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EBay madness

Marcyg

By Marcyg,
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Il Grifone

Il Grifone

Posted
Posted (edited)

Couldn't wait to log into his ebay shop to see what else he has.  Must admit I'd never heard of this let alone seen it, but don't think I'll be paying the asking price:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triang-OO-Gauge-R298-Home-Maintenance-Set-MINT-BOXED-SEE-DESCRIPTION-/360451226965?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item53ec913d55

 

I know Tri-ang motor brushes are getting scarce but.....

 

You 'save' £9.75 too! :)

Edited by Il Grifone
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PatB

PatB

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 The cost of a loco so called "kit" in 4mm can be typically £100-150 (OK you may just be lucky on ebay) then you need to add wheels, motor and gears (and if that is P4 wheels and RG4 box add in the region of £100-200) at £10/hr you will find yourself at the end of a very long queue. 32 hours is about the fastest for a small loco or a white-metal kit you won't get that with a Finney kit (have you counted the number of detailing bits to remove from the fret, tidy -up, clean and solder on?) And, you want it painted AND lined!

 

The real problem is that when you build for yourself no one adds up all the costs. It is all leisure time at £0 cost and you build for the fun.

 

Ebay is no place to value anything. Just look at the DJH/NuCast/Wills kits that have been built and then sell on ebay for less than the cost of a new kit. After all who wants to buy a kit loco that someone else has built - why not buy the kit and do it yourself? That's the madness.

 

Meanwhile unstarted kits go for the same price as a brand new one, despite "new" could mean unknown "parts missing".

 

I think we're in furious agreement here.  I was pulling numbers out of the air for demonstration purposes rather than properly researched figures for a serious budget.  As is clear, even my seriously lowball cost estimate puts a small, simple industrial, built to a decent standard by someone other than the owner, well on the way to 400GBP.  As a result the item in question, if it really is as nice as described, probably does represent reasonable value for money in objective terms because, unless the buyer has the skills and resources to build one as good themselves, they're not going to get one for less elswhere although the laws of locomotive acquisition dictate that, having paid 370GBP for this one, Bachmann will now announce a r-t-r offering for a quarter of that sum :D.

 

As for preferring to build the kit oneself, you're clearly a very accomplished builder.  I'm a mediocre novice but sufficiently capable that, as long as I pick my prototypes and kit manufacturers carefully I can turn out what I want to a standard that I don't feel is too embarrassing.  Someone who is neither or has other calls on their leisure time may feel differently.  Time, money and skill are all, to an extent, interchangeable.  The sum total of all three needed in order to obtain a particular item tends to remain constant but the mix of the three can be varied according to the strengths of the individual.

 

And leisure time at a zero hourly rate?  I know that's the case, but as I get older and I become more aware that it's a finite resource I become more inclined to consider whether I'd be better served by substituting some of the duller bits with money. Not that that's going to be feasible until I find paying employment again.

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ozzyo

ozzyo

Posted
Posted (edited)

Couldn't wait to log into his ebay shop to see what else he has.  Must admit I'd never heard of this let alone seen it, but don't think I'll be paying the asking price:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triang-OO-Gauge-R298-Home-Maintenance-Set-MINT-BOXED-SEE-DESCRIPTION-/360451226965?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item53ec913d55

 

I think that one is for the collector, I don't think that his description can be faulted, admitting that some parts are missing. A lot better than some of our favourites.

Edited by ozzyo
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Ruffnut Thorston

Ruffnut Thorston

Posted
Posted (edited)

I think that one is for the collector, I don't think that his description can be faulted, admitting that some parts are missing. A lot better than some of our favourites.

 

That set is rather nice.... B)

 

But can I really justify that price? :O

Edited by Sarahagain
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ozzyo

ozzyo

Posted
Posted

So they are the TVR* of the model railway world, then?

 

 

*Insert car brand here...

Maybe not the worst kits in the world at the time. Think of Millhome kits and a good number of other ones. One thing that K's kits did try to offer was a complete kit of parts to make a loco etc.

 

OzzyO.

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Metr0Land

Metr0Land

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One thing that K's kits did try to offer was a complete kit of parts to make a loco etc.

 

OzzyO.

 

Yes that was a great thing they had going for them, sadly for someone with my undeveloped skills at the time (as now) they were just that bit too difficult to make a decent job.  As you say, at least they tried to be better than the 'scratchbuilding aids' that many kits were.

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PatB

PatB

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Regardless of what I said earlier, it's hard to see why you would pay 325 GBP for this when you can get a (almost certainly superior in every respect) Hornby one for quite a lot less.  Unless you're specifically collecting K's kits I suppose, which is a perfectly valid pastime.

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ozzyo

ozzyo

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Posted

Regardless of what I said earlier, it's hard to see why you would pay 325 GBP for this when you can get a (almost certainly superior in every respect) Hornby one for quite a lot less.  Unless you're specifically collecting K's kits I suppose, which is a perfectly valid pastime.

 

The kit is on sale is by one of our good friends that almost always has the price up in the air for most of his stuff. Have a look at some of his stuff that is for sale. 

 

Have a look at track O gauge approx £8.75 for 18"  + P&P. When you can get 12 yards from Tower models for approx £87. (The Tower discount price is at the moment £69.50). It's not a bad mark up! That from Tower works out at approx. £7.25 per yard or £3.63 per 18", at the full starting price. When you start looking at the discount price it works out at  £2.90 per 18".

 

Or from Caramel at £210 per box. So approx three times the price.

 

But he will cut it to any length that you require below 36"?

 

That is why we mention this seller.

 

OzzyO.

 

PS. off and rip come to my mind.

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Welsh Yorkie

Welsh Yorkie

Posted
Posted

Regardless of what I said earlier, it's hard to see why you would pay 325 GBP for this when you can get a (almost certainly superior in every respect) Hornby one for quite a lot less.  Unless you're specifically collecting K's kits I suppose, which is a perfectly valid pastime.

I'm sure he's correct when he says it is 'a rare opportunity' to buy this at £325!

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Nedrahn

Nedrahn

Posted
Posted

So, let's see. This thread has been running for nearly four years, and you come in at post # 7843, telling us that K's kits aren't irretrievable, and that paying a lot for an item in an auction - ebay - is not sensible, and furthermore the hobby may be doomed because people are prepared to etc etc etc.

 

And you don't expect to be patronised?

Olddudders, I'm still awaiting the courtesy of a reply. Firstly, when is it acceptable to patronise or insult another member? For that matter, is it good form to twist another member's message for a cheap laugh? Is it considered good sport to attack a new member? As a couple of other members thought your attack on me was great, I clearly need to know these things.

 

Secondly, why are K's kits irretrievable, based on your practical experience of them? If I've misinterpreted the latter, and you were claiming that I was being patronising for saying they weren't irretrievable, I was only responding to another post. 

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