Apparently this is a new business model... right on the Bay right now... sorry, you'll have to find it yourself "on account of I cannot compete with such genius"* 1) Procure entry level train sets and used "vintage" rolling stock. 2) Repackage track from sets and freight cars into "Expansion Packs." 3) (Over) price the "Expansion Packs" (currently $189.99 and $199.99, plus shipping. 4) Separately list the Empty Boxes from the train sets and small sets of the empties of used "vintage" rolling stock ($29.99 or so each). 5) Wait for the dollars to roll in. Well, maybe not #5. *B. Bunny, as said to Wile E. Coyote, Super-Genius.
From the picture, it might outwardly be in better condition than some I have seen. Collectible, yes. But not tested? That is CYA for the seller. Buyer beware.
I often see these lacking the step/handrail part at each end and the eBay item is no exception. This is mine, oil-soaked herald and all. Arnold made the heralds of paper, at least on the C&NW model. Years ago I bought a $5 junker at a show that had the parts I needed to rebuild it, first received as a birthday gift in 1968. It runs well and still brings a smile.
.....but you do not understa-and; it is vintage. It is getting to the point where they have started to go crazy even on N Scale Yard Sale. I am not sure how to link some of the posts there so I have not nor have I started a new "N Scale Yard Sale Humour" topic. There is one guy who has been trying to sell a used Kato Unitram turnout piece. He started at about twice list price. The last time that I checked, he had it a List Price. Most of us do not pay List Price for anything new (unless it is brass), never mind used. I put in a WTB for a few items, including a plastic frame dummy LL FB-2 in Penn. Some guy answered me with the dummy FB-2. He wanted twenty bananas for it, twice what it is worth on a good day. Alright, so this guy is asking high; I counter low: five smackers. I get a reply with the usual salutation and closing. The text is a curt one word "No". This guy is firm at twenty dollars for something that is worth half that on a good day? Some of the recent posts here are so ridiculous that I do not even bother with posting the fifty to seventy five dollar price tags on FeePay for LL plastic frame diesels, any more. These same things appear week after week and the seller wonders why no one ever buys them. It reminds me of certain of the usual train show vendors who schlepped the same over priced merchandise from show to show for years and wondered why no one ever bought any of it. Eventually, they do retire then you see their stock on someone else's table for a price that reflects more closely the actual worth.
I think a lot of eBay "Sellers" are idle people who somehow find entertainment in posting things. They don't research market prices because they have no real interest in selling anything or because they have foolishly high prices fixed in their heads. We all see dozens of items that have been listed for years without meaningful change and it makes for dull visits to eBay. I too had high hopes for N Scale Yard Sale, but like you wrote, it's just more of the same.
Please ignore the missing cast metal parts that made this a very nice kit in its day, originally sold by Quality Craft. Gone are the doors, hinges, brick office chimney, roof chimney, light fixtures and other detail parts. The price, of course, is beyond insane.
Speaking of ebay I was hoping to compare notes. In Australia we pay 12.18% commission. Is that the same worldwide ??
Some of the live auctions held on a certain Book for Faces aren't any better than some of the listings on N Scale Yard Sale and elsewhere on that same venue.
I tried some sales on the B of F site. What a PITA. Especially fighting their filters, which would knock out listings for descriptions they didn't like. But when you have computer programmers who still don't know how to tie their shoelaces, and still live in mommy's basement.....
And that's all BEFORE The Almighty Algorithm decides whether or not your post is of any value to them... er, I mean the users...
This Seller on FeePay is selling of His N Scale collection starting with N Scale Atlas Chessie System w/DCC. I can only pray that when I decide to get out of the Hobby I can all of My N Scale 60+ engines each for this price!! https://www.ebay.com/itm/3945651576...769AKl5cjhUtPw8WSiAMJRCywa|tkp:Bk9SR_zjjtzwYQ
Once again, "RARE" is relative. Compared to water molecules, yes, absolutely. I think I have one laying around and if I do I'll let it go for half of that price.
Looks like Atlas 2883-300, which I had on my layout as a teenager built in the mid-1970s. Looking on eBay, two sold recently for $15 to 20. But, they're not RARE like the Pola version above.
eBay Humor... it's not just for N Scale. Except... that the entry level cars that have been passed all around and currently are being marketed under the Lionel brand are at present priced at $19.99 (!!!) at a local hobby shop. "Well, mine's Vintage so it must be worth more." Don't forget the shipping!
This mightily priced decal set has been posted unsold since August 2021, with the listing having been edited ten times. The "Seller" has 482 unrelated items of all kinds, with decal sets like this one being the most highly prized in the entire collection.