Sjcm

Yeah I got opted in about 3 years back and never opted out. No-one bothers bidding from abroad anymore in any case because of the postage costs. Besides if they do bid, you just send it to a UK address and as long as it gets there, it's not your problem. Getting lost in the post or damaged, the buyers argument is with Ebay. I used to always offer to post abroad myself, but it was always a risk and if you got unlucky.....

Spares is really the area where you can clean up buying and selling especially in job lots when you want  1 or 2 items in a pile of other stuff. As long as you're willing to spend the time identifying items and of course selling them. I picked up a joblot a month back which I mentioned in the good buy thread for 30 pounds. The stuff I've kept from it would have cost me getting on for 60-70 pounds individually on ebay (don't want to think about the postage costs). I've sold 12 HD ringfield brush springs (got loads of them), a Triang box, Triang continental track bumpers, and H&M Multipack controller clips which came to about 35 pounds so the spares I wanted have cost me nothing.

On the flip side I've just bought a Britannia silver seal motor tender weight for just under a fiver with postage (replacing one that had disintegrated through Mazak rot) which being tight, I wouldn't call a bargain, but seeing the next cheapest by a well known parts supplier is 11 pounds which is half the price of the cheapest  complete britannia.....well any spending budget on parts is going to get depleted rapidly.

that's the one. not that he needed my help in the end as he got the cash in about an hour, but knackered locos have the same effect on me that others get with abused donkeys and  homeless kittens. 

3 hours ago, Darius43 said:

Non runner perchance..?

 

Collection in person from London but the item is in Serbia…

 

ChatGPT description.

 

What could possibly go wrong?
 

Cheers

 

Darius

As someone who actually gave money to save a rushton shunter from a scrapyard last night ( I wasn't even drunk!), the urge to Press Buy it Now was almost uncontrollable.

Judging from the amount of tops, sniffing it?

1 hour ago, Bucoops said:

Everyone's favourite ebay seller again.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334223723808

 

The wagon itself looks reasonably built - but why on earth has whoever built it used pen lids as the load?!

Is this one of these suspect adverts RM keeps warning me about?

Really pushed the boat out for me over the weekend. 9 locos for a grand total of 160 pounds with postage.  All runners allegedly. A couple will replace models I already have in worse condition with the rest being moved on. Hopefully should make a minimum of 30 pounds for the pot if I've got my pricing right or keep another one if I do well. Worse case scenario is I've bought a load of nails but the way eBay is going on prices shouldn't be out of pocket by much.

Got lucky with a Triang pantograph this week, and not the already expensive metal working ones, but the dummy plastic rarer than hens teeth ones which never survive usually. Cost me 17 pounds with postage but the other junk that came with it will be moved on so hopefully get it for under a tenner

Could be the start of a new trend in the hobby. No more messing around with airbrushes and weathering paint. just plonk your loco in a box with a breeding pair of weathering mice and wait a month.

IF YOU DON'T LIKE MICE, DON'T BID

*may need gloves*

12 hours ago, PieGuyRob said:

I have never sold anything on Ebay, so wasn't sure. In that case we are definitely encouraging him! 

I've always assumed he knows he has a fan club on here, and purposely sets aside a listing each month for our entertainment😉

Looks factory to me. Wouldn't mind a dabble on one of them. Picked up the later version without the plungers years back with the chassis snapped from zinc pest. Fortunately the zinc had stopped pesting and 15+ years on the repair is still solid. Mine has the x04 type motor so it got a neo magnet upgrade and runs as good as any comparable model from that time period

Don't think its been mentioned here but Royal Mail signed has changed. Apart from the  big price increase in April you now only get covered upto 20 pounds instead of 50 for insurance. And they wonder why they are losing business😳

I imagine they go by returns rather than social media and unfortunately our hobby is loathe to return models unless they are totally broken. 2 reviewers on here both had running problems and the crank pins falling out but they "fixed" the problems themselves despite not being that happy with the model. I'm guessing phone and car manufacturers would kill for that sort of customer base.😂

I wonder if the lamps are an example of the gap between what the designers wanted, and what is possible on the manufacturing side. Sticking "changing lamps requires a good degree of modelling abilty" in the instructions for something that is supposed to press fit? What does that even mean? A tacit admission that glue will be required to keep them on?

Another reviewer with problems

yeah I have left (a polite) reply now. It's just the fact there is nothing I could have done faced with this sort of buyer. if he had contacted me on its arrival, I would have sorted it whether it was working or not. I would have still sorted it after he left the bad feedback if he had replied to my (polite) messages, but apparently he doesn't want a free loco😐 I have my suspicions that this is another seller's burner account so getting his money back isn't the point.

Just had my 1st bad feedback ever due to the buyer from hell. Sold an item as working (with video showing it working). Didn't contact me to say he had a problem, just left feedback saying it didn't work. Contacted him a couple of times to offer a refund, no reply. Then he started out-bidding everyone on my other items when they were finishing, so had to block him (advised to). Apparently Ebay can't do anything because

a)while it was working when sent, they can't prove it arrived working (fair enough)

b)not wanting a refund when you receive a faulty item is odd but not necessary suspicious. maybe he never reads his e-mails (!!)

c)bidding on other items by a seller you're not happy with is odd but not necessary suspicious. maybe he hasn't realised its the same seller ? (!!!)

ah well, gotta laugh.😂

14 hours ago, Hacksworth_Sidings said:

Having another look at his account and the listings...

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364869810156

 

"This Graham Farish OO Gauge steam locomotive... ...is a ready-to-go model that comes pre-built and is powered by a DC system."

 

 

"...has a 4-6-2 wheel configuration..."

 

Doesn't look "ready-to-go" to me... Or "pre-built"... Sadly a victim of zinc pest, and he's asking £150...

The one I sold was in much  worse condition than that except it didn't have zinc pest (the rear bogie was missing so had probably disintigrated). From what  I was being asked by potential buyers the big problem is the frame and the wheels having the pest, and luckily my example, the wheels and rods turned smoothly with no signs of cracking or bulging. GF collectors are brilliant for sellers though - they make Hornby Dublo collectors look sane individuals after a bargain.

21 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

The mag has permission to use the Hornby name and that has been public knowledge for a good while.  Whether or not they pay to use it would be a commercial matter between the two organisations so we don;t know the answer to that and never will.  

 

But the big thing for Hornby is that the front page of the magazine is putting their name in front of tens of thousands of people who might otherwise think the company no longer exists or that it had gone the way of umpteen other British brands.  I suspect that far more people visit places like WHS, or other retailers selling magazines etc, than ever visit model railway retailers' premises so it's good advertising that creates brand awareness..

i'm not sure there are many people who don't know Hornby still exist, but I agree its good publicity if the magazine takes a reviewing style of not much more than just showing the model. Looking at that Turbomotive video posted they don't really judge the product at all in any detail so getting a fair viewpoint of whether its any good or not...well you don't.  they could have at least noticed the wonky front buffer😉

I don't think I am kicking them personally. I think Bachmann/Dapol/whoever would do exactly the same when it comes to control of their name. I'm sure whatever is in the licensing agreement doesn't have 50 pages on what is acceptable copy to print in the magazine, but I bet there is a clause along the lines of "Hornby reserve the right to withdraw licensing of the name if they consider it's usage to be detrimental/ harmful to the companies reputation" Does the same job.

18 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

Which would be illegal.

 

Is them using the Hornby name any different to having sponsored sections on a forum?

 

I remember when I was into gaming and there was a magazine called SEGA magazine that would often give games made by SEGA poor reviews.

 

 

Jason

Having a sponsored section is a bit different from having paid control of a company's name and intellectual property.  If you think they are totally free to do what they like then fine, but a company who is not adverse to entering into wars with suppliers or announcing models to out-manouvre other manufacturers to protect their interests being totally unconcerned about what appears with their name above it? I think that's naive personally.

I still don't think any company lets their trademark be used unless they have some control or caveats over what is associated with it.  It would be frankly...daft.  I imagine the written document of the licensing deal between the 2 companies is very long and detailed, so where they have some leeway or editorial freedom to criticise, permission to trash a bad model is not included

well......companies are fiercely protective of their trade names, so somehow I don't think Hornby went "of course, take our name for XXX pounds. We're not worried that people will assume you are part of Hornby and if you want to print "Hornby's new black5 is a bit of a dog" on the cover, got for it!"

10 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

However Hornby Magazine is nothing to do with Hornby....

 

It's published by Key Publishing and they sell as much Bachmann, Dapol, Cavalex and Accurascale as they do Hornby.

 

https://shop.keypublishing.com/collections/kmw-limited-editions

 

I find the reviews and videos to be pretty good, with less of the bias that comes with some of the other reviewers. When they show a video of a locomotive or train they tend to be running it on a proper layout so you can see them running.

 

 

 

 

Jason

Wouldn't they need permission to use the Hornby name? I think its very unlikely that it would be granted if they are expecting any sort of critical reviews, especially as they seem to have close links to Hornby whether they own them or not