eBay Shopping for Models--
Caveat Emptor!

eBay shopping brings the convenience of the world's biggest hobby shop right into your living room, and you may get a better bargain...but...

At any one time you will find over 4,000 listings under the title "Scale Models on eBay and depending on what you are looking for, the starting bid can be as low as .01 cent for a diecast HO scale Shelby Cobra to a high "Buy It Now" price of $1,800 for a Millennium Falcon Studio Scale Model Master Replica. Both were described as "new".

These two happen to be finished models, ready for display, but over a thousand auctions are for kits some as easy as a 25-year-old Bachmann HO Scale Model Ranch House to something as complex as a deluxe operating HO Scale wooden Roller Coaster.
But, when you look at eBay's completed auctions for model kits you find sold items ranging in prices indicative of a real savings and others who paid more than they could have bought the same item from their local hobby shop.

It is obviously a buying medium where you have to take care, make sure you know the item you are looking to purchase and knowledgeable about pricing.

On the other hand, it is foolish not to search eBay when you are considering a purchase. From a personal standpoint, I have found my eBay free membership to be of extreme value for not only finding bargains, but doing research and finding modeling parts not carried by my local hobby shops.

It does appear eBay sellers are getting more and more familiar with scale model products and have a good idea of selling prices. You see this more and more in "auctions" with a starting price that's maybe a dollar under the retail price and a Buy It Now price even with the retail price or a dollar more. Both prices are well above wholesale and require a shipping fee that is anywhere from $2 above the shipping cost to double the shipping cost.

'Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me'. CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!

eBay Win Makes My Day


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