EBay madness

[MrWolf]

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Well SAAB's main business was fighter jets.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_37_Viggen

 

The original badge was a dead giveaway with its bomber motif.

 

[big jim]

5 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Well SAAB's main business was fighter jets.

My lads Saab has a ‘night panel’ which dims the whole instrument cluster apart form the speedo needle and dial as a nod to the fighter jets (below is a 95) 

I got him this key for his 9-3 tag too….

 

[Bucoops]

9 hours ago, SteveyDee68 said:

Back in the late 1980s, the Head of the School of Music at my College drove one of those - but an orangey yellow shade, difficult to describe.

 

He said he owed Saab his life - involved in a head-on collision with an articulated lorry on the A1 … his car ended up in the tractor unit … lorry driver didn’t survive, fire crew cut him out with a few scratches and told him that if he had been driving any other car …

 

Accepted a lift up the College drive from him once … closest I have ever been to experiencing the type of G force acceleration more typically experienced by fighter pilots in jets!! I’d barely got my seatbelt on when I was taking it off again! 
 

Only found out on Sunday that Saab have long driven off into the history books…

 

Steve S

 

Apparently (not seen actual proof) the "jaws of life" were invented because the windscreen pillars on Saab 99s and onwards were made of so many layers of steel they had big trouble cutting the roofs off crashed ones. When TopGear did a farewell Saab feature they dropped a BMW 3 series and a Saab 900 on their roofs. I know which one I would rather be in a crash in!

 

https://www.saabplanet.com/how-tough-is-a-saab/

[kevinlms]

3 hours ago, Bucoops said:

 

Apparently (not seen actual proof) the "jaws of life" were invented because the windscreen pillars on Saab 99s and onwards were made of so many layers of steel they had big trouble cutting the roofs off crashed ones. When TopGear did a farewell Saab feature they dropped a BMW 3 series and a Saab 900 on their roofs. I know which one I would rather be in a crash in!

 

https://www.saabplanet.com/how-tough-is-a-saab/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_rescue_tool

[Bucoops]

1 hour ago, kevinlms said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_rescue_tool

 

Ok that definitely pre-dates these pillars. It was a London Fire Brigade member that mentioned it, perhaps it was when they were brought into use here? Or perhaps complete codswallop. Either way, he said they hated take the roof off them as the structure was so strong.

[PieGuyRob]

8 hours ago, Bucoops said:

 

Apparently (not seen actual proof) the "jaws of life" were invented because the windscreen pillars on Saab 99s and onwards were made of so many layers of steel they had big trouble cutting the roofs off crashed ones. When TopGear did a farewell Saab feature they dropped a BMW 3 series and a Saab 900 on their roofs. I know which one I would rather be in a crash in!

 

https://www.saabplanet.com/how-tough-is-a-saab/

The moral of Ian Botham's story is, don't go over 102mph, (especially on a public road)!

 

The jaws of life were invented by George Hurst, the same George Hurst of Hurst transmissions fame? If so probably best not to mention the his and hers transmission, which for some weird reason was a flop as not many people specced it.

[MrWolf]

The better remembered Hurst transmissions could boil the road in first gear and were enjoyed by both sexes.

[Captain Slough]

Nice Saab stuff.I have 2 of them - a '98 convertible and an '06 estate. they are worth the trouble

[Hal Nail]

I sent a polite offer to Gostude for a coach he's failed to sell in 6 months and got a rude reply, which quoted how much the paint job cost.

 

Supports the idea floated earlier that he pays way over the odds for some of his more ridiculously priced stuff!

[Enterprisingwestern]

29 minutes ago, Hal Nail said:

I sent a polite offer to Gostude for a coach he's failed to sell in 6 months and got a rude reply, which quoted how much the paint job cost.

 

Supports the idea floated earlier that he pays way over the odds for some of his more ridiculously priced stuff!

 

In a few years when he's written it down in value in the accounts you might be in with a chance!

 

Mike.

[PhilJ W]

59 minutes ago, Hal Nail said:

I sent a polite offer to Gostude for a coach he's failed to sell in 6 months and got a rude reply, which quoted how much the paint job cost.

 

Supports the idea floated earlier that he pays way over the odds for some of his more ridiculously priced stuff!

I purchased the mis-quoted GUV van from him mentioned here a few days ago (claimed to be a Southern EMU by MTK) which clearly it was not. It appears to be a Mopok LMS GUV.

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

Out of interest, I’d like to try and compare a haul from Severn Valley to what I’d be paying if I bought through eBay… If anyone can give me average eBay prices to compare to what I paid in person for these models then I’d be interested to know if I overpaid, or didn’t pay enough.

 

 

Bought this lot from the Erlestoke Manor trust in Bewdley (pannier, 2-4-0, 3F), Footplate of Kidderminster (Caledonian), and one of the shops at Hampton Loade (Castle & coach, unsure who runs those shops but I believe it funds the upkeep of the station, correct me if I’m wrong), the service I was given by the three separate shops was brilliant, I was able to get all five locos tested before purchasing, and in general they were lovely people to talk to.

 

List of models is as follows; Gaiety 5700 (Dublo R1 chassis, £30), kitbuilt Johnson 2-4-0 (unsure what brand, but tender says “Ratio” beneath, brass chassis, Mashima motor, £40), Triang Deeley 3F (£20), Triang Caledonian Single (some cosmetic damage but nothing I can’t fix, £47.50), Wrenn “Devizes Castle” (boxed, £70), Dublo Stanier restaurant carriage (2 rail, boxed, £15). As I said, I’d like to know the average asking prices of these from eBay and if I over or underpaid when buying from these individual organisations.

[Nick C]

36 minutes ago, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

As I said, I’d like to know the average asking prices of these from eBay and if I over or underpaid when buying from these individual organisations.

Easiest way to do that is to search for each item and then click "completed listings" from the filters on the left - it'll then show you sold prices in green and unsold ones in black.

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

11 minutes ago, Nick C said:

Easiest way to do that is to search for each item and then click "completed listings" from the filters on the left - it'll then show you sold prices in green and unsold ones in black.

 

Gone and had a look, here are my findings:

 

- Gaiety Pannier often goes between £20 and £40 (most have Triang or Dublo chassis’s, so I assume the originals were bad).

- Johnson 2-4-0 is a Ratio kit, seen one for £20 but I don’t know if it was powered, the other listing I saw went for over £100, motorised.

- Triang 3F, a spares/repairs example sold for a fiver, but working, good condition examples have demanded prices of £40 and above.

- Triang Caledonian Single seems to be in range for “play worn” examples, between the £40 and £50 mark, though examples in good condition do demand more.

- Wrenn Castle I possibly overpaid for, sure it was in good condition but I did see a few boxed examples in decent nick go between £45 and £60.

- Likewise with the Dublo carriage, did see a few sell for under a tenner, unboxed.

 

My conclusion? It really depends where you shop around, I’d say I got some good deals at the Erlestoke Manor trust’s outlet in Bewdley, and Footplate of Kidderminster too, though comparing prices I’d say the purchases from Hampton Loade were a little on the steep side. Would I buy from these places again over eBay though? Given the service all three places gave me, and some of the deals I got compared to eBay, I’d personally say yes. Not only that, but getting to see the models in person, and have them tested before purchasing, definitely helps you to decide wether or not you want the model or not.

[Nick C]

5 minutes ago, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

My conclusion? It really depends where you shop around, I’d say I got some good deals at the Erlestoke Manor trust’s outlet in Bewdley, and Footplate of Kidderminster too, though comparing prices I’d say the purchases from Hampton Loade were a little on the steep side. Would I buy from these places again over eBay though? Given the service all three places gave me, and some of the deals I got compared to eBay, I’d personally say yes. Not only that, but getting to see the models in person, and have them tested before purchasing, definitely helps you to decide wether or not you want the model or not.

 

Plus two of those three are supporting charities - so even if you did overpay slightly, the funds are going to help the railway...

[The Johnster]

The 2-4-0 is a Ratio plastic kit, originally sold with chassis, wheels, gears, & motor; it had a reputation for being difficult to get to run well and having a weak motor, but yours has a replacement brass chassis and a Mashima motor; it looks to be well-made and assuming it runs well is a bargain!  Good runners of this loco are rare as rocking horse doodoo.  IIRC there was a 2F 0-6-0 as well, with a similar rep; they turn up on the Bay sometimes, almost always as 'spares or repair'/non runner items.

 

Many of these type of station-shop volunteer-run secondhand places will use the bay's BIN prices as a guide to pricing, in lieu of any more structured information.  Easy to use the same method on your smartphone to check while you are browsing, but the shop model has the advantage that you can examine it properly and often get a track test, and you're usually contributing to keeping something open/running or a restoration.

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

3 hours ago, The Johnster said:

but yours has a replacement brass chassis and a Mashima motor; it looks to be well-made and assuming it runs well is a bargain!

Runs like silk! A flywheel protrudes from where the backhead would be, but for £40 it runs as well as a good few newer models do! Doesn’t like my Triang track so it’ll very much be a “club only” loco, regardless, it’s a model I’m happy to have.

 

I’m honestly tempted to have a look for an “original” Ratio 2-4-0 now that you mention the supplied chassis was poor, see if I can get one to run half decently… Love me a good challenge…

Edited April 8 by Hacksworth_Sidings

[RodneyS]

The first Ratio loco kit was for a 4-4-0 and that was all plastic.  Even the wheels were plastic and plated.

The 2-4-0 had a brass chassis and Mazak wheels.

I believe the 4-4-0 was later released with an etched brass chassis.

 

If you find an original loco kit then all I can say is good luck.

 

There is some information on the kits here.

Rodney

 

[PatB]

I've always thought the Ratio loco kits were a laudable effort to offer a loco kit that was as "easy" to put together as a plastic rolling stock kit, for a relatively affordable price (metal kits being expensive). Unfortunately, in practice they seem to have showed why conventional loco kits were/are how they were/are.

[Hal Nail]

In fairness worth pointing out the advantage of eBay is it gives you access to things you might not otherwise come across. I don't think anyone has ever suggested you'd chose it over a decent second hand stall or shop.

[John M Upton]

There is so much wrong with this I don't know where to start....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/196329089879

[John M Upton]

3 hours ago, Hal Nail said:

In fairness worth pointing out the advantage of eBay is it gives you access to things you might not otherwise come across. I don't think anyone has ever suggested you'd chose it over a decent second hand stall or shop.

 

Trouble is, you try finding a decent second hand stall or shop!  Not exactly on every high street anymore.

[Jol Wilkinson]

35 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

 

Trouble is, you try finding a decent second hand stall or shop!  Not exactly on every high street anymore.

Agree completely.

 

S/H stalls at shows are usually run by the exhibiting club and often have a load of tat, the better stuff changing hands amongst club members, get put on eBay or are sold to those buyers that advertise in the magazines (and then usually end up in eBay). The only exhibitions I have been to that have good S/H stalls/traders tend to be the Society shows, where it is often the only opportunity for members members to find a sales opportunity other than going online. I have only ever been able to find anything of interest at those shows.

 

The loss of many high street model shops took away one S/H sales outlet. Shops also need to be competitive, make a reasonable margin and also have to pay VAT on their sales, so what they could offer would often be well below what a private seller could get on eBay.

[Hacksworth_Sidings]

2 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

The only exhibitions I have been to that have good S/H stalls/traders tend to be the Society shows

A decent show for S/H stuff is the Craven Arms & District MRC’s annual shows, I remember one of the shows in 2022 had some decent stalls, picked up a smoking Triang B12 for a tenner in “non running” condition, all it needed was a good clean out. Could get unstarted Keyser loco kits within the £20-£30 range at last years show, I remember also seeing a non running brass 5700 model being sold for a fiver at the 2023 show!

 

Then again, it’s a local show to me, and I’m a member of the club, so I’m probably extremely biased in recommending it, haha.

[PhilJ W]

I picked up a bargain at the Rayleigh swapmeet/toy fair on Sunday. It was offered as a bag of coach bits and I purchased it as such. When I got it home I gave it a closer look. Included in the bag was a couple of folded A4 sheets of paper that turned out to be the instructions for a Southern Pride four coach plastic kit of a class 411 EMU. A closer look at the other contents of the bag revealed that it was the kit itself and it appears to be complete. And the price I paid for it, £3! The trader I bought it from usually sells a lot of cheap tat of the sort that is not worth putting on E-bay (though many do at over-inflated prices).