Absurd Prices On Ebay

[davefoxx]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kadee-31020-Railbox-Rd-RBOX14708-RARE-CAR-/200603881132?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item2eb4ec4eac#ht_1150wt_1163

Seller states "High Auction $1,283.00" Where are people finding these absurd values?

The best part is that the model is a "foob."  It's so rare, there's not even a prototype.  HAHAHAHAHA!

[SkipGear]

Tony,Pay their prices if you want to I could care less..

All I am saying is shop around those "hard to find" locomotives or cars will show up at better prices even on e-Bay.

Did I ever say I was willing to pay "those" prices. I am the king of patience. I got the best deal that ever went down on the Baldwin Sharks when Favorite spot was blowing them out. Ended up with both numbers of B&O AB sets for less than $50 shipped. I bought one of the sets for $15.50. He was out of them two weeks later so I timed it just right.

If somebody really wants something, and they are tired of waiting around to find it, they will pay what is needed to get it.  I have a certain brass loco in my posession that I picked up for just a little over $600. The last one that I saw sell went for $1500.00. It's really hard to hold on to that one and not unload it but every one that has sold has gone higher than the last. Certain items will always command premium prices. Remember when Atlas Shay's were $400 each, then the second run came and they came back down to reasonable numbers. They have held that ground because Atlas has another run on their schedule but when everybody figures out that that run probably will never come, I bet prices go higher than they did the first time.

It's like playing the stock market to a point. You have to know what is hot, and what is not. More power too those that get it right.

[CoalPorter]

I put an Atlas Shay on eBay, and that is one of the few times eBay is almost like a real auction - I think I got 10 or 12 bidders and a ton of "trackers".

Lately, I have noticed eBay has slowed way down for most n scale. It has to be something really in demand to get much action going. Selling off 1 Micro-Trains car at a time with 1 bid and netting like 6 bucks gets really old - fast!! At any point, there are about 8000 MT cars on the Bay, so no big rush to spend "stupid money". In fact, I have seen cars go for "stupid low" prices - like ACF hoppers for $6 each??

What I dont get is people that bid the crap out of old Bachmann and Atlas cars?

[Brakie]

Tony:It's like playing the stock market to a point. You have to know what is hot, and what is not. More power too those that get it right.
-----------------------------
I fully agree with that statement and like the stock market one could lose money if he doesn't know the real value of the model...

And here's how.

I bought a long sought after limited edition freight car for $24.00 had I waited I could have gotten one for $10.00 at the next  train show.

My lost was $14.00..

Then there are models that devaulate faster then others.

Its a tricky thing buying long OOP models..

[Freighttrain]

Heck,A perfect example is Kadee/Microtrains stuff.Talk about crooks.Wow....Another one is the BEEF 2 axle F units by RMT.Full MSRP is $359......they are listed on Ebay at full retail.Uhhhhh,If I wanted to pay retail I woudl go to my local hobby shop(even THEY don't charge full MSRP......

[Freighttrain]

Watch any of the pawn store shows on TV....but it is rare and therefore highly valuable!........Ya but I have been in business for 30 years and no one has ever come in looking to buy this thing, just being rare does not mean being in demand.

When someone pulls the rare stunt when I am trying to haggle I just say Yea,so,a Yugo is rare now too but it still ain't worth anything.

[CBQ Fan]

When someone pulls the rare stunt when I am trying to haggle I just say Yea,so,a Yugo is rare now too but it still ain't worth anything.

How about a Ford Pinto!

[Freighttrain]

How about a Ford Pinto!

Nah,Ford Pintos are actually valueable.You can make a sweet dirt track car.They offered up front suspension parts for decades of hotrods.Drop a V8 or hop up the stock 4 banger and you can really suprise people at redlights.....Just don't get hit from the rear end if your hauling Pyrotechnic devices wired for impact detonation.......Same goes for 70s and 80s chevy pickup trucks.

[SleeperN06]

Hi guys, I was just curious about how the starting bids work. Why do some start at 99 cents and others real high? I’ve been trying to understand the fees charged by eBay and it gets so confusing. Does eBay charge more for the high starting price?

I’ve wanted to sell some of my stuff on eBay, but I don’t understand how the fees work.

[CoalPorter]

Hi guys, I was just curious about how the starting bids work. Why do some start at 99 cents and others real high? I’ve been trying to understand the fees charged by eBay and it gets so confusing. Does eBay charge more for the high starting price?

I’ve wanted to sell some of my stuff on eBay, but I don’t understand how the fees work.

The fees depend on how you list. I just list "normal" and don't really know the rules to an "eBay store" selling format. A store has its own fee rules. If you just list "normal", you can list 50 items per month free and only pay a fee when it sells, called a "final value fee". They may also carge extra for more than one photo, so even if you do a free listing, you still get hit with a photo fee. You can get around this by only posting one photo and any extra photos - just link too. eBay also charges different amounts for the insertion fee depending on the product catagory. Yes they do charge based on the starting bid (once you go over the 50 free per month).

The guys that start at 99 cents have a heck of a lot of guts **OR** they are using "shill bidders" to run up prices. I see a few n scale sellers that I suspect use shill bidders. - another story.

ebay also charges you a fee on shipping, which really burns me- you gotta really watch shipping charges too.

imo, the best way to sell of "normal use stuff" is in bulk lots.

You should go to ebay are read "getting started" a few times. The web site has allot of info that is not always easy to find right away. 

[SkipGear]

The guys that start at 99 cents have a heck of a lot of guts **OR** they are using "shill bidders" to run up prices. I see a few n scale sellers that I suspect use shill bidders. - another story.

I have always started almost everything I list at 99 cents and let the market determine the value. I have never been disapointed. The few things that I have listed at a higher starting bid, usually never get bid on or only bid on once. I have had things that I started at a higher initial bid get zero action, relist it the next week at 99 cent starting bid and get a higher price than my higher starting bid from the previous week.

I really get tired of the accusations of "shill" bidding. I have bought and sold over 500 items on Ebay and never ran into anything that I thought was shill bidding. If it goes higher than I am prepared to pay, then I walk away, simple as that.  I have run up against the same person over and over again that would pay whatever it took to win an item and would constantly out bid me. I finally realized, another will come up for auction eventually, just be patient.

[SleeperN06]

The fees depend on how you list. I just list "normal" and don't really know the rules to an "eBay store" selling format. A store has its own fee rules. If you just list "normal", you can list 50 items per month free and only pay a fee when it sells, called a "final value fee". They may also carge extra for more than one photo, so even if you do a free listing, you still get hit with a photo fee. You can get around this by only posting one photo and any extra photos - just link too. eBay also charges different amounts for the insertion fee depending on the product catagory. Yes they do charge based on the starting bid (once you go over the 50 free per month).

The guys that start at 99 cents have a heck of a lot of guts **OR** they are using "shill bidders" to run up prices. I see a few n scale sellers that I suspect use shill bidders. - another story.

ebay also charges you a fee on shipping, which really burns me- you gotta really watch shipping charges too.

imo, the best way to sell of "normal use stuff" is in bulk lots.

You should go to ebay are read "getting started" a few times. The web site has allot of info that is not always easy to find right away. 

Oh thanks, well that’s good news. I’ve looked at the “getting started” and got scared off by all different fees. I did not know about 50 free per month. That’s perfect for me, because I don’t have that much, but I would like to unload a lot of stuff over time so when I retire I can move into a smaller place.

I’m glad you mentioned the photos, because I always wondered why most people only have one photo.

The shipping fee is a new one on me I had no idea that they would also charge for shipping.

[SleeperN06]

I have run up against the same person over and over again that would pay whatever it took to win an item and would constantly out bid me. I finally realized, another will come up for auction eventually, just be patient.

I’ve noticed this too and sometimes I think people are bidding as if it were a game or something just to win and don’t care about the price.

Does the seller see the maximum bids of individual bidders?  I noticed on a few occasions where I bid my highest bid at the start because I wasn’t going to be around during the finial bidding, that when I got back my bid was over taken by a single bid shortly after.  I thought it was suspicious but not really sure.

[DKS]

One of the many fees charged by eBay is the listing fee. This is based on the starting bid. Many sellers list all of their items at 99 cents to keep the listing fee low, especially if they have a lot of items. I almost always list mine at 99 cents. It's only a risk if you have items of marginal value; if your items are good, then the market will determine their worth, and I usually get fair prices for what I list. I think out of the hundreds I've listed, maybe only one or two went for 99 cents. It's also a good way of raising the chances that something will sell, and it was very rare for me to not sell something.

Obviously this is not a tactic to take if you're selling something really valuable, such as a brass loco.

[delamaize]

  I have run up against the same person over and over again that would pay whatever it took to win an item and would constantly out bid me. I finally realized, another will come up for auction eventually, just be patient.

I had one guy who was actually stalking me. I think I have told this story before. back in the days where you could still see the high bidders screen name, I had this guys that would bid on everything N scale that I bid on, and always out bid me at the last second. at first I thought it was a fluke, then when I went and bid on a specific part for my old car (1995 dodge neon ACR) very very specific part for a version of a car that most people don't know about, let alone know if they have. He bid on that part too, and out bid me. I got pissed and wrote the guy an e-mail asking him what his problem was, and why he was screwing with me. His reply was "it is just by chance, but if you want the stuff that I won, I will sell it to you for 20% above what I paid plus shipping." Then I knew that he was screwing with me.

So, the next part is really dirty, underhanded, against the rules, and just all around not right, but I think the guy deserved it.

I had a buddy that was selling a older Minitrix 2-10-0, that was out of quater. I had told him the story, and he had this idea. Basicly what he sugested was to get into a bidding war with the guy, get the auction as high as possible, then in the last 5 miniutes, he would delete my bid, or I would retract my bid (this was back when you could actually do that). Long story short, the toolshed ended up paying $3,250 + shipping for a out of quarter 2-10-0. Guy actually paid up, then e-mailed me and offered the whole "20% over" deal again, needless to say I told him to shove it, and he never bothered me again.

anymore, I don't buy or bid on anything on ebay anymore because their is too many people with more money than brains, and keeps people like me that buy junk for parts from getting reasonable prices. Not only that but forget about getting anything that says NP on it for a reasonable price, Although I was able to get a couple of IM F7B units for about $50 shipped, and recently $20 for a walthers NP coach, I hope that is a sign of things turning around. we will see.