Running Bear's Coffee Shop XLIV
- Thread starter Bill Tidler Jr.
- Start date
Seems the "Brains" at ebay have been up to it again. Bought some centrebeam flats a few weeks ago on BIN. Just went through the listings one after the other and at the end requested an updated invoice from the seller. No problems.
Some of the cars had 36" and some 33". The 33's weren't good, so hunted around Walthers, MBK and other larger dealers for P2k's but none available (Walthers says they're coming). Went to US ebay (none in Aus)and found a small seller with some. Wrote to the seller and asked how much to post 3 packs (I had seen that ebay indicated $US40+USPS Priority blah blah)), he wrote back, said would be $12 1st class international parcel.
So away I went to his shop and selected the 3 packs and clicked the BIN button. Ebay then informs me that if I want to continue shopping, I will have to put this lot in my cart, if I just want this purchase to proceed to checkout. So off to Checkout. Here I'm told that if I want to request a revised invoice to get any discounts from the seller, I'll have to put my items in the cart and make the request from there, if I proceed through checkout I'll be charged the postage that ebay has set (I'm sure I saw a raised finger). Back to the cart! Start writing my request. Up pops another announcement to the effect, "This seller does not offer any postal discounts blah, blah". Off to my messages to reply to the seller and inform him how ebay is stuffing things up and can he do anything about it, he writes back this morning (now evening) that nothing has come off the listing. If this, as it seems, is a new rule change, doesn't sound as if he's aware of it.
I write back again an explanation of what is going on vis-a-vis ebay and indicate that I might as well wait for Walthers or MBK to get them back in where I can pay by credit card.
Which brings up two other items of interest with ebay and paypal. Got an announcement that ebay and paypal are separating. I've also noticed that US ebay will now only allow payments via paypal.
A few years back ebay tried this on here in Aus (not the separating but the paypal only stuff), caused a ruckus with buyers who objected to being slugged by paypal just for the privilege of paying when there were other electronic means available that didn't cost a cent. Upshot was that our consumer watchdog got involved and told ebay and paypal to go stick it. Appears to me that this new arrangement may be an attempt, by separating, to get around monopoly laws. Should be challenged vehemently.
Some of the cars had 36" and some 33". The 33's weren't good, so hunted around Walthers, MBK and other larger dealers for P2k's but none available (Walthers says they're coming). Went to US ebay (none in Aus)and found a small seller with some. Wrote to the seller and asked how much to post 3 packs (I had seen that ebay indicated $US40+USPS Priority blah blah)), he wrote back, said would be $12 1st class international parcel.
So away I went to his shop and selected the 3 packs and clicked the BIN button. Ebay then informs me that if I want to continue shopping, I will have to put this lot in my cart, if I just want this purchase to proceed to checkout. So off to Checkout. Here I'm told that if I want to request a revised invoice to get any discounts from the seller, I'll have to put my items in the cart and make the request from there, if I proceed through checkout I'll be charged the postage that ebay has set (I'm sure I saw a raised finger). Back to the cart! Start writing my request. Up pops another announcement to the effect, "This seller does not offer any postal discounts blah, blah". Off to my messages to reply to the seller and inform him how ebay is stuffing things up and can he do anything about it, he writes back this morning (now evening) that nothing has come off the listing. If this, as it seems, is a new rule change, doesn't sound as if he's aware of it.
I write back again an explanation of what is going on vis-a-vis ebay and indicate that I might as well wait for Walthers or MBK to get them back in where I can pay by credit card.
Which brings up two other items of interest with ebay and paypal. Got an announcement that ebay and paypal are separating. I've also noticed that US ebay will now only allow payments via paypal.
A few years back ebay tried this on here in Aus (not the separating but the paypal only stuff), caused a ruckus with buyers who objected to being slugged by paypal just for the privilege of paying when there were other electronic means available that didn't cost a cent. Upshot was that our consumer watchdog got involved and told ebay and paypal to go stick it. Appears to me that this new arrangement may be an attempt, by separating, to get around monopoly laws. Should be challenged vehemently.
Bruette
Well-Known Member
Hey King Toot,
Your problems checking out are probably due to some change in government regulation or God knows what.
I have not heard I can only pay through PayPal. I did receive a notice of policy and privacy updates recently from PayPal. I did not read it, to be honest.
I always pay through PayPal when ever I can. I can even use it at MB Klein. I don't pay any fees and they provide additional protection against fraud. Combined with the old Bill Me Later now; PayPal Credit I can even get 6 months to pay, interest free. That really helps me stay within my budget, mostly, sometimes, all right I am really trying here! I stopped paying interest! I am making progress. My name is Louis and I am addicted to trains.
Sorry about all that.
I imagine international PayPal is much different.
Your problems checking out are probably due to some change in government regulation or God knows what.
I have not heard I can only pay through PayPal. I did receive a notice of policy and privacy updates recently from PayPal. I did not read it, to be honest.
I always pay through PayPal when ever I can. I can even use it at MB Klein. I don't pay any fees and they provide additional protection against fraud. Combined with the old Bill Me Later now; PayPal Credit I can even get 6 months to pay, interest free. That really helps me stay within my budget, mostly, sometimes, all right I am really trying here! I stopped paying interest! I am making progress. My name is Louis and I am addicted to trains.
Sorry about all that.
I imagine international PayPal is much different.
IronBeltKen
Lazy Daydreamer
Morning y'all. Clear with some early morning mist here in MD. The lunar eclipse may still be visible if you go out right away and look to the West.
PRR Modeler
Well-Known Member
Morning All,
Not much planned for today other than start the wiring on the layout. I figure if the back holds up and I am not tasked by higher authority (you all know who I'm talking about) it should take 2 days. This is my absolute least favorite thing to do with MRR'ing. Oh well it has to be done.
Hope everyone has a good day.
Not much planned for today other than start the wiring on the layout. I figure if the back holds up and I am not tasked by higher authority (you all know who I'm talking about) it should take 2 days. This is my absolute least favorite thing to do with MRR'ing. Oh well it has to be done.
Hope everyone has a good day.
Good morning.
The hospital has scheduled my wife for a field trip to the county fair tomorrow. They hqven't mentioned if they plan on bringing her back...
I am thinking this is good, if she wasn't improving, I don't think they would be taking her places outside the controlled environment of the hospital.
The hospital has scheduled my wife for a field trip to the county fair tomorrow. They hqven't mentioned if they plan on bringing her back...
I am thinking this is good, if she wasn't improving, I don't think they would be taking her places outside the controlled environment of the hospital.
PRR Modeler
Well-Known Member
Terry- That sounds like very positive news. I hope she has a good time.
Boris
Beach Bum
Happy Wednesday Y'all:
It's a glorious 68°, and breezy, with a brilliant fall sun. Last night, around eleven PM, it rained .10 of an inch, which was a surprise, 'cause the guessers said it wasn't going to rain 'till Friday. So much for their forecast.
I finished reconnecting my layout to the terminal extension. Surprising how US made Micro Engineering, code 83 matches up with Japanese made Kato HO code 83 Ready Track. Just remove the Kato rail joiner and replace with a ME joiner. There is a slight vertical deviation between the ME track on cork roadbed, and the Kato plastic roadbed, but it's not more than a 32nd of an inch. This was a quick fix using what I had on hand, it still needs to be secured, and leveled, but it works! Best part is I don't have to ballast that section
.
On the whole, I accomplished what I wanted, that is running my steam locomotives, including my I1sa 2-10-0 with long haul tender (with very rigid 8 wheel trucks) completely around the layout without incident. The only down side was that my Bachmann K4s 4-6-2 slipped it's drivers and almost stalled on a 2% grade, pulling a 5 car passenger train. The consist was a Walthers x29 Express box car, a Walthers B60b baggage car, a Bachmann PB70 combine (new release), a Bachmann P70 coach (also new release), and a Branchline 12-1 Pullman . Do I see a BLI K4s in the (near?) future ?
The old layout gets a reprieve, and I save time and effort, not to mention money. Now, I resume trying to apply scenery, which is NOT one of my strong points .
Terry: That sounds like good news. We are praying for your wife's full recovery. Toot: The spin off of PayPal by E-bay looks to me to be a prelude to another public stock IPO. These things are more common at the end of a Bull market cycle. What you are going through is the frustration of attempting to work a "deal" through electronic means.
Perhaps, you can get the seller to sell and ship to you directly, and not through E-bay. Curt: Good luck running wire today. I enjoy the photos of your layout. My one complaint, is that you instilled the PRR steam bug in me .
NHL opening night is Tonight! If they are doing a preview of Center Ice, I'll watch the Habs @ Toronto. If not, I'll wait for the later game. I can't stand NBCSN's top broadcast team of "Doc" Emrick and Pierre Maguire. The Devils open tomorrow in Philly......Go Devils!!!
Have a great day!
Joe
It's a glorious 68°, and breezy, with a brilliant fall sun. Last night, around eleven PM, it rained .10 of an inch, which was a surprise, 'cause the guessers said it wasn't going to rain 'till Friday. So much for their forecast.
I finished reconnecting my layout to the terminal extension. Surprising how US made Micro Engineering, code 83 matches up with Japanese made Kato HO code 83 Ready Track. Just remove the Kato rail joiner and replace with a ME joiner. There is a slight vertical deviation between the ME track on cork roadbed, and the Kato plastic roadbed, but it's not more than a 32nd of an inch. This was a quick fix using what I had on hand, it still needs to be secured, and leveled, but it works! Best part is I don't have to ballast that section
. On the whole, I accomplished what I wanted, that is running my steam locomotives, including my I1sa 2-10-0 with long haul tender (with very rigid 8 wheel trucks) completely around the layout without incident
. The only down side was that my Bachmann K4s 4-6-2 slipped it's drivers and almost stalled on a 2% grade, pulling a 5 car passenger train. The consist was a Walthers x29 Express box car, a Walthers B60b baggage car, a Bachmann PB70 combine (new release), a Bachmann P70 coach (also new release), and a Branchline 12-1 Pullman . Do I see a BLI K4s in the (near?) future ? The old layout gets a reprieve, and I save time and effort, not to mention money
. Now, I resume trying to apply scenery, which is NOT one of my strong points .Terry: That sounds like good news. We are praying for your wife's full recovery. Toot: The spin off of PayPal by E-bay looks to me to be a prelude to another public stock IPO. These things are more common at the end of a Bull market cycle. What you are going through is the frustration of attempting to work a "deal" through electronic means.
Perhaps, you can get the seller to sell and ship to you directly, and not through E-bay
. Curt: Good luck running wire today. I enjoy the photos of your layout. My one complaint, is that you instilled the PRR steam bug in me . NHL opening night is Tonight!
If they are doing a preview of Center Ice, I'll watch the Habs @ Toronto. If not, I'll wait for the later game. I can't stand NBCSN's top broadcast team of "Doc" Emrick and Pierre Maguire. The Devils open tomorrow in Philly......Go Devils!!!Have a great day!
Joe
Joe, I have learned that not all passenger cars have really free rolling trucks. Try a little light plastic compatible oil or graphite on the axle ends, especially on the Walthers cars. You may be surprised by the difference. Then again, you may be getting a new K4 in the near future...
jeffrey-wimberly
Dr Frankendiesel
Went to see the doc today. The news isn't good. Looks looks like my left foot is gonna be going the way of the right one.
PRR Modeler
Well-Known Member
Jeff- I am very sorry to here that. Is that going to put you in a wheelchair?
jeffrey-wimberly
Dr Frankendiesel
For a time, perhaps six months. That didn't stop me before and I don't foresee it stopping me now. It's also a sore topic in public. At Wall-mart one day it got a heckler a free all-expense-paid lesson in how to bounce off a wall.
PRR Modeler
Well-Known Member
Jeff-I am sorry if I offended you. I think you know I have nothing but the highest respect for you.
Very, very sorry to hear that Jeff. When you were having the healing problems with it, I was afraid of that.
Toot: The spin off of PayPal by E-bay looks to me to be a prelude to another public stock IPO. These things are more common at the end of a Bull market cycle. What you are going through is the frustration of attempting to work a "deal" through electronic means.
Perhaps, you can get the seller to sell and ship to you directly, and not through E-bay
Joe
EBay's well on top of that, try to send your email address through their messages and it's bounced right back at you with a "naughty, naughty" message. This having to put stuff in your cart in order to ask for a revised invoice is definitely new, wasn't there a few weeks ago. Even the seller suggested doing that. As you may have noticed also they now charge sellers the final valuation fee on the total sum INCLUDING postage charges. This was done ostensibly to stamp out the practice of BIN sellers in particular, listing undervalue and then overcharging on the postage to reduce that final valuation charge. They had tried policing it for a long time but obviously failed, now they're encouraging sellers to advertise "free postage", which of course just means that it's included in the price.
I've also noticed a number of sellers telling buyers, as part of their listing instructions, when buying multiples, NOT to pay via checkout, but wait for them to send the revised invoice because of eBay's exaggerated postage "estimates".
I used to be a believer in paypal, especially when, at one time, they offered their "protection" on motor vehicles. That soon came to an end when according to ebay/paypal, It was no longer needed, because buyers were becoming much more proactive in considering their purchases beforehand. Of course, all this protection is done through an insurer (took a lot of digging to find out that fact, was well buried), so it's not hard to see where that decision came from. There was also clause (equally deeply buried) that gave the insurer an "out" if the buyer hadn't done, or had someone do an inspection of the item beforehand.
So yes, I see paypal as a necessary evil, but my view is also somewhat jaundiced. As it is, every time I pay that way I'm charged about 2.5% for the priviledge.
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kbkchooch
"retired" conductor
Amen Garry! I'm sure Jeffrey will be on many prayer lists, as a lot of us are concerned. As a fellow diabetic, I can understand fully his healing issues, as my legs are scarred because of it, but luckily I am still healing...slowly.
Speaking of other forums, I wont be back across the street anymore. I've decided to let my subscription lapse....I just don't see the value in anything from Kalmbach anymore. Tooo much free (and many times better) info out there. But I'll still come here,,,Bill makes the best coffee!
Trussrod
Well-Known Member
No problem Bill, I just thought that was kind of a unique set-up.
Say Chris: That is very good news indeed, I'm glad she is making such good progress!! Congrats to both of you!
Happy Wednesday Y'all:
It's a glorious 68°, and breezy, with a brilliant fall sun. Last night, around eleven PM, it rained .10 of an inch, which was a surprise, 'cause the guessers said it wasn't going to rain 'till Friday. So much for their forecast.
I finished reconnecting my layout to the terminal extension. Surprising how US made Micro Engineering, code 83 matches up with Japanese made Kato HO code 83 Ready Track. Just remove the Kato rail joiner and replace with a ME joiner. There is a slight vertical deviation between the ME track on cork roadbed, and the Kato plastic roadbed, but it's not more than a 32nd of an inch. This was a quick fix using what I had on hand, it still needs to be secured, and leveled, but it works! Best part is I don't have to ballast that section
On the whole, I accomplished what I wanted, that is running my steam locomotives, including my I1sa 2-10-0 with long haul tender (with very rigid 8 wheel trucks) completely around the layout without incident
Joe, just add a slight shim under the rail or ties, which ever is easiest to bring the Micro-engineering up to the level of the other existing rail head. Of course, as in real life different Loco's had different tractive forces and some pulled more than others.
Also on the fairly rigid tender trucks it surprising they don't have some side to side flexibility. Isn't there a way to loosen them up a bit to allow more side-to-side flex? It sure should help to prevent derailments. That's one thing on my cars I check to see they're trucks have enough s-s flex.
The old layout gets a reprieve, and I save time and effort, not to mention money
Terry: That sounds like good news. We are praying for your wife's full recovery. Toot: The spin off of PayPal by E-bay looks to me to be a prelude to another public stock IPO. These things are more common at the end of a Bull market cycle. What you are going through is the frustration of attempting to work a "deal" through electronic means.
Perhaps, you can get the seller to sell and ship to you directly, and not through E-bay
Have a great day!
Joe
I'm sure it will look just fine. Just be sure to use something like Woodland Scenics Hobby tack to at least position things so you can step back for a few days to see if it's to your liking? If not things can be picked up and moved.
Went to see the doc today. The news isn't good. Looks looks like my left foot is gonna be going the way of the right one.
Say Jeffrey, As others have said that's not the news we were hopping for but it may well have to do with the fact the doctors have you on insulin still. I've been reading, but not in depth, that Diabetes may be more of a scam than actual science. I thought I saved the articles but don't find them now. Sorry. You might check it out on the web. If I do come across them I will forward them to you.
Morning All,
Slept in for a extra hour this morning. Today we need to clean house and later I want to solder a couple of feeder wires to the track in the new section. After that everything will be done on top of the layout that needs to be done electrically. I am holding off soldering rail joiners until everything is hooked up and working.
I really was planning on putting the turnouts going in the opposite direction because I thought I could shoe horn in 3 turnouts on the left main, but I would of had to cut back part of the pre-existing turnout going to the coal mine area, and I decided not to do that.
I hope everyone has a good day.
Curt
Say Curt: I always enjoy seeing what your doing and the mini-scenes you create as that's what I like to do too. Like the three Rr workers at the signal box who seem to be trying to get it set. Am I close? I also like your use of rocks at the mine tracks.
Are those two signals functional?
Getting back to your effort in trying to work in another turnout, often it does require shortening the lead in tracks on both turnouts a bit by one or one & a half tie lengths, maybe even two? You just don't want to compromise where the points close into the outer stock rails. Also you can take off some from the exit rails beyond the frog. Also too, it can be a big help in aligning rails where a curve meets a straight section if the ends of the straight section are gripped firmly with a small pair of pliers and slightly bent without kinking it to slightly start to form a bit of a curve to meet a bit more smoothly. That's where the track gang are always glad to see the Giant foreman come along! LoL
Oh, I was looking at your hill side by the mine tracks and the Pine trees you had planted on the flat area and thinking a few of them stuck into the hill side at abiyt a 45 to 60* angle would sure add some interest to that area too.
Enjoy the Railroading!
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