Newbie question: Model railroad jackpot?

Question

Greetings all,My neighbor's son was recently introduced to model railroads by one ofhis Boy Scout leaders and wants to get started, so I'm looking to puta nice 'starter set' together for him for his birthday next month.Unfortunately I don't have much $$$ to do it with. After searchingthrough Ebay and other sites, I found this model train auction: are more items in this one "real" auction than I was able tofind on Ebay. Admittedly, I know very little about model railroads,but some of these lots look pretty nice as far as I can tell. Hasanyone here had success in finding good, quality model railroad carsand accessories at auction; or should I stick to the local expertiseat a hobby shop? This auction looks like a great way to get him somepieces he might not be able to otherwise afford or find, but I'msomewhat worried about the quality and condition of used vs. new. Anyexperience?-- Gun

Doug · Accepted Answer

Gun,You may not know much about model railroading, but you have the art ofspamming down to a science.

Ken Rice · Answer

Where were you looking on ebay? The above auction has about 500 lots listed. The Model RR, Trains section of eBay has 65,635 lots listed.

The best thing to do for your neightbor's son is give him a gift certificate to the local hobby store, or take him there, so he can pick out the trains, and scale, that interest him. That is the best way to keep someone's interest in the hobby.

Barney Rubble · Answer

Is this auction a reserve auction? Is there proxy bidding, or is it a blind auction where you pay whatever you bid even if no one bids anywhere near you?

Assuming you're not a spammer promoting this auction, I think you'll do better on ebay. On ebay there's a lot more selection and constant rotation of inventory.

Newbie question: Model railroad jackpot?

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