just an idea.


mantua mike

mantua mike

Member
I was thinking it would be cool to have our own little auctions, kind of like an ebay thing without having to pay 10% to somebody of our sale price and shipping. We could just keep it simple, set a start and end time, starting price could be your "reserve", Have minimum increments for bidding(.50 for 1to20.00, 1.00 for 20.00 to 50.00, 2.50 For 50.00 to 100.00, 5.00 over 100.00) Just for example. Does anyone else think this might be a fun way to buy and sell our stuff. Any ideas or comments appreciated. Thanks, Mike.
 
mantua mike said:
I was thinking it would be cool to have our own little auctions, kind of like an ebay thing without having to pay 10% to somebody of our sale price and shipping. We could just keep it simple, set a start and end time, starting price could be your "reserve", Have minimum increments for bidding(.50 for 1to20.00, 1.00 for 20.00 to 50.00, 2.50 For 50.00 to 100.00, 5.00 over 100.00) Just for example. Does anyone else think this might be a fun way to buy and sell our stuff. Any ideas or comments appreciated.
Click to expand...
Might be interesting, and I believe it would be acceptable to forum policy in the for sale section of the forum.
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?21-For-Sale-Wanted-to-Buy

I think the issue will be that if one is bidding via messages the bids are public. True that is how a real auction is, but some people don't like that and it could lead to some issues. In a real auction the bids are only known to those who were in attendance. Here they would suddenly become part of the electronic footprint. Who knows.

I would be willing to attempt to participate.
 
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I considered those issues. I guess we would have to rely on good faith. Not always easy. I kind of thought the bids would be a thread with the last one being the highest bid. Again just an idea. You are correct it would be hard to police it and no buyer protection and whatnot. I am of the opinion that most hobbyists are pretty good people. I would hope we could conduct ourselves in a gentlemanly or ladylike fashion.
 
It seems to me to be a whole new can of worms that may cause a lot of regret. I read a post on ebay yesterday where the guy selling the stuff said essentially that everything on ebay would wind up never being built and would all wind up in estate sales which was yet a new way to say "I have no interest in whether these kits are complete" But it was really crass.

I think that "for sale " is adequate. We hve a system that seems to work. I doubt that there is anyone who wants to volunteer to be an arbiter of disputes. While we are probably all "pretty good people", we all see what we want to see too. My kit that I think is easily adapted to is kit that someone else may panic over if one little peice of bass wood is not there. The range of experience here is really large.
 
Point taken. Don't want a can of worms. Again, that's why it's just an idea. For sale probably is adequate. I just thought it might be fun.
 
It might indeeed be fun but the question is what happens when it's distinctly not fun. Ebay, for what it's worth lays out rules and structures. It's fraught with peril and satisfaction at the same time. Your LHS is not but you may not get the products you want. I'm not trying to be critical of it beyond pointing out the downsides. I have my suspicions that the moderators are planning on going into hiding on this one.
 
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The For Sale section seems to work pretty good. Over the years I've noticed that for one reason or another when an item asking price generates no interest then the seller will sometimes lower it. Sort of a reverse auction in a way. Anything I've bought from other forum members has always been at an agreeable price to me without the hassle of all that Ebay involves.
Most recently I bought an Alco RSD15 at a decent asking price from one of the members, no hassle and no complaints.
 
I use ebay a lot. it certainly does have its up's and down's. I guess the biggest problem with the idea in retrospect is the lack of buyer/seller protection. I don't think you're being critical at least not in the dismissive sense. All opinions are welcomed. It has been my experience that a large pool of ideas helps weed out the good ideas from the bad. Thanks for your input.
 
The fact that we share the hobby helps us to accurately describe our items. It is hugely different than somebody selling someones estate for example. The ability to share photos helps also. I'm not trying to rock the boat. I guess if it aint broke don't fix it. Still open to any more comments. thanks, MIke
 
I think it would be fun. I'm game! I love auctions! And I think we are all nice people here.

Edit,... as opposed to eBay. Forum members with a common interest are always a lot better to deal with IMO. I agree with Mike. We all share a common interest.
 
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Since Mike made two posts in a row I will too...

This is something that could work. But I think the bids (because they would be visible) would have to be placed in real time like on Sunday night for example. Just like a real auction. The only difference is the item could be visible for a week before the actual bidding started. That would give people not able to make the auction time to ask someone else to bid for them.

Just some thoughts.
 
That was my initial thought. I guess we'll just see what kind of interest this post generates and take it from there. If enough people want to participate we can give it a go and tweak it as necessary. Only the ones interested will participate anyway. I am considering starting a club for this maybe. It could clearly state this forum is in no way responsible for any transaction and the buyers/sellers are responsible for their own arbitration should some dissatisfaction arise. My biggest concern is I don't want any bad-mouthing going in in the forum. This is a friendly place and we are generally here to help each other. I would like to keep it that way. Keep the thoughts coming.
 
Shipping is another factor. Seller would have to offer free shipping or a flat rate, or maybe use the USPS online calculator. It would give the sellers a better exposure and possibly an opportunity to make a few more bucks and the buyer still gets a deal. Sorry to ramble on my own post.
 
I seriously doubt any bad mouthing would arise. I have 212 positive feedback on eBay (2FastLX). I have never had so much as a neutral. Not because it is bad on eBay to have negatives. But because I am a good person and I always made sure people who bought from me were satisfied with their purchases. I am sure everyone on here would be just as courteous.

One way to make this work would be to make a special forum. Only allow those with 25 or more posts to see the forum. That should weed out anyone here to just sell stuff.

One real benefit here is we all get a chance to know one another. If you don't trust the person selling 100% don't bid.
 
That's not a bad idea. I take great pride in my ebay feedback also same as you not so much as a neutral. One of my main reasons for starting this post is quite simply ebay fees are HIGH. It is probably the best exposure you can get though. The other is again the familiarity with the hobby. Your odds of getting what you expect are greatly amplified doing business with other hobbyist's. Some type of feedback system would be helpful. Further ponderance on this and we may have something here.
 
I like the idea! I would have more faith in the people on here then I do eBay and I use eBay extensively.

I've vowed to never buy another used locomotive on eBay unless I am buying it with the expectation that is does not run and only then if the pictures show the cosmetic condition adequately.

I would trust the people on here to be more honest then eBay. If some one should get over on me then they will only get me once.

As Mike points out the people on here will be much more knowledgeable about the items and I agree with Kevin, if you don't trust someone don't bid.

Any time you buy something without putting your hands on it, you know its a risk and you don't gamble with money you can't afford to lose.

I think it would police itself because everything is out in the open. Word will spread quick if someone does get taken.

I will make a suggestion, what do you think if we offer 100% money back if the buyer pays return shipping? I do that when I sell on eBay. I have never had to give a refund yet, the little I do sell on eBay.

Keep rambling Mike, I think you may be on to something here!
 
I think a refund policy is a great idea. It forces the seller to be as accurate as they can. This discussion is developing nicely. Weighing the pros and cons is what it comes down to. If we get some more people that would like to participate I say lets throw it against the wall so to speak. I would like to be sure this does not break any forum rules. I don't think it would but it would be good to be sure.
 
Not only that Carey, but the fees can really kill a good selling price. I used to sell on eBay. Then eBay got greedy. They bought PayPal and raised the rates of everything. They are making so much money it is ridiculous they charge what they do. They charge you to list. They charge you to add a reserve. They charge you more to list an item with a higher starting price. They charge you when you sell. Then they charge you when you get paid. At least they used to. I stopped selling on eBay years ago. I can't believe people still sell there. Sorry, I am ranting.
 
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