steam

[ABC]

Well with the tough economy, most people have to try an save money, but I'm glad you are enjoying your loco. And just to be clear I wasn't calling anyone on this forum an idiot. But if price is not much of an object then by all means buy what you want when you want it.

[Pacific Northern]

ABC

Relating to a couple of extremely low bids on e-bay certainly can not be taken as typical.

If you bothered to read the ad for the $33.32 you would have learned that there was a problem with the siderods of the engine.

Your $20.00 bid is almost too good to be true. I would like to see a link for that one.

Do not dwell on these few examples as typical pricing.

I recently "won" an auction for the Spectrum 4-8-4 J engine with sound for $94.41. This was totally unexpected and I would not consider it typical by any means.

[ryeguyisme]

thefavoritespot's prices almost seem ludacris low, but consider i have about $340 on me, the more I watch the more the person inside wants to go for it D:

[Colorado_Mac]

ABC -
Not to worry - I was calling myself an idiot, just not that idiot!  
And believe me, money is usually very much an object, but this was a reward to myself for a large commission check.  My wife, who I work with, got a new outfit as her reward.  
Also, 02/02/10 was one year since I quit smoking, and I saved over $1,800 last year by not smoking.  That's found money!

As far as ePay, I save plenty of money on 42-yeear-old car parts there, but I never have even looked at model trains.  The last time I modeled, there wasn't even an internet yet!

[ABC]

Relating to a couple of extremely low bids on e-bay certainly can not be taken as typical.
If you bothered to read the ad for the $33.32 you would have learned that there was a problem with the siderods of the engine.
Your $20.00 bid is almost too good to be true. I would like to see a link for that one.

I never said whether the bids were typical or not, I just said that in a 4 week period you can find a 2-8-0 for $30 plus s&h.
I got 2 consolidations pretty cheap the WM was $20, the B&O was around $30, one was from the favorite spot and one was from a seller that was a licensed dealer, but is no longer active that had (no longer has) a brick and mortar store and sold his clearance items on ebay.
But, I did not pay any attention to the engine defect, because I wasn't bidding and just did a quick search, but the other 2 listed before had no defects and were NIB. I will try and find a record of my $20 engine purchase for you, I bought it in 2006 or 2007. I can get a paypal receipt I think...

[ABC]

Here's the receipt in its entirety except for a few personal details:
eBay Payment Sent (Unique Transaction ID #6FU01664SV444XXXX)
Business Contact Information
Customer Service Email:       Favorite.Spot@verizon.net
Total Amount:    -$185.02 USD
Fee amount:    $0.00 USD
Net amount:    -$185.02 USD
Date:    Oct 7, 2006
Time:    09:22:33 PDT
Status:    Completed
Item #                    Item Title                        Qty    Price    Subtotal
370090568901    BACHMANN SPECTRUM HO 2-8-0 DCC TRAIN LOCO B&O 83602    1    $34.00 USD    $34.00 USD
370090568727    BACHMANN HO TRAIN GP35 DCC EQUIPPED WEST MLD LOCO 60707    1    $7.50 USD    $7.50 USD
350104025460    BACHMANN SPECTRUM HO 2-8-0 DCC TRAIN LOCO W MLD 83604    1    $19.00 USD    $19.00 USD
350102508232    BACHMANN SPECTRUM HO TRAIN DCC EMD SD45 ERIE LACK 82712    1    $16.55 USD    $16.55 USD
200259026988    BACHMANN SPECTRUM HO TRAIN DCC EMD SD45 ERIE LACK 82712    1    $17.00 USD    $17.00 USD
200259026528    BACHMANN SPECTRUM HO TRAIN 2-10-0 ERIE 81704    1    $33.30 USD    $33.30 USD
200259026232    BACHMANN SPECTRUM HO TRAIN LOCO 4-8-2 BLACK 82501    1    $34.00 USD    $34.00 USD
190255113730    BACHMANN HO TRAIN GP40 DCC EQUIPPED CHESSIE LOCO 60309    1    $7.67 USD    $7.67 USD
Subtotal:    $169.02 USD
Shipping & Handling
(includes any seller handling fees):    $16.00 USD
Shipping Insurance (included):    --
Total:    $185.02 USD
Shipping Address: United States Confirmed
Payment To:    The Favorite Spot    (The recipient of this payment is Verified)
Seller's ID:    thefavoritespot
Seller's Email:    Favorite.Spot@verizon.net
Funding Type:    Credit Card
Funding Source:    $185.02 USD - Visa Card XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
This credit card transaction will appear on your bill as "PAYPAL *FAVORITESPO".
Original Transaction
Date     Type     Status     Details     Amount
Oct 7, 2006    Payment To The Favorite Spot     Completed     ...    -$185.02 USD
Related Transaction
Date     Type     Status     Details     Amount
Oct 7, 2006    Charge From Credit Card     Completed     Details    $185.02 USD
Description:    You have sent $185.02 USD to The Favorite Spot with PayPal

This may also be of interest:
eBay Member User ID History
The box below contains the User IDs that this member has used on eBay.
   User ID       Effective Date       End Date
   thefavoritespot       Sep-22-02       Present
   ruskerdusker       Feb-19-00       Sep-22-02

[Doneldon]

Well, I wouldn't touch the sound-or-not-dispute if you paid me.  It seems there is way to much heat there already.

However, I will comment on the smoke.  Don't do it.  The smoke fluid is basically mineral oil which is cooked off.  The smoke effect isn't so great and it condenses as a thin residue on everything it touches.  That screws up your tracks and, more importantly, will leave a dust-attracting coating on your scenery, rolling stock etc.  It's impossible to remove because it gets into everything.