just an idea.


me tupence worth;

It ain't broke, so don't FIX it.

WHY?
Simple, the potential for huge problems is HUGE, not to mention wide ranging!

One man's JUNK may be another man's treasure.

Nuff said?

JD
 
Perfectly understandable rant. I think that just putting a fair price on things in the first place here should be sufficient. If it's fair, it will sell, if it isn't the market tends to vote with its feet. I have never sold on ebay and do have some things I'd like to sell off like really old comic books but I don't want to go through the other aspects like getting the comics rated by yet another independent group that takes it's pount of flesh for the little CGC tag to then have to turn around and get nickle and dimed to death by ebay itself. Anybody looking for an excellent copy of Amazing fantasy #15?
 
The point is to have another outlet for our things we are not using anymore or whatever. The idea is in no means to replace the WTB/FS part of the forum. I like auctions, I think they are more fun/ interesting than simple for sale at whatever price. I don't expect everyone to share that opinion. I respect every ones opinion, If you think this could cause huge problems I would like to get a little more info as far as what you feel specifically these problems may be. That's the point of a discussion. Your reasons may be quite valid, however it is tough to contemplate them not knowing what they are.
I was also thinking paypal may offer some buyer protection if you transfer funds for goods or services rather than friends or family. I'll look a little more into that.
Anyhow, keep in mind that participation is not mandatory. Keep them coming .
 
Well, I don't believe there is a current stucture to handle funds for anyone and if there is some sort of dispute, I view that as a problem. I don't know what it takes to get paypal involved in managing payments. I do know I don't keep a paypal accout, preferring to simply use my visa/ MC in those events. It does seem to go through paypal regardless on ebay though.

I would love to know how you would envision handling disputes which I think would occur. I do not have any idea there.

I do think the notion that you have to have had a certain minimum of posts here before you could participate in any selling or buying to be a good idea. I don't know who would police that.

How would damage in shipping be resolved is a worthwhile question. I never cease to be amazed at how bad packing can be.

All in all, it seems to take a willing volunteer and it would consume a fair amount of time if it became popular. I don't get enough basic time with my trains as it is. Perhaps there are people who like doing such things.
 
All food for thought. Any one have any ideas? I have 1, USPS priority mail includes 50.00 insurance, fairly reasonable rates for more.
 
I use USPS Priority mail more these days but even the large box is pretty small. It works on small stuff of which much train stuff is ( awkward sentence ends here). The boxes are small and well made, resisting breakage quite well. Our latest venture had us shipping to Hong Kong. That being said, Buying the insurance is easy. I've never tried to collect on the insurance. It probably can't be any worse than the insurance offered by UPS which is mind numbingly awful for claims of any decent size. If the item is small enough, you can shrug it off and walk away. Expensive stuff may be something else again. Now you can define expensive. Ick.
 
I can't see why we can't have the best of both worlds, without anything being formalized.

Leave the method of selling something up to the individual. Basically, if I have an item I want to sell I advertise it in the WTB/WTS section. I can then place a price on that item or open it up to offers or run my own "mini-auction" dealt with via the private messaging option. It then comes between the Buyer and those interested in participating in the "mini auction" with no responsibility being placed on the Forums/Administrators, and keeping it between the participants.

Naturally, any form of sale between individuals over the internet comes down to the integrity of the individuals involved. Unfortunately, there are some individuals who are out to solely rip people off. I would think if that were to happen between people here, the "offending person" would be well and truly advertised. Buying, and selling, from individuals (as opposed to companies) over the internet as an individual is always risky.

Just my thoughts on the matter.
 
thought i was one like that already in the buy/sell section. i think on an intermodal lot. maybe in its own section, separate from the fixed price area so their would be no confusion, with a thread at the top with the rules, and disclaimer that final sale is between the seller and buyer. maybe have someone appointed to be the moderator, arbitrator on issues that do come up so that someone on the board can keep up with buyer/seller issues in a way that will keep the situation out of the public eye, as all communication should go through them privately, and not publicly. also that their decision is not final, legally binding, in no way representing the forum. just a go between to try and keep the peace and attempt to come to a resolution privately. it can be done. really doesnt sound like a bad idea.
as far as ebay charging the seller, they now charge on the total amount, including the shipping portion.
 
as far as bidding, if it is by pm, how would that be handled? if i put the highest bid, and am 10 dollars higher than the next bidder, am i paying the price that i bid, or just a dollar over the last amount? also would hate to loose by $2.00 on something. i think that would be the biggest issue to work out, might be easier to just post a bid.
 
Even when BOTH parties do their best to be fair and honest, what runs great to one person may not be acceptable to another. I liken it to lending money to a family member, its so easy for hard feeling's or misunderstandings to happen and things can go sour/south very quickly.


Even fleaBay is not without risks. One example is, I bought a BRAND NEW con-cor DL-109 from a 100% pos FB seller. The listing said it was tested before listing and it "ran good". When it arrived, it ran like CRAP! I emailed the seller about the problem and s/he assured me it had in fact been test run and was perfect.
.....

Thinking something came loose or something got out of alignment during shipping I opened it up to try and find the problem. What I found was both front and rear powered truck had not one but TWO pieces of flash between gear teeth causing most of the very poor running. It was a manufacturing /quality control issue and could never have run properly even before it left the factory.
.............

I filed a complaint, but the seller was not about to do anything to make it even half fair. Since I really wanted that specific loco and had invested a lot of time into fixing the problems, I decided to keep it instead of returning it at MY EXPENSE, which meant I would be out dollars in addition to my time invested and repair. I tried giving the seller an out, being s/he may have simply forgot to test this specific loco, to no avail. Lesson learned, I have NEVER since bid on anything that seller put of on ebay again.
......................

The world is full of LOCOs (non RR type). I had a Chicago corp exec buy a film scanner from me, used it to do a Christmas present/ favor for another family member and decided to return it. When it arrived back it was a mess with crap all over it and other non-shipping damage.
........

In another case I sold a nice microscope on eBay. The buyer decided the scope was defective and wanted a partial refund to cover new objective lenses. I KNEW the optics were great so I investigated the issue. I found him BOASTING about how his new microscope (he bought from me) was so great in is business. He even posted MY copyrighted photo on HIS web page boasting how great the scope was. I ended up using HIS boasting about the scope on his sight to beat his eBay complaint AND forced him to remove MY photo from his web page.
..........

The world is a mixed bag, I sold a nice Mamiya MF SLR and a like new Nikon to collectors in Japan & Switzerland and no problems what-so-ever, in fact both were very happy with their respective cameras. (plus I was able to by a scooter so I could get out and about more).
..........

I have seen some very trivial things happen (and I do mean trivial!) in web based social media of many flavors, turn into major PROBLEMS very quickly, and once that happens things never seem to quite return to normal again. The prospect of hard feelings and tarnished reputations are REAL, and often over the tinniest most insignificant of things. On other web sites, I have seen great people I knew, leave and never return, while the problem maker remained...

JD
 
At the end of the day, the only way to ensure you are actually getting what you pay for is to walk into a store, look at and feel what you want to buy. Even then, you can't really know about the quality of the item until you use it.

The internet has created an environment that is so very conducive to deceptions and falsities. Some people/companies embrace that ability and push it to the limit - others don't. Sorting out who is who is not an easy task.
 
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You guys are thinking too much like this would be another Ebay. Do they have an arbitrator in the for sale section that handles disputes? No. I really don't think the forum mods need to be bothered with this any differently than the for sale section.

Sent from my SPH-D710BST using Tapatalk
 
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And it makes no difference if you buy an item outright, or via an auction. There is the exact same risk involved. The only difference with an auction is the final price isn't decided until the end.

Also, Paypal could be used adding a bit of security. But there again, you are right back to giving ebay your money.

Buying on ebay is risky, but if you look at the person's feedback you can find out if you can trust the person.

I already know a couple dozen people on here I would trust more than anyone I would buy from on Ebay. It makes a HUGE difference buying from someone after you have been able to get to know them on here.

But anyway, someone start an auction already :)

Sent from my SPH-D710BST using Tapatalk
 
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Unless someone else feels froggy I will start an auction this week. As a test run I will list an item, probably one of my Mallets (HO Rivarossi) with details. I will set an end time, probably 8:00 EST on Sunday. I will notify everyone in this thread. I guess I'll go with the majority and you can place bids ptivately. Im not set on that though,you would not know what the bid is so you would only make 1 bid. We could start a club and have open bidding. Look forward to your thoughts.
 
If you are really bent on doing this, why not list an item in a thread here with a asking price and accept offers?

JD ( I told you so)
 
I still think the bids should be visible. It would make it easier for people to bid. Otherwise you might as well be taking best offer.

The only real problem I see is a lack of exposure here. Ebay has millions of visitors. Here there are just a handful by comparison. Though everyone here is into trains, I just don't think there will be a lot of sales.
 
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