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EBay madness


Marcyg
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14 hours ago, Darius43 said:

This used to be a fun thread with humorous posts making fun of ridiculous items put up for sale on eBay with frequent ridiculous digressions.   
 

Of late it seems to be a front for people railing against retailers pricing items too high, an issue which is anything but new. 
 

By all means take up these issues in private communication with the retailer in question but please don’t give us line by line coverage of said communication - it comes across as fanaticism (irrespective of whether one has swallowed an economics textbook).


Cheers

 

Darius

 

It ought to be remembered that these items offered by Hattons or similar are an offer to sell at that price.

No one is 'forced' to buy at those prices, if one doesn't think it's worth it to you.

If it does sell, perhaps next time be prepared to up what you think an identical model is worth next time.

If it doesn't sell, the seller is likely to reduce the price, or leave it until it does.

 

I agree, this thread is supposed to be about eBay and other auction sites. Hattons to my knowledge doesn't sell on eBay, so are strictly off topic.

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1 hour ago, Type 2 said:

A lot of small local shops went out of business due to owners retiring or selling up and no one being willing to take them on, added to high business rates.  Further a lot, of small shops simply do not move with the times and sell the same ranges year after year.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love local shops, would much rather shop in those than order online, those that were near me closed for retirement purposes, but they where still selling the same basic ranges year after year and never branched out to sell different manufacturers items, none of them did mail order, none of them had a website.

 

The big players such as Hattons and Rails have been in business for years, and moved with the times, reacting to the wider market and becoming almost 1 stop shops.  They are not solely responsible for putting small traders out of business. 

 

So what if they make good profits?  Isnt that what being in business is all about?  They are not charities, they sell discretionary spend goods to modellers who demand them.

 

Model railway retailers are not in the same league as supermarkets or car manufacturers, they are in comparison very, very small traders.

 

This hobby is only as expensive as you want it to be, but it's is not the retailers fault if you buy their product at twice the price of anywhere else.

 

One of the problems that small shop owners suffer is the same thing that shut down the village petrol stations. They can't buy in the goods at the price which the big boys are selling them due to economies of scale.

They also don't get a foot in with the manufacturers as a result.

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This topic has gone strange. If Hattons made  profit of 5% on turnover then they are doing ok but no more than ok.  I can only imagine that an email telling them they are doing things wrong would be received with great amusement and past round the staff for a laugh.

 

Whenever anyone buys anything they can spend 10 minutes on the net to check expected prices. No need for anyone to be ignorant.

 

I have bought from Rails on a number of occasions and made an offer rather than pay the requested price. This seems to work well.

 

Most local model shops charge the same as the “big boys” nowadays and you save on postage. So yes they have to survive on tight margins but the ones I go to all seem to be competing head on with the big boys for new items and often cheaper on secondhand.

 

Can’t see what there is to get worked up about.

 

when comes to eBay, I only seem to make the highest bid when there is a recession on. If there is something that I really really want then I am happy to pay the going rate.

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If this thread was “Just a Minute”, I’d be interrupting a lot of you for repetition - instead of the usual deviation.

 

Can we just get back to funny and unusual stuff on eBay instead of repetitive blather on model retailers’ pricing policy.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

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2 hours ago, Paul H Vigor said:

I guess the model railway hobby has always been as cheap or expensive as an individual modeller wishes to make it? Newbie modellers starting from scratch, usually with big ideas and limiting themselves to state-of-the art RTR with all the popular gadgets and gizmos, will need deep pockets. Whilst time-scarred, grizzled, old-school modellers ferret about, find a 'sow's ear' in a '£1' box at a show and up-cycle it into something wonderful - or not!

 

That said, I still believe in rescuing models from the incestuous maelstrom of 'the trade' when I can.

 

That's pretty much what I've always done. I'm more than happy to spend time upgrading the kind of thing that was considered state of the art twenty or thirty years ago, I rather enjoy it. 

It's still not a cheap hobby and certainly not if you want the latest tech, but then again a lot of hobbies that were relatively cheap are no longer because they've been turned into "gear freaks" sport, everything from cycling to fishing.

Although I do find it amusing to see someone on the latest carbon fibre racer keep looking over their shoulders to see me keeping pace on what started out as a 1978 Peugeot racer.😄

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1 hour ago, kevinlms said:

 

Isn't that the Bernard Cribbins one, or did he do the flexidisk?

 

I've got a Triang Railway Sound Effects EP (steam and diesel!)

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325574814291

 

though I paid about 50p in a charity shop for mine!

 

 

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"Nice condition"

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256083266905

 

No it ain't.  Handrails knackered/missing, one window also missing as is the roof mounted horn, all parts difficult to source as spares.  Apparently the tender is missing too. which is odd as I am pretty sure EMD never built these with tenders......   😆

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52 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

"Nice condition"

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256083266905

 

No it ain't. 


You had me laughing with your first clause! 😆

 

Thank you for turning the bows of the good ship eBay Madness back into the teeth of the gales of laughter brought on by such incorrect seller descriptions! 
 

Steve S

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I think we should complain about non-eBay chisellers on another thread; it's not appropriate here and the debate is becoming nasty.  No need for this sort of behaviour, gents!

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Rule number one: Caveat Emptor, let the buyer beware. Don't agree with the items on sale? Don't buy it, simples. 

 

If it's considered overpriced, 'just say NO!

 

I'm just off to buy a working model of the Hindenburg: matches not included.... " Oh, look! A ships'  anchor from the Titanic,  complete with a complementary length of anchor chain! Must have a look at that!" Only used once, as well..... 

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On 19/05/2023 at 17:45, PieGuyRob said:

Wow! If I had known this post would have caused so much hassle, I would not have posted it. I was merely pointing out, that a brand new one was cheaper than a second hand one.

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17 minutes ago, Sjcm said:

Seems slightly overpriced and I'm not sure where Mayfair comes into it but you do get a cannon

 

Bid before it's gone

 

A mixed bag for sure.

£1234 seems vastly overpriced for a collection of mostly battered scrap.

 

If there's anything particularly out of the ordinary that's worth something, it might have been worth it to separate it from the dross, but otherwise...  🤪🤣

 

 

 

Edited by Hroth
An extra thort.
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What I don't get and maybe I'm being thick here is how has it got a product rating? You click on the stars and it gives random reviews of other sellers, selling other stuff, so has this seller just nicked a product code to use?

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8 minutes ago, Paul H Vigor said:

And Mazak starts with an 'M'??

 

Though none of the locos I could see were especially susceptible to Mazak Rot.

 

Also, I doubt if the vendor has even heard of "Mazak", let alone "Mazak Rot"!

 

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