I live in West Australia and would not take a chance on a firm if I thought there was going to be a problem so far Trainz comes out on top, no problems, and I have bought locomotives from them. I will keep buying from them if they have something I like. 5 Stars. Roo.

Some good, some bad. They did work with me to get things resolved when there were issues. Like many eBay sellers these days, they are selling some used items and aren't really checking everything that comes in and occasionally sell items that are not in the condition as listed.

Only thing I bought from them was a WilliamsBB F3 B unit.  When it arrived the Willams box was covered in drips of what I think was candle wax.  It was weird, but not really anything worth demanding a refund over or anything like that.

The annoying part was that the paint color/finish is off from the AA units I have even though I made sure to specifically by WBB to make sure they were the same.  The B unit had the old Williams glossy finish with a darker green (CP units) than the matte forest green on the WBB AA units.  Perhaps it was a different production run or something.  I suppose a better photo might have helped.

Three purchases from Trainz went as expected.  Two items arrived in perfect shape. A motorized truck, assembly that I bought later arrived broken. The full purchase price was quickly refunded and they didn't ask for the item back.  Can't speak for others but I'll give them 4 stars on my experience

I only bought one thing from them and will never use them again  I purchased an advertised as NEW Lionel Long Island Alco C420.  When I removed it from the box it had a large #34 sticker on the cab roof  Thought it odd but tried running the NEW loco using TMCC address 1   No good  Tried number 34 as that was the sticker and it powered up no problem  When I called to tell them that the engine was not new and sent them pictures of the 34 sticker they accused me of lieing  I purchased many engines in my life and had no reason to lie about this one   They regrettably refunded $75.00 but I will never deal with them again

I try to avoid Trainz on Ebay.  Trainz is will sell used items as new, some item they say work don't run.  I have purchased parts from Trainz on Ebay with no problems.  General I try to avoid their listing on Ebay. 

I thought it might be a good idea to add some hard data into the discussion. In the past 12 months on eBay, Trainz received positive feedback 45,192 times, negative feedback 69 times and neutral feedback 120 times. Their positive review percentage was 99.8%. 

Pat

The problem I have with Trainz is, They don't don't take enough pictures. I sometimes have to email them and say, You need to take a picture of the botton of it, or I want to see pictures of the ends of it, and so on.  69 negative feedbacks is 69 too many.

I have used them a couple of times. Lots of issues with shipping, things arrived damaged. Showed them

pictures of the items as listed and as received. Finally received a negligible refund on one item

based on their "research". Did not leave negative feedback because they are a forum sponsor.

Will simply avoid them in the future.

No problems with Trainz(via eBay), Brasstrains or Stout Auctions.  Minor gripe - In my opinion, other than Brasstrains, the photo resolution could be a bit higher on the other two.   No shipping, packing or service issues with any of the three.

I bought my LC+ Hudson from Trainz. They are an exemplary seller, as many have previously stated.

No problems. I'm currently working with them on a defective item I just purchased. They have been great. Got a prepaid return label and they are checking to see if they have another in stock. If not, have offered to refund my money.

With all of these comments about Trainz, I'd like to point out some of the good information provided to operators on their website.

check out:

www.trainz.com/pages/track-plans-and-ideas

and

www.trainz.com/pages/beginners-guide

I am probably more careful than most when I buy off ebay because of the problems of distance and high cost of shipping.

If I am not 99% sure of an item on ebay I won't buy it. If you find a seller on ebay that seems to do the right thing by you I tend to favour them over other sellers that I have not bought from. There are hobby shops around that have great web sites and make it very easy to buy from.. to easy! and you know what the shipping  is, or they have a facility to calculate it, this is important for me if I commit myself to buying something anywhere I must know the shipping cost straight away now this applies to things that I don't care if I buy or not.  If I want something desperately I will pay anything to get it all bets are off I put myself in the sellers hands and hope for the best whether it be ebay or a hobby shop but this is rare for me nowadays to be reckless I did that sometimes when I was building up my rolling stock and locos for the Steel Mill and I never got caught with extra high shipping charges I found that almost everyone I have dealt with have been very honest with me some have even returned part of the shipping money to me. 

I wish I could write down a list of sellers and hobby shops I have dealt with over the years but the rules here won't allow it because of sponsors that support the site I understand that. Nassau and Beth are good to deal with.  Roo.

I always am leery about sellers who do not enter Feedback until the buyer enters Feedback.  If a buyer pays immediately, Positive Feedback should be immediately entered.  Trainz does not do so.  John

To me, a seller should enter feedback once the seller has received payment.

rattler21 posted:

I always an leery about sellers who do not enter Feedback until the buyer enters Feedback.  If a buyer pays immediately, Positive Feedback should be immediately entered.  Trainz does not do so.  John

I've never thought about that John.

I have noticed that most sellers give instant feedback and often wondered why.  I thought when the buyer recieves the goods that's when everyone should give feedback sometimes I can't give feedback for a month because I haven't received the item but I can tell you I always give feedback.

One bloke in America had a gondola for sale I bought it paid for it and the next day he gave my money back and cancelled the sale ! I still don't know why because it was reissued on ebay a couple of days later I just moved on and found another one I would have been upset if it was something rare that I really wanted in this case it was just a common MTH covered gondola. maybe he thought, Blimey ! I'm not sending that half way round the world it might end up anywhere if he thought like that he is stupid or uneducated, sending items through Pitney Bowes is very safe for everyone maybe his charges were not what he thought who knows ! I did not give any feedback on that one because I never received anything. Aussies use real money like everyone else true we don't pay with toy money or gumnuts.  Ha, Ha. Roo.

paulp575 posted:

No problems. I'm currently working with them on a defective item I just purchased. They have been great. Got a prepaid return label and they are checking to see if they have another in stock. If not, have offered to refund my money.

Received the replacement item on Thurs. They didn't receive the item I returned until Friday.  Awesome service. I was concerned they would wait until the returned item was received and then find out they had no more in stock.

rattler21 posted:

I always am leery about sellers who do not enter Feedback until the buyer enters Feedback.  If a buyer pays immediately, Positive Feedback should be immediately entered.  Trainz does not do so.  John

paulp575 posted:

To me, a seller should enter feedback once the seller has received payment.

I buy and sell on eBay from time to time.  As a seller, I always wait until the buyer leaves positive feedback for me.  My delay in leaving feedback for a buyer is concern that the buyer may be an unreasonable or malicious person.  Fact is I don't know what recourse I would have if I gave positive feedback for the buyer upon receipt of payment and then experienced problems with the buyer if something goes wrong or if the buyer wrongly leaves negative feedback on me.

Also, holding back positive feedback for the buyer may stimulate the buyer to leave positive feedback for me.  I am surprised how many frequent users of eBay don't leave feedback as a buyer; but, do so regularly as a seller.

I have bought from Trainz many times.  I had a few (small percentage) problems but they were handled professionally by Trainz!  One was a Lionel Madison car with a bad truck and they replaced the trucks for me.  Two other occasions they very poorly packed items that got damaged in shipping.  They corrected the problem and profusely apologized.  All other shipments were well protected in shipping.

I had a similar lousy packing issue from a well known OGR advertiser who upon my constructive criticism banned me from buying from him ever again saying any future orders would be cancelled.  They had squeezed a Lionel box into an MTH shipper so tightly that it damaged the fragile Lionel box upon extracting the train car from the squeezing that bowed the box rediculously. Trainz is far superior to that type service!!! Trainz is customer oriented and I would buy from them without reservation.   

I have about 1500 transactions on eBay roughly half and half as a buyer and seller. I agree with Carl. eBay will quickly ban a dishonest seller but as long as a buyer pays will let them get away with murder.  There are far more predatory buyers on eBay than dishonest sellers. Buyers who will buy your new item complain and return a used POS or buy your item and swap parts then send the hacked up version of what you sold them back. There are sellers with zero knowledge of what they are selling I weed them out by the poor description of what they are selling. If I need it I will ask questions till I am satisfied I have a good idea of what they are selling. These sellers are not dishonest but if you are not careful the resulting transaction can turn out similar to dealing with a dishonest seller.  What it boils down to is the transaction is not truly over till the buyer says it's over, by leaving feedback.   I for one have no problem as a buyer leaving feedback first, which I am about to do for a Century Club ABA PRR Shark nose delivered yesterday.                            j

Roo posted:

I've never thought about that John.

 

One bloke in America had a gondola for sale I bought it paid for it and the next day he gave my money back and cancelled the sale ! I still don't know why because it was reissued on ebay a couple of days later I just moved on and found another one I would have been upset if it was something rare that I really wanted in this case it was just a common MTH covered gondola. maybe he thought, Blimey ! I'm not sending that half way round the world it might end up anywhere if he thought like that he is stupid or uneducated, sending items through Pitney Bowes is very safe for everyone maybe his charges were not what he thought who knows ! I did not give any feedback on that one because I never received anything. Aussies use real money like everyone else true we don't pay with toy money or gumnuts.  Ha, Ha. Roo.

Could it be they state in shipping info they only ship to the US? I tried shipping out of the US for about a year then decided it was not worth the extra trouble. I had to go the the post office for the customs declaration and felt I had to package with a sturdier box and more padding. While Australia has a very good postal system every bit as good as the US perhaps better many countries cannot claim the same and it simply is not worth the effort. In addition to all that I always worry while I have an item in transit to a buyer and when the package is going half way around the world it's just too long to worry.               j 

rattler21 posted:

I always am leery about sellers who do not enter Feedback until the buyer enters Feedback.  If a buyer pays immediately, Positive Feedback should be immediately entered.  Trainz does not do so.  John

John:

I recently ordered an item from Trainz on eBay. As soon as I paid, Trainz posted positive feedback. I cannot speak to what Trainz' past policy or practice may have been in this regard, as I do not recall what they did when I ordered items in the past. My point is simply that their current practice appears to be to post feedback immediately after payment is received from the buyer.

Pat

ebay store 

great train deals and have been repaired by asc tech so you know you'll get a working trains! they stand behind there products!

The buyer's ONLY obligation is to pay promptly:  if he does so, he gets immediate feedback from me when I sell. 

The seller does bear a heavier burden:  to deliver promptly the item sold in good condition AND to acknowledge my immediate payment.  As a buyer, I leave feedback for a seller ONLY when that obligation is fulfilled.

Chicanery on either side needs to be taken up with the Powers That Be--and I have done so both as a seller and as a buyer.  But I won't withhold feedback from a buyer who has paid me, and I won't leave it for a seller who has not left me feedback first.

Only problem I have is the shipping choice.   

Like my work, it's probably a good bulk discount for them but not for the buyer.

FedEx is slow and pricey.  A USPS P-Mail 8 dollar car is over 13 bucks using FedEx.

In some cases - I am in the next State and it has taken 7 to 10 days to get the items. With FedEx, you never know what time of day they will show up. FedEx also hands off the box to USPS ground and the box travels all over the place before you get it.

As for ebay, I generally only buy cars not engines on there.

I did not know there was a protocol on who leaves feedback first .  Is that a real thing?  Does ebay indicate that it's a seller's duty to leave feedback immediately following payment?  I've bought and sold on ebay since 2001.  While I always leave feedback, I never placed a priority on timing.  I guess I need to wake up.

MikeH posted:

I did not know there was a protocol on who leaves feedback first .  Is that a real thing?  Does ebay indicate that it's a seller's duty to leave feedback immediately following payment?  I've bought and sold on ebay since 2001.  While I always leave feedback, I never placed a priority on timing.  I guess I need to wake up.

No, there is not protocol or requirement.  People need to get back to the essence of trade as in it has to be good for both sides.  Both buyer and seller or vendor and customer have a responsibility to each other.  Uber and Lyft both have ratings on drivers and passengers, this is fair as all trade is a mutual exchange.

As a seller on ebay I had to deal with scam buyers which proliferated when ebay got rid of negative buyer feedback.  Luckily in both cases I had good documentation in the form of pictures and communication and I came out okay.  I then promptly blocked both buyers on ebay and filed complaints.  I offered returns on both items pending pictures from the buyer, neither would provide and only wanted partial (and significant) refunds.  I had one other issue where some track as damaged in transit due to USPS handling, the buyer provided good communication and pictures and I gave a refund for the damaged pieces.  We both left each other positive feedback.

I also have cancelled bids from bidders when they message me with odd requests or other things which look like red flags.  I deal with enough difficult people in business, I don't wish for this to spill over into my personal life.

I have purchased items from ebay that arrived damaged or not as described, I worked with the sellers on 3 occasions like this and everything came out amicably.  Respect as kept by each side every time.  I would buy from any of them again.

I have bought and sold on forums this one included, never had an issues but I also watch for red flags.

As for Trainz, I don't expect them with the volume they move to fully test every item.  I do expect if there is an issue they stand behind it.  No one is perfect, mistakes happen, it's all about how they're handled by both parties.  Seems to me like they do based on the ratings they receive overall.  Anything above 99% on ebay is cream of the crop.

TexasSP posted:

As for Trainz, I don't expect them with the volume they move to fully test every item.  I do expect if there is an issue they stand behind it.  No one is perfect, mistakes happen, it's all about how they're handled by both parties.  Seems to me like they do based on the ratings they receive overall.  Anything above 99% on ebay is cream of the crop.

But if it says untested they will accept it back, but you have to pay return shipping and they will only give you the purchase price, as they do not guarantee items they have marked untested.  

rtraincollector posted:

TexasSP posted:

As for Trainz, I don't expect them with the volume they move to fully test every item.  I do expect if there is an issue they stand behind it.  No one is perfect, mistakes happen, it's all about how they're handled by both parties.  Seems to me like they do based on the ratings they receive overall.  Anything above 99% on ebay is cream of the crop.

But if it says untested they will accept it back, but you have to pay return shipping and they will only give you the purchase price, as they do not guarantee items they have marked untested.  

So bid and buy accordingly. 

TexasSP,

Your nuanced take about this situation will not stand, sir!  I need heroes and villians.  Good and evil.  There is no compromise. 

 sarcasm! 

I bought a Z4000 from them and when it arrived it was faulty; useful as a rowboat anchor maybe. TRANZ  could have saved me a lot of trouble, had they simply plugged it in, but no, they won't even do that. Requested a return FEDEX label, repackaged it, waited at my home for FEDEX to pick it up, and then waited for TRANZ to issue a refund. I'm 73 years old and I won't ever set myself up for that kind of aggravation from them again; it's not right to do business like that. 

OK...too much of this discussion has gone down to talking about ebay, etc.....  I think enough info has been shared for the OP to have an answer to the original question....