Good buy from Ebay

[PMP]

Over the Christmas Period I used elaines-trains-outlet to buy a kit built coach. The transaction was problem free until the coach was damaged in transit. However within an hour of receiving the evidence of the damage, the order was cancelled and refunded. 
A seller I’ll certainly use again.

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by PMP

[hayfield]

It's quite noticeable this thread is a bit quiet at the moment, I have found eBay a bit expensive lately, or rather the less common items are fetching better prices than I want to pay

 

I did pick up an unbuilt Southeastern Finecast SR D1 kit with Markit wheels, axles and gears for £56 inc postage, just needs a motor and I prefer gearboxes to motor mounts

 

I did have to pay a bit for an old DJH un-built LSWR/SR 0395 loco, which came with a set of K's plastic spoked 00 gauge wheels. as this is a discontinued kit they fetch good prices. As I model in EM gauge the wheels will go straight back on eBay, as will the brass bar chassis. Not much chance of buying these on the cheap !!

 

The wheelbase is the same as a Jinty so I will modify a Southeastern Finecast FC202  etched chassis to fit (a bit short at the front and a bit too long at the rear), this will not only give me a nicely detailed chassis, but far easier to make into EM gauge and at least compensate the middle axle. 

[Enterprisingwestern]

4 hours ago, hayfield said:

I have found eBay a bit expensive lately,

 

The prices and quality of items are rapidly heading in polar opposite directions I'm finding.

 

Mike.

[hayfield]

8 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

The prices and quality of items are rapidly heading in polar opposite directions I'm finding.

 

Mike.

 

eBay is an auction site (well the part I use is) like all auctions the item goes to the highest bidder if there is one. Normally I am after the items others either miss or are not willing to gamble on. There has always been a healthy sales market, especially for well presented items. The D1 I won sells for £90 ish and the wheels and gears another £40, so £56 for something at £130 + postage in pristine condition and a modern version is a good deal

 

There are some cheap kits and kit built locos still about, but these are common ones, or ones that are not up to todays standards, I have all the cheaper ones I require, then plus some

 

The DJH 0395 is a different kettle of fish. You cannot buy it new, whilst no rare they are also not common and sought after. If I want one then I have to pay the going rate. Its not up to their current standards, but is well under what they charge for a comparable item

 

Its back to looking for the one others have missed.

[Blandford1969]

On the model railway side it is quiet, on photos I picked up a lot of 50 for £4, took the ones I wanted , got the others identified and have put the rest on as individual lots so far £40 return. More work, but not bad.

 

Some bargains are not quite as easy, like that Brassmasters 4f, great price from you, but it is an ongoing battle. Today saw a new mainframe being cut out to replace the one that was complexly knackered.!

[hayfield]

11 hours ago, Blandford1969 said:

On the model railway side it is quiet, on photos I picked up a lot of 50 for £4, took the ones I wanted , got the others identified and have put the rest on as individual lots so far £40 return. More work, but not bad.

 

Some bargains are not quite as easy, like that Brassmasters 4f, great price from you, but it is an ongoing battle. Today saw a new mainframe being cut out to replace the one that was complexly knackered.!

 

 

As you say these things do pop up and with the Brassmasters you must both have a need and a desire to invest time & money into the item. I have a couple of similar items that I am interested in.

 

These job lots of items appear two or 3 times a year and only if they are badly presented. If you can find something good easily so can others. Miss described or out of focus or just jumbled up items catch my attention, then its doing a bit of research on what you think they are, then set a limit. If I am going to take a chance, I want to see something to cut my losses. But the fun is in finding something others missed.  

[Blandford1969]

2 hours ago, hayfield said:

 

 

As you say these things do pop up and with the Brassmasters you must both have a need and a desire to invest time & money into the item. I have a couple of similar items that I am interested in.

More the time than anything else, as the tender underframe was the main thing for cost. The remainder was taking things apart and in a few cases scratch building replacement items. 

[Richard_A]

I picked up three triang blue pullman centre cars for £56, considering one went for £34 earlier in the day not too bad, I can finally build a western pullman now. 

[hayfield]

It only takes 2 people with deep pockets to ramp up a price, you have shown once their need has been satisfied prices subdue, or the seller was not very good at listing !!. Still 3 for £56 is far better than 3 @ £34 each

[Richard_A]

3 minutes ago, hayfield said:

It only takes 2 people with deep pockets to ramp up a price, you have shown once their need has been satisfied prices subdue, or the seller was not very good at listing !!. Still 3 for £56 is far better than 3 @ £34 each

I've been watching the centre cars for ages waiting for a bargain, its taken 10 years but I have managed to get enough triang parts to build the western pullman for £100. 

[MattA]

Having just discovered this thread, I can say that I have had a couple of good purchases from eBay recently.

I found myself with a DCC ready 56xx with real coal added for £49 BIN - and it's been absolutely trouble-free.

 

I also got a Hornby 38xx (3803 in GWR green) for £65 from an auction - this normally sells for about £120 on eBay! The only dodgy thing was that its previous owner had bought a replacement drawbar but never tested it - it turns out that the drawbar wouldn't fit the loco! So I spent another fiver getting a new drawbar. The eBay seller kindly offered to pay for the drawbar out of his own pocket.

 

That being said, eBay is also oft frustrating, and my hopes of winning an auction are once in a blue moon as I have the sense to pull out when the price gets excessive, which in my experience tends to happen in the dying moments of an auction!

Edited January 19, 2021 by MattA

[Andy WD]

On 19/01/2021 at 09:48, MattA said:

Having just discovered this thread, I can say that I have had a couple of good purchases from eBay recently.

I found myself with a DCC ready 56xx with real coal added for £49 BIN - and it's been absolutely trouble-free.

 

I also got a Hornby 38xx (3803 in GWR green) for £65 from an auction - this normally sells for about £120 on eBay! The only dodgy thing was that its previous owner had bought a replacement drawbar but never tested it - it turns out that the drawbar wouldn't fit the loco! So I spent another fiver getting a new drawbar. The eBay seller kindly offered to pay for the drawbar out of his own pocket.

 

That being said, eBay is also oft frustrating, and my hopes of winning an auction are once in a blue moon as I have the sense to pull out when the price gets excessive, which in my experience tends to happen in the dying moments of an auction!

 

At least you have the sense to stop when you know it's not going your way. Some of the prices recently suggest people have gambling fever!

 

Latest good buy for me, because I'm lazy, a Bachmann 'nissian hut' (sic) for a fiver + postage. Saves me building the Ratio ones I have for now

[Blandford1969]

57 minutes ago, Andy WD said:

 

At least you have the sense to stop when you know it's not going your way. Some of the prices recently suggest people have gambling fever!

 

Latest good buy for me, because I'm lazy, a Bachmann 'nissian hut' (sic) for a fiver + postage. Saves me building the Ratio ones I have for now

Wish they would on my listing, lol

[Sophia NSE]

6 assorted wagons and vans for a tenner plus a couple of quid for postage? Don't mind if I do! Exactly what I needed for my light railway

[big jim]

Got this for £20 buy it now posted, non running Bachmann Deltic with speaker

 

it looks like the pins to the chip are bent so if I straighten them it may run with a chip or blanking plate, might try it at some point when I get a chance, if not strip the drive shafts out and haul it as a dummy loco!

 

 

 

 

 

[cctransuk]

5 minutes ago, big jim said:

Got this for £20 buy it now posted, non running Bachmann Deltic with speaker

 

it looks like the pins to the chip are bent so if I straighten them it may run with a chip or blanking plate, might try it at some point when I get a chance, if not strip the drive shafts out and haul it as a dummy loco!

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you don't run DCC - strip out all the DCC wiring and just connect the pick-ups to the motor terminals.

 

John Isherwood.

[big jim]

I do run DCC, I’ll see what happens if I straighten the pins if I can’t get it to work I’ll just hardwire a chip in to the pickups and motor 

[Andy WD]

A little cross threading, but relevant?

In another thread a pet moan of one of the contributors was about the pictures, or the quality of, in many lots for sale. I know we can't all be David Bailey, but looking back through my recent purchases I realized how many 'bargains' I'd picked up from either poor pictures or poor descriptions.

 I like building wagons, either from unstarted kits or resurrecting from enthusiatic efforts, so essentially thats where my hunting is!

 Recently I've bought a couple of Ratio Open C's, one described just as a Kitbuilt Open wagon with a poor picture and a pair of Nu-Cast single Bolsters included, and another included in a lot of 3 wagons which pictured the other two wagons in the foreground and cut off 80% of the Open C in the background, total cost for 6 wagons was about £24. 

 A few other mixed wagon lots which have included, amongst others, Nu-Cast, D&S, ABS models will keep me going for the next few months (years) either in construction of them, or repairing to a decent standard. Okay, there's been a few bits of dross in some lots, but I'll clean those up and chuck them back on to re-coup a few quid

 

But, I for one, have been thankful for the sometimes limited skills shown in presentation and the reasonably low prices which have been paid to be able to continue my hobby on a budget

 

(Although SWMBO might not agree.... :D)

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by Andy WD
Additional line

[hayfield]

I think this is where we all pick up our best buys, finding a badly presented lot, deciphering what is on offer and finding out your hunch was correct

 

One lot sticks in my mind was a built SR Mogul, turned out to be a nicely built DJH kit, plus a Schools etched chassis gearbox and motor, lots of bits for not much money

 

I pushed the boat out on 3 lots nearly spending 3 figures, this was my biggest gamble and thankfully found some real gems, 5 decent can motors, 2 gearboxes and 24 odd Romford drivers, 2 etched loco kits, etched chassis plus many other useful spares/accessories.

 

Not been really looking lately with my last decent find in early December

[Blandford1969]

Just pulled off a good one,

 

A miss labelled lot of a DJH 0395, Triang 3f, SR coach possibly Roxey and 5 kit built wagons for just over £20,  Definitely a good one. 

[hayfield]

Just bought a K's 1361 saddle tank, complete without instructions for £40. I bought one of these in the mid 70's so have instructions plus I bought a second unbuilt one last year and bought a CSP etched chassis for it, I will need to order a second chassis now

 

As I said cost me £40 inc postage which is not bad for a complete kit these days, it was advertised as a Wills kit ? and all the parts are nice and cleanly cast. As I said I will buy an etched chassis, I have some Romford wheels, so the chassis, wheels and gears with the motor going separately will go on eBay, so should comfortably cover the cost of the etched chassis, just need to buy a decent gearbox. I do have a small coreless motor to try, if not one of Chris' small iron frame ones will go inside.

[hayfield]

 

I hope I have not put a jinx of these two items, but not only a maker I have found hard to buy owing to the high costs they reach, but two the same day

 

Both are Westward kits, first is a part built Beattie well tank for £53 once postage is added, part built but un painted with Romford drivers and a Mashima motor. the drivers now cost £30 a set and unused Mishima's fetch £30+ 

 

The second is a built GWR streamlined Railcar with a Lima chassis £25 inc postage, I have seen unbuilt kits fetch 3 figures without a donor chassis.

 

I was expecting to be out bid on both counts, and only really thought I would be lucky buying one at a far higher price. The one fly in the ointment is whether the Beattie has cylinders, coupling and connecting rods, the listing says its complete except crank pins, but really poor photos. 

 

Anyway both ideal for my EM gauge layout, should I swap wheels of the Railcar or fit a decent mechanism ?

[rope runner]

Honestly ebay has been extremely slim pickings since the start of 2nd lockdown.

 

The quantity of second hand items on offer has fallen dramatically, despite the lack of fairs/swapmeets etc. 

 

Paul A. 

[hayfield]

9 minutes ago, 1whitemoor said:

Honestly ebay has been extremely slim pickings since the start of 2nd lockdown.

 

The quantity of second hand items on offer has fallen dramatically, despite the lack of fairs/swapmeets etc. 

 

Paul A. 

 

Paul

 

What cannot you find ?

 

One of the issues is that no one can go out and buy estate lots and perhaps even relatives cannot access items to sell on

 

I can own up to modest pickings myself, but then I am initially a cheapskate plus what I want is far more focused. I have picked up quite a few motor transport, which I had nothing much at all. I have found 3 rare loco kits and 2 other kits all at good/great prices and 3 coach kits again rare ones at very reasonable prices

 

As you may have found there is plenty of money out there for nice items well presented, perhaps its a time to sell rather than buy

[woodyfox]

I'm just finishing a bout of selling Triang Hornby stuff in 40 lots. The items realised about 40% above what i would have estimated overall. Most of the boxed stuff went for upto 3x what i would pay... 

I sold 2x Hornby sleepers and a mk 1 buffet 77 vintage for 30 odd quid. 

The most surprising was 4 mk3 hst coaches unboxed (short versions) for about £45. I'm not complaining......