Tony, you are right, people need to do their due diligence, but not only with Ebay, but for everything.
My brick and mortar hobby shop is a real rip off. They charge $95 CDN more for a locomotive I can get for $285 CDN.
Amazon was going to charge me $350 to ship an $18 item.
The only problem with doing due diligence is that it is time consuming, but worth it. I do it late at night before bed time, it gets me in a sleeping mood....LOL
Tony - I totally understand. There are a number of retailers selling on ebay and they can't afford to get a bad report. Years ago before there were so many internet retailers for model railroading I did have to use ebay to find what I needed. I never really had a problem. I would and still refuse to bid items up over retail. Occasionally I will look at what some people are trying to sell Shinohara track and turnouts for. That was on thing that I was always searching for. I have seen some turnouts go for over double what I could get them for at MB Klein. I guess some model railroaders aren't aware of all of the resources we now have with the internet retailers.
On this and on other forums I have seen where the items the buyer received were not what was shown on ebay. At least ebay can resolve these problems, but it is a pain in the butt to go and ship items back and go searching for something else because an item was misrepresented or in some cases not even working.
As far as I am along with my layout, I am not in need of a lot of things. I am fortunate enough to have all of my track down, more locomotives and rolling stock than I need and most of the scenery done on my layout. There are also those who look and shop on ebay and actually do manage to get a bargain. More power to them. This hobby can get expensive depending on what one might be looking for, and ebay is just another source for the hobby.
Your both 100% right. Getting ripped of isn't confined to ebay ... it happens every where, on the internet, tv advertising AND in brick and mortar stores. Sometimes it isn't even a matter of getting ripped of, just a matter of getting a better deal for the same item.
A little while ago I bought my Code 80 track and turnouts from Hatton's in the UK and got it all for $173 less (after currency conversion) than what Klein's sold them for. I don't recall the exact amount but say it cost me $300 US from Hatton's (including shipping) compared to $473 (US) from Klein's. Klein's wasn't trying to intentionally rip me off, just that Hutton's sold the same items for less. Hutton's was the better deal for Peco Track and Turnouts, pure and simple.
Point being, had I not looked around I could have paid $173 more than was necessary.
I think places like ebay and amazon attract a certain group of people (as sellers) who are out to do one thing, get as much as they possibly can for what it is they want to sell. As Chet said, they are oblivious to the actual market value and most likely don't care because there is also a group who are just as oblivious who are the buyers. The left hand feeding the right hand so to speak. It is those groups of people that contribute to the less than great reputation of such places and cause people to be skeptical. That makes it harder on those who are genuine, and who are being upfront and honest.
At the end of the day, whether you deal with ebay, amazon, Klein's, Hatton's or any other retailer - it is ultimately the buyers responsibility, or at least in their best interest, to look around, do research, show due diligence to ensure (as much as possible) that they do get the best deal and get what they are paying for as opposed to what the business or individual demands.
