Buyer beware..or did I miss something

Trainz use of stock photos is nothing new.

As Rattler mentions, call or email them and ask for photos of the specific items. I’ve done this a few times and they always provided them.

Curt

I have dealt with Trainz, both successfully and less so. But they have never not delivered or refunded as required. No seller is perfect.

Don

I had an issue with a PS1 loco that I bought from them. Called CS and they sent me a label. The repair tech called me a week later to discuss the problems. He was great on the phone and said the repairs would take a week or so. I got the loco back as promised and all was good.

I do miss the days before Scott switched to ebay for most of the listings. The old Trainz auctions site had some great deals that were easy to bid on and forget since there was less competition.  The ebay shipping is less expensive.

I went to buy some small light bulbs (9 total)) and the shipping was $6.91 I passed.

Gunny

@gunny posted:

I went to buy some small light bulbs (9 total)) and the shipping was $6.91 I passed.

Gunny

You do realize that shipping isn't just the cost of shipping something to you, but also the cost of packing and paying someone to pack it, right?

Re-using the same photo to represent a multiple of an item is really quite off-putting. If you do not have photos of each "identical" (maybe...) item, then just say so. Photo re-use is almost dishonest. One wonders what is being hidden. Maybe nothing. Maybe not.

Catalogue photos are OK if the item is described as (and actually is) "NIB, unopened".

BTW, I have bought numerous items from Trainz.

I have done dozens of transactions with this particular seller.  I don't disagree on some of the comments, but after doing so many transactions one knows what they are getting themselves into and as a result I have picked up some fabulous items at more than fair prices.  As with anything, asking questions and doing one's own due diligence is important.  I don't have any real complaints as a result.  My latest purchase is an original standard gauge #8 arriving Tuesday to finally have my own locomotive to pull my Christmas tree train.

I was going to skip the train this year, but my wife told me how much she liked the one I set up last year with a borrowed locomotive.   

@Magicland posted:

You do realize that shipping isn't just the cost of shipping something to you, but also the cost of packing and paying someone to pack it, right?

The cost of handling should be built into the price! Do you pay some one to bag your groceries?

Gunny

@gunny posted:

The cost of handling should be built into the price! Do you pay some one to bag your groceries?

Gunny

You've obviously never ran a business. So you'd be OK paying an extra $0.77 per light bulb and getting "free" shipping, but not paying for the light bulbs and shipping and handling costs? Either way you're paying for shipping and handling, it doesn't just happen for free. You can always support your LHS and not pay shipping. Of course, you'll pay for gas and your time to go there and back. You figure out which is less.

There was a discussion just a few weeks ago about Trainz. The owner came on and talked to a guy who had a problem. Be careful though, any negative comments may be deleted.

I have said the photos are not always the exact item you get. I saw the exact photo in the Ebay store and the same picture on the website with one being cheaper so I bought it. However when I got it, it had no wires attached were the photo had wires. For a 1$15 item I didn't return it and I did not see a print that said the photo may be different- although I wasn't looking. I saw a photo of what I wanted and bought it.   

@gunny posted:

The cost of handling should be built into the price! Do you pay some one to bag your groceries?

Gunny

Handling perhaps, but shipping costs aren't fixed. They vary based on distance and mode, so it's better to exclude shipping costs from unit price.

@gunny posted:

The cost of handling should be built into the price! Do you pay some one to bag your groceries?

Gunny

Gunny,

Shipping and Handling charges for mail order have been around for decades, if not more than a hundred years.

Need proof?  Check out the ads in the rear of any hobbyist magazine from back in the day (pre-internet).

The concept is not new.  Nor has it been objectionable to the overwhelming majority of buyers, then or now.

Mike

Ordered a number of times from them both on Ebay (and directly on their website w/ their membership to buy items early before they allow open buying on them), have had very few issues but any time I did they were very quick in looking to solve the issue (as an example - a legacy SD70 that had a bent frame that wasn't noted, they refunded it for me after asking if I wanted it fixed, or refunded). Overall - make sure to fully read their descriptions as they list any potential defects they found in it. If you do have an issue they didn't find during their inspection, they are great about looking to resolve issues. If you need further photos shoot them a message.

I have purchased many items from them over the years. As mentioned before, some good, some not so good. As a matter of fact, three of the last locos I bought from them had issues. A Premier FEF, a Premier Turbine and a Weaver E8 A-A set. All have issues. Sometimes their folks don't know what they have. I just spent several days of back and forth with them about frames for my Premier Veranda. I bought it from them with bad frames that wasn't mentioned in the listing. I never really got a satisfactory answer because they still didn't get it all right. Read everything, look at all of the pictures closely, if of the actual item and contact them to verify the information before you buy would be my advise. Make sure you can get parts if it is something you really want.