I know the SW1500's are harder to find now but dayum! Oh, I may have bid on this auction, sorry your sniping software caused you to waaaaayyyyy overpay, if the "winner" of this auction reads this. I guess I'm a sore "loser". That's why I don't use that kind of program, somebody like me comes along and "FAFO" happens. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1757815296...=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
The "Winner" might as well just throw his cash into a bonfire. It looks like Bidders went at it in the closing minutes, leaping from $370.00 to $600.79 to $610.79. Years ago I sold some diecast trucks and a similar thing happened. As @DRGW4EVR noted, it can be eBay sniping software or it can be emotion that drives this sort of mania. In either case, I don't get it either.
Also, just because it closed at a price, doesn't mean that the seller will actually ever SEE the money. UP auctioned off a cab ride in the Big Boy on EBay...the final bid was over $21,000, but it turns out the winner had made the bid as a joke and had no way of paying for it.
That's a good point Jeff. I had "winning" bidders fail to pay or wait a week to pay. One guy who "won" some of my Lionel responded that "his kids must have accessed his account and bid on it". Seriously? There are clearly people who excessively bid, and scramble to pick up the pieces when they win more than they bargained for.
That's a very good point, just cause it sold for $X.XX, doesn't mean it'll be paid. I hope it does get paid, love seeing a seller hit it big when people who have way more green papers than sense tout their "status" like that. That seller can be blessed with a gift, well at least "that" seller. There are those sellers, the so called establishments that are acting as an actual store by buying "inventory" and causing us to have to pay more cause the manufacturers no longer have it-it just changed hands and the price got jacked waayyy up by the establishment,
After all of these years, I continue to wonder- How many times has someone interested in starting out in N scale, seen such prices, and backed away from the idea, or model railroading, altogether?
Good point! "I want to try N-Scale since I saw it at a train show. Let me but used to save some money. I wonder what eBay has? Holy crap! If that's used I can't imagine what new cost???!!! Forget it. I'll stick with crossword puzzles."
There's been a distinct change in the model trains found on eBay these days in comparison to several years ago. Maybe its eBay's stated strategy to focus on high volume sellers (eBay's CEO Jamie Iannone has made this clear), maybe it's the new Federal tax laws or maybe it's eBay's ever-escalating fees, but the average Joes like me who thinned their collections and once offered good stuff at reasonable prices have disappeared. From what I read, Etsy has taken this business from eBay. I might have to check that out.
I am a recent convert and found it to be just as good as eBay once was. I heard stories about FB being the Wild West that eBay once was. In some ways it still is, but I get the feeling that a lot of folks on FB have seen the light and are taking things into their own hands and trying to put a stop to all the shenanigans. So far, I've been real happy selling on FB and have met some nice people and added them as actual friends.
I sold some stuff there several years back. It was good, except for one jerk. Lately I have been thinking of placing a want ad here, and on FB, for a very specific Arnold SW1 I need.
Ooops, I should have remembered that. We sold some furniture on FB Marketplace just a month ago. The FB account is in my wife's name and the first three inquires were suspect and/or creepy. She was wise enough to ignore those and we soon received a legit inquiry which led to a sale.
The elephant in the room is still the new requirement for electronic payment processors to notify the IRS of $600 or more in receipts to any given person. Regardless of the venue: eBay, Etsy, FB, and TB Swap Meet for that matter... I suppose one could have lots of different payment options (he said, asking for a friend) but keeping track of all that seems daunting and pushes selling into the "it's not worth it" category for some, I would think... Also, FB <is> creepy. I have dialed down my presence there... a lot. Have I mentioned how many "Try Zelle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" junk e-mails, and snail mails, I've gotten recently?
I've used FB Marketplace for some things but like Craigslist, U gotta break out the "BS Meter" and fire her up during any transaction. We're very fortunate that N Scale has the exceeding majority of modelers that have a high moral standard and actually have an interest to advance our scale and hobby to keep it going. We know to be good stewards to our scale. The HO guys know their scale will withstand a nuclear war and still exist but we are used to scarcity, manufacturers lasting short months or weeks, fixing up questionably designed models to swiss watch standard, etc.. In short, we "got it goin on!", in our scale, essentially. That's just my take. Sorry, carried away again...
