Buying S/H Railway Items

Started by UPINSMOKE, August 20, 2014, 12:02:03 AM

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Agrippa

I think a terrier is about £55 new, so  even with the 3 SR coaches at £75 (plus post? ) I don't think
it would be a bargain unless the loco was in very  good condition and a good runner.

I think it would be better to buy the loco new and get  coaches off Ebay, the only thing with coaches
are the buffers, couplings and bogies being intact, and the general appearance. Even coaches are often
going for the same price as  new so unless it was a discontinued item you're as well buying from a shop
in many cases.

Nothing is certain but death and taxes -Benjamin Franklin

NeMo

Quote from: njee20 on August 20, 2014, 11:08:23 AM
I was watching some HHA hoppers a few months back and the seller had left the price labels on the boxes, clearly a few years old, but still. They started going for more than he'd paid for them (something like £18 each if I recall), I backed out on principle. Ok you can't get them for that now, but it was annoying that I knew he was profiting!
He wasn't profiteering in a bad way. That implies demanding an unfairly high price for an essential item. In this case it's simple capitalism, which let us not forget has brought more good to the world than any other form of economics (which isn't to say it doesn't have flaws, it does, but far less harmful ones than all the alternatives so far devised by Man).

If someone has some wagons no longer produced, and this person wants to sell his, then the free market decides if his price is fair. No-one holds a gun to your head and says he'll pull the trigger if you don't run a full rake of HHA hoppers behind that diesel train of yours! But if you want to run such a train, to the degree you'll pay a premium for the ability to do so, then that's a fair trade. The price of something isn't what it was sold for 5 years ago, but what the market is willing to pay for it now.

For what it's worth, I love shopping for secondhand train stuff. But probably like you, I'm very price conscious. Most of the secondhand traders at the model shows I've been to stock very old stuff at far above the price I'm willing to pay. But presumably others think these traders are worth patronising and feel they're getting bargains.

On the other hand Hattons come in for a lot of stick as secondhand traders. But Hattons gets quite a lot of trade from me because they're selling nearly new stuff, albeit at 75-80% of the price when new. But if I can get a rake of Dogfish wagons for £8 a pop from Hattons, I think that's fair. To me they're sufficiently rare and attractive models that I'm willing to pay what others see as over-the-top prices. Each to their own!

Cheers, NeMo
(Former NGS Journal Editor)

Agrippa

Yeah, no one  forces you to bid on Ebay, and the idea of sellers being greedy doesn't
fit in with an auction. Even if shill bidding is taking place you're not compelled to
bid ever higher amounts for something.

A few years ago when Ebay was in its infancy there were stories of amazing
bargains, but I think that time has passed.

Speaking of bargains last month I got a little Fleischmann 0-4-0 tank from a foreign seller
for about £20 + post, described as a bit erratic when running, but this was caused by
on of the tiny con rods being misaligned, easy fixed and runs perfectly now.

First time I had bought from abroad, but I took a chance due to the low bidding.

Nothing is certain but death and taxes -Benjamin Franklin

njee20

QuoteHe wasn't profiteering in a bad way.

No no, wasn't insinuating he was, they'd started at a very reasonable price, after that it's purely the buying public inflating the price! Unless there's shill bidding, but that's a different argument! It was just a mental thing for me that the second hand value had exceeded that of the new price, which was time for me to back out!

Put your pitchforks away, I didn't call him greedy or saying he was trying to rip anyone off or anything!  :-\

It was a comment that in a comparatively short space of time the second hand value of an item had surpassed its previous new cost, and quite frankly, got within a hair's breadth of the current new cost.

Dorsetmike

I usually watch items I'm interested in until such time that they go above the price I'm prepared to pay,  I then delete from watching, if they are still below "my price" at the end of the auction then I prepare a bid for what I want to pay, but don't hit the buy button until 30 seconds before the end, sometimes I win sometimes a higher bid has already been posted (at least that the seller gets a better price than if I had not bid).

Maybe if I used Ebay more often I sometimes wonder if I would consider sniping software but I suspect that takes away some of the fun of bidding.
Cheers MIKE
[smg id=6583]


How many roads must a man walk down ... ... ... ... ... before he knows he's lost!

njee20

Yes whilst it's frustrating to lose to sniping software I'd not want to use it, it's all part of the fun!

Dorsetmike

Quote from: Only Me on August 20, 2014, 02:47:03 PM
Bidding at five seconds before the end usually outwits most sniping software..

Maybe, but you need a good fast connection, and sometimes the wait for the "Confirm" window to come up can streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch.
Cheers MIKE
[smg id=6583]


How many roads must a man walk down ... ... ... ... ... before he knows he's lost!

Agrippa

If you put goods for sale on Ebay you obviously want the bids to go as high as possible up to closure
so it's not profiteering, its just market forces. If someone wants to pay over the odds for used stuff
which costs the same as new that's up to them. The point is that if someone pays a high price the seller
isn't being greedy or a rip off merchant, he's just  doing a good deal. If goods are offered at preposterous
prices they won't sell, although there is always the exception.
Nothing is certain but death and taxes -Benjamin Franklin

njee20

Quote from: Only Me on August 20, 2014, 02:47:03 PM
Bidding at five seconds before the end usually outwits most sniping software..

Except most sniping software is set to bid in the last few seconds...

port perran

When I started out with N Gauge about 5 years ago, items were selling at reasonable prices but in the last two years I have bought virtually nothing as prices are so high.
I'll get round to fixing it drekkly me 'ansome.

silly moo

Someone mentioned being patient, quite a few years ago I waited 9 months to get a Minitrix Sir Nigel Gresley for a reasonable price. It was like being pregnant worth it in the end.  :D

philwhite

There was a thread on eBay tips a while back, there are defiantly more bargains to be had on items finishing mid week during the day. I agree that some prices are getting silly though, I've fancied getting a Rivarossi Big Boy but they all end north of £200 even when in questionable condition.

njee20

Quote from: Only Me on August 20, 2014, 04:14:10 PM
Quote from: njee20 on August 20, 2014, 03:38:34 PM
Quote from: Only Me on August 20, 2014, 02:47:03 PM
Bidding at five seconds before the end usually outwits most sniping software..

Except most sniping software is set to bid in the last few seconds...

Exactly!! Hence my post... If you click confirm bid with 5 seconds to go by the time ebay registers the click there is probably less than two seconds to go, not giving sniping software a chance to update and rebid before EOA.... I have never been sniped using this method......

Then you're just putting a higher bid than any of the snipers have.

NeMo

Quote from: njee20 on August 20, 2014, 04:35:29 PM
Quote from: Only Me on August 20, 2014, 04:14:10 PM
Quote from: njee20 on August 20, 2014, 03:38:34 PM
Quote from: Only Me on August 20, 2014, 02:47:03 PM
Bidding at five seconds before the end usually outwits most sniping software..

Except most sniping software is set to bid in the last few seconds...

Exactly!! Hence my post... If you click confirm bid with 5 seconds to go by the time ebay registers the click there is probably less than two seconds to go, not giving sniping software a chance to update and rebid before EOA.... I have never been sniped using this method......

Then you're just putting a higher bid than any of the snipers have.

Isn't this sort of missing the point? Auctions work in the seller's favour if you aim to win. Auctions work in the buyer's favour if you choose a maximum price you'll pay for a given item. If you think that Dapol Mk 3 coach is worth £15 and not a penny more, then that's the bid you enter. eBay automatically makes incremental bids on your behalf. If someone else thinks its worth £15.50, then they'll win if that's their maximum bid. In which case, you haven't lost, you simply don't think the item is worth that much.

I know there are all kinds of theories about bidding odd numbers (like £15.32) instead of nice round ones, but at the end of the day, you should still discipline yourself to bid no higher than you think the item is worth. People aiming to win at all costs are the ones eBay makes the most from!

Cheers, NeMo
(Former NGS Journal Editor)

njee20

Absolutely, but my point was that you can't 'beat' a sniper by going in the last few seconds. If a sniped bid has already gone in (because it bid at 30 seconds say), either you'll get instantly outbid, or you'll win if your bid was higher than the sniped bid.

The advantage to bidding with 5 seconds to go (or sniping) is that people don't get a chance to see what you've bid and choose to up their maximum bid, so as long as you put in exactly what you're prepared to spend then you're sorted. Bidding with 30 seconds to go potentially gives you a chance to have a second bite if you're so inclined, but as said, that's when it can get a bit daft.

You won't beat the computers, as they can place bids in nanoseconds.

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