 2-8-2, but was missing the front and rear trucks and the front cover on the boiler] and a 0-4-0 switcher ran great after cleaning, and the stuff in the boxes was amazing....working signal lites,cast metal switch throws,a huge jumble of railings,stanchions and ladders...all brass or steel,3 Kadee coupler height gauges,a box full of motors,bushings, drive train parts and wire, a ton of Athearn parts and a med. size box of cast engine and car detail parts, plus a bunch of other stuff I can't remember......short story long.....a couple people bidding on the lot asked what was in the boxes and what was ''this or that''....but the seller was totally clueless about what anything was, I saw a lot of goodies and I sure wasn't going to tell him what he had......study those pics closely...look at those lots and box full pics and see what you can pick out......you'll probably end up with a early Christmas!!!
After more checking i found the problem with the 2-8-0. It has a cracked sprocket. This is just a guess. It is one of those dollar parts that they don't sell. You must buy the whole power unit. I got my parts and I was right. you must buy the power unit, motor, flywheel, belt, gear, to get the sprocket. So it ended up costing me about what a new locomotive would cost.
Hey, thanks guys! I'm about ready to put a bunch more HO stuff on eBay and some of the comments in this thread contain some great 'education' for sellers ;D
In all seriousness, Shipping charges are really 'off the wall' with some eBay stuff. I don't understand how folks think that they will be able to sell something and charge double or triple the shipping fee in order to make a few more bucks.
GG you got a good deal ... depending on how the car was packaged, $5.00 is not bad for a shipping charge. .99 for an IHC diner is a great price.
The 'shipping charges' on is 'gonna get a lot more crazy! Anyone want to guess what will happen to eBay shipping fees after the May postal rates increase! :D
lanny nicolet
Having sold a bunch of stuff recently on Ebay I became familiar with rates for US Mail and UPS. It is amazing how much postage can cost on an item.
I see people selling small items like trucks, valve gear, brass parts and things like that and use Priority shipping when the stuff could go regular first class.
If you watch infomercials, they often tell you that you get a second item "free-just pay postage." it's obvious that they make money on the shipping.
Again the advice for Ebay is to research an item and come up with the top price you'll offer and include shipping in that figure.