Let me tell you a story about a Big Boy

[EHodges]

Sounds like all the guys before me quoted exactly what you should do. You should also post the users ebay name on here and warn the model railroad hobbiest about this guy so we don't have the same issue. I hope all works out for you. I had to go through this with a seller on some RC Helicopter items and in the end paypal issues me a return from the sellers account and ebay put a bad mark against them.

[Cjcrescent]

Also, if the seller has repeated complaints on others sales, he will be barred from E-bay.

Incidences like this is one reason I'm extremely selective about what I buy off of there.

[montanan]

I believe that ebay has a buyer protection program. Just like the other have mentioned, make a complaint, and if the Big Boy was described as being operational, you have good grounds for a complaint.

[D&J RailRoad]

That's pretty lame to say it ran fine a year ago. I've heard the ugly stories about brass locos being sold then the buyer claims that he received a plastic model and returned it for his refund. Who ripped off who in that one? How can you prove that what you shipped was what you actually advertised?
E-bay was probably a good thing in it's early days, but the scum of the world has seeped in.

[irocinblue89]

Originally Posted by EHodges

Sounds like all the guys before me quoted exactly what you should do. You should also post the users ebay name on here and warn the model railroad hobbiest about this guy so we don't have the same issue. I hope all works out for you. I had to go through this with a seller on some RC Helicopter items and in the end paypal issues me a return from the sellers account and ebay put a bad mark against them.

Although I would love to post the sellers ebay name he has inclined to give me a refund (only after I filed 3 complaints) and therefore has made an effort to resolve this issue. He asked me to send his shipping money back to him if I have a heart but I reminded him I had to send the loco back on my dime and also pay the repair shop for their time to take it apart and try and fix it. The shop said they knew of a Co. that makes gears for loco's. Does anyone know who they are referring to? It would be nice to know if I ever need something like that again.

Thanks all,
Seann

[bnsf971]

Originally Posted by irocinblue89

The shop said they knew of a Co. that makes gears for loco's. Does anyone know who they are referring to? It would be nice to know if I ever need something like that again.

Thanks all,
Seann

North West Short Line? I got some Shay gears from them.

I also remember on a now-defunct forum one person that used his trains heavily ran into the plastic gear problem. MTH said a "small" number of locomotives may have had gears with softer-than-specified plastic, resulting in the teeth wearing off.

On edit, it may be a good idea if we knew who this guy was, just so another one of us didn't end up buying the same engine again.

[Rico]

I've had a couple negative experiences on ebay, both got worked out.
I'll PM you on that.

[RJasonB]

Sean, was this 4014? I was watching that auction out of interest for the cab number. I thought I'd toss in a bid near the end, but didn't. I saw someone clearly wanted it and was willing to pay. I'm assuming this was you. Kudos to you for the win, but I feel for you. The same damned thing happened to me in October, 2010 on an MTH Challenger 3985... my flagship. I paid way too much for it, but the win felt great! Described as new, only run a couple of times, blah blah blah. Once it arrived, I put it on the layout and ... no sounds. Ran forward and backward only and only in jerky spurts. I was pissed! Using publicly available resources, I found the seller's home phone number and we chatted. He took it back and refunded me despite the "No Returns Period" disclaimer on his auction. I feel your pain. As good as it felt to finally acquire the loco I'd been wanting and waiting for, the feeling of having been ripped off was far worse. Good luck to you and let us know how it works out.

[irocinblue89]

Originally Posted by RJasonB

Sean, was this 4014? I was watching that auction out of interest for the cab number. I thought I'd toss in a bid near the end, but didn't. I saw someone clearly wanted it and was willing to pay. I'm assuming this was you. Kudos to you for the win, but I feel for you. The same damned thing happened to me in October, 2010 on an MTH Challenger 3985... my flagship. I paid way too much for it, but the win felt great! Described as new, only run a couple of times, blah blah blah. Once it arrived, I put it on the layout and ... no sounds. Ran forward and backward only and only in jerky spurts. I was pissed! Using publicly available resources, I found the seller's home phone number and we chatted. He took it back and refunded me despite the "No Returns Period" disclaimer on his auction. I feel your pain. As good as it felt to finally acquire the loco I'd been wanting and waiting for, the feeling of having been ripped off was far worse. Good luck to you and let us know how it works out.

Yeah, that was me. I had a bid on a BNIOB a day or 2 before and wasn't around to see it end. So I had to get this one. Long story short, I sold mine when my son moved. Well he came back and was more than upset I had sold his favorite engine. So, letting my emotions get the best of me I put in a ridiculous $ w/ about 10 seconds left and got it. I guess Karma is a B****. Still haven't figured out what I did to get hammered though. NWSL does not make replacement gears. I just talked to a friend who called them Friday to see if they did. SOL.
AMEN to the ripped off feeling. I wanted to drive to Florida to rip this putrid human being apart. Still fumin and he refunded the money but now he wants me to send it back to him on my dime. I don't know what to do. I email Ebay about sending it back but haven't heard anything yet. i don't fell I should spend a dime out of pocket for this. It was DOA on delivery.

[blackz28]

That seems to be a common. Problem. In the big boys
U CAnt push. Heavy metal with plastic gears