Messages

61

General Discussion / Re: The ebay rant.

« on: January 19, 2023, 06:47:20 PM »

I had two brothers that have died. I still have a sister and a dog. Both are doing OK, but have issues due their ages.

I had two of the Brother printers - both lasted over 10 years and 1,000 of pages printed. This recent one the drum wore out - that's at least 80K pages, and when I put the replacement in the plastic insides broke. I paid $50 for the replacement drum, and threw the printer out when I couldn't install it. The last one also got a new power supply a few years ago because the fan became noisy and bothered me.

62

General Discussion / Re: The ebay rant.

« on: January 19, 2023, 02:54:04 PM »

I had a bunch of AF O gauge steam locos end last night. The little 0-4-0 and 2-4-2. They went cheap. One buyer sent me a message saying ebay was down and he couldn't get his snipes in. I know I lost money on a few of them, but overall I made a little money.

These weigh just over 2 pounds each when packed. The Priority mail regional A boxes are the cheapest way to ship them. Anything over 2 pounds that will fit in the regional A box  is always cheaper.

Actually I should say WAS always cheaper. The post office is discontinuing the Regional Boxes next week on the 22nd.  But ebay in their wisdom removed them as an option so they were not availible last night.

So I ended up loosing another $10-15 on shipping.

On a good note - I bought a DYMO thermal label printer. My 12-year old Brother died a while back and the Xerox I bought for color printing is Frustrating GARBAGE. The Dymo took 30 minutes to hook up, but
will pay for itself in 4-5 months based on a savings of about 18 cents per label.

63

General Discussion / Re: The ebay rant.

« on: January 13, 2023, 01:25:24 PM »

It looks like ebay has scraped off the scammers listings and left the seller's account. I saw this same thing about a month ago, but ebay removed the whole account.

This was a real common scam back when ebay started. List an item you don't own using pictures from other ebay items and then keep the money. There was an IVES 1694 transition set that was listed over and over again.

Next time I'll grab some screen caps.

64

General Discussion / Here's a scammer

« on: January 12, 2023, 03:54:33 PM »

This guy is listing items that sold 4-6 months ago and triying to get buyers to do the deal off ebay.

I bid $10K on each of the trains listed below just to mess with them.

This is the Macy set I sold last fall:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204213824268

A dark green 9 in poor shape:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204213824224

And a hudson note different backgrounds in photos:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/195555707014

Here's the seller feedback:

https://www.ebay.com/fdbk/feedback_profile/onestopbuys?filter=feedback_page%3ARECEIVED_AS_SELLER&_trksid=p2047675.m3561.l2560

65

General Discussion / Re: The ebay rant.

« on: January 11, 2023, 01:28:24 PM »

I never cancel bids. I don't cancel orders either. When a buyer asks for the order to be cancelled minutes after the auction ends I add $500 to the shipping price. This keeps them from paying, and then keeps them from leaving feedback later. Because they got an unpaid item strike, they can't bid on my items again.

I sold a 700E last year. The buyer got the loco and complained because I hadn't mentioned the missing chunk. I messaged back asking what he meant and he sent me a picture of a broken cab. All I could see was the last three inches of the loco from the top. No way to tell if it was the loco I shipped. It could have been a 763 or even a 773.

I sent the buyer a message saying he had to send me a picture of the entire loco, and include pictures of the missing chunk. I never heard from him again.

66

General Discussion / Re: The ebay rant.

« on: January 09, 2023, 02:56:50 PM »

I feel that having people knowledgeable about the items in each category as monitors would go a long way to curing problems, but they don't even need that.

Years ago I realized that the people causing problems on ebay are repeaters. I've seen ebay accounts who leave 60 and 70 percent negative feedback.

The ebay phone people told me Ben Tripp was flagged.  This is the guy who couldn't print a label from last week.

If they cleared them out many of the problems would go away.

Here's a new one -- I just banned a guy who was bidding on my items on Saturday, then cancelling his bids on Sunday. Then he'd bid again on Monday just to cancel again on Tuesday. (He's bidding on cheap layout details. People sets, automobiles and such.) This is the 3rd week in a row. I woke up today to 3 messages from eBay about cancelled bids and said enough.

Is it a game? Is he afraid that he might win and have to send me $30 for his purchases and money's tight for him? I don't know, but it's aggravating to me so he's gone. 

67

General Discussion / Re: need another way to couple a Lionel prewar 226E

« on: January 09, 2023, 02:25:27 PM »

You can see the first tank car twisting at the 5:50 mark. That might be the couplers are too tight?

I like those tanks too. I put the ratty ones aside as I get them and then paint them in other roadnames. I just ordered more decals to do the cars I have on hand from protocraft.com

Here's a link:

https://protocraft.com/category.cfm?Categoryid=22

68

General Discussion / Re: Interesting Auction Items

« on: January 05, 2023, 12:01:17 PM »

A big advantage of the variations is they give us collectors a reason to keep more trains. They also keep us interested.

69

General Discussion / Re: Interesting Auction Items

« on: January 04, 2023, 03:45:57 PM »

People say "they were making toys."

The weird 156 is this one:

 

156a1 Dark green, type 2 motor, black fiber plate with manufacturing plate, diecast wheels with simulated spokes, riveted couplers, pedestal headlight, holes in diecast wheels, no weights on pony trucks.

I've never seen a 703 with gold vents, but here's a 156 with them. With the exception of the pony wheels and the gold vents, this is the same as my 703. The number and the wheels means it was made later than the 703. The number can't be changed.

I could come up with a few different guesses about why this was made, but all would just be guesses.  The only fact I can say is this was made AFTER the 703 locos. Date wise, I think it's no earlier than 1917 when the number change was made.

Here's a fun fact - Lionel made trains in Newark from 1913-16. In 1916 they moved to Irvington. 1916 is one of the years in standard gauge where a lot of odd items were made. Coincidence?

For the later mid 20s oddities like the 156X above,  Lionel kept portions of  Newark plant for use as storage into the mid 1920s when the Irvington plant was expanded. Coincidence?

70

General Discussion / Re: Interesting Auction Items

« on: January 03, 2023, 12:41:38 AM »

There are no signs this ever had pony trucks. I think I have a 156X loco that was put together from parts in the mid 1920s. I've seen others over the years with the same features.  The type five motor shows up in many weird locos.

156Xa1 Dark green, type 5 motor with brush tubes, black fiber with corp plate, diecast wheels with spokes, riveted couplers, pedestal headlight. No pilot trucks or hangers. This loco may have been assembled from spare parts in late 1920s?

 

71

General Discussion / Re: Interesting Auction Items

« on: January 01, 2023, 03:26:10 PM »

I looked at the painted jurnals on that 152 for a while.

Here's a set of interest:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155338084657

It's a 156 loco and 3 cars. Loco has riveted couplers, but all other features are later period. The 610/612 cars have blue windows and no corp stamps.

I have a 156 and 156X with riveted couplers and pedestal light, but not this version.

You can see this has been worked on by looking at the wires, and I'd rather save my money for the spring auction season. 

72

General Discussion / Re: The ebay rant.

« on: December 30, 2022, 01:37:15 PM »

Ebay has been slow lately for me too. Searches never load, and labels are slow.

That's just a Converse floor toy. No windup motor. It's missing one sign, but otherwise complete and just gorgeous. It's got a place up above the door for now.

73

General Discussion / Re: The ebay rant.

« on: December 29, 2022, 03:29:23 PM »

ebays search engine shouldn't see capital letters as different from lower case.  Must be all those journalists and coal miners that are learning how to code.

Here's something neat I couldn't pass up:

 

 

Just gorgeous, and the ebay seller - (a woman) included a note in the box saying her family had enjoyed this on their mantle for decades, and  she hoped I enjoy it as much.

I will!

74

General Discussion / Re: The ebay rant.

« on: December 29, 2022, 02:15:03 PM »

He's still on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/fdbk/feedback_profile/bz60-18

Notice the feedback I left for him is still there, but ebay removed the feedback he left for me.

75

General Discussion / Re: The ebay rant.

« on: December 27, 2022, 05:39:58 PM »

This year I did about 3000 ebay sales. This Georgia scammer was the only complaint I had from a scammer. If ebay did more to block these people, they could stop this.

I had an ebay shopper ask me if a Lionel B unit could be motorized. I said NO. He bought it anyway.

As soon as he got it he complained that it "rattled when shaken."

Just OPEN ITEM! THE LOCOMOTIVE HAVE PARTS RATTLING INSIDE! IT'S STILL IN PLASTIC BAG. IAM GETTING TIRED OF RECEIVING DAMAGED ITEMS FROM THESE EBAY SELLERS! DON'T HAVE THESE ISSUES WITH AMAZON! NOW I HAVE TO USE MY TIME/GAS TO SHIP THE ITEM BACK! VERY DISSATISFIED WITH SELLER PUSHING OFF DEFECTIVE ITEMS! THEIR ARE BE SHIPPINED BAD AND THE SELLER'S KNOW IT! YOURS TRULY Ben Tripp Covington GA 🤬

I told him to take the top off and send me a picture of what was rattling. (Two screws hold the top on - and there is NOTHING inside the unit.)

What do you mean! The UNIT HAS SOMETHING IN THE INSIDE THAT'S IS DISCONNECTED/DAMAGED. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SEND YOU A PICTURE OF SEALED LOCOMOTIVE LOSS PARTS? BOTTOM LINE I DON'T WANT THE ITEM! IT WAS SHIPPED DAMAGED/OR IN SHIPPING! EBAY HAS A PICTURE OF THE LOCOMOTIVE. IT FRESH OUT OF THE BOX. RATTLING INSIDE THE LOCOMOTIVE YOURS TRULY BZ60-18

I replied:

There is nothing inside it. Maybe a light bulb came loose or one of the side windows? You can easily put either back together. YOU ASKED ME IF THIS COULD BE MOTORIZED. I TOLD YOU NO. YOU BOUGHT IT ANYWAY AND NOW COMPLAIN THAT SOMETHING IS RATTLING SO YOU HAVE AN EXCUSE TO RETURN IT AT MY EXPENSE. SHOW ME THE DAMAGE OR KEEP IT. NOTE: YOU HAVE SENT ME TWO MESSAGES WITH NO CLAIMS OF EXTERIOR DAMAGE. DO NOT BREAK IT NOW SO YOU CAN RETURN IT.

Then I looked at his feedback and sent the following messages so eBay would see them:

    You have feedback from other sellers saying you claimed items were defective and they were not. "Train not defective. Was returned and fully refunded. Taken to Train Store where it was tested (again, as it was before it was listed) and it ran perfectly. Buyer did not know how to operate it properly." HMMM. IS THIS A PATTERN? I bet it is.

A few minutes later again so ebay would see it:

In three years you've filed HOW MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT ITEMS BEING DAMAGED IN THE MAIL? Of 75 feedbacks you left in 3 years you have made at least 5 claims of damaged items. THAT'S A PATTERN OF ABUSE.

He replied with:

You Got that Right! I don't buy Freaking Junk! IF I GO TO A LOCOMOTIVE RETAILERS AND I SEE AND FEEL SOMETHING LOSE/ RATTLING IAM NOT BUYING IT! YOU NEED TO WORRY BUDDY I WANT BE BUYING FROM YOU AGAIN! JUST LIKE SOME OF THE OTHER SELLER PUSHING OFF USED JUNK! WHICH SUFFERED THE SAME (FAITH)! I HAVE BOUGHT FROM DIFFERENT SELLER'S NO PROBLEM! WITH GOOD LOCOMOTIVE! WHY WOULD I LIE ABOUT $100 USED ENGINE, WHEN I HAVE PURCHASED LOCOMOTIVE COSTING 10×. THIS, GET REAL! YOURS TRULY BZ60-18 🤬

My reply:

The shell of that is held on by two screws - one on each end inside the door frame. Why would you refuse to open the item up and see what is rattling unless you were fabricating an excuse to return the train? YOU HAVE OPENED AT LEAST FIVE COMPLAINTS IN THE PAST 3 YEARS. THIS IS A HISTORY OF ABUSE. Shame on you.

He came back with more tirad:

    I DON'T WANT IT! YOU SAID I TAMPERED WITH THE LOCOMOTIVE! WHICH IS A FLAT OUT LIE! OUT OF 3YRS I ONLY RETURN 5. JUNK ITEMS BACK TO SELLER'S! WHAT THAT SAY ABOUT YOU/ITEM! SEEMS LIKE I GOT A GOOD REP/BUYING RECORD. (GOLDEN RULE) THE CUSTOMERS IS ALWAYS RIGHT! YOU WILL STAY IN BUSINESS! HAVE A GOOD EVENING. YOURS TRULY Ben Tripp Covington GA

At this point I've had enough:

YOU HAVE SPENT MORE TIME WHINING AND COMPLAINING THAN IT WOULD TAKE TO OPEN THE TRAIN AND SEE WHAT IS LOOSE. This means you're a scammer because someone who wanted it would have checked it. BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK LEFT, YOU HAVE FILED AT LEAST FIVE COMPLAINTS ABOUT DAMAGED ITEMS IN THE PAST 75 TRANSACTIONS. THOSE SELLERS SAY YOU WERE LYING. THAT SHOUTS SCAMMER TO ME.

As an aside, while this was going on, I had another buyer who got an AF operating log car where a truck sideframe had come apart in the mail. I sent the AF buyer messages and using photos of parts on hand was able to instruct him on putting the car back together.  This is how a normal person reacts when there is a problem.  Very different from how Scammer Ben reacted to a "rattling B unit."

He's back again:

The OTHER SELLER SOLD JUNK. SO I RETURN THE JUNK BACK TO THE RIGHT PLACE THE SELLER! 2 TO 3 LOCOMOTIVE BACK SELLER'S WHICH IS LESS THAN 5 OUT OF 3YRS. BE A RESPONSIBLE SELLER AND REFUND ME ! I GETTING MY REFUND! I HOPE YOUR SELLER PERMIT IS REVOKED! I DONE BEFORE I GO INTO MILITARY MODE! HAVE A GOOD BUSINESS CHRISTMAS 👍🙂 YOURS TRULY BEN TRIPP HA HA.

All that went down on December 15th. On December 21st Ben Tripp escalated the case to eBay and THREE MINUTES LATER eBay found in his favor and gave him a return label at my expense.

Latehr that day Ben complained to eBay that he wasn't able to use the label ebay had given him. So ebay to0ld me I had to furnish a label by December 25th or they'd give Mr. Tripp his money back and let him keep the train.

I called eBay and the support woman talked me through buying a label on the USPS website and then messaging it to Mr. Tripp.

The next day he was back again complaining he couldn't use the label. Ebay sent me the same message as before, but moved the date to the 26th. I called and uploaded the label again. The ebay support woman told me she'd marked the label as provided.

The Georgia scammer then sent me a message through ebay whining again. I think he couldn't use the label because he only has a cell phone and no printer.

This morning eBay gave Mr. Ben Tripp his money back and told him he could keep the train. I got a message:

Hi Terry,

We reviewed this case and decided to issue the buyer a full refund.

You agreed to give the buyer a refund but didn't issue it.

A refund of US $96.00 was issued on Dec 27, 2022 to the buyer. The refund includes the purchase price plus original shipping.

The refund amount will be recovered from you by eBay.

I called them on the phone and the  rep in Texas - morning calls go to Texas, said I had done everything right and the second woman had failed to mark the label as given to the buyer.  He put me on hold and took care of it. I got the money. I also went to the USPS website and cancelled the label I'd bought there. Ebay removed the feedback he'd left for me, but as of this writing haven't removed the feedback I left for him.

Ben Tripp got the B unit and his money back.

Shameful behaviour.